Lane Dilg is the Head of Strategic Partnerships on the Global Affairs Team at OpenAI, where she supports OpenAI’s mission of ensuring that artificial
general intelligence benefits all of humanity. Prior to joining OpenAI, Lane spent more than 15 years in the public sector, including advising U.S.
Department of Energy leadership on the deployment of billions of dollars in public investment in clean energy technologies; managing a city through the COVID-19 pandemic; drafting and defending precedent-setting public health, affordable housing, and worker protection laws; counseling CXO leadership of a global research university and leading health care system; prosecuting child exploitation and other offenses as a federal prosecutor; and serving as counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, & Homeland Security. Lane is a graduate of Yale Law School, Harvard Divinity School, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Dimitri Kusnezov [Kooz-NETS-off] was confirmed as the Under Secretary for the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) on September 8, 2022. As the science advisor to the Homeland Security Secretary, Dr. Kusnezov heads the research, development, innovation and testing and evaluation activities in support of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) operational Components and first responders across the nation. S&T is responsible for identifying operational gaps, conceptualizing art-of-the-possible solutions, and delivering operational results that improve the security and resilience of the nation.
Kristin Ruiz was appointed as the Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on April 23rd, 2023. In this role, Ms. Ruiz is responsible for coordinating, planning, developing, and evaluating information technology (IT) resources, including overseeing a variety of IT enterprise infrastructure, architecture, security systems, telecommunications, and e-Government and investment reviews.
Ms. Ruiz is a driven, mission-focused IT leader with over 20 years of experience in technology, digital transformation, application development, and Cybersecurity compliance. She has built, modernized, and overseen more than 300 secure, innovative, user-friendly applications throughout her career. Ms. Ruiz is an expert in leading comprehensive enterprise-wide IT portfolio strategy and management and has a proven track record of translating technology strategies into effective actions.
Before joining TSA, Ms. Ruiz served as the first Associate Chief Information Officer (ACIO) for the Office of Applications and Digital Solutions at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). As ACIO of the Office of Applications and Digital Solutions, Ms. Ruiz led the implementation of the $3 Billion Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection (AMJP) Program grants solution and DOT’s $600 Billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) website and enterprise grants management system. Ms. Ruiz pioneered a brand-new office setting the vision, direction, and organizational culture for DOT’s digital transformation with a focus on the following IT competencies: Agile System Development Lifecycle (SDLC); Development, Security, and Operations (DevSecOps); Cybersecurity; operations and maintenance; and capital planning investment control.
Additionally, Ms. Ruiz led DOT’s application rationalization efforts to achieve economies of scale and managed DOT’s accessibility program, website development, and managed the entirety the DOT’s mandatory use Software Engineering Support (SWES) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), overseeing the successful award of over $375 Million. Before joining DOT, Ms. Ruiz served as the IT Portfolio Management Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Nutrition and Consumer Services (FNCS), where she managed and executed the FNCS applications, operations, and maintenance budget supporting the Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP) (formerly food stamps) applications handling $85+B with 50+M program recipients, and Women Infants and Children (WIC) applications providing nutritional assistance to millions of families, school lunch in 95,000 schools, and systems providing food to Americans during disasters. Ms. Ruiz is a United States Marine Corps veteran and a George Mason University Alumni. She holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and is a Level III Program Manager and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) certified by the Federal Acquisition Institute.
Mr. Ramesh Menon was appointed Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) on March 1, 2021. Mr. Menon is responsible for technology and strategy planning, experimentation, emerging technology solutions architecture supporting DIA and IC priorities including FVEY partners. Mr. Menon assumed his current position upon his appointment to the SES / DISL-T1. Mr. Menon serves as the CTO and authoritative information technology expert for DIA. He develops a cohesive technological strategy for CIO’s, business, and mission partner’s capabilities on the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System and in the Department of Defense Intelligence Information Systems enterprise.
Mr. Menon serves as the senior DIA technologist and interface to the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, Military Service’s Intelligence Centers, Combatant Commands, international partners, national labs, industry and academia. He conducts feasibility assessments of current and future technology trends within the private and public sectors and makes recommendations on adoption that will increase DIA’s decision advantage. As the CTO, Mr. Menon will serve as the principal advisor for artificial intelligence to the Director and collaborate with other IC and DoD AI leaders.
Born in India Mr. Menon earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from California State University. He has co-authored three books and has a patent pending for supply chain assurance using Blockchain technology.
Mr. Menon was a CTO in the private sector at IBM and a Chief Architect at Johns Hopkins University – Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU-APL) leading Artificial Intelligence, cloud, cyber and strategic national security initiatives.
Mr. Menon is a member of IEEE congressional delegation on science and technology and an invited frequent guest lecturer on emerging technologies at Johns Hopkins University was a member of Brookings Institution AI expert panel on autonomous weapon systems and served on space innovation council workgroup along with NASA, SMC and DARPA.
He is also a mentor to AFRL catalyst campus, NASA Frontier Development Labs supporting OSINT and EdgeAI to operate in contested spaces.
He lives in beautiful Pacific Northwest with his wife of 23 years and their daughter. He enjoys hiking, travelling, cooking and nature.
Alan Sim, PhD, Chief Data Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is an epidemiologist, data scientist, and population health informatics professional with expertise in transforming data into actionable information in government and military organizations. He provides leadership and vision related to the application of machine learning, AI from disparate data sources. He led and managed teams to develop clinical registries, health statistics, and research deliverables to arm providers, public health practitioners, and researchers with insights to better serve the health needs of the population. He earned a Master of Science in Community Health (Epidemiology) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health, and a PhD in Epidemiology at Drexel University.
Natalie Buda Smith is the Director of Digital Strategy at the Library of Congress. She is a leader in digital transformation through data, emerging technologies, and human-centered design practices with over 30 years of experience in IT. She has built large teams at NavigationArts, IBM, and now the Library of Congress, and has worked for clients in the U.S., Europe, and India. She is strongly committed to ethical, human-centered products and services that adhere to best practices in inclusion, diversity, and accessibility.
Dr. Amy Henninger serves as Senior Advisor for Advanced Computing (AC) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) S&T Technology Centers, providing strategic vision and leadership to programs and policy makers in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, Modeling and Simulation (M&S), and Quantum Information Science.
Prior to joining DHS, Dr. Henninger’s work traversed the private/public defense sector space. In the public sector, she has served in several special term appointment technology leadership positions in the DoD and IC that, cumulatively, span the RDT&E space.
Dr. Henninger earned a PhD in Computer Engineering with emphasis and dissertation work in AI. She has taught undergraduate classes in computer science and graduate classes in AI, authored over 80 publications, and received multiple awards for her work.
Ms. Nichole Hyter is an Army veteran and graduate of the Army’s Management Analyst Intern Program. She has worked as a Budget Analyst at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management & Comptroller, Headquarters Department of the Army - Budget Formulation Division and as the Lead Financial Systems Analyst at Washington Headquarters Service – Accounting Division, where she championed and implemented the use of Robotics Process Automation across the Defense Agencies Initiatives (DAI) execution and formulation systems. Nichole also led the DLA efforts to implement DAI Hyperion (the budget formulation tool for Defense Wide agencies). She currently works as a Program Manager at the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) – Program & Financial Control Division and is the lead for the Next Generation Resource Management System (NGRMS) efforts, which is now the Department’s solution for the congressional mandate to modernize systems used to submit data to the Office of Management and Budget and to the Congress.
Brian Epley joined the Department of Energy as the Principal Deputy Chief Information Officer (PDCIO) in September 2022. As PDCIO, Brian leads the day-to-day operations of the Office of the CIO, and also partners with the CIO on strategic direction to protect and modernize DOE’s information technology, information resources, data, and cybersecurity across the DOE enterprise.
