I’m Erika Heeren-Moon.
Technology Policy,
Law, Marketing & Entrepreneurship
About Me.
I am an award-winning communications professional, author, freelance reporter, and entrepreneur with nearly two decades of field experience. After a rewarding and successful journey in the fractional marketing world, I transitioned to my next phase – a career in research, teaching, and advocacy.
I hold a Bachelor of Science in Communication with a double minor in Public Administration and Small Business from Colorado State University, and a Master of Arts in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University.
Currently, I am pursuing a JD at Rutgers Law School and a Ph.D. with the School of Public & International Affairs at Virginia Tech. My research focus is technology policy related to cybersecurity, commerce, competition, and the future of work in the U.S. federal sector.
Research Topics
Recent Projects
Risk, reputation and responsibility: Cybersecurity and centralized data in United States civilian federal agencies
The existing US federal interagency cybersecurity policy needs to be more cohesive to effectively secure the centralized data initiatives delineated in Title III of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018. The need for more consideration for updating the federal interagency cybersecurity protocols demonstrates a missed opportunity and raises concerns regarding the risk of the shifting federal data structure. This paper focuses specifically on the interagency infrastructure required to maintain centralized access to data in the federal government from a cybersecurity context. This paper argues that a proactive standardized cybersecurity and infrastructure modernization process for a data centralization policy is necessary to maintain trust and reputation in government works, protect personal privacy, and generally act for the public good.
Citation: Heeren-Moon, E. (2023). Risk, reputation and responsibility: Cybersecurity and centralized Data in United States civilian federal agencies. Telecommunications Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2023.102502.
Spectrum Sharing of the 12 GHz Band with Two-Way Terrestrial 5G Mobile Services: Motivations, Challenges & Research Road Map
Telecommunication industries and spectrum regulation authorities are increasingly interested in unlocking the 12 GHz band for two-way 5G terrestrial services. The 12 GHz band has a much larger bandwidth than the current sub-6 GHz band and better propagation characteristics than the millimeter-wave (mmWave) band. Thus, the 12 GHz band offers great potential for improving the coverage and capacity of terrestrial 5G networks. However, interference issues between incumbent receivers and 5G radio links present a major challenge in the 12 GHz band. If one could exploit the dynamic contexts inherent to the 12 GHz band, one could reform spectrum sharing policy to create spectrum access opportunities for 5G mobile services. This article makes three contributions. First, it presents the characteristics and challenges of the 12 GHz band. Second, we explain the characteristics and requirements for spectrum sharing at a variety of levels to resolve those issues. Lastly, we present several research opportunities to enable harmonious coexistence of incumbent licensees and 5G networks within the 12 GHz band.
Citation: Hassan, Z., Heeren-Moon, E., Sabzehali, J., Shah, V., Dietrich, C., Reed, J. Burger, E.W. (2023). Spectrum Sharing of the 12 GHz Band with Two-way Terrestrial 5G Mobile Services: Motivations, Challenges, and Opportunities. IEEE Communications Magazine. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.007.2200699.
Heeren-Moon on Ezrachi & Stucke, How Big-Tech Barons Smash Innovation
Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice Stucke have produced multiple joint research projects on competition policy with a specific focus on technology policy. Their most recent work, How Big-Tech Barons Smash Innovation - and How to Strike Back, builds upon existing research while applying nascent issues developing in the Big Tech community. In competition research, there is a constant triangular struggle between economic policy, past competition policy, and the roller coaster of changes unique to the technology industry. Ezrachi and Stucke strike a reasonable and intriguing balance between these three concerns.
Citation: Heeren-Moon. E. (2023). Heeren-Moon on Ezrachi & Stucke, “How Big-Tech Barons Smash Innovation – and How to Strike Back.” Gnovis Journal Vol. 23. pp 141-143. https://doi.org/10.57928/5g71-x570.
Calculating Return on Investment in a Department of Defense Context: A Pilot Study
With few exceptions, there does not exist a generic framework for reliable calculations of return on investment (ROI) with Department of Defense (DOD) that effectively take into account the unique mission values for DOD acquisition. This research explores the questions of whether the DOD can benefit from such an ROI acquisition model, and how that model may be implemented. In this paper, the researchers examine methods by which the DOD currently approaches acquisitions and what methods are used for creating Request for Proposals, evaluating bids, and awarding contracts. This information is then contrasted with how the private sector applies ROI models in acquisitions to identify critical differences and challenges in applying these methods to the DOD. Our results support that an ROI model can be built to encompass DOD objectives to enable the acquisition of superior systems and services and at the same time speed the contract process, better aligning bidders' interests with the DOD and addressing critical acquisition issues. Further, this research identifies specific areas where such a model can be applied in the short term to increase efficiency in internal acquisition data analysis and examines using a Single Source of Truth (SSoT) framework.
Citation: Heeren-Moon, E., Burger, E., Dillon-Merrill, R. (2023). Calculating Return on Investment in a Department of Defense Context [Paper presentation]. 20th Annual Acquisition Research Symposium, Naval Postgraduate School. Monterey, CA. https://dair.nps.edu/handle/123456789/4886.
English