Phil Bertolini is a vice president of the Center for Digital Government. Previously, he served as deputy county executive and CIO for Oakland County, MI. 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 one of 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 Barack Obama White House as a Champion of Change for 2012.

Teri Takai is a vice president of the Center for Digital Government. Previously, she worked for Ford Motor Company for 30 years in global application development and information technology strategic planning. From Ford, she moved to EDS in support of General Motors. A long-time interest in public service led her to the government sector, first as CIO of the State of Michigan, then as CIO of the State of California and, subsequently, the CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense, the first woman appointed to this role. She then served as the CIO for Meridian Health Plan. She is a member of several industry advisory boards.
Teri has won numerous awards, including Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year, CIO Magazine’s CIO Hall of Fame, Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers, the Women in Defense Excellence in Leadership Award and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Laura Clark serves as the state CIO and the state chief security officer, directing Michigan's technology and digital security efforts. She brings a unique blend of strengths that include leadership, vision and strategic and tactical planning, along with the ability to promote collaboration at all levels to support high-level, critical statewide projects to successful completion. In her dual role, Laura is also responsible for Michigan Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Services and the deployment of their resources. Through her effective leadership, her team can ensure that critical processes are audited, reviewed and designed for maximum effectiveness, and that structures for all cybersecurity and infrastructure protection are effectively delivered and operationalized throughout the enterprise.

Ann Dunkin serves as CIO at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she manages the department’s information technology (IT) portfolio and modernization; oversees the department’s cybersecurity efforts; and leads tech innovation at DOE. She served in the Obama Administration as CIO of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Prior roles include chief strategy and innovation officer, Dell Technologies; CIO, County of Santa Clara, CA; CTO, Palo Alto Unified School District, CA; and various leadership roles at Hewlett Packard.
Ann is a published author, most recently of the book Industrial Digital Transformation, and a speaker on the topics of government technology modernization, digital transformation and organizational development. She was named in ComputerWorld’s Premier 100 Technology Leaders for 2016, DC’s Top 50 Women in Technology for 2015 and 2016 and StateScoop’s Top 50 Women in Technology list for 2017. In 2018, she was inducted into Georgia Tech’s Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni.

In January 2021, Chris DeRusha was appointed as the Federal CISO in the Office of Management and Budget, Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer. Before coming back to federal government, Chris served as CISO for the Biden for President campaign. Prior to joining the campaign in June 2020, he served as chief security officer for the State of Michigan. Chris has extensive experience managing cybersecurity and critical infrastructure programs and operations both in the public and private sectors. He led Ford Motor Company’s Enterprise Vulnerability Management program and has over eight years of federal government experience working both at the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He holds a Master’s in Security Studies from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from James Madison University.

Katrina Flory has had a successful career in public service including Franklin County, the Ohio Department of Taxation and the Ohio Department of Administrative Services. She drives statewide efforts across organizations improving operational excellence and realizing transformational program outcomes. She was instrumental in building OIT from its roots and driving the technology agendas of four governors and seven state CIOs.
In her current role, Katrina has led efforts to establish and communicate the strategic direction for OIT, oversee operations of critical enterprise shared services such as OAKS, the InnovateOhio Platform, Ohio Business Gateway and eLicense system, as well as act as a dynamic change agent for various technology initiatives. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Miami University in Oxford, OH.

Wanda Gibson has enjoyed an accomplished career as a technology executive in private and public sector organizations, joining Prince George’s County, MD in 2019 as CIO and director of the Office of Information Technology, responsible for technology policy, governance, strategy and innovation, enterprise-wide technology environment, infrastructure, applications, data, web and cybersecurity. Prince George’s was awarded #1 Digital County in its population category for 2021. Prior to joining Prince George’s County, Wanda served Fairfax County, VA as CTO/CIO and director of the Department of Information Technology for 20 years, responsible for technology policy, innovation and management of a comprehensive portfolio of IT investments, systems and services in all IT disciplines and online services. She developed a nationally recognized IT Security Office and Court Technology Office, and managed IT governance that included the citizen committee appointed by the Board of Supervisors and the executive IT steering committee.

Alan Greenblatt has been covering politics and government for more than two decades. He is a senior staff writer for Governing, where he covers many aspects of state and local government, including elections, redistricting, education policy and legislative behavior. He is also a coauthor of Governing States and Localities, a textbook on state and local government that has been adopted in more than 300 colleges and universities and is now in its eighth sixth edition. Alan is a former reporter with NPR, where he contributed coverage on elections, international news and a broad range of feature topics. He has also been a reporter for Congressional Quarterly, where he won a National Press Club award for political journalism. A native of San Francisco, Alan was educated at San Francisco State and the University of Virginia. He lives with his family in St. Louis, MO.