Before joining DOE, Brian held several roles at the Environmental Protection Agency. He served in roles including Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Administration & Resources Management, Chief (IT) Operations Officer, and Deputy Chief Technology Officer. His responsibilities covered enterprise information systems management and operations management, including desktop, enterprise hosting, service and business management, endpoint and collaboration solutions, and network and security operations.
Brian is a seasoned professional with more than 25 years’ experience across federal and state government and the commercial sector. Throughout his career, he has distinguished himself as an innovative change leader with the unique ability to deliver strategically aligned and mission-focused services. His experience in building coalitions, creating a shared vision, and actively partnering with customers will be immensely helpful as he joins the CIO to help lead DOE’s remarkable organization.
Noelle Russell is a multi-award-winning technologist with an entrepreneurial spirit who specializes in helping companies with emerging technology, Generative AI, and LLMs. She has led teams at NPR, Microsoft, IBM, AWS and Amazon Alexa, and is a consistent champion for Data and AI literacy.
Gardy Rosius is the Associate Deputy CIO of Architecture, Engineering, Technology, & Innovation (AETI) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO). In this capacity, he works closely with the Deputy CIO and other stakeholders to help the agency evolve and maintain a resilient and innovative IT culture.
With nearly 2 decades of experience in both the private and public sector, Mr. Rosius leads with an emphasis on transformative innovation and information engineering. He holds a strong interest and awareness on emerging and advanced information technologies that may impact and enable the agency's overall mission goals.
Previously, Mr. Rosius served as the Deputy Director for Application Engineering and Development at the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, helping the agency to stay at the 'cutting edge of the nation's technological progress and achievement'. Mr. Rosius also spent several years at the U.S. Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, in various IT leadership roles.
Krystal is a cybersecurity specialist and AI capabilities analyst at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. She also holds a position as a non-resident research fellow at the AI Security Initiative, housed at UC Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity. Previously, Krystal was a junior AI fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) as part of the Horizon Institute for Public Service Fellowship. Her focus is investigating how artificial intelligence may alter cyber capabilities. She received her M.S. in Information Security Policy & Management from Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College.
Dr. Howerton prepares the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the future by shaping strategic investments in research and development. An accomplished professional at the intersection of research, international affairs, and national security, he was selected to become the Chief Scientist in the DHS Science and Technology Directorate in 2022. In this position, he works with partners in government, academia, and the private sector to provide capabilities for the entire homeland security enterprise.
As the senior most technical advisor to the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, Dr. Howerton identifies and advocates for transformational research and technologies to improve the capabilities of the Department’s operational community. He represents DHS to the national and international research and development community, government agencies, scientific organizations, industry, academia, and the public.
Dr. Howerton’s diverse career spans twenty years of federal service. At the National Science Foundation, he established and expanded international relationships to advance the frontiers of knowledge. At the Department of State, he oversaw policies and programs to promote science and technology as tools for economic growth and facilitated science collaboration with over fifty countries and international
organizations. At the Department of Defense, he managed interdisciplinary programs to develop countermeasures to weapons of mass destruction.
Dr. Howerton earned his Bachelor Science in Chemistry from the University of Tennessee and his Doctorate in Chemistry-Environmental Toxicology from Michigan State University. He is a graduate of Air War College and Stanford University’s LEAD program.
Dewey Murdick is the Executive Director at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), where he oversees daily operations and fosters relationships with leaders from government, philanthropies, foundations, and industry. Specializing in AI policy, emerging technology analysis, decision support, and technology foresight Dewey advises U.S. and international policymakers and organizations.
His wide-ranging career also included roles in analysis, research, and software development, with previous leadership positions at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Department of Homeland Security, and Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA). Dewey holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Physics from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Andrews University.
With over 20 years of experience with the DoD’s Planning, Programming, Budgeting, Execution (PPBE) process, Ms. Riya Jung supports DoD customers in developing and executing Digital Transformation vision and roadmaps. She provides strategic oversight across various innovative PPBE programs including the Navy’s Program Budget Information System (PBIS) and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)’s Next Generation Resource Management System (NGRMS). Ms. Jung’s experiences include agile software development, generative AI, modernization, cloud migrations and hosting, data analytics, cyber security, audit, and operational support. She combines extensive DoD
PPBE functional and technical knowledge to deliver continuous innovations and a forward leaning approach to DoD customers.
As an Executive Government Advisor, Jayson works with state and local government executives and agency leaders to identify modern technology solutions to longstanding challenges in governmental operations. Jayson’s areas of focus and expertise are city and county government, public safety, cybersecurity, and performance management.
Prior to joining Amazon Web Services (AWS), Jayson served in local government for over 20 years. Most recently he was the Chief Information Officer for the City of Cincinnati and IT Director for Hamilton County, Ohio. During his tenures Jayson had executive responsibility for several city and countywide enterprise technology programs, including IT governance, capital and operating budget approval, PMO, service desk, 911 and emergency communications, cybersecurity, network and infrastructure support, Geographic Information System (GIS), and business applications.
Jayson also worked closely with city and county leadership, coordinating intergovernmental collaboration efforts between the city, the county, and the state. He also served as a Special Assistant to the City Manager during a major public safety crisis, receiving a proclamation from the Mayor and City Council for his service. Jayson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems and a Master of Business degree from Franklin University. He is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and an Emergency Number Professional (ENP).
Jayson lives in Florida with his with his wife of 22 years and their two children. He loves sports, writing, and spending time with family and friends.
Jennifer R. Franks directs the Center for Enhanced Cybersecurity within GAO’s Information Technology and Cybersecurity team. She oversees reviews that primarily focus on emerging cybersecurity issues and assessing an agency’s ability to protect the confidentiality, integrity,
and availability of its sensitive data and computing infrastructure. Her multi-disciplinary teams actively review agencies’ computer security vulnerabilities across their enterprise-wide computing environment by assessing program management compliance and technical controls
recommended for the agencies to follow in accordance with federal guidance and leading practices. In addition, Ms. Franks leads reviews in the areas of IT management and operations, financial management, data protection, privacy, and cybersecurity issues related to the COVID-
19 pandemic. Further, she is a certified facilitator of agency new hire and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) courses. Ms. Franks earned a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University in information security policy and management, and a bachelor’s degree
from Hampton University in computer information systems.
Dan Cotter has been the Principal Director of the Office of Science and Engineering (OSE) in the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since September 2018. He is currently serving as the “Acting” OSE Executive Director. In this role, he leads the advancement of science and technology to support the homeland security mission. His responsibilities include overseeing seven technology centers, and providing requirements generation, standards, systems engineering, test and evaluation, technology scouting and transition planning support to DHS research and acquisition programs.
Dan joined the S&T Directorate in 2012 and served as the First Responders Group lead. In this position he led national and international programs for first responder advanced personal protective equipment, communications interoperability, information sharing, and disaster resiliency.
Prior to joining S&T he served as the DHS Chief Technology Officer from 2007 – 2012 and as the DHS Geospatial Management Officer from 2005 – 2007. As a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 1983 – 1995, Dan developed and led programs applying emerging technologies to address a wide range of scientific, engineering and technical challenges faced by the National Flood Insurance Program and for disaster mitigation, response and recovery. He has prior Federal experience with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey and over a decade of leadership experience in the private sector.
In 2018 he received the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive. Among other recognition, Dan is also a recipient of the FEMA Director’s Distinguished Service Award. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2005. He has significant experience in policy formulation, working on and leading high-level intergovernmental committees, including at the White House level, and collaboration with Congress, including providing hearing testimony.
