Jason M. Allison was appointed by Governor Scott as the State Chief Information Officer for Florida and is the executive director for the Agency for State Technology (AST). Jason had the privilege of working as the Information Technology policy coordinator in the Governor's Office of Policy and Budget. Before serving with Governor Scott, he was the Chief Information Officer for the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Jason has more than 13 years’ experience in various facets of information technology and holds many industry certifications in areas such as IT process management, project management, security, and network administration.
Mr. Allison is a graduate of Florida State University and holds a degree in International Affairs.

Prior to joining AST, Danielle Alvarez served as the Manager of IT Security and Compliance at the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and led numerous internal initiatives related to security, compliance, and disaster recovery. In addition, Danielle has more than 14 years’ experience in various IT domains. She has served as a Lead Senior IT Auditor for the Auditor General and has previous IT experience in the private sector covering the healthcare, natural resources, education, retail, and other industry sectors. Danielle holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems, a Master’s in Accountancy, and holds the CISA designation.

Ken Baldauf joined the Florida State University faculty in 1998 to coordinate a campus-wide computer literacy effort. Since then Ken has developed courses in computer fluency, management information systems, digital media, object-oriented programming, web design and web development, with enrollments in his classes growing to over 2,500 students per semester. He developed one of the first online courses at FSU in 1998, and has been devoted to developing effective online teaching systems and methods ever since. Ken is currently the Director of FSU’s Program in Interdisciplinary Computing where he works with colleges and departments across campus to determine what computer and information technology skills and knowledge are needed in their disciplines, and provide courses to meet those needs. Ken has authored several textbooks, produces a weekly tech news podcast for tech teachers, and has designed the online learning framework for Intro Computer courses titled Emerge with Computers. In recent months Ken has been actively researching innovation frameworks and innovation centers with plans to bring the benefits of this research to institutions of higher education. Find out more about Ken at http://www.techminded.co.

April Blackburn is a technology leader operating in Florida’s public sector. With more than 27 years of experience operating in the IT public sector, April specializes in developing and implementing IT strategies based upon agility, just-in-time solutions, and business requirements. April’s career with the State of Florida began in 1989 where she first landed a part time position with the Florida Department of Transportation. April served as FDOT's Chief Information Officer from May 2015 – September 2016. In September 2016 April was promoted into the position of Chief of Transportation Technology where she is responsible IT/OT Alignment for the agency.

Peter Butler is a family man deeply enjoying life with his wife, Karen, and his children, Anna Grace and Paul. He was born in Florida, and has lived in Tallahassee since 1972.
Armed with a journalism degree from Florida A&M University, Pete worked as a reporter for four years until he heard about this thing called the Internet in the early 90s. That’s when everything changed. Despite his mediocre skills in Science and Math, he still pursued the dream of diving headlong into the world of technology.
His early years in technology were marred by mistakes, but he pressed on and managed to get a few things accomplished along the way. In 1993, he developed and directed the launch of the Leon County Government website, which was the first government in the world to arrive on the World Wide Web. Next, he helped direct the web strategy for the City of Tallahassee. And, finally, he was a member of the team that drove the State of Florida’s Internet Strategy during the Lawton Chiles administration.
After ten years in Florida Government, Pete departed the public sector to help launch an online web business. After the burst of the Internet bubble, he went on to work with some of the largest technology companies in the world.
Currently, Pete is the Director of the Technology Practice for National Strategies, a Washington DC based consulting firm. He’s been with the firm for eight years. His day-to-day focus is to serve technology clients who are engaging with government across the US.
Pete was also appointed by Governor Scott to the State of Florida’s Technology Advisory Council, where he serves as Vice Chairman.
When he’s not in front of a person or a computer, you will find Pete on his bicycle. He is a two time National Champion in the sport of cycling, and he’s returning to defend his title in June of 2017.

Jenny Duis graduated from the University of Philadelphia with Bioengineering and Economics degrees. She has over 16 years of experience in IT consulting with a strong focus on Human Capital Management. In the past 7 years Jenny has been exclusively helping State government to transform the workforce culture through the use of technology. Jenny currently lives in Madison WI with her husband and 6 year old son. She enjoys cross country skiing with the family.

