Rosa Akhtarkhavari is CIO and deputy chief financial officer and a member of the City of Orlando, FL, executive management team overseeing technology, finance and internal business services for the city. She is a visionary and result-oriented IT leader with over 30 years of experience in municipal government. She is experienced in organizational transformation, strategic planning and alignment, user experience, information security, enterprise architecture, GIS, development, contract negotiation and implementation of leading-edge technology solutions that align technology plans with business requirements.

Ernesto Arriola serves as the City of El Paso, TX’s CISO. He joined the City of El Paso in 2007. Ernesto graduated from the University of New Mexico where he received his Bachelor of Information and Communication Technology. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and, subsequently, earned a Master of Business Administration in Global Management. He has 25 years of professional experience working in information technology, healthcare and local government sectors. Ernesto’s professional certifications include Certified Ethical Hacker and Certified Network Defense Architect. Ernesto is also a sector chief with the InfraGard local chapter, a member of the Paso del Norte Health Information Exchange Privacy and Security Committee and Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC).
Ernesto’s responsibilities included serving as information security assurance manager for the city; managing the city’s information security program and information security compliance; information security architecture, information security procedures and controls, physical security, attack and penetration testing, application testing, information assurance program gap analysis and incident response; and acting as liaison with third-party security auditors and compliance organizations.

Tracy E. Barnes serves as Indiana’s CIO, appointed by Governor Eric J. Holcomb in March 2020. In this role, he sits on the Governor’s Cabinet overseeing the Indiana Office of Technology and provides strategic oversight of the state’s technology portfolio, as well as leadership on technology and cybersecurity policy. Tracy also serves as the co-chair for the Indiana Executive Council on Cybersecurity.
Tracy brings significant business leadership and IT experience to his role, having previously served as chief of staff for the Lieutenant Governor and as deputy auditor and IT director for the Indiana Auditor of State. Before joining the public sector, Tracy served as president and CEO for ENTAP, Inc., an IT consulting services firm that designed and delivered effective enterprise-focused IT solutions to organizations in various industries across the globe.
Tracy was recently recognized by StateScoop magazine as a GoldenGov State Executive of the Year. Previously, he has been recognized by the Indianapolis Business Journal as one of the 250 most influential business leaders in Indiana and has also received accolades from the TechPoint MIRA awards and the IBE Governor's Award for Achievement in Technology.

Fred Brittain is CIO for the State of Maine. He was appointed in April 2019 after 25 years with the University of Maine System. During his tenure with the university, Fred served in many roles within and outside technology, including COO for the University of Maine at Farmington and associate CIO for the University of Maine System. Throughout his career, Fred has developed a focus on aligning organizational technology strategies and service delivery, development and execution of strategic plans and maturing organizational cultures through a focus on partnerships. Designing mechanisms for an inclusive approach to technology governance and strategy has been a cornerstone of his methodology.
Fred is fervent in his belief that an organization can only be as strong as its people and is intentional in his practice of developing future leaders through providing opportunities for growth, as well as engaging in formal and informal mentorship. He has served as president on multiple non-profit boards providing support and programming for children and under-served populations.

Stephanie Dedmon was named CIO for the State of Tennessee in October 2018. In this role, she is responsible for all operational areas of the state’s central IT organization, Strategic Technology Solutions. This includes managing the team’s IT service delivery, technical infrastructure development and support and customer service management and a workforce of approximately 1,300 IT professionals.
As deputy CIO, Stephanie was previously responsible for the Enterprise IT Transformation initiative that furthered the state’s enterprise IT organization by transitioning over 800 Executive Branch Department IT employees to STS. Prior to being named deputy CIO in November of 2015, she served as director of Business Solutions Delivery, also within the Department of Finance & Administration. BSD was created in late 2011 to build a team of experienced senior project directors, project managers and business analysts to help lead the state’s most complex IT/business solution implementations and improve project delivery success rates.

Lea Eriksen is the director of technology and innovation and CIO of the City of Long Beach, CA. With more than 20 years of experience working in local government, Lea’s background includes positions related to economic development, budget and finance and technology. She has an MBA from Xavier University and graduated cum laude from Miami University. She is passionate about advancing digital equity and using emerging technology and data to solve civic challenges in Long Beach.