Dan holds a M.B.A. from Texas A&M University, M.S. in Geographic and Cartographic Sciences from George Mason University, a B.S in Hydrology from the University of Arizona and an Associate of Applied Sciences in Computer Information Systems from Northern Virginia Community College. He completed the University of Maryland Global Campus Graduate Executive Certificate for Chief Information Officers in 2012 and the Stanford University Customer Focused Innovation pr
Matt Jacoby is an Assistant Fire Chief with Cary Fire Department, where he has worked since 1996. Matt has been instrumental in providing vision and leadership to the department as the Town has expanded. Matt is at the forefront of influencing the future as part of a team that uses data and technology to propel that vision. Cary is creating the local government that doesn’t exist, and because of that, Cary Fire Department is becoming the fire department of the future.
Bio to come
As president of ACT | The App Association, Morgan specializes in issues involving application development relating to privacy, intellectual property, competition, and small business innovation. Morgan has been sought by the House and Senate in multiple hearings while his commentary and insight are a major draw for news networks including Fox Business News, MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, ABC, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. Morgan has authored and contributed to several white papers and is a part of the developer team for the Linux Router Project (LEAF) and remains an active Apple and iOS licensed developer. Prior to joining ACT, Morgan was a trusted advisor at Venable LLP serving businesses and organizations in many aspects of their operations.
Ryan Eddy is the Director for Homeland Security Programs in the National Security Directorate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
(PNNL). He oversees work performed for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which encompasses over 50 diverse projects spanning
the DHS components in areas such as explosives detection, nuclear security, artificial intelligence/machine learning, and cybersecurity.
Before joining PNNL, Mr. Eddy served as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Presidentially-appointed Director at the Domestic Nuclear Detection
Office within DHS, the Confidential Assistant to the Director for the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President, and the Executive Management Consultant for the Office of the Governor of Arizona. Mr. Eddy is a certified Project Management Professional and has a Bachelor of Science in political science from Arizona State University.
Yanna Zhang is the Chair of AI working group in the World Bank’s Global Corporate Solutions department. She is leading the group members to explore and leverage the potential of AI technologies in various areas. Yanna graduated from localization program from Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
As Field CTO for Public Sector at GitHub, Andrew manages strategic initiatives across federal, state and local government and defense, with a focus on AI innovation in software development and system modernization. Andrew is well-versed in a multitude of domains that include application development on Azure, container technologies and federal security and compliance best practices. He has previously contributed to IT standards research managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
Russell J. Strickland has been leading the Maryland Department of Emergency Management (formerly Maryland Emergency Management Agency, MEMA) since July 2015 and was reappointed Secretary of Emergency Management by Governor Wes Moore in January 2023.
In this role, Mr. Strickland directs a department that has the primary responsibility and authority for emergency preparedness policy, and for coordinating hazard mitigation, incident response, disaster recovery, the Maryland 9-1-1 Board, and the Office of Resilience for the State of Maryland. This includes serving as a direct advisor to the Governor during disasters and coordinating support for local governments as requested.
Mr. Strickland is an experienced emergency management professional who has more than 40 years of experience in the field of emergency services and first responder activities at the state and local levels of government, academia, and the private sector. This includes expertise in fire and rescue
services, emergency medical services, fire inspection and investigation, communications, and emergency management leadership.
Directly prior to his appointment, Mr. Strickland worked as a Senior Law & Policy Analyst at the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security (CHHS), where he led CHHS’ work with the United States Department of State Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program and developed strategy for the Montgomery County (Md.) Fire Department to meet compliance with the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Mr. Strickland also has experience leading a cabinet-level emergency services department at the local level as the Director of Emergency Services in Harford County, Md. This position oversees emergency operations and communications, public safety answering points (the 9-1-1 center), training, and special operations among other responsibilities.
Jason Oxman is president and chief executive officer of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the global trade association for the tech sector, representing the world’s most innovative companies. Jason brings more than 25 years of experience as a globally recognized leader in technology policy and serves as the leading advocate for technology during a consequential time for the industry.
Washingtonian named Jason one of its 500 Most Influential People Shaping Policy and a Tech Titan given his key role in advocating for innovation. Under Jason’s leadership, ITI has been recognized by its peers, including as the Trade Association of the Year by the Reed Awards. ITI was awarded the American Society for Association Executives Power of Associations’ Silver Award for advocacy on the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Jason also serves as a volunteer leader on the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) Board of Directors.
Before joining ITI, Jason served as CEO of ETA, the international trade association of the payments technology industry, for seven years. In that role, Jason led ETA and its 500 global financial and technology member companies through unprecedented industry transformations and represented the payments industry before policymakers around the world.
Previously, Jason was Senior Vice President of Industry Affairs at the Consumer Technology Association, which he joined in 2006, leading multiple departments. Previously, he served as general counsel of an ICT industry trade association and as vice president of a Silicon Valley-based technology company. Earlier in his career, Jason developed and implemented technology policy for broadband and related communications services at the Federal Communications Commission. Jason began his career as a law clerk for the Maine Supreme Court. He received his B.A. cum laude from Amherst College, and his M.S. and J.D. from Boston University. Jason lives in Virginia with his wife and their two sons.
Vivian Genaro Motti is an Associate Professor in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology at George Mason University where she leads the Human-Centric Design Lab (HCD Lab). Her research focuses on Human-Computer Interaction, Ubiquitous Computing, Assistive Wearables, and Usable Privacy. She is the principal investigator for a NIDILRR-funded project on assistive smartwatches for young adults in inclusive postsecondary education and an NSF project for inclusive workplaces for neurodivergent employees. Her research has been funded by NSF, TeachAccess, CCI, 4-VA, and URSP, among others. Dr. Motti received her PhD in Engineering Science from UC Louvain - Belgium.
Wes Shields, Principal and founder of Synthminds.AI, leads a team of 15 experts, propelling clients' AI strategies and objectives with ethical and innovative solutions. Under his stewardship, his full-service Artificial Intelligence agency provides bespoke services that exceed their strategic needs to an extensive list of clientele from academia to various industries including aviation, customer service, legal, marketing, logistics, education and technology. Shields' exemplary work has earned him and his Synthminds team the "Expert-Vetted" AI Consultant accolade from Upwork, a title conferred on the top 1% of the 18 million professionals on the platform.
Recognized as an accomplished strategist and speaker in the field of AI, Wes is of first 18 vetted and certified OpenAI Experts, a title formally recognized and endorsed by OpenAI through the Upwork platform. He is also the host of the popular podcast, 'How to Talk to AI.' He has a notable presence on Promptbase.com, the premier prompt sales marketplace, where his prompts rank him amongst the top 200 worldwide.
Shields possesses an impressive academic portfolio, holding an MS in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School, an MBA from the Mason School of Business at The College of William & Mary, and a BS in Economics from the esteemed United States Naval Academy. His contributions to academic research, particularly in the domains of complex network science and logistics technology integration, have been published and recognized, earning him graduate certifications from both the Kegan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the Naval Postgraduate School.
For more insights into his professional pursuits and areas of interest, visit https://synthminds.ai/.
Amol Khanna is a lead machine learning scientist at Booz Allen Hamilton. He collaborates with government research clients to build novel methods for safe and trustworthy machine learning. His recent projects focus on differential privacy and out-of-distribution detection. Amol’s works have been published in peer-reviewed journals and conferences.
In addition to research, Amol is interested in translating academic state-of-the-art methods for safe machine learning to current engineering efforts. He advises groups proposing and implementing models for government clients on safe machine learning techniques.
Prior to joining Booz Allen, Amol studied statistics and biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University. He worked with groups at Bank of America and Yale University to build safe machine learning algorithms which improve operational efficiency.
Dan Carroll leads the Solutions Management Team as part of the Strategic Programs pursuit organization that is focused on providing comprehensive solutions for US Federal and DoD organizations.