Faye R. Jones is the Research Manager for the Florida IT Career Alliance at Florida State University, a program funded by the Florida Board of Governors to recruit, retain, and employ technology and computing majors in Information Technology (IT), Computer Science (CS), and Computer Engineering (CE) in North Florida. She is also a Senior Research Associate for the Information Institute at Florida State and instructor for the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at the College of Communication and Information, the first of its kind in the U.S. devoted to educating students and professionals in the field of U.S. Hispanic marketing and advertising.
Faye is a proud veteran of the United States Army and Army National Guard, where she served in the enlisted ranks and then as an officer for 8 years, her last duty station being in Camp Humphreys, Korea. It was in the military that her passion for the study of leadership was ignited. She returned from the military to earn a Masters in Public Administration in 2002 and a doctorate from the Higher Education program in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies in 2011, both from her Alma Mater, FSU. She is a former fellow of the National Center for Educational Statistics and the Association for Institutional Research. She enjoys conducting research on STEM student pathways and using institutional research to assess the productivity of academic programs at postsecondary institutions.
Faye is a proud wife and mother of two and enjoys watching movies and going to the beach. She especially enjoys summer cruises to the Caribbean.

Dr. Kneip began his working career with the US Atomic Energy Commission, and subsequently held positions with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission before joining The Wackenhut Corporation in 1982. By 1988, he had assumed the position of Senior Vice President, Corporate Planning and Development, and was responsible for all strategic planning, marketing, business development, public and investor relations, and training for the parent Corporation and its worldwide subsidiaries. In late 1996, Dr. Kneip founded Oasis Outsourcing, a business process outsourcing company. With subsequent acquisitions and aggressive organic growth, The Oasis Group had surpassed the $1 billion mark in revenues within its first five years. He assumed the title of Chairman of the Board in 2003, and remained on the Board until The Oasis Group was sold in early 2006. From 2008 - 2010, Dr. Kneip served as Chief of Staff of the Florida Senate. Currently he is serving as Chief of Staff for CFO Jeff Atwater.
Prior to joining the Senate President in Tallahassee, Dr. Kneip was very active in the greater Palm Beach County community, and served on a number of advisory boards for such organizations as the Florida Atlantic University School of Business, Palm Beach Atlantic University Rinker School of Business, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the Palm Beach International Film Festival, the Orange Bowl Committee, the Boy Scouts of America and the Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. Dr. Kneip served as Chairman of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County for the 1998 – 1999 term, Chairman of the North Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce for the 2001 and 2002 terms, and Chairman of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County for the 2005 term. He was appointed by the President of the Florida Senate to a select committee on health care for the 2000 Legislative Session. In 2004, Dr. Kneip led a successful, non-partisan campaign to increase funding for public school construction in Palm Beach County. He has received numerous awards recognizing his business and civic contributions, including the Excalibur Award as the Palm Beach County Business Leader of the year for 2004 by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Chairman’s Award for Excellence in 2004 for civic contributions by the North Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce, and the Legends of South Florida award in 2005 given by South Florida CEO.
In addition to having served on the advisory board of the Rinker School of Business, Dr. Kneip was an Adjunct Professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University, teaching Business Ethics, Business Strategy and Policy, Principles of Business Management and Leadership.
Dr. Kneip graduated with honors from the University of Iowa, and subsequently earned an M.A. and Ph.D. from Tulane University.

Scott McPherson is a fifth-generation native Floridian. Born in Jacksonville in the mid-1950s, Scott was raised in Broward and Martin Counties. An international businessman at age 21, Scott was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1980 from the south Miami-Dade County area at age 25.
Scott has been a technology and communications consultant for the past nineteen years, and moved his practice to Tallahassee in 1991. In 1995, Scott became Director of Information Technology for the Republican Party of Florida and guided the party’s IT, data collection, software production and GIS efforts through two campaign cycles – the two most successful cycles in state Party history.
In 1999, Governor Jeb Bush asked Scott to leave that position to design and helm Team Florida 2000, Florida’s statewide Y2K preparedness effort. The largest IT project in Florida’s history, Team Florida 2000 became a national model and garnered several state and national awards. TF2K’s statewide critical infrastructure survey and disaster recovery awareness programs were a precursor to Florida’s best-practice homeland security efforts following 9/11.
In March 2001, Scott was appointed Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Florida Department of Corrections. He served in that capacity for nearly six years. Under Scott’s tenure, the Department’s Office of Information Technology has won seventeen (17) Davis Productivity Awards from Florida TaxWatch for technological innovation and excellent stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
With his unique background in government, business, emergency preparedness and disaster recovery, Scott is now recognized internationally as an expert in preparedness for an eventual influenza pandemic. Scott has lectured extensively across the country on the topic, and is frequently consulted for quotes and comments from the national and trade press on the subject. His presentations are referenced by the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the State University System of Florida, the University of Illinois, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the National Institute of Corrections. Scott appears on Fox News Channel as part of their ongoing swine flu coverage.
As a result of his pandemic efforts and overall body of work, Government Technology Magazine recognized Scott as one of the Top 25 public technology leaders in the United States for 2008, along with FEMA Director Craig Fugate and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Scott McPherson is married to the former Marta Carballo, and is stepfather to her two grown children.

