COVITS 2022 - LIVE! Banner

Overview

Government Technology's passion is promoting best practices and spurring innovation in the public sector - more important than ever in challenging times like these. We hope you were able to join us for a powerful series of sessions that provided inspiration, participation, education, and thought-provocation!

A message from our Keynote Speaker

We are excited to see our friends, colleagues, and partners in the Commonwealth technology community -- back in person for the first time in two years -- at this year’s Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium. Every year is an opportunity to learn something new, build new connections, share accomplishments, and take best practices back to our teams to serve our customers and each other. We look forward to seeing you in Richmond!

- Robert Osmond, Chief Information Officer, Commonwealth of Virginia

Speakers

Robert Osmond

Robert Osmond

Chief Information Officer, Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Commonwealth of Virginia

Robert “Bob” Osmond was appointed as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Commonwealth by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin in April 2022. As CIO, Osmond leads the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA). 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 (VDOT). Prior to his role as Chief, he served as the division administrator of VDOT’s information technology 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, Bob 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. Bob is a graduate of the Virginia Executive Institute and has taught at the George Washington School of Business.

More
Margaret “Lyn” McDermid

Margaret “Lyn” McDermid

Secretary of Administration, Commonwealth of Virginia

Lyn McDermid brings vast knowledge and experience to the administration. At a young age, Lyn was the first woman accepted to the Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding. She received a B.A. from Mary Baldwin College and an MBA from the University of Richmond.
From 2013-2020, Lyn worked at the Federal Reserve System as Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Director of Federal Reserve Information Technology (FRIT). There, she oversaw the Federal Reserve System IT strategy, IT investment and spending, and enterprise cyber security. She also directed the management of national IT operations, project services, and enterprise architecture and standards. Prior to joining the Federal Reserve, she served as senior vice president and chief information officer at Richmond-based Fortune 500 company.
Lyn has served on several boards including Chair of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Mary Baldwin College, Chair of the Board of the Greater Richmond Technology Council, and currently Chair of the ChildFund International Board.
Her commitment to education is reflected in long-standing support of Reynolds Community College, University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University. She also serves on the IT visiting committee for Harvard University.
Lyn was named to the Computerworld’s list of Premier 100 IT Leaders for 2004, received the 2008 Executive Women in Business Achievement Award, was recognized as one of the Richmond YWCA’s 2010 Outstanding Women, and was honored with the RichTech Chairman’s Award in 2013. She co-founded the Richmond Women in Technology group and is honored with the naming of their annual recognition of women technologists as the Margaret “Lyn” McDermid awards.

More
Mary Kelly, PhD

Mary Kelly, PhD

Former Commander, US Navy

Mary Kelly is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and spent over twenty years on active duty in intelligence and logistics. She retired from the Navy as a commander. She has master’s degrees in history and economics, and a PhD in economics. Mary has more than twenty years combined teaching experience at the Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, and Hawaii Pacific University. She has extensive experience in business coaching, management, economics, government, organizational leadership, communication, organizational growth, teamwork, strategic planning, human resources, customer service, time management, and project development. Mary has written thirteen books on leadership, productivity, business planning, and personal finance to help people and organizations at all levels. Mary Kelly has published more than 500 articles and is a frequent guest on media programs. She was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame in 2020.

More
Naveen Abraham

Naveen Abraham LinkedIn

Chief of Core Infrastructure Services, Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Commonwealth of Virginia

Naveen Abraham is Chief of Core Infrastructure Services at Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA). Prior to coming to VITA, he served as the deputy division administrator of operations at the Virginia Department of Transportation where he was responsible for applications development, infrastructure and operations. Naveen reports to CIO Bob Osmond.

More
Aliscia Andrews

Aliscia Andrews

Deputy Secretary of Cybersecurity, Commonwealth of Virginia

Aliscia Andrews started cybersecurity career more than 15 years ago while serving as an Intelligence Analyst and Weapons and Tactics Instructor for the United States Marine Corps. After the Marine Corps, Mrs. Andrews completed her MBA and Cybersecurity Management Certificate from Georgetown University.
After her time in the Marine Corps, Ms. Andrews, continued honing in her analytical tradecraft in both the public and private sector. Her work portfolio has focused primarily on finding complex solutions to challenging Government problems as a strategic management, analytic, and cyber policy advisor in support of multiple government agencies both in and out of the Intelligence Community.
Today Mrs. Andrews is proud to be the first Deputy Secretary of Cybersecurity for the Commonwealth of Virginia. She continues to serve her community as the Virginia Chairwoman of Faith and Freedom, member and volunteer on multiple PTOs, disadvantaged children’s groups, church ministry groups, youth sports leagues, and mentors transitioning Veterans. Deputy Secretary Andrews resides in Aldie, Virginia with her Husband and three children.

