As Director of Human Resources for the Office of Employee Services, Justin Ackerman oversees a variety of human resources functions, including payroll, benefits, recruitment, performance management, labor and employee relations, equal opportunity employment and diversity initiatives, and strategic and workforce planning. He also serves as the Administrator for the Ohio Digital Academy, which seeks to create an information technology (IT) workforce pipeline by training and employing early entrants to the industry and setting them on a path for a successful career in high demand fields.
Ackerman joined DAS in 2013 as HR Analyst and was later promoted to Senior HR Analyst managing all aspects of employment and recruiting, including job analysis, classification reviews, development of position descriptions, creating and tracking job postings, and more. He also served as lead mediator for the DAS Employee Assistance Program Workplace Mediation Program and facilitated transformative mediations and conflict coaching sessions. Later promoted to HR Manager, he administered a variety of human resources programs and special projects for the Office of Information Technology. In this role, Ackerman created the statewide IT Apprenticeship Program and established IT Workforce Initiatives for CyberOhio.
Ackerman began his career in state government as an HR Assistant for the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office where he developed an electronic tracking system for performance evaluations and utilized NeoGov to assist with recruitment activities.
As a first-generation college graduate, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Leadership and Management and Spanish from Capital University, and a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management from The Ohio State University.

Charles Ash accepted the position of CIO with The Ohio Department of Transportation in May of 2018. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a B.S. degree in Information Systems and a J.D. from the College of Law. He is a visionary thinker who pushes boundaries and questions the status quo to ensure that the DOT will remain prepared for current and future technology demands and drives IT to improve and optimize its operations in order to become a more lean and efficient organization.

Phil Bertolini is a Chief Delivery Officer for Government Technology, the premiere event and thought leadership content provider for state and local government technology professionals. Previously, he served as deputy county executive and CIO for Oakland County, Michigan. During his 31-year tenure, Phil built a world-class IT organization in the second-largest county in Michigan, just north of Detroit. As Oakland County CIO, he oversaw more than 150 employees serving over 1.2 million residents. In 2005, he was also promoted to deputy county executive, holding dual positions until his retirement. Phil’s efforts earned the county national attention, winning numerous awards for technology innovation and excellence. He was named Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year and Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers. He was also honored by the President Obama White House as a Champion of Change.

Trevor Cansler is a seasoned IT leader with over two decades of experience driving innovation, building resilient infrastructure, and cultivating high-performing teams. As Chief Technology Officer at Franklin County Data Center, he oversees enterprise technology operations across nine departments, fostering a culture of collaboration and growth while delivering scalable and impactful enterprise solutions. Renowned for his mentorship, Trevor empowers emerging leaders by instilling a growth mindset and fostering emotional intelligence through empathetic coaching with a focus on organizational value.
His career spans global IT leadership, compliance, and large-scale infrastructure projects, with a deep commitment to nurturing the next generation of IT leaders.

Tina Chubb has been a key figure at the Ohio Department of Insurance since 2000. She began her journey in the Legal Division, where her expertise and dedication led her to establish and lead the department's cybersecurity program as the Chief Information Security Officer. In this role, she implemented comprehensive policies, procedures, and regular training sessions for employees. Under her leadership, the Department successfully implemented its regulatory information system, migrated the agency's data center and infrastructure to the state of Ohio computer center, and created a robust, innovative working environment for employees. Her leadership and vision were recognized, and in October 2020, she was named Assistant Director/Chief Information Officer for the Office of Information Technology and Security. Tina is an active participant in several important state of Ohio and National Association of Insurance Commissioners information, technology, and security-oriented taskforces and workgroups, contributing her knowledge and experience to these vital initiatives. Tina lives in Columbus with her husband and enjoys spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She also loves traveling to warm, sunny destinations.

Holly Drake is the Chief Information Security Officer for the State of Ohio and leads the Office of Information Security and Privacy which supports the state’s productivity, innovation, and organizational mission to provide secure services to all Ohio citizens. Ms. Drake brings extensive experience managing cybersecurity and privacy solutions in complex public and private sector organizations. She previously served as the Deputy Cybersecurity Strategic Advisor for CyberOhio within the Office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. As a member of the CyberOhio team, she drove cybersecurity governance and technical maturity to protect Ohioans and their state government from today's complex information security and data use challenges. Before coming to state government, Ms. Drake served as Chief Privacy Officer at The Ohio State University where she built a bespoke privacy program from scratch and led the cybersecurity governance teams responsible for policy, training, vendor risk, disaster recovery, and data governance. In the private sector, she worked in the insurance and financial services industry where Ms. Drake developed and ran cyber and privacy compliance programs.