Steven was born and raised in the Mid-Hudson Valley 70 miles north of New York City. He began his IT career with IBM as a Customer Service Engineer and rose through the ranks to Senior Account Representative. Upon arriving in Florida, Steven worked as a Senior Analyst for Volusia County and then in 1995 became the Assistant IT Director for the City of Winter Park, Florida until 2008.
Steven holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from Warren University and graduated in 2007 from the John Scott Dailey Institute of Government at FSU and is a Certified Government Chief Information Officer
Steven is a member of the Society of Information Managers (SIM .org) central Florida chapter. Steven also serves on the Advisory Board of Daytona State College School of Computer Science along with several other smaller colleges in the metro Daytona -Orlando area. Steven’s involvement and commitment to helping develop quality IT professionals has him participating as a career guide and mentor to students and graduates of all the colleges of the boards on which he serves. Steven is an active member and contributor to Thornton May’s Leadership Academy at Florida State College at Jacksonville. Steven also serves as the secretary for the Volusia County Technology Council.
Steven is currently serving on the Board of Directors as the Treasurer for the Florida Local Government Information Systems Association, and also serves on the FLGISA Events Committee. Steven is a two-time winner of the Florida Local Government Information Systems Association (FLGISA.org) Technology Achievement Award Program under the category of "Most Innovative Use of Technology Award".
With over thirty years of technology experience, Steve brings a unique and broad perspective to the challenges of today’s rapidly changing IT environment.
 

Jay Pfeiffer is a recognized authority in education management information systems; integration of data systems across education and workforce sectors; collaborations among data managers, and data analyses and presentations. He accrued these experiences and developed his expertise during 36 years of employment and leadership in the Florida Departments of Labor and Employment Security and Education. He has 7 years of experience as a consultant to other states as an employee as an employee of the Department of Education and 7 years of experience as private sector consultant. He has drafted labor market and education data system legislation at the state and national levels, crafted memoranda of understanding and data sharing agreements, developed successful responses to grant solicitations, and data sharing agreements, developed successful responses to grant solicitations, and conducted numerous seminars, conferences, and presentations in states and for national organizations. Jay has served on state and national advisory boards on issues related to the collection and use of education data as well as systems implementation.
He successfully implemented an integrated education/workforce data system approach in Florida beginning in 1988. This system laid considerable ground work for the first state legislative initiative to build a conjoined longitudinal education/workforce data base in Florida, an initiative he directed and administered.

Wallace Sann is an accomplished global cyber security executive with a track record of establishing information security programs for global government agencies.  As the Public Sector CTO for ForeScout, Sann is responsible for providing technical leadership, product strategy, as well as leading the Public Sector Systems Engineering team.  Earlier in his career he held various engineering positions at D.C. Government, Dept. of Interior, Dept. of Homeland Security and U.S. Marine Corps.  Sann received his bachelor’s degree from University of Maryland University College, and holds multiple industry certifications.

Chris Schreiber has nearly 20 years of IT and information security experience across the higher education / research, IT managed services, and financial services industries, including more than 8 years leading enterprise information security programs in both customer-facing and internal risk management roles.
Before joining FireEye, Chris was the CISO and HIPAA Security Officer at the University of Arizona where he was responsible for all aspects of information security across a decentralized $2B+ enterprise with more than 15,000 employees and supporting more than 42,000 students. Chris held prior information security and IT leadership positions with SunGard Data Systems (now FIS), the University of Wisconsin, and Central Michigan University.
Chris has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Central Michigan University, a Masters Certificate in Project Management from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and holds certifications including Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and Project Management Professional (PMP).