More
Laura Avent

Laura Avent LinkedIn

Executive Government Advisor, Amazon Web Services

Laura has over 20 years of experience leading/consulting on complex transformational programs in the public and private sector. Prior to joining Amazon Web Services, she served as the Chief Digital Transformation Officer at MTX, where she built a digital transformation organization to assist State & Local Governments and Higher Education institutions in planning and executing complex transformations for their agencies, including COVID-19 pandemic initiatives. She served the Commonwealth of Kentucky as an Executive Innovation Advisor, driving cloud adoption, modernization and maximizing the benefit of the cloud investment across multiple state agencies. In addition, for over 15 years she led global transformational programs for large corporations such as Schneider Electric and Lexmark International. These global programs included Enterprise Master Data Management, Quote to Cash, CRM, PRM, and Call Center Services Management.

More
Brett Barganz

Brett Barganz

Solutions Executive, Verizon

Brett has expertise to lead public service organizations gracefully through their visions of change, especially technology transformation for connected healthcare. He can provide insight into every part of their journey, from envisioning a solution to implementing and operating it, with a deep understanding of public service and its systems from years working and consulting for local and state government organizations. He spent 10 years serving in municipal and county administration roles, including manager’s office, public works, police, fire, and enterprise technology. He also spent five years working in advisory roles, providing project management, organization change management, and IT guidance for enterprise projects with state and university clients. Most recently, he has spent one year providing strategy and management for technology and networking products.

More
Alexis Bonnell

Alexis Bonnell LinkedIn

Emerging Technology Evangelist, Public Sector, Google Cloud

Alexis Bonnell is a Senior Business Executive and the Emerging Technology Evangelist for Public Sector at Google. Government is navigating unprecedented times, unprecedented opportunity and can leverage unprecedented technology to solve our nations and the world’s most pressing challenges. More than ever, Public Servants are leading the charge to create a better, more equitable, and empowered experience for citizens.
Alexis was one of the first members of the Internet’s original Trade Association, served as a Chief Profit Officer for companies transitioning to a digital existence, applied her communications, project management, innovation and technology application skills in over 20 warzones, global disasters, and major transformation projects for the United Nations. At USAID, Alexis was a public servant who led Transformation and Knowledge Management in the Management Bureau, was the Chief of Engagement for Education, one of the Founders of USAID’s U.S. Global Development Lab, and recently completed her service as USAID’s Chief Innovation Officer.
At Google, Alexis dedicates her time to helping public servants catalyze their missions with technology.

More
Bob Branch

Bob Branch

Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, City of Virginia Beach

Bob Branch is the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer at the City of Virginia Beach and has been in the information technology sector for seventeen years. He is currently focused on maturing the City’s cybersecurity program, fostering educational experiences through internships and embracing emerging technologies and strategies. Bob believes in mutual information sharing and the development of the next generation of cyber professionals because we are stronger as a collective than individuals.

More
Dave Burhop

Dave Burhop

Division of Legislative Automated Systems, Commonwealth of Virginia

With nearly 40 years of IT experience, Dave Burhop has served as Director of Virginia’s Division of Legislative Automated Systems (DLAS) since 2017. Dave’s agency manages the IT systems that support legislative and regulatory processing across multiple agencies.
Prior to DLAS, Dave was Deputy Commissioner and Chief Information Officer for the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles for fourteen years. Dave was responsible for the management and advancement of technology that served as the foundation in providing the best possible service to the public. His work in identity management made Virginia DMV a leader in authentication and identity credentialing services. Before DMV, Dave was the CIO for Virginia’s Department of Behavioral Health for fifteen years.
During his tenure with the Commonwealth, Dave’s IT departments have received national recognition by winning various “Best-of-the-Web” awards, Hewlett-Packard’s Innovative Technology Award and placing as a semi-finalist in Harvard University’s Innovation in Technology program for the Commonwealth’s statewide Patient/Resident Automated Information System. He is a member of Virginia Commonwealth University’s IT Advisory Board, and has also served on various technology committees for the Governor’s Cabinet, the Virginia General Assembly, as well as the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. (AAMVA) He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky.