A dedicated public servant for nearly 14 years, Araceli Guerra began her career with the City of El Paso, TX, in 2006, providing support for enterprise applications. In 2010, she led the software team as the application administrator. In 2011, she was part of the initiative to establish and lead the Information Technology Project Management Office, a first for the City of El Paso. She served as the assistant director for six years before being appointed director of Information Technology Services, with focused efforts on customer service improvements. In her current role, she provides oversight over the Department of Information Technology Services, the Human Resources Department and Performance Office.
Additionally, through the Communities of Excellence program, Araceli worked alongside UTEP and EPCC to obtain a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for $1.5 million, which will enable the creation of human and technological infrastructure, as well as facilitate the use of services for seniors provided by the city and community partners with the use of technology.

Dustin Haisler is chief innovation officer for the Center for Digital Government. As the finance director and later CIO for Manor, TX, a small city outside Austin, Dustin quickly built a track record and reputation as an early innovator in civic tech. A member of Code for America’s original steering committee, Dustin pioneered government use of commercial technologies not before used in the public sector – including Quick-Response (QR) barcodes, crowdsourcing and gamification. In 2010, he launched Manor Labs, a website that let residents submit their own ideas and vote other peoples’ ideas up or down. The most popular suggestions went to city officials for review and possible implementation. Dustin looked to the private sector to help broaden the adoption of these and other civic innovations, joining California-based Spigit as director of government innovation.

William “Bill” Kehoe joined Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech) as the director and state CIO for Washington on August 1, 2021. Prior to WaTech, he was CIO for Los Angeles County, CA from 2017-2021, where he managed enterprise security, information management, enterprise architecture and technology consulting services for 37 county departments. He also served as an advisor to the Board of Supervisors and CEO regarding enterprise technology strategy, policy and governance.
Bill has a long history of managing IT departments in local and state governments, including more than 15 years in Washington state agencies and counties. Before working as CIO for Los Angeles County, he was CIO and Information Department director for King County from 2010-2017 and served as the first CIO for the Department of Licensing from 2002-2010.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Gonzaga University and a project management certificate from the University of Washington. He has also completed Lean Six Sigma training.

Tom Lynch serves as CIO for Cook County Government, IL. Prior to joining Cook County, he served as principal at SDI, a systems integrator focused on public sector clients. He also spent 25 years in IT leadership roles for the State of Illinois, Chicago Park District and Chicago Public Schools. Across his career, Tom led the acquisition and successful implementation of three ERP systems and two Time & Attendance systems.

Joseph Morris is deputy chief innovation officer for the Center for Digital Government and a national keynote speaker on issues, trends and drivers impacting state and local government and education. He has authored publications and reports on funding streams, technology investment areas and public-sector priorities, and has led roundtables, projects and initiatives focused on issues within the public sector. Joe has conducted state and local government research with e.Republic since 2007 and knows the ins and outs of government on all levels. He received his Bachelor of Arts in government and international relations from the California State University, Sacramento.

Beth Niblock was appointed as the CIO for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in July of 2021.
Prior to her appointment as CIO of HUD, she was the CIO for the City of Detroit, MI where she was able to launch GO DATA, the city’s first effort to make non-personal, public information broadly accessible to the public during her first year as CIO. As the CIO for the City of Detroit, she managed significant upgrades to infrastructure, putting systems in place to make city business transparent – and making Detroit online an easy place with which to do business.
Before moving to Detroit, Beth was the first CIO appointed to a merged Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government, KY in 2003. She was challenged with unifying IT systems and infrastructure, while concurrently implementing a new financial system and a unified communications center for the newly merged city-county government. Beth holds a BA from Furman University.

Chris Rein is CTO for the State of New Jersey. In this position, he leads the state’s Office of Information Technology, which is a 700-person team charged with operating the technology infrastructure for the Executive Branch – over 50 state departments, agencies and offices. He was the former deputy director of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell. In this role, he also served as that state’s deputy chief information security officer. His background includes 38 years developing, integrating and managing software, as well as holding leadership roles with large and complex IT projects. Prior to joining the NJ Office of Homeland Security, Chris held the position of vice president and CIO for CSI Technology, a New Jersey software development company serving law enforcement, regulatory and judiciary markets. He served as the NJ State Police IT program manager/CIO, and earlier advanced in technical and management roles over some 20 years at the former Bell Atlantic and its technology subsidiary, Bellcore.