Kassy Franz was born and raised in the great state of Ohio. She attended Ohio University and graduated with a Bachelor of Communications degree. Kassy is a SHRM-SCP certified HR professional and is currently the Chief People Officer at the Franklin County Data Center. She is passionate about making a positive difference, building true genuine relationships, and having fun. She believes in living life to the fullest and enjoys doing it with her husband Alex and their three children: Axel (10), Kinley (8), and Baylor (3).

Kirk Herath is currently Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted’s Cybersecurity Strategic Advisor and Chairman of CyberOhio, the State of Ohio’s Cybersecurity Advisory Board. His role spans coordinating and enhancing the State of Ohio’s cybersecurity capabilities, working with local governments to prepare and remediate cyber-attacks, and helping to build a modern cyber workforce.
Kirk is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at both Ohio State’s Moritz School of law and Cleveland State’s Cleveland-Marshall Law School. He retired as VP, Associate General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer for Nationwide after 32 years.
Kirk is Past President and past board member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and he served on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee from 2005 to 2011.
Kirk is admitted to the Ohio Bar.

Beverlyn Johns is an Author, Public Servant, and Advocate for children with disabilities. For over 25 years, she has served her community and advocates in the areas of social justice, mentoring, and the fight against food deserts. As a mother of twins, who have been diagnosed with Autism, she has begun to journal her experiences through the school system. Her hope is to help other parents who are navigating various systems in an attempt to gain resources, tips, and guidance to ensure that their children thrive through life with the proper support.

Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Jade has spent her entire professional career serving Ohioans in various public sector leadership roles. Jade currently serves as the Chief Technology Innovation Officer at Ohio Job and Family Services. A core part of her mission involves modernization road-mapping and reducing the technology stack to streamline operations and enhance efficiency. She also focuses on aligning and transforming the workforce, ensuring her team is not just prepared for the future but is actively shaping it. Additionally, her efforts have been pivotal in vendor management and engagement, ensuring partnerships are both productive and strategically aligned.

Raivo Murnieks leads the Office of Data and Efficiency which is responsible for establishing and managing the state’s data strategy and InnovateOhio Platform Data Analytics Program.
He joined DAS in 2022 and previously served as the Operations Chief for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities and as the first Chief Data Officer for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).
Prior to joining ODJFS, he served as the Deputy Director of Employer and Innovation Services at Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) from 2011 to 2018.  At OOD, Raivo established and managed the employer services unit and also was responsible for OOD’s strategic planning, data, and reporting unit, and Lean Six- Sigma program. He began his career in 1994 as a statistician at the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
Raivo earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Dayton and master’s in public administration from The Ohio State University. He is certified in return-on-investment (ROI) methodology from the ROI Institute and is a Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt.

Born in Columbus and raised in Central Ohio, Sam Orth has spent the last 42 years helping government and education use technology to create value for the citizens of Ohio. He joined Mayor Ginther’s team as Chief Technology Officer and Director of Technology on July 3, 2016.
His focus at the city has been helping the Mayor, Cabinet and city modernize how IT is used to serve the citizens of Columbus and the region. His first major initiative was partnering with Public Safety to adopt the city’s first body-warn camera program. Other major projects have included creation of the city’s first Data Analytics and Integration program, modernization of the city’s data centers and infrastructure, adoption of a new 311 platform, and expanding technology access for city employees to enable telework during the pandemic.
He is currently working with the Public Safety to develop the city's Real-Time Crime Center program and is working with the Smart Columbus and the Digital Equity Coalition to address the Digital Divide in Columbus and the region.
Prior to serving as the CTO for Columbus he served as the CTO for the Management Council of the Ohio Education Computer Network, and State Chief Information Officer for the State of Ohio. While State CIO he worked with IT leaders across government to modernize state IT operations by fostering inter-agency collaboration, IT consolidation and shared services. While at the state, he chaired the Ohio Broadband Council and Multi-Agency Radio Communication steering committee and served on the OARNet Governing Board.
From 1997 to 2004, Sam served as the Executive Director of the Ohio SchoolNet Commission where his team implemented nearly $1B in educational technology programs - including expanding the capacity of broadband connectivity for Ohio’s schools and placing over 600,000 computers in Ohio’s classrooms. While at SchoolNet, he was a founding partner with OARNet to fund and light what was then known as the Third Frontier Network. TFN grew to become what we know as the Broadband Ohio OarNet network today.
Before joining state government in 1996, he spent 14 years in the private sector IT where he owned his own consulting company, worked for central Ohio computer resellers and served as a Systems Engineer and Market Development Executive for Apple Computer. His private sector career was focused extensively on K-12 and government.
He is passionate about information technology’s role in serving government and education, and is well known for his collaborative, team-oriented, citizen-focused approach.

Venu Pallerla joined the Ohio Department of Commerce as Chief Information Officer in January of 2024. Prior to joining Commerce, Venu served as CIO for the Secretary of State, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and as Assistant CIO at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. He led efforts to align IT with business initiatives in those respective agencies. At Commerce, Venu delivers IT services and solutions that support all agency divisions in their efforts to serve licensees, business stakeholders, and all Ohioans. Venu has an MBA from The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business. He also holds industry recognized certifications in Enterprise Architecture, IT auditing and IT security.

Jasmine Ramaradjou is the Chief Information Officer at the Department of Public Safety, State of Ohio. Department of Public Safety includes Ohio State Highway Patrol, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Emergency Management, Ohio Homeland Security, Emergency Medical Services, Office of Criminal Justice Services, Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center, Ohio School Safety Center and Ohio Traffic Safety Office.
Jasmine is a thought leader and has extensive experience gained through her careers in Academics, Healthcare and Government. She has a broad educational background with degrees in Computer Science and Life Sciences. She has served on several national/federal IT committees and now serves in the Technology Advisory Council for the State of Ohio Department of Administrative Services.  She lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband, two children and a dog.

Kim Roy Wilson has spent her career of 28 years focusing on technology in the public sector. She has hands-on as well as management experience in every aspect of technology. Kim has developed the political acumen to interact with a range of constituents – from executives, technical professionals, and legislators to administrative and support staff, and vendors.
In her current role as Director of Information Technology & Services, Kim oversees several high impact strategic initiatives(Citywide- Human Resource Information System, Licensing $Permitting System, CyberSecurity Program, Cloud Migrations, SmartCity Technology Implementations), and day to day operations. Before this role, Kim held the previous roles of Deputy Commissioner, Project Manager and Network & Telecom Engineer.
Kim is a proud graduate of John Carroll University as well as Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban affairs, Leadership Academy, XXII and the Cleveland Management Academy, Cohort #1. In her free time, she enjoys, traveling and spending time with her family and friends.

Mark began service as Chief Information Officer at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services in July of 2021. The department is responsible for supporting Ohio’s workforce and unemployment programs, along with the programs for cash assistance, food assistance, and child support. The agency is also responsible for the end-point support of 17,000 users in 180 county departments, administering the above statewide programs. Prior to joining JFS, Mark served as the Chief Operating Officer at OIT in the Ohio Department of Administrative Services. Over the course of a 30+ year career in state service, he has also held leadership positions at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and Ohio Office of Budget and Management. Mark lives in central Ohio and is a graduate of Franklin University.

Christopher Stevens is an Enterprise Information Security Manager for the Office of Information Security and Privacy and manages the Vulnerability Management and Web Application Security Teams. Mr. Stevens is a seasoned cybersecurity professional that is committed to supporting the State of Ohio’s mission to provide secure services to all Ohio citizens. He previously held positions within the Office of Information Security and Privacy as an Enterprise Information Security Supervisor with the Vulnerability and Incident Response Teams and as an Enterprise Information Security Professional 2.
Prior to working at the Office of Information Security and Privacy, Mr. Stevens worked at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections and was responsible for providing network security for the prisons and Adult Parole Offices.
Mr. Stevens attended Miami University and graduated with an Associate’s in Applied Science and a Bachelors in Integrative Studies.

As Chief of Infrastructure Services, Jeff Swan leads the Infrastructure Services Division of the DAS Office of Information Technology.
Jeff oversees data center operations, which includes the Network, Storage, Servers, Mainframe, Cloud Brokerage and Engagement, Office 365, Identity Management, Customer Service Center, Business Relationship Management, ServiceNow, and Desktop Services teams. Jeff’s focus is on customer engagement and delivering service, support, and solutions to state agencies. He provides leadership and guidance for critical operations and initiatives as well as strategies for rate optimization, disaster recovery, and the Cloud Smart platform.
Prior to being appointed Chief of Infrastructure Services in November 2023, Jeff served as the Chief Information Officer for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for nearly 4 years. Before working at DNR, he was at DAS, leading the Servers and Cloud teams for 6 years. Prior to that, he was the Network Services Supervisor at the Ohio Department of Health, where he began his state service in 1996 after a private-sector career.
Jeff holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Franklin University.

Jennie specializes in developing people for success in navigating the complexity and speed of change in our contemporary organizational landscapes. For 20 years, she has provided executive education and coaching in leadership, cross-cultural talent management and organizational effectiveness within Fortune 500 organizations, as a professor and executive in higher education and as a consulting partner to organizations across the world. She has direct experience in the public sector including having served in local government as an appointed commissioner, leading departments and programs in two state universities, and providing consulting services to state and federal government. Her expertise in organizational effectiveness strategy and coaching has greatly benefited organizations, resulting in increased employee engagement metrics, enhanced succession planning through development of formalized leadership pipelines, and transformational development experiences.  She is widely published across journals, books, magazines and digital media and is a frequent speaker at professional and industry conferences. Beyond work, she is a parent to five young children, an avid traveler and a former SCUBA instructor who relishes time under the waves.