Amelia Powers Gardner has over 15 years of experience in the private sector working in engineering, manufacturing and business development. After college, she worked for Caterpillar, spending time throughout the U.S. and Canada before returning home to Utah County, UT, where she now serves as a county commissioner.
As the Utah County clerk/auditor, Amelia championed innovation and efficiency in government. Under her leadership, Utah County launched the first ever completely online marriage license portal and became the first jurisdiction in the U.S. to allow people with disabilities to vote using blockchain technology. Amelia’s focus as county commissioner has centered on preparing the county for growth, working with cities on addressing the housing crisis and implementing policies that protect urban farming and private property rights.
Amelia is an elected official, community leader, business consultant, disruptive technology advocate, government innovation leader and mentor for women. She and her husband Tobin live in Pleasant Grove, UT, and have six children.

Brandon O. Gibson is chief operating officer in Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s office. In that role, she manages the operations of the state’s 23 departments, driving cross-department collaboration to best serve Tennessee’s citizens. Prior to serving as COO, she served as Governor Lee’s senior advisor, focusing primarily on criminal justice issues and rural issues, as well as a variety of other subjects.
A native of West Tennessee, Brandon graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master’s degree in Agribusiness Management. She graduated from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 2000, practiced law in Texas for a year and felt the pull back to West Tennessee, where she began practicing law in Jackson. In private practice, Brandon was a partner at Pentecost & Glenn, PLLC, where she primarily handled employment and civil rights defense cases. In 2013, Brandon was appointed by then-Governor Bill Haslam to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, where she served for over four years before joining Governor Lee’s cabinet in January 2019.

Michelle Halloran Gilman was appointed commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services by Governor Ned Lamont in February 2022. Her re-appointment to a second term is pending legislative confirmation. In her role, Michelle oversees approximately 1,000 employees and a $250+ million budget to provide centralized human resources, technol-ogy delivery, procurement support and construction management primarily to the executive branch. Under her tenure, the agency has prioritized IT optimization, statewide digital equity, workforce development and climate sustainability measures. As commissioner, Michelle serves on a number of policy boards, including the State Bond Commission and the IT Capital Investment Committee.
Previously, Michelle served as deputy chief operating officer to Governor Lamont. In that role, she successfully managed COVID-19 initiatives, including the alternate hospital mobilization, the nationally-recognized free testing program for vulnerable populations and the mass vaccination implementation. Prior to joining the Lamont Administration, she served as an advisor to numerous elected officials, including U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd and State Comptroller Kevin Lembo. A life-long resident of Connecticut, Michelle is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University.

Lester Godsey is the chief information security and privacy officer for Maricopa County, AZ, the fourth most populous county in the United States. With over 26 years of higher education and local government IT experience, Lester has spoken at local, state and national conferences on topics ranging from telecommunications to project management to cybersecurity and data. He has taught at the collegiate level for over 12 years in the areas of technology, business, project management and cybersecurity. The author of numerous trade journal and online magazine articles, he is CISM and PMP certified, as well as holding a BA in Music and an MS in Technology, both from Arizona State University.
As one of Government Technology’s 2021 Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers, he is focused on the impact of social media from a cyber and kinetic security perspective.

Charles Gore is the deputy CISO for Fairfax County Government, VA. Charles has over 15 years of information security experience within federal and local government in the Northern Virginia area with a specialty focus in enterprise security architecture, policy and compliance, threat and vulnerability management and security operations. Charles is a member of the Washington, DC metro area Council of Government’s Chief Information Security Officer’s Committee, participates regularly in statewide and regional cybersecurity initiatives and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from George Mason University. He is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) and Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT).

Michael Hojnicki is chief of technology and administrative services for New Castle County, DE, and, for 19 months, dually served as acting public safety director. He retired from the State of Delaware after 25 years of service in information technology, where he held progressively higher-level positions. He facilitated e-government technology initiatives that reached across all state agencies.
In his current role, Michael leads the innovative, digital transformation efforts that leverage technology to improve overall efficiencies. He and his award-winning team support all of the technology, cybersecurity and data protection for the entirety of New Castle County government operations.

Rob Lloyd is deputy city manager for the City of San José, CA, overseeing the Transportation, Aviation and Technology City Service Areas for the nation’s tenth largest municipality. The city organization consists of 7,000 employees and carries a $5.5 billion total budget, all serving 1,000,000 residents and 70,000 businesses in the heart of Silicon Valley. Previously, he served as the city’s CIO, directing the city’s diverse civic technology portfolio.
For over two decades, Rob has held C-level roles in the technology, government and utilities sectors in California, Arizona, Oregon and Colorado. His teams have earned over 30 national honors for customer engagement, attaining operational excellence through technology and innovative programs.