Curt has over thirty years of progressive information technology experience designing, developing, integrating and managing complex, real-time, distributed and embedded systems. Responsible for the definition, creation and sustaining engineering of information systems in highly structured as well as unstructured environments. He has experience with local, state and federal in both the public and private section, responsible for large-scale project management, change management, organizational vision and leadership to leverage technology for the advantage of the organization.
As the Deputy State CIO/Agency Executive Director assists the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in the strategic management and direction of the technology programs, services and policies for the State of Florida’s Agency for State Technology. Curt supports the State CIO in strategic management of State technology by leveraging available IT organizational assets in order to recommend or make effective technology investments. Plans, develops, coordinates, and executes strategies consistent with the mission and purpose of the Agency. Directly manages the day to day aspects of the Agency’s Operations (COO) including the State Data Center, Technology (CTO), Security (CISO) and Planning (CPO) including Enterprise Project Assurance teams. Directly supports Agency strategic planning, staffing, budgeting and resource planning, technology procurement and implementation, vendor management as well as oversight of the creation of a robust infrastructure and enterprise architectures. Establishes work priorities, provides guidance on the development of information technology policies, procedures, standards and rules as well as effective metrics and transparency of practice. Establish goals as well as performance and accountability measures to ensure managers and teams are meeting milestones and deliverables, working efficiently, working within budgetary guidelines and in a cross-boundary team environment as well as providing high levels of customer and service delivery. Advances organizational maturity in conformance with best practices.

Sam Verghese believes that transforming leaders is the way to transform our world. From the rise and fall of nations and businesses, to the rise and fall of communities and families—leadership causes transformation. Sam believes success is dependent on transformed leaders.
Yet, leadership is not just academic theory for Sam, and he is no stranger to tough battles. You see, Sam served as the youngest agency head in Florida history at his Department and later went on to earn confirmation from all members of the Florida Senate. So, whether serving publicly in the highest levels of government or serving the business community for Acreage Consulting, Sam knows how to transform leaders and organizations.
As a proud husband, father to three, and elder in his local church, Sam realizes that leadership must take on a holistic approach. He believes that transformed leadership has a responsibility to communities as well. Through transforming leaders, Sam believes that we can truly transform our world for the better!
Sam is a highly sought after public speaker, and his talks are inspiring and transformational. You will leave more empowered to cause positive change in our world!

Kristina Wiggins is rejoining the state after two years working as a Lobbyist for the P5 group, a government relations firm led by former State Senate President Ken Pruitt. Her areas of expertise at the firm included appropriations, health care policy, technology and education standards, and environment and water issues. Kristina brings almost 17 years in state government policy and government relations experience to the Agency for State Technology (AST). Before lobbying for the P5 group, Kristina was the Deputy Secretary for the Department of Health (DOH) and implemented the reorganization of the agency under HB 1263. The areas under Kristina’s purview included, Legislative Affairs, Budget, Administration, Human Resources, Disability Determination, and Communications. During her time at DOH, Kristina successfully navigated DOH’s $2.8 billion dollar budget through the Legislature for two sessions. Prior to joining DOH, Kristina worked for the Florida Senate as an analyst on the Environmental Preservation and Conservation and Community Affairs Committees. Kristina also worked at the Florida Public Service Commission and at the Florida House of Representatives as a senior analyst which gave her the opportunity to not only write the bills and amendments for the members but implement the policy and create rules on an agency level. Kristina also served as the Director for the Reading program under the Just Read! Initiative at Florida State University (FSU) for three years. The graduate level classes were held on-line and in person all over Florida. As the Director of the program, she coordinated recruitment, enrollment, and oversaw the development of the on-line classes which served approximately 3,000 teachers. Before joining Florida State University Kristina worked as a program analyst for the workforce development programs at the Florida Department of Education. The workforce development programs serves students K-20 in providing work experiences ranging from semester long internships, to OTJ training to provide students the opportunity to truly explore their career options. Kristina interned herself at the Florida Department of Education while completing her Master’s of Public Administration from the University of North Florida (UNF). She also received her undergraduate degree from UNF in Literature. Kristina is happy to be working with such a dynamic group of talent at the Agency for State Technology and is excited to be a part of building the agency’s legacy.
Kristina was born in Manhasset, New York but grew up in Ormond Beach, Florida. She is married with two amazing children.