More
Mike Cannon

Mike Cannon

Chief Technology Officer, Stafford County

Mike has over 30 years of information technology experience. Since 2016, Mike is serving as the Chief Technology Officer for Stafford County, Virginia and manages a staff of 24 and a budget of $3 million. Mike has been focused on broadband expansion throughout the County and building the first of its kind smart community testbed for the Commonwealth located in Stafford, which launched in May, 2021. The testbed utilizes smart city technology and a variety of IoT devices to demonstrate and validate a variety of use cases focused on public safety, the environment, and the community with the goal of improving the quality of life for residents and visitors.
Mike was also the Chief Information Officer for the International City/County Management Association from 2013 – 2015, a nonprofit organization serving over 10,000 members in local government management.
Prior to joining ICMA Mike served fourteen years as the Chief Information Officer for the City of Rockville Maryland. At Rockville he developed and implemented two IT Strategic Plans and was responsible for building the City’s first Institutional Network of fiber connecting City facilities
Mike has done numerous consulting engagements for County and City governments over the past two decades
He is also the program chair for the Society of Information Management (SIM) Captial Area Chapter. .
Mike received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in business administration from University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business.

More
Barry Condrey

Barry Condrey

Chief Information Officer, Chesterfield County

Barry has worked in the IT field for over 37 years holding a variety of technology leadership positions in the public and private sectors and is presently the CIO for Chesterfield County, Virginia where he pursues initiatives based on digital transformation, open government and citizen centricity. Under his leadership Chesterfield County Va has been four times recognized as the #1 digital county in the USA. He is an adjunct faculty for Virginia Commonwealth University, an active NACo contributor, two-time president of the Virginia Local Government IT Executives (VALGITE) organization, a certified government CIO and a national top 25 Doer, Dreamer & Driver. He likes to teach, write code and blog about technology leadership.

More
Glenn Davidson

Glenn Davidson LinkedIn

Human Capital Specialist Executive, Deloitte

Glenn is a senior-level executive with over 30 years of experience driving major transformational initiatives – from the inside and as a consultant – across the public sector. Glenn currently leads Deloitte Consulting’s human capital work across state and local governments and higher education institutions. As such, he has helped multiple organizations plan, design and implement their future of work, workforce and workplace initiatives. Immediately prior to joining Deloitte, Glenn served as a Presidential Executive Fellow and Executive Director of Enterprise Services for the US Department of Commerce. Earlier in his career, served as chief of staff to Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder in the 1990s. Glenn is a graduate of the American University from which he holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Science, Technology and Public Policy from the George Washington University.

More
Dr. Liza Wilson Durant

Dr. Liza Wilson Durant

Associate Provost, Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement, George Mason University

Liza Wilson Durant serves as the Associate Provost for strategic initiatives at George Mason University where she is focused on building partnerships across the university with external corporate, government, academic, non-profit, and global entities to support the mission and strategic objectives of the University. She is currently serving as the director of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative’s (CCI) Northern Virginia Node. The CCI is a $25 million initiative to ensure Virginia is recognized as a global leader in secure cyber-physical systems and in the digital economy
 more broadly for decades to come by supporting world-class research at the intersection of data, autonomy, and security; promoting technology, commercialization, and entrepreneurship; and preparing future generations of innovators and research leaders.
Prior to her appointment as associate dean, she served as chair of the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering where she was professor focused on environmental engineering, hydrologic engineering, environmental microbiology and information technology for engineers. She received her BS from Cornell University, MS from Stanford University and Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the Johns Hopkins University.