As a Field CTO he participates extensively with the NIST, Federal Agency, and DoD communities to understand global technology challenges and help shape responses that can be leveraged by the community through common frameworks and reference architectures.
Prior to Dell Federal, Dan held the position of head contract negotiator for enterprise service agreements with the Fortune Global 500. His responsibilities included service level contract negotiations with government and commercial organizations.
Dan was a lead architectural engineer for the Marine Corps Network Operations and Security Command both as a commercial contractor as well as a U.S. Marine. Dan was responsible for large portions of the deployed military application network architecture planning, design and deployment.
Addie Cooke is the global AI public policy lead for enterprise AI at Google. In this role she leads Google Cloud's engagements on current and emerging AI policy files around the world. She advises customer and product teams across the organization on forthcoming AI regulatory and standards. She works closely with cross-functional teams, including Responsible AI, Legal, and Human Rights, on product launches, technology partnerships, and customer engagements. She previously worked at Accenture and Workday in similar roles and supported the legislative effort to establish the NIST AI Risk Management Framework.
Before working in AI policy, Addie held policy, press, and research positions in the Texas Legislature and the United States Senate. Following the Senate, she helped lead a campaign to support the Obama Administration's reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba. Addie previously served in AmeriCorps Vista working with youth in East Los Angeles public housing, and is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer where she served a full term working with youth in El Salvador.
Addie holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and MPP from the University of Virginia. Outside of work, she serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for abused and neglected children.
Solutions architect with a background in AI, MLOps, cloud engineering, business analysis, and web development.
I spend 9-5 working as a consulting cloud architect on a federal, DataOps/MLOps team.
Otherwise I spend my time focusing on Marginal Entropy — a non-profit org focused on lowering the barrier to entry to technical education for marginalized communities.
Prashant G Bhoyar is a Microsoft AI MVP, Microsoft Business Applications MVP, Microsoft Certified Trainer ( MCT ), and Microsoft Certified Professional. He currently works as Cloud Solution Architect at Applied Information Sciences ( www.ais.com ). He is a trusted advisor and Subject Matter Expert in Conversational AI, Applied AI, Intelligent Business Process Automation, development, and post-implementation adoption of complex custom solutions in AI, Machine Learning, Bots, Azure, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Power Platform, and SharePoint. Prashant has supported a multitude of government agencies and non-profit organizations in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Prashant is the co-author of the book “PowerShell for Office 365 “and is the technical reviewer of the book "Pro SharePoint 2013 Administration." He serves on the leadership committee for the Azure Data Fest conference, Artificial Intelligence Fest conference, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning User Group, Northern Virginia SQL User Group, and DC Metro Office 365 User Group. He is a renowned international speaker and actively speaks at technical conferences, most recently in India, Canada, England, Bangladesh, Peru, Washington DC, Austin, New York, Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans, Baltimore, Philadelphia. Fun fact??, Prashant is a recipient of the "Antarctic Service Medal of the United States of America" for his outstanding service in Antarctica.
Microsoft MVP Profile Link : https://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/PublicProfile/5002595?fullName=Prashant%20G%20Bhoyar
Before joining Tabnine, Brandon built out the partner ecosystem, Open-Source and M&A at GitLab as well as supporting the company’s several capital raises. He served as the founding member of the Google Cloud ecosystem that includes technology companies as diverse as Red Hat, Docker, Cloudera, Pivotal and Tableau as well as companies with deep cloud expertise like Cloud Technology Partners, Agosto, CI&T, Accenture and McKinsey. In his time outside of work, Brandon can be found having fun outdoors with his wife and three children in Denver, CO and supporting the growth of open source as a board member of the Linux Foundation. He is a fairly wicked golfer and has a true passion for global humanitarian efforts.
Kathleen Featheringham is a leader focused on large-scale responsible technology transformation for our client’s most critical and sensitive mission areas. She is leading the development and expansion of Maximus’ Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Advanced Analytics portfolio within Federal Technology Consulting Services. An expert in AI, data science, strategy, and change management, Kathleen has more than 20 years of experience working with clients across the Federal Government.
She focuses on the convergence of mission and AI with a special emphasis on the human elements of adoption. This includes working with organizations on responsibly thinking about data as an asset, the evolution of the technical architecture to eliminate continual redesign, the evolution of human roles to allow more time for critical thinking and building ethical AI controls and measures into the fabric of an organization.
Prior to joining Maximus, she served as a Director at Booz Allen Hamilton leading highly technical cross-functional teams through transformation. She established and scaled Booz Allen’s AI strategy and training capabilities, that center on empowering organizations to grow their ability to harness analytics for data-driven decision making. She was a founding member of the team that developed Booz Allen’s award-winning Data Science 5K Challenge program, which focused on upskilling the firm’s data science workforce to help clients use data in new ways. Booz Allen’s artificial intelligence (AI) practice. Kathleen led the development of the firm’s AI governance and risk management procedures and operating practices as a part of the development of Booz Allen’s Responsible AI efforts.
Kathleen has an M.S. in intelligence analysis from Mercyhurst College and a B.S. in business administration from Georgetown University. She holds a Change Management Advanced Practitioner certification from Georgetown and a Psychology of Leadership graduate certificate from Cornell University.
Martin Rieger is the Chief Solutions Officer at stackArmor responsible for advising and assessing systems risk in compliance with FedRAMP, FISMA, RMF, and CMMC requirements. Mr. Rieger’s extensive background includes providing guidance on delivery systems for local, national, civilian, and military health care delivery systems as the former ISSO for the U.S. Air Force Surgeon General and as an active duty member of the U.S. Navy. Mr. Rieger has experience leading enterprise security personnel in the oversight of critical command and control systems, including managing activities throughout the C&A process, security test and evaluation, risk management, vulnerability assessments, security reviews, and audits of the network environment to identify vulnerabilities and ensure compliance with established standards and regulations in accordance with DoD and Federal mandates. He is a former 3PAO assessor and holds numerous certifications including CISSP, CCSP, CISA, CRISC, CISM, CDPSE, CGEIT, GSLC, and MCSA.
Bio to come.
Johann Dettweiler is the Senior Director of FISMA/RMF, FedRAMP and CMMC 2.0 compliance solutions. He leads the cyber risk advisory and assessment practice for implementing FedRAMP, FISMA/RMF, CMMC and DOD security requirements for federal and private entities. He is a former 3PAO and has successfully implemented large GRC systems for enterprise customers in regulated markets as well as assisted in implementing risk management programs for federal agencies. Mr. Dettweiler has a strong focus on automation and improving the effectiveness of compliance programs based on NIST 800-171 for Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Defense Financial Acquisition Regulations (DFARS), Federal Information Systems Management Act (FISMA), Department of Defense (DoD) Risk Management Framework (RMF) and the Federal Risk Assessment and Management Program (FedRAMP). Lately he has been focused on helping organizations implement governance controls for AI systems based on NIST AI RMF and using existing artifacts from NIST RMF to help evolve an actionable framework.
As a lawyer with 25 years of experience primarily at the intersection of technology and public sector, Zohra believes that innovation from private sector technology companies can help governments solve big problems and better serve citizens.
Zohra helps technology and life science companies traverse legal and regulatory issues and achieve business objectives with their government grantors and public sector customers. For those companies doing business in the public sector, Zohra brings a thoughtful, creative approach to negotiating must-win deals. Leveraging in-house experience at Microsoft and VMware, she is a trusted advisor to founders, C-level executives, general counsel, and leaders in sales, product engineering, and information security. Zohra is also a Vice-Chair of the Cybersecurity, Privacy and Emerging Technology Committee of the ABA Public Contract Law Section.
