Linda Parker Gates specializes in strategic planning, performance excellence, and change management. In addition to supporting numerous government agencies in developing and adopting improvement strategies, Ms. Gates leads the Software Acquisition Pathways initiative in the SEI Software Solutions Division. Gates is the author of the SEI technical report, Strategic Planning with Critical Success Factors and Future Scenarios: An Integrated Strategic Planning Framework and a multi-part SEI blog series and podcast on strategic planning and agility. Ms. Gates is a Senior Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, having served on the Baldrige Board of Examiners five times since 2011, in addition to serving as an examiner and a judge on other quality award programs. She is a member of the Association for Strategic Planning and serves as the Co-Chair of the Government Community of Practice. She also serves on the Denison University Alumni Council.