More
Bojan Duric

Bojan Duric

Chief Data Officer, City of Virginia Beach

Bojan Duric is the Chief Data Officer (CDO) of the City of Virginia Beach where he promotes a data-driven and citizen-centric culture at all levels of the organization. As CDO, Bojan is responsible for implementing data and information strategies across the enterprise with wide impact not only on Virginia Beach residents but whole Hampton Road region. Shortly after joining the city, he successfully implemented the highly demanded Data Academy Program, a data and analytics literacy initiative which enriches employees with data and analytics skills to support factual based decision-making process. Some key advances for the City of Virginia Beach in his short tenure include the implementation of the first data and analytics platform for collaboration and a framework for certifying both data and practitioners, as he likes to call “Data Governance in Practice”. He views data as an asset to empower employees, boost citizen engagement, and increase transparency. It is worth mentioning several national, and state recognitions along with major cloud provider, AWS, Dream Big Category challenge winner for City’s data sharing initiative, Open City.
Bojan’s rich experience in data science and business analytics span multiple industries including government, transportation, healthcare, and consumer packaged goods (CPG). He has held key roles in financial, operational, supply chain, and sales and marketing analytics. His vast business background includes providing management coaching, training, and consulting to Fortune 100 companies and government contractors, such as Norfolk Southern, Carlsberg A/S, and ADS Inc. He is proficient in several open source and proprietary technologies and has developed a range of data solutions and analytics products recognized by influential data communities, and both private and public organizations.
Bojan is the advisory board member with Old Dominion University, Computer Science and Engineering. Bojan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics from Rutgers University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Old Dominion University.

More
Dr. Samy El-Tawab

Dr. Samy El-Tawab

Associate Professor and Information Technology Program Director, College of Integrated Science and Engineering, James Madison University

Dr. Samy El-Tawab received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Old Dominion University in 2012. Dr. Samy El-Tawab is an Associate Professor and the Information Technology Program Director in the College of Integrated Science and Engineering at James Madison University. His class “Autonomous Vehicles” won the Governor’s Technology Award in 2018 for using “Technology in Education.” Dr. El-Tawab has been working on the issues surrounding Intelligent Transportation, Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks, Internet of Things (IoT), and Cyber Security. Dr. El-Tawab is co-founder of JMU Autonomous Cart (JACart) Research Group. He has more than 70 publications, including journal/conference papers, book chapters, and scientific magazine articles. He served as an Associate Editor in several conferences and prestigious journals. Dr. El-Tawab received multiple CCI grants, one with George Mason University title: “Building Capacity for Cyber-Capable Workforce.” In Spring 2021, Dr. Samy El-Tawab was awarded the Madison Scholar Award for the College of Integrated Science and Engineering at James Madison University.

More
John Harrison

John Harrison

Director of Information Technology, Franklin County

John Harrison has worked in the technology sector for over 20 years, starting in support of several critical infrastructure sectors before moving to the public sector. It is here that he has spent the bulk of his career serving at the local government level. During the course of his career he has worked within and managed projects and teams in nearly every technology service area. Currently he is the IT Director for Franklin County Virginia, presides as the President of the Virginia Local Government Executive (VaLGITE) professional group, sits on the National Association of Counties (NACo) Telecommunications & Technology Committee and the IT Standing Committee, is a mentor as part of the ISAC cybersecurity mentoring program, and is an active participant on the Commonwealth of Virginia Voter Registration System Security (VRSS) Advisory Group.

More
John Holden

John Holden

Director, Economic Development and Tourism, Stafford County

John joined the Stafford team in May 2018 after spending 25 years in Maine. There, his experience encompassed community and economic development; tourism development and marketing; and international business development and attraction. He helped institute and managed a number of economic development organizations. He also led the expansion of Maine’s entrepreneurship environment into communities he worked.
John was born in Columbus, Oh. He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences from Bowling Green State University and a master’s degree in regional economics from the University of Maine. He enjoys cooking and golf.

More
David Ihrie

David Ihrie

Chief Technology Officer, Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

Mr. Ihrie has over 40 years industry experience as a direct innovator in the fields of satellite and terrestrial communication, computing, and information science, and has been a principal in seven startup companies. In addition to his entrepreneurial activities, Mr. Ihrie has helped build four national scale business accelerators for the Intelligence Community, for DHS, and in the areas of cybersecurity and smart communities. Currently he is VP, Strategic Initiatives for VIPC, with a portfolio including Smart Communities initiatives and the Virginia Smart Community Testbed, the Virginia Unmanned Systems Center at VIPC, the VIPC Public Safety Innovation Center, and the SCITI Labs program with DHS Science & Technology focused on public safety capabilities.
Mr. Ihrie has a Master of Science degree in Business from MIT, specializing in the Management of Technological Innovation, and a B.S. from MIT in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science.