Zohra works with companies of all sizes, helping to close funding agreements and procurement contracts and counsel on risks inherent with transacting with public sector entities including with US Federal (e.g., US Department of Defense), US State, and Local Governments, K12, Higher-Ed, quasi-governmental entities (e.g., US Postal Service), international organizations (e.g., United Nations), and tribal nations. She has a passion for emerging technologies and especially enjoys working with companies in the govtech, defense tech, civic tech, edtech, and smart city sectors.
Zohra’s practice is primarily focused in three areas: Counseling on government grants and contracts, intellectual property, and cybersecurity law:
Zohra counsels on a range of government funding and procurement and technology matters, including government contracts, cybersecurity, software vulnerabilities, and data protection; intellectual property issues such as copyrights in software, data rights, and trade secrets; and ethics, and integrity issues including procurement fraud.
Anshul is a software engineer who has worked in startups ranging from autonomous vehicles to generative AI after graduating from Caltech. Today, he leads the go to market efforts at Codeium, the most advanced AI-powered toolkit for software engineers, which uplevels the work of hundreds of thousands of developers, ranging from hobbyists to Fortune 500 employees.
Bio to come.
With over two decades of expertise in software development, Kurt serves as a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at VMWare. A lifelong learner, he is on the cusp of obtaining his Master's Degree in Machine Learning from Georgia Tech, complementing his Bachelor's in Computer Science from Michigan State University.
A fusion of passion and profession, Kurt delves into the world of LLMs and Generative AI, exploring their myriad applications both in his professional sphere and during his leisure hours. Notably, his innovative spirit led him to invent and secure US Patent 11,645,507 B2, titled "Providing Models to Client Devices".
Dr. Atif Farid Mohammad is the Global Head of GenAI, R&D Center of Excellence, and CISO at Global Technology Solutions. He has a PhD in Cyber Security and a 2nd PhD in Scientific Computing. Dr. Atif is an entrepreneurial-spirited, pioneering technologist with 33 years of experience, out of which 16+ years are of leadership experience identifying, qualifying, building consensus for, and implementing enabling technologies and enterprise systems that facilitate business processes and strategic objectives. Dr. Atif and several GTS team members have been published in the industry-academia alliance.
Sachin Sinha is a Data Engineering leader who has been passionate about designing systems that help his customers make decisions based on data. He has helped startups in healthcare get off the ground by building a business on data and mature from seed to series funding. He has also helped organizations in the Public Sector achieve their mission by enabling them to make decisions based on data. Now at Microsoft, as Technology Strategy Director, he helps customers on their cloud journey with Microsoft Cloud offerings. His areas of expertise include Digital Transformation, Solution Architecture and Design, Data Platforms, Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence & Analytics and Artificial Intelligence focusing on the Healthcare and Public Sector domains.
Anant Mistry is a highly accomplished IT professional with over 32 years of industry experience, renowned for his expertise in development, technical leadership, and agile team formation. Throughout his career, he has consistently focused on aligning cloud innovation with organizational goals, resulting in cutting-edge architectures that consistently exceed client expectations.
Anant's technical proficiency spans various domains, including machine learning, cloud migrations, serverless computing, big data analytics, and search engines, enabling him to adapt and innovate effectively.
His commitment to innovation and leadership has earned the trust of various Fortune 500 clients.
Anant is deeply passionate about staying at the forefront of technology. His goal is to continue driving innovation and excellence in the ever-evolving IT landscape, making a lasting impact on the industry.
Amber Ivey “AI” is currently a Vice President at a non-profit where she leads a team that helps governments drive impact. In her prior role, as the Senior Director for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, she led a team that assisted governments in utilizing data and performance management for decision-making. Furthermore, she played a key role in the design and launch of the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance. The program aims to train 100 mayors and their senior leaders throughout the Americas on utilizing data to lead achieve better outcomes. Formerly, she worked at The Pew Charitable Trust—a nonprofit focused on solving today's challenges by using data-driven, nonpartisan analysis. Here, Amber led the data collection and organization efforts of a first-of-its-kind research study on how all 50 states and the District of Columbia use data to solve complex problems, improve the delivery of government services, manage resources, and evaluate effectiveness. Most recently, Amber led a team that provided technical as well as strategic assistance to states and counties, who were working towards streamlining their business processes and launching technology, like legal assistance websites and online courts, to modernize and improve access to the legal system.
Before joining Pew, Amber served at Maryland StateStat, a performance-measurement and management office established by former Governor Martin O'Malley (D). Following the change in administration, she helped facilitate the transition by demonstrating the effectiveness of data-driven decision-making through StateStat. Additionally, she played a key role in the establishment of the Governor's Office of Performance Improvement under Governor Larry Hogan (R).
Before joining the State of Maryland, Amber was a logistics manager for a Fortune 50 company where she used data to drive efficiency, productivity, and profits. She switched from private to the public sector to use her skills in service of government efficiency. She has her MPA and J.D. and is excited to serve at the intersection of data, technology, public policy, and law.
Sally Tinkle has expertise in human health research, policy, and administration, especially as they relate to emerging technologies and environmental exposures. Before joining STPI, she was the Deputy Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office of the National Science and Technology Council where she led strategic planning and implementation of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. As a Senior Science Advisor at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Sally worked on health issues related to biofuels and the bioeconomy, nanotechnology, and more. She also served as a research laboratory team leader at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, focusing on the relationship of skin exposure to the development of occupational lung disease. Sally received her doctorate from the University of Colorado and was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine.
Bob Greenberg is the CEO of G&H International Services which for over25 years has been working with federal, state, and local governments to support the emergency management and first responder communities. GH focuses on developing and implementing strategies, programs, and leading -edge technical solutions to enhance community resilience. With the support of DHS Science and Technology and FEMA, G&H is currently developing the Community Lifeline Status System Toolkit for the national emergency management community. G&H has also recently fielded the one of its kind Public-Private Partnership Platform to support information sharing, coordination, and collaboration among emergency management agencies and serves as a foundation for Virtual Emergency Operations Center of the Future.
Authored frameworks for Unesco, WHO, OECD, WEF and repository of assistive technologies (120). Cooperate with Future Society and Athens Roundtable (signed their actions as well), IEEE, The Future Life Insitute, UN AI, HAI, RAI, Women in AI, had meetings with Dubai Future Foundation + Museum of the Future for our algorithmic diversity series. Curate funds, global initiatives, ecosystems and summits in this field - EU, US, MENA.
Recent appearances:
AI Summit New York, Responsible AI, ML Con, Horasis Summit AI US, Dublin Tech Summit, RightsCon, World Humanitarian Forum, Times Higher Education, Women in AI, Women in IT, Wonder Women Tech, Women In Tech, She Loves Tech, IWIB, MozFest UK, Spark Fest Australia, ML Innovation, Datalift, Pondering AI, Digital AI Conclave, Disability Tech UK, Way Davos, Diversity In Tech Awards, AWE US, FWD 50, London Tech Advocates, Human Rights Copenhagen, Formwelt Institute etc
Army veteran turned serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of strategy, product marketing, and business management experience in the technology and finance industries. Ken’s formal entrepreneurial experience began directly after University with the creation of TMG, a multi-state marketing firm focused on product development, market research, and brand strategy, which he grew and eventually sold in early 2005.
Ken currently serves as President of CEO for Yobe Inc., which he founded based on a patent he co-authored and his belief in the future of Voice technologies and their relevance to human-machine interfaces. In addition to his role as the lead technology strategist, Ken manages the company’s product vision, corporate development, team development, brand management, and investor relationships.
Before his start-up experience, Ken was a financial services professional who worked on critical projects for hedge funds, venture capital, and private equity firms focused on Pre-IPO investments in the technology and real estate arenas. Ken attended the University of Connecticut and has served as a proud member of the US Armed Forces (US Army Ranger).
