AI Governance & Federal Compliance

Danielle
Johnson
turns complexity
into clarity.

Founder & Managing Member — Rydan Advisory LLC

We turn AI governance from a liability into a competitive advantage — with frameworks built from real implementation, not theory. If your organization deploys AI in a regulated environment, we build the governance infrastructure that lets you move fast and stay defensible.

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CRISC AIGP GCIP Maryland LLC
Danielle Johnson, Founder of Rydan Advisory LLC

Founder & Managing Member

Rydan Advisory LLC
8
Stage-gated
AI governance process
5
Integrated compliance
frameworks
10+
Years GRC &
compliance expertise
3
Industry certifications
CRISC · AIGP · GCIP
0
Generic checklists.
All real implementation.
About

Built from the
inside out.

Most governance consultants advise from the outside. Danielle Johnson built AI governance programs from the inside — designing processes, navigating stakeholder politics, writing the policies, and sitting in the rooms where real decisions about risk get made.

"I help organizations build AI governance programs that actually hold up under scrutiny. I have done it inside a company. Now I do it for them."

Danielle is a GRC professional with deep expertise in AI governance, cybersecurity frameworks, and federal compliance. She most recently built an AI Authorization to Operate (ATO) process grounded in NIST AI RMF and led compliance across SOC 2, UK Cyber Essentials, and ISO 27001 at a growth-stage technology company.

She also runs Rydan Advisory — a consulting practice focused on federal compliance frameworks including FISMA, CMMC, CJIS, IRS 1075, and NIST 800-53 — and is the creator of the AI Authorization Framework (AIAF), a proprietary eight-stage AI governance and ATO methodology.

CRISC #252942011 AIGP #0006770703I GCIP #385
Services

Three ways to
engage.

Anchor Retainer

AI Governance Program Build

We design and implement your complete AI governance infrastructure using the AIAF methodology — from AI governance committee standup to production deployment and continuous monitoring.

$10,000 / month
  • AI system inventory and risk tiering
  • NIST AI RMF gap assessment and roadmap
  • ATO process design and documentation
  • Governance policy suite development
  • Monthly executive reporting
Anchor Retainer

Federal Compliance Retainer

Continuous compliance management across CMMC, CJIS, IRS 1075, and FISMA — evidence management, gap remediation, audit preparation, and POA&M oversight.

$8,000 / month
  • Continuous compliance monitoring
  • Control gap remediation tracking
  • Audit preparation and assessor liaison
  • Policy and SSP maintenance
  • POA&M management
Fixed Scope

AI Governance Readiness Assessment

A structured gap analysis against the AIAF framework — producing an ATO Readiness Score, prioritized remediation roadmap, and executive briefing. Often converts to a retainer engagement.

$18,000 fixed
  • AI system inventory workshop
  • Gap analysis against AIAF 8 stages
  • Proprietary ATO Readiness Score
  • Prioritized remediation roadmap
  • Executive presentation and briefing
Proprietary Methodology

The AI Authorization
Framework.

01
Ideation & DiscoveryRisk assessment before any build begins
02
Governance Committee ReviewWritten approval gate — no exceptions
03
Technical Requirements & Vendor AssessmentData provenance, IP ownership, vendor sign-off
04
Documentation & Compliance RecordsDisclosure architecture before build, not after
05
AI Evaluation & Safety TestingATO review — security, privacy, safety, bias
06
Final Review & Sign-OffCPO, Legal, InfoSec, System Authorizer
07
Deploy to ProductionDisclosures live and tested before any user sees it
08
Continuous MonitoringDefined triggers, bi-annual audits, NIST alignment

Most frameworks tell you what to care about. AIAF tells you what to do.

The AI Authorization Framework is a stage-gated AI governance and ATO methodology developed from direct operational experience. It synthesizes five industry frameworks — NIST AI RMF, EU AI Act, OWASP LLM Top 10, EdSafe SAFE, and federal ATO doctrine — into a single, executable process with named owners, defined outputs, and stage-gate conditions.

The result is not a policy document. It is an operational system that engineering, legal, product, and security teams can actually run together.

NIST AI RMF EU AI Act OWASP LLM Top 10 EdSafe SAFE Federal ATO Doctrine
Request the AIAF Framework Overview
Who We Serve

Built for
regulated environments.

Education Technology

AI products serving teachers, schools, and districts face FERPA, COPPA, and an active regulatory environment. AIAF's EdSafe SAFE integration and student data scoping address the specific governance obligations of edtech AI.

FERPA COPPA EdSafe SAFE SOC 2
Federal Contractors & GovTech

Federal contractors and govtech organizations face overlapping obligations from CMMC, CJIS, IRS 1075, and FISMA. AIAF's ATO model is directly compatible with federal authorization frameworks.

CMMC CJIS IRS 1075 FISMA NIST 800-53
Regulated Enterprise

Financial services, healthcare, and regulated enterprise sectors face AI-specific requirements from OCC, SEC, and state regulators. AIAF's documented authorization chain satisfies the governance evidence requirements emerging from sector regulatory guidance.

ISO 27001 SOC 2 HIPAA NIST AI RMF
Insights

Thought leadership
from the field.

Practical perspectives on AI governance, federal compliance, and the regulatory landscape — written for the practitioners making real decisions in regulated environments.

AI Governance May 2026
What Most Organizations Get Wrong About AI Governance — And How to Fix It

Most AI governance programs fail before they start. Not because the frameworks are wrong, but because organizations treat governance as a documentation exercise rather than an operational system. Here is what that looks like in practice and how to build something that actually holds up.

Read article
NIST AI RMF Coming Soon
NIST AI RMF in Practice: From Framework to Operational Reality

The NIST AI RMF tells you what to care about. It does not tell you what to do on Monday morning. A practitioner's guide to operationalizing the framework in a real organization.

Coming soon
AI ATO Coming Soon
AI Authority to Operate: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Build One

Federal ATO doctrine has governed security authorization for decades. Adapting it for commercial AI deployment is one of the most underused governance tools available to regulated organizations.

Coming soon

More insights on AI governance, federal compliance, and the AIAF framework — published when there is something worth saying.

Work With Us

Ready to make AI governance
a strength?

Start with a 30-minute discovery call. We will assess your current AI governance posture, identify the highest-priority gaps, and determine whether a retainer engagement or readiness assessment is the right first step.

Book a Discovery Call Request AIAF Overview
Or reach us directly at info@rydanadvisory.com