More
Steve Jones

Steve Jones

Director of Technology, Town of Blacksburg

Steve Jones became the Director of Technology for the Town of Blacksburg, Virginia in May of 2000. He has worked in the Information Technology industry since 1983 in varying capacities: as a programmer analyst, operations manager, systems analyst, telecommunications analyst, sales engineer, team leader, and manager. From 1990 through 2000 he was an IT consultant and Consulting Team Leader specializing in IT integration, office automation, and LAN and WAN solutions, focusing on Microsoft and Novell solutions. He holds an MCSE certification, CGCIO certification, is a graduate of Averett University, and is a 2014 graduate of the Leading, Educating and Development program at the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia. He serves on the board for New River Valley Habitat for Humanity, is active with Scouts in the New River Valley with his sons and enjoys almost any outdoor activity.

More
Janet Lawson

Janet Lawson

Director, Department of Human Resource Management, Commonwealth of Virginia

Janet Lawson has just started her new role as Director for the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management. Previously, she served as the Director of Human Resources for Hanover County, a progressive community of over 110,000 residents, for over eleven years. She was a member of the senior leadership team and was responsible for overseeing all County HR programs and services (recruitment and selection, position control, classification and compensation, employee training and development, employee benefits, occupational health and wellness programs, HR Information Systems and timekeeping reconciliation, employee relations, safety and risk management recruiting). Prior to working for Hanover County, Janet served the Commonwealth of Virginia for nearly eight years as the Director of Human Resources for the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Janet also worked in the private sector for fourteen years, holding a variety of human resources positions for the healthcare and retail industries in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Janet received her BSBA in Management from Christopher Newport University, and her MBA in Organizational Management from the College of William and Mary. She holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) Certification, the International Public Management Association for Human Resources Senior Certified Professional (IPMA-SCP) designation, and the Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) designation.
Janet previously served on the Lincoln Financial Group Client Advisory Committee, and is the Past-President of the Virginia Executive Institute Alumni Association (VEIAA). She currently serves on the Council for Human Resource Executives (CHRE), the Executive Board of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources, Virginia Chapter (IPMA-VA), and is the Past-President of the IPMA-VA.

More
Jaime Lees

Jaime Lees

SchenkChief Data Officer, Department of Technology Services, Arlington County

Jaime Lees is the Chief Data Officer at Arlington County Government, where she leads the County’s effective and ethical collection, storage, use and sharing of data assets. Jaime launched and oversees the County’s open data and data analytics programs and has led numerous large-scale analysis, development and implementation initiatives. In her 14-year tenure with Arlington, Jaime has managed large-scale technology development and implementation projects, and received recognition for making real property data actionable and freely available to constituents, for using data to bolster the County’s response to the opioid crisis, for creating the County’s public COVID dashboards and other timely contributions. Jaime helps government agencies launch and govern self-service analytics, allowing those agencies to leverage their data assets for operational efficiencies, performance management and planning. Currently, Jaime is working to ensure the County’s handling of sensitive information meets the highest standards of information privacy protections while also leveraging administrative data for maximum re-use for public good initiatives. Jaime lives in Falls Church, VA and enjoys writing, volunteering, growing her own vegetables and family adventures.

More

Andy Levitt

Cyber Security Specialist, HP Inc.

Andy Levitt has worked at HP for over 30 years, holding positions in R&D, consulting, and sales. He currently works with Fed and SLED customers to assist addressing their Endpoint Information Security needs. Andy holds a BSEE from Rutgers University, and a MSCE from National Technological University.

More
Jon Minshew

Jon Minshew LinkedIn

Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Dell Technologies

As a State and Local Government strategist Jon serves as a subject matter expert and thought leader to support transformation in state and local governments throughout the country. Before Dell Technologies, Jon served as Chief Customer Officer of the NC Department of Information Technology, and CIO, Office of the Governor.

More
Jen Morgan

Jen Morgan

Virginia Program Lead, RIoT

Jennifer (Jen) Morgan is the RIoT Virginia Program Lead focused on helping RIoT expand into Virginia – leading efforts to help small businesses grow and engage in the broader Virginia market.
Previously, Jen coordinated GO Virginia Region 6 – supporting programs to create more high-paying jobs through incentivized collaboration between business, education, and government to diversify and strengthen the economy in every region of the Commonwealth. Jen has a Masters of Public Administration degree from James Madison University, with a focus on community and economic development.
When she’s not connecting and building partnerships, Jen can be found outside hiking with her German Shepard, spending time on the water, and exploring new taco and/or breweries across the state.