Jon Gacek leads Veritone's business unit providing AI-enabled solutions for the Government, Legal and Compliance sectors. Jon is passionate about delivering flexible, scalable, and future-proof AI technologies that drive cost, time, and resource efficiencies while helping to keep our communities safe. Jon has 18 years of public company C-suite experience, including President and CEO of Quantum and was an audit partner at PwC.
Rana Gujral is an entrepreneur, speaker, investor, and CEO at Behavioral Signals, an enterprise software company that excels at distinguishing behavioral signals in speech data with its proprietary deep learning technology. As a thought-leader in the AI/technology space, he often leads keynote sessions and joins panel discussions at industry events such as World Government Summit, VOICE Summit, The Next Web Conference, and Blockchain Economic Forum. His bylines are featured in publications such as Hacker Noon, Voicebot.ai, SpeechTechMagazine, and is a contributing columnist at TechCrunch and Forbes. He’s been recognized as ‘Entrepreneur of the Month’ by CIO Magazine, awarded ‘US-China Pioneer’ by IEIE, and listed as a Top 10 Entrepreneur to follow in 2017 by Huffington Post and an AI Entrepreneur to Watch in Inc. In 2020 he won “Contributor of the Year: Chatbots” in Hacker Noon’s Noonie’s Awards.
In 2014, Rana founded TiZE, a cloud software for specialty chemicals, and held the role of CEO until its acquisition in 2016. Prior to TiZE, He was recruited to be a part of the core turnaround team for Cricut Inc. At Cricut, Rana led the initiative to build a first of its kind, innovative product for the DIY community and prompted the turnaround of Cricut’s EBITDA position from bankruptcy to profitability within a short span of 2 years. Previously, Rana held leadership positions at Logitech S.A. and Kronos Inc., where he was responsible for the development of best-in-class products generating billions in revenue and contributed towards several award-winning engineering innovations.
Shani Abada completed her PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders at McGill University. She studied how people learn language, what happens as people age, and how neurodiverse populations learn and process language. Beginning in 2012, Shani began working as a Conversation Designer. She used AI to allow people to speak to computers using natural language. She has been helping parents understand neuropsychology and education reports in order to advocate for their children since 2016. She seeks to use AI ethically to help people.
Willonius Hatcher's journey began with a burning passion for creativity and technology, sparking an insatiable curiosity that would lead him into uncharted territories. Driven by innovation, he quickly became an award-winning Digital Strategist, AI expert, and Comedian, a modern renaissance man unafraid to break boundaries.
On Clubhouse, he took a daring leap, creating the first live serialized audio drama, the critically acclaimed soap opera, 'The Young and The Thirsty.' This bold endeavor was more than a creative feat; it marked a groundbreaking frontier in interactive entertainment.
Hatcher's technological prowess and artistic flair have reached beyond the expected. He's guided world-renowned brands like Samsung and Google to transformative marketing success, and his vibrant community on Clubhouse, the largest comedy community on the platform with over 250,000 members, stands as a testament to his ability to engage, entertain, and inspire.
His innovations have not only been celebrated on esteemed platforms like CNN and MTV but have also earned him speaker roles at Art Basel, Tedx, EthDenver, SXSW, and MIT Reality Hack. As the visionary founder of Blerd Factory, Hatcher's disruptive approach continues to reshape conventional strategies, reflecting his commitment to creative excellence and diverse voices.
But what truly sets Hatcher apart is not just his professional acumen. He's a man guided by the stars, finding joy in stargazing and constant learning. Whether performing stand-up comedy in the Metaverse using virtual reality or watching YouTube videos at double speed to fuel his relentless curiosity, Hatcher's life is a blend of creativity, technology, and joyous exploration.
A Fellow of prestigious programs and a beacon for diverse voices, Hatcher's story is one of continual growth, laughter, and unparalleled achievement. His tale paints the portrait of a man ever ready to explore, learn, and create, driven by a deep-seated mission to inspire others through his unique blend of humor and innovation.
Monica has more than 25 years of experience helping organizations develop, build, promote and protect their reputation. She has spent half of her career in communications agencies helping many well-known brands—including J.P Morgan Chase, Kohler, Mastercard, P&G, Pernod Ricard, Nestle, Whirlpool and HPE, among others—driving business results through policy and public affairs, thought leadership, executive positioning, earned and social media. The other half of her career, she led public-private partnerships, communications, and marketing for the Nobel Prize United Nations agency, World Food Programme. During that time, her focus was on emergency preparedness and disaster response and relief, logistics, supply chain, logistics, finance, and technology. Monica has experience in building community-based programs for several U.S. governmental agencies including the EPA, HHS and DHS. Her transportation experience includes Southwest Airlines [reputation, community engagement, policy, issues & crisis and earned media] and Bridgestone Firestone [policy, issues & crisis, corporate reputation].
Tianna M. Umann, Chief Innovation Officer at Equideum Health, is a thought leader in business strategy and technology. Her work focuses on enabling secure identity and data and AI solutions at the convergence of Web2 and Web3 and leading-edge privacy-preserving compute technologies. She is passionate about implementing business strategies to orchestrate innovative technologies to drive positive changes in industry and communities. Tianna believes that modern identity strategies combined with leading-edge trustworthy Data and AI innovations anchored on secure, compliant, privacy-preserving technologies such as blockchain, multiparty confidential compute, and multi-party data sharing will enable next-generation healthcare and regulated public/private industry networks that empower enterprises and individuals to share and analyze trusted, verifiable data for better outcomes and equity.
Dr. Wendy Charles serves as Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer for Equideum Health, where she demonstrates her 32 years of regulatory compliance for technologies. She is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Denver, where she teaches classes in Health Information Technology and Blockchain Technologies. Dr. Charles also serves on the European Union Blockchain Observatory and Forum Expert Panel, the Government Blockchain Association Healthcare Working Group, and the IEEE Working Group for the Blockchain Governance Standard. Last, she is an assistant editor and peer reviewer for two academic blockchain journals.
Lauren is an award-winning author, analyst, and designer and whose expertise is reducing bias within the datasets used to train machine learning algorithms. Today, Lauren works as a senior service designer at Steampunk, a human-centered design firm serving the U.S. federal government. She is also an adjunct lecturer of Design at The George Washington University whose first book, "Designing Data Governance from the Ground Up", is published by The Pragmatic Programmers and being adapted into a LinkedIn Learning course.
Karla Rodriguez is the Customer Experience lead in Platform Services at a federal agency. She is a technologist with a background in cybersecurity, product management, Voice of Customer, and specializes in the customer experience of enterprise platforms.
Uday is a tech product and agile engineering professional who grew up as a software engineer and later pivoted to product roles. He currently runs his tech product consulting startup, Metashore, and prior to that was the CDO at Akira Technologies and Card Platform Product Leader at Capital One. Uday is passionate about solving problems in a manner that delivers meaningful customer and business outcomes. He brings a high degree of curiosity, intuition, empathy, and coaching to his teams and clients.
He is a lifelong learner and speaks about a few different topics including pathways to tech product management, building empowered teams, and designing Responsible AI. He regularly mentors early-stage startups and volunteers at Loudoun County Public School’s Career and Technical Education program as well as Google’s Developer Experts (GDE) program as a Payments Technology expert.
Sara Jordan has a background in governance, ethics, and policy for artificial intelligence (AI) and scientific research. Prior to joining STPI in July 2023, Sara worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Future of Privacy Forum, Virginia Tech, University of Miami, and University of Hong Kong. Sara has worked closely with the IEEE Ethically Aligned Design for Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems. Sara has published on a wide range of topics including artificial intelligence review boards, research integrity, cyberbiosecurity, applied ethics and global governance. Sara received her doctorate from Texas A&M University and her bachelor’s degree from University of South Florida.