John Matelski is an information technology and security executive with over 35 years of progressively responsible experience. He is the chief innovation and information officer for DeKalb County, GA, a position he has held since 2012. In his current position, John’s duties include executive management of all information technology and security resources and systems that support county operations, as well as driving innovation and customer experience initiatives throughout the county enterprise.
John graduated from Arizona State University with a BS in Computer Science and an MBA with an emphasis in Computer Information Systems. He has a proven track record of leadership in the public and private sectors utilizing innovation and resourcefulness with a proven ability to build a compelling vision and move an organization toward it. John was most recently honored to receive two National Association of Counties presidential appointments. He serves as vice-chair of the NACo Information Technology Standing Committee, as well as vice-chair for the NACo Telecommunications and Technology Steering Committee.

Robert “Bob” Osmond was appointed CIO of the Commonwealth by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin in April 2022. As CIO, he leads the Virginia Information Technologies Agency. He brings vast experience in public and private sector technology to the role, having most recently led information technology, process improvement and strategic innovation as the chief of technology and business strategy at the Virginia Department of Transportation. Prior to his role as chief, he served as the division administrator of VDOT’s IT division.
Before joining VDOT, Bob was an executive partner with IBM where he led national practices responsible for application development, organizational change management and human capital management. Earlier in his career, he supported strategic planning, business transformation and global process improvement for several Fortune 500 organizations and federal cabinet-level agencies.
Bob earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial and systems engineering from Virginia Tech. He is a graduate of the Virginia Executive Institute and has taught at the George Washington School of Business.

Nancy Rainosek is CISO for the State of Texas at the Department of Information Resources. She has over 35 years of IT experience in Texas state government and private sector consulting. Prior to joining DIR, she served as the deputy CISO and the enterprise security operations manager for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. She was an IT audit manager and information resource manager at the Texas State Auditor’s Office.
Nancy has a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems from Texas State University.

Angelo “Tony” Riddick was named the State of New York’s CIO 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 information technology 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.
COL(R) Riddick 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.

Archie Satchell is CIO for Palm Beach County, FL. His vision is highly focused on customer service and continuous organizational improvement. Over the past 16 years, he has held various executive leadership roles, including CIO, deputy CIO and director of application development. He works diligently to foster a collaborative working relationship within local government, non-profit organizations and educational institutions. The goal is to build an effective, secure and robust infrastructure to leverage public funds.
He holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Northwood University. He is an active member of the Florida Local Government Information Systems Association, the National Forum for Black Public Administrators and the National Association of Counties Telecommunications and Technology Committee.

Luke Stowe has served as Evanston, IL’s city manager since August 2022. Before that, he served as interim deputy city manager since February 2022, overseeing several city departments/divisions such as Fire, Health and Human Services, Finance/Budget, Parks and Recreation, Information Technology and Administrative Adjudication. Luke has worked for the City of Evanston since June 2012 and has held many positions, including director of administrative services, CIO and digital services manager. He also served in critical roles for the Emergency Operations Center during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luke brings nearly 25 years of local government experience to his role. Before his service in Evanston, he held related management and technology positions in Lake County and Champaign governments and the private sector. He was previously recognized as one of the Top Doers, Dreamers & Drivers by Government Technology magazine and was nominated for Local IT Leader of the Year by StateScoop.

Art Thompson is CIO for the City of Detroit, MI, Department of Innovation and Technology. Prior to this appointment, he served as director of public safety and cyber security for DoIT. Art is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a degree in Supply Chain Management. He has over 12 years of technical experience with the public safety environment and managing both union and non-union employees across multiple areas.
Art possesses strong technical skills which include radio management, cyber security, mobile technology and desktop installation, as well as software and hardware maintenance. His responsibilities included, but were not limited to, managing Desktop Support, Mobility Support, Network Administration and Cyber Security teams – all of which he confidently championed. He began his career with DoIT as the manager for Mobility Support. His accomplishments as manager further revealed his advanced technical skills and managerial abilities, which led to his promotion to director. After serving nearly three years as director, he further excelled in management and in handling budgetary issues. Art’s vision, dedication, motivation and commitment to the City of Detroit ultimately led to his appointed as CIO.