More
Charles O’Shea

Charles O’Shea

Regional Executive for State Government Strategy, T-Mobile

Charles O’Shea is currently the Eastern Regional Executive for State Government Strategy at T-Mobile.
For over a decade Charlie was as a Member of the New York State Assembly, where he served as the
Ranking Member of the Insurance Committee and a member of the Ways & Means, Banks and Social Services Committees.
He also was the elected Chairman of the Nassau County Board of Assessors and Nassau County Real Property Tax Director.
Charlie additionally served for almost a dozen years as Director of Government Relations & External Affairs for the New York State Department of Transportation’s New York City Region.
He was a lawyer/lobbyist in both Albany and New York City and then formed his own consulting firm.
He is a graduate of Duke University and Fordham University School of Law.

More
Mark Perry

Mark Perry

Director of Information Technology, City of Fairfax

Mark Perry has over 30 years of experience in technology. He is currently the Information Technology Director at the City of Fairfax and has held that position for 6 years. His technology experience ranges from cyber security for DoD, to K-12 education, to public safety, to private contracting and consulting and into local government.

More
Ken Pfeil

Ken Pfeil

Chief Data Officer, Office of the Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia

Ken is a security and finance industry veteran, formerly serving as VP and Managing Director of Data Protection and Governance at OneMain Financial. Prior to OneMain, he served as Chief Security Officer for TechDemocracy LLC, MFS Investments, and before served as CISO for Pioneer Global Asset Management SpA (Including Pioneer Investments and all operating subsidiaries in 26 countries).
Ken’s Information Technology and Security experience spans over three decades, with strategic, technical, and executive experience at companies such as Microsoft, Dell, Capital IQ, Miradiant Global Network, Avaya, and Merrill Lynch. Ken coauthored Microsoft's “Best Practices for Enterprise Security” white papers and participated on the Information Systems Security Association's International Privacy Advisory Board covering the initial implementation of GLBA. He reported on security risks and performed vulnerability analysis for Windows IT Pro Magazine’s “Security Administrator” publication for four years, and has been a contributing expert for Information Security, CIO and CSO Magazines, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Ponemon Institute.

More
Tom Schenk, Jr.

Tom Schenk, Jr. LinkedIn

Managing Director, Analytics, KPMG

Tom Schenk Jr. is a researcher and author on applying technology, data, and analytics to make better decisions. He’s currently the director of analytics at KPMG where he leads the smart city and government analytics practice. He’s authored several publications, including a book on data visualization, book chapters on education research, and academic articles on a variety of subjects. Tom has previously served as Chief Data Officer for the City of Chicago, led education research for the State of Iowa, and has held a variety of positions within academia. Tom is the co-founder of the Civic Analytics Network at Harvard University’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. He is also the current co-organizer of the Chicago Data Visualization Group. His work has been featured in The Economist and Wall Street Journal while he’s been featured in television programs on PBS NewsHour and National Geographic Channel.

More
Sarjoo Shah

Sarjoo Shah LinkedIn

Industry Executive Director, Oracle

Sarjoo is a business and information technology (IT) leader with many years of experience in Public and Private sector leadership and executive roles. His expertise in building and leading teams with focus on innovation and customer service are proven from his role(s) as the HHS CIO for Oklahoma, to Deloitte and most recently as Program Managing Director at SAIC. Sarjoo specializes in understanding the complex problems that face State and Local entities and providing innovative and transformational solutions to meet and exceed the expectations of business users.
Sarjoo held various other positions, State CTO, PMO Director and Treasurer within the executive committee of the American Public Human Services Association IT Solutions Management (APHSA-ISM) for several years.
Sarjoo holds the position of Industry Executive Director, State and Local Government focusing on developing our strategy for Health and Human Services (HHS) transformation using Oracle Cloud.

More
David Shames

David Shames LinkedIn

Senior Account Executive, Tyler Technologies

David Shames is a Virginia native, and current resident of Charlottesville. He works with public sector clients across the Commonwealth as a Senior Account Executive of the Data & Insights Division of Tyler Technologies. For the past 5 years David has worked with strategic State, City, and County IT teams throughout the East Coast (and the downstream agencies and departments they serve) to better manage, share, and gain insights from their data. While David's only experience working directly within the public sector was spent as a Peace Corps Volunteer after graduating from the University of Richmond, he has a deep respect for the responsibilities of the clients he serves. In his spare time David is an active member of the civic tech organization Code for Charlottesville which serves the central Virginia region in supporting the data and technology projects of area non-profits.