Angelo “Tony” Riddick was named CIO for the state of New York in December 2020 and now leads the office of Information Technology Services. He comes to ITS with extraordinary credentials. Most recently, Tony served as CIO and director of the Bureau of Information Technology for the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has an extensive and diverse background in IT in both the public and private sectors. Tony is also a retired U.S. Army Colonel with more than 30 years of active military service.
Tony received numerous military and civilian awards including the Army Legion of Merit, numerous joint and army meritorious, commendation and achievement medals. He was awarded the coveted Army Ranger Tab, Airborne Wings and Combat Action Badge for combat service in Iraq. In addition, Tony was awarded the StateScoop State Employee of the Year award for his efforts in disaster recovery when he spearheaded the effort to stand up communications resources after the devastating category 5 storms that ravaged the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Cathilea Robinett is CEO of e.Republic, where she oversees operations for the company’s award-winning media platforms: Governing, Government Technology and Emergency Management. Cathilea also oversees e.Republic’s websites, conferences and events and its national research and advisory groups: the Center for Digital Government, the Center for Digital Education and the Governing Institute. In 2014 Cathilea directed the launch of the Governing Institute’s Women in Government Leadership Program, an innovative initiative that encourages future generations of women to participate in public service.
Cathilea is a frequent speaker for government and education organizations worldwide, including the United Nations, Harvard University, the State Legislative Leaders' Foundation, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of State Governments and the World Congress on Information Technology. She has been quoted frequently in publications including the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Forbes and others.

Cordell Schachter serves as CIO for the U.S. Department of Transportation. He previously served as New York City DOT CTO for over 13 years and has served NYC for a total of 26 years in a variety of roles at several agencies. Cordell also worked a total of nine years at several IT companies. He led teams to tame high-risk, high-value projects and deliver high customer satisfaction. Cordell is a certified project manager and holds an MS in Management from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service and a BA in Economics from SUNY Buffalo. He served on the board of directors of ITS America and taught “Civic Technology for Innovation” at NYU and at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, NJ.

Peter Wallace is CIO for the award-winning City of Virginia Beach, VA. He leads nearly 200 employees across six business units in the Information Technology Department. With more than three decades of industry experience, Peter is a champion of innovation who empowers employees while leading organizations toward success in a digital world. He has held senior positions at Fortune 500 technology giants, including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Merrill Lynch and IBM.
His bold, yet pragmatic, approach to managing change has culminated in local, national and global recognition. Under his leadership, the City of Virginia Beach has secured two CIO 100 awards and has been ranked as the #1 “Digital City” of its size (250,000 – 499,999 population) in the Center for Digital Government’s Digital Cities Survey four times. Peter was named a Local IT Leader of the Year as part of the 2020 StateScoop Local Smart Awards. Currently, his major tech initiatives include advancing the effort to position Virginia Beach as a tech hub and developing a multijurisdictional dark fiber, open access ring, which will support digitally empowered communities and regional prosperity.

Jim Weaver joined the North Carolina Department of Information Technology in March 2021, with more than 30 years of leadership and management in the IT industry. As secretary and state CIO, he leads the agency responsible for strategic IT planning and the procurement and delivery of IT services and solutions, as well as cybersecurity and efforts to expand broadband access and affordability across North Carolina.
Prior to NCDIT, he served as director and state CIO at Washington Technology Solutions. In that role, he strengthened the department and the state enterprise by focusing on efficiency, consistency and continuous improvement; driving business alignment; balancing operations and policy; and seeking quicker adoption of newer technology. Jim was also CTO for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where he previously held CTO and deputy CIO roles in Pennsylvania’s departments of human services, aging and insurance.

Ed Winfield is the CIO of Maricopa County, AZ and has responsibility for all aspects of county technology strategy, operations, service and security. Prior to joining Maricopa County, Ed served as the CIO for Wayne County, MI. He has also held executive IT leadership roles in manufacturing, consumer goods, logistics, transportation and consulting. Ed has been recognized for his leadership and achievement via numerous state and national CIO awards.

Rami Zakaria is CIO and the director for Sacramento County, CA Department of Technology. He was appointed as CIO in November 2011. Prior to his appointment, Rami served as the chief of e-Government and Business Services for the county and was responsible for enterprise applications.