I've spent the better part of the last 10 years designing, developing and architecting cognitive personification for human-interfacing AI. My design acumen is informed by seasoned technical prowess and an extensive understanding of the adjacent core technologies that power cognitive (and pre-cognitive) experiences, such as open-domain conversational AI, multimodal HCI and distributed intelligence frameworks.
I'm featured in Forbes, ARS Technica, and more for my work in the realm of emerging technology, and harbor a radical commitment to propagate best practices + refined strategies for creating impactful AI-first innovation with the ultimate goal of furthering my field.
Dave Ferrucci is an award-winning Artificial Intelligence researcher who started and led the IBM Watson team from its inception through its landmark Jeopardy success in 2011. Dr. Ferrucci’s more than 25 years in AI and his passion to see computers fluently think, learn, and communicate inspired him to found Elemental Cognition (EC) in 2015. EC’s Neuro-Symbolic AI combines multiple AI techniques into a novel architecture that delivers expertise in a way that can be understood and trusted. It explores methods of learning that result in explicable models of intelligence and cross-industry applications. EC’s mission is to accelerate and improve the quality of human decision-making in the face of growing complexity, shortages of accessible expertise, and overwhelming data.
Dr. Ferrucci graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Ph.D. in Computer Science and has over 100 patents and publications. He worked at IBM Research, where he was named an IBM Fellow, and at Bridgewater Associates, directing the firm’s AI research. He has keynoted at highly distinguished venues around the world. Dr. Ferrucci serves as a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering and is an Adjunct Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Esube Bekele is a Senior Technology Architect at In-Q-Tel, where he leads investments and strategic insights in applied AI and generative AI as well as Quantum software with tangential interest in advanced and NextGen compute. Before joining In-Q-Tel, he was a National Research Council (NRC) fellow at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) working on machine learning and computer vision combined with cognitive computing for security applications. As part of this, he built a reasoning and explanation framework for person attributes and re-identification AI models as well as view-dependent learning of objects with self-supervision similar to children learn new objects in their developmental years.
He received the PhD from Vanderbilt University with a research focus on building, testing, and performing clinical feasibility studies for intelligent robotic and virtual reality-based Autism and Schizophrenia therapy adaptive systems.
He was also a computer vision engineer at Universal Logic (startup for logistics robotics) and an intern at NRL while studying for his PhD.
He remains active in the research community serving as co-organizer of workshops at the largest AI and computer vision conferences, serving as reviewer at AI and computer vision conferences and journals. He is also serving as Associate Editor-in-chief of the Pattern Recognition Journal. He was previously a co-organizer of the Black in AI workshops at NeurIPS until 2019. He also served as logistics chair for ICLR 2020 and virtual experience chair of ICCV 2021.
Tejas has close to 15 years of experience delivering award-winning digital communications campaigns for verticals, including healthcare, life sciences, technology, consumer packaged goods, beauty, and more. As the Chief Technology Officer, Tejas leads and develops strategic and data-informed technology options for Ruder Finn and its clients at the intersection of emerging technologies. He spearheads research and insights for clients with a unique blend of proprietary methodologies and industry’s best enterprise-level analytics tools. His international team of agile practitioners consists of website development experts, including user experience designers, full-stack engineers, and quality assurance experts along with Brandwatch-certified research analysts.
As an early proponent of AI, Tejas has enabled clients to navigate the landscape and launch company-first pilots in the domains of conversational AI and predictive analytics. He is a sought-after speaker on the topic of generative AI and is also a member of the generative AI ethics and standards task force at the PR Council. Tejas is a PRWeek 40 under 40 honoree and was also inducted to PRovoke Media’s Innovator 25 list in 2021, recognizing him as a true changemaker in our industry.
Peri Fluger is the General Counsel at Ruder Finn Group, Inc., where he serves as the chief legal advisor to all of the company's global public relations, marketing, communications, and creative agencies. With expertise in public relations, communications, advertising, marketing (including social media and influencer marketing), entertainment, intellectual property, and corporate law, Fluger plays a crucial role in providing legal guidance to the organization. Fluger's career began as a research assistant in legal analysis at Widener University School of Law in 2007. He then worked at Rhoads & Sinon LLP before progressing to the role of senior counsel II at Re:Sources, A Publicis Groupe Company, prior to joining Ruder Finn. He holds a JD in law from Widener University School of Law and an undergraduate degree in criminal justice from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.
Karina Barao is an Associate Director for Society at the Special Competitive Studies Project. Previously, she was a Research Assistant to the CEO. Prior to SCSP, she was the senior lead intern for the Ethics of Emerging Military Technology Graduate Certificate Program at the U.S. Naval War College. Karina holds a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Roger Williams University, and an MPP from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.
Jim Egenrieder is a long-time Agriculture, Engineering, Science and Career and Technical Education teacher and STEM Education and CTE specialist for schools, community colleges and universities. He is currently on the Virginia Tech Research Faculty in Engineering and Education, and the Director of Virginia Tech's Thinkabit Labs STEM Education and Workforce Development Programs in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area. His Thinkabit Lab to date has guided more than 32,000 DC area students in technical and college and career exploration and the foundations of physical computing, engineering, creative robotics, and IOT-driven automation since it was launched in 2016. He also leads the Northern Virginia STEM Learning Ecosystem for the Department of Defense, and Invention Education programs for the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Jill Villany is a Senior AI Developer in IBM’s Global Business Services US Federal. She specializes in Machine Learning/Deep Learning techniques and is currently working on NLP classification and extraction models with a focus on applying the latest NLP tools in her work. Jill also specializes in model deployment using serverless technologies and is seasoned in integrating NLP models into larger automation systems. She is passionate about skills development and
helps train IBM new hires in data science. Jill holds a B.S. in Commerce and Business Analytics from the University of Virginia, with concentrations in Information Technology and Finance.
Max Barshay is a data scientist within IBM Federal Consulting specializing in natural language processing (NLP) for the automation of complex systems. He designs and builds custom NLP models, applying cutting edge techniques for high-accuracy, context-aware tools. He holds a BS in Statistics with minors in Data Science and Math from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Jordan Jasuta Fischer a Lead AI developer and architect in IBM’s public service division, playing a hands-on role in both the design and development of cognitive analytics and AI systems. She specializes in processing and analyzing sensor and unstructured data (images, text) using NLP modeling and GIS analysis. Her background in AI/machine learning systems, data management and advanced analytics in the public sector has spanned topics as diverse as urban
development, climate resiliency, public administration, public health and human rights. She holds a master’s degree in Business Analytics from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Utah.
Tess serves as Staff Associate for Technology Policy and Strategy at the National Science Foundation, where she is
leading development of a strategic roadmap for the Foundation’s new directorate for Technology, Innovation, and
Partnerships. She recently concluded a two-year assignment as Senior Policy Advisor to the National AI Initiative Office of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Before joining NSF, Tess served as Director for Research and Analysis at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI). She has also spent time as Chief of Staff at the Atlantic Council, at U.S. Special Operations Command, and in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Will Layton is Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Public Sector at Senzing and a technology industry veteran. He is deeply passionate about the ability of entity resolution technology to solve complex challenges.
Will has held numerous sales, business development, engineering, and IT executive positions over his 25-year plus career. Prior to joining Senzing, Will advised several startups and was an entrepreneur in residence at Austin Ventures. He has served as founder and in executive business development roles at Ironstream, Copan Systems, Catalyst 3 Solutions and Dell/EMC (DSSD). While at Catalyst 3, Will consulted with Digital Futures organizations in the U.S. intelligence community, advising them on how to use emerging technology to solve hard problems. Earlier in his career, Will served in technical positions at XO Communications (Concentric Network), Bank of America (MBNA), Texas Instruments, and Ticketmaster Online/CitySearch, where he was VP of Technology.
Will holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Louisville.
Rob Brown serves as Chief Technology Officer at Systalex, a provider of IT services and solutions for federal government agencies. Prior to Systaplex, Rob spent five years at U.S. Customs and Immigration Services and served as its CTO for over three years. Earlier in his career, he worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, Information Innovators, QSSI, V2 Systems, Ronin Tech Solutions, and American Red Cross.
Rob led a project at USCIS to create the first enterprise data lake that leveraged entity resolution and AI to end duplicate data, detect hidden relationships and make it easier for machine learning models to support the immigration mission. He also spearheaded a Domain Driven Design and Eventing evolution at USCIS to digitize manual, paper-stricken processes and antiquated technology. In addition, Rob
worked with other DHS agencies on code and data collaboration.
Rob holds a MS in Bioinformatics from George Mason University and a BS in Microbio/BioChem from Virginia Tech.
Dr. Kaufhold has 30 years of experience in AI and machine learning. He founded Deep Learning Analytics, the fastest growing company by revenue in Arlington three years in a row and maintained 0% attrition over its history. He grew his team of scarce AI experts from 1 to 22, serving as a Director of Engineering at General Dynamics after acquisition. Dr. Kaufhold taught math at Marymount University. He also volunteered with Arlington Public Schools, where he focused on career and technical education, workforce and STEM education issues. He has a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, is an author of >40 peer-reviewed publications, an inventor on >20 patents, with an H-index of 25.
Mr. S. Tien Wong is a technology entrepreneur, CEO, and angel investor. He is Chairman & CEO of Opus8, Inc., a private investment and strategic advisory firm specializing in raising capital for alternative investment fund managers, as well as promising tech companies. He is also Chairman of
Lumious, an ed tech company which provides advanced tech training and learning & development services to Fortune 500 customers. Mr. Wong is also Chairman of Lore Systems, Inc., an IT services company which provides managed hosting, IT support, and cloud computing solutions for
commercial, nonprofit, and government clients.
He is Founder and Host of the Big Idea CONNECTpreneur Forum, a global community of over 25,000 founders, CEOs, angels, VCs, CXOs and business leaders. The community hosts the world’s largest monthly investor pitch events as well as 1/2-day Forums with upwards of 600 attendees,
featuring VIP guests, speakers, exciting presenting companies, and the best CXO to CXO networking on the East Coast.
Andy Magliochetti is co-founder and Managing Partner of IronGate Capital Advisors, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investment in technologies with dual-use applications in national security and the civilian economy. He has 23 years of investment, principal, and advisory experience in the real estate, defense, and technology sectors.
Andy was previously a Partner at Maroon Capital Group, a New York-based merchant banking firm, where he focused on the real estate and defense sectors and executed assignments throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. He serves on multiple non-profit boards, including that of USO Foundation, and serves as an advisor to a number of early-stage companies throughout the United States.
Andy earned a BA in Economics from Ohio University, an MS in Finance from Penn State University, an MS in Data Science from Northwestern University, and an MPS in Homeland Security and Defense from Penn State University.
Chris is a Principal at Sands Capital Ventures focusing on early-stage investments in the artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and IT/data infrastructure sectors. He also previously spent time at cybersecurity VC funds YL Ventures and ForgePoint Capital. Chris started his career as a consultant at Promontory Financial Group advising clients on anti-money laundering and financial crimes compliance. Chris holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BSFS in International Economics from Georgetown University.
Austin Armbruster is Principal Solution Architect at Elastic, a leading technology company. With a wealth of experience in leading large-scale data and distributed computing projects across the public sector, Austin has extensive experience bringing new technologies in to solve mission problems. His expertise shines in designing trusted and reliable systems that deliver real time analytic insights. Every AI project demands a wealth of data, and Austin has contributed to a number of programs by designing trusted, reliable systems that combine data and AI to deliver real world impact.
Lou Kerestesy has spent nearly 40 years helping people get on the same page at work. As a Federal government employee, Lou helped federal, state, and local officials get on the same page over environmental policy and site conflicts. As co-owner of a software-as-a-service company working in the cloud before those concepts were common, he helped executives and frontline workers get on the same page over environment, health, and safety risks. As an SDVOSB executive, Lou worked with leadership and teams to engineer 5x growth in six years. Presently, Lou helps people get on the same page with generative AI, and with each other using it. Lou earned a liberal arts undergraduate degree from Kent State University, and an MS in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University.
My name is Pranava Manthena. I am 16 years old, and I currently live in Tampa Florida. I have a passion for AI and business and would like to pursue a career at the crossroads of these 2 fields! During high school I created a website design agency, won 1st in the world for FBLA E-Business (a prestigious high school competition), and served as the Treasurer of a 300+ student organization. Currently I am developing a special application that incorporates AI into the educational landscape. Outside of school my hobbies include basketball, art and making beats!
Jonathan is a highly respected and valued thought leader on entrepreneurship and innovation. His work as a venture investor, innovation consultant, university professor and media commentator allows him to experience and connect the many threads of entrepreneurship and technology innovation that are core to the United States economy and its future. When Jonathan talks about these areas, the community takes notice. He is identified as a leader of change and influence in print and television media, among other things has been recognized by Washingtonian magazine as a “Tech Titan,” by the Washington Business Journal as a member of the “Power 100” and by the Commonwealth of Virginia as one of its “50 Most Influential Entrepreneurs” in the Commonwealth.” His experience as a venture investor, innovation consultant, university professor and media commentator gives him a 360 degree perspective on entrepreneurship and technology innovation. He has been an innovation policy adviser to a number of political campaigns at the national and state political campaigns.
Jonathan has unique expertise in the melding of national security and entrepreneurship with technology commercialization. He has worked on this issue with a broad range of national security agencies and universities on these matters, including DOD Laboratory establishment, DARPA, the Air Force, the Army, the Department of Homeland Security, George Mason University and the University of Maryland, at College Park. He has acted as a policy adviser to state and federal government in these areas. His activities regarding entrepreneurship and national security resulted in the formation of Tandem National Security Innovations, a national innovation community that has helped national security entities such as DARPA, DHS, SOCOM, and JSOC, and others locate and engage with nontraditional sources of innovation.
Howard Spira was named the Chief Information Officer of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) in December 2014. He was promoted to Senior Vice President at the bank in 2016. Howard came to EXIM from the United States Treasury where he led the technology team for the Office of Financial Stability – the team that ran the rescue program in response to the financial crisis of 2008.
Prior to his federal service, Howard was a senior IT executive in the financial services industry with an extensive background in international and domestic commercial finance. His past employers include Goldman Sachs, General Electric, Smith Barney and Andersen Consulting. He
brings to EXIM a wealth of industry technology experience. Howard’s responsibilities at EXIM include overseeing the complete information technology portfolio that support’s the Bank's $40 billion portfolio including infrastructure, networks and telecoms, office automation, mission systems, program management, information security, data quality and records management. In addition, his area serves as the agency's representative for Privacy, Records and AI.
Mr. Spira holds a BS from Cornell University’s school of Agriculture and Life Sciences and an MBA from Cornell’s Johnson School of Business.
Kevin Johnstun is an Education Program Specialist in the Office of Educational Technology (OET) at the US Department of Education. His current work focuses on developing advanced research and development capabilities within the Department of Education and understanding how educators can leverage artificial intelligence to improve student outcomes. He previously led the office’s work on accessibility and assistive technology and lead several projects related to teacher professional development, and open educational resources, and digital literacy.
He was also previously a research analyst for the President’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology in the White House. He holds an MS in Instructional Psychology and Technology and a BA in philosophy from Brigham Young University.