More
Suresh Soundararajan

Suresh Soundararajan

Chief Information Officer, Virginia Department of Health, Commonwealth of Virginia

Suresh Soundararajan is an innovative IT leader with 27 years of experience in leadership, digital innovation and transformation, management of programs, projects, healthcare systems, implementation and support and information security in both private and public sector. Suresh is described as an inspirational team leader and maximizes his team’s performance through empowering and supporting inventive ideas from conception to implementation. He is a results oriented individual focused on implementing industry best practices and standards using strategic and cost effective technology solutions to meet challenges. He is regular speaker on many platforms about Public Sector Innovation and Automation. Suresh was awarded Govtech’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers for 2022 and he was also a recipient of Governor’s Technology Award in 2017 for the best informatics project. Suresh led efforts to implement a variety of innovative and collaborative solutions to address COVID-19 pandemic containment and vaccination efforts. Currently, Suresh is leading an Agency Data and Digital transformation effort.

More
Sri Srinivasan

Sri Srinivasan

Southeast Data Analytics, AI, & Automation Leader, IBM

As a tenured professional with 30+ years of data, informatics, AI, and Automation experience in various industries, Sri has played dual roles of a technologist and trusted business leader collaborating with C-level and senior IT and line of business to transform how organizations leverage enterprise information and processes to become more outcomes-driven and data-driven to improve operational and business productivity. With one goal in mind - Improve time and accuracy of decision-making at all levels to deliver overall business outcomes. In Sri’s roles, he closely engages, co-creates and helps clients and partners in data, analytics, AI, and automation solutions to deliver outcomes and business results through the use of enabling technology.

More
Marcus Thornton

Marcus Thornton

Deputy Chief Data Officer, Office of the Secretary of Administration, Office of Data Governance and Analytics, Commonwealth of Virginia

Marcus Thornton serves as the Deputy Chief Data Officer (CDO) for the Commonwealth and is from Danville, Virginia. He has worked in software engineering for the last 20 years. Before becoming the Deputy CDO, he worked for a data company that specializes in the collection of retail pricing data across all of North America. As the Deputy CDO, he serves as the Chief Operating Officer to the Chief Data Officer and the CDO’s technical adviser. He creates new partnerships between the Office of Data Governance and Analytics and Commonwealth agencies and shows them how sharing data across the Commonwealth can be leveraged to make more informed decisions and increase their own efficiencies

More
Gerrit VanVoorhees

Gerrit VanVoorhees

Director of Technology, City of Petersburg

Gerrit VanVoorhees has been working over 25 years in technology, most of that time working in the public sector (K12 and Local Government). Currently he is the IT Director of the City of Petersburg Virginia.

More
Doug Vestal

Doug Vestal LinkedIn

Director Consulting Expert, CGI

Doug has over 20 years of experience working with State Government clients. He has worked to transform and modernize applications to run in the Cloud.

More
Michael Watson

Michael Watson

Chief Information Security Officer, Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Commonwealth of Virginia

Michael Watson is the Chief Information Security Officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia at the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA). With over 15 years of experience working in the information security field, he leads the Commonwealth Security and Risk Management team which provides security governance, oversight, and risk management for the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government in Virginia.
Michael holds a graduate degree in telecommunications with a focus on security and management from the University of Pennsylvania and earned his undergraduate degree from James Madison University. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), incident handler, intrusion analyst, penetration tester, and information systems auditor.

More
Richard White

Richard White

Director of Information Technology, Department of Labor and Industry, Commonwealth of Virginia

Richard brings to his IT leadership role in the Department of Labor and Industry, almost 20 years of technology and management experience spent at tech forward companies like Earthlink, Godaddy, and Apple. Prior to joining state government in 2021, Richard led his own successful IT consulting company serving clients big and small across the country, taking existing legacy systems and transforming them with modern, budget friendly, bottom-line boosting technology solutions. He has a proven track record of streamlining business processes with innovative IT solutions and manages change in a way that results in successful, high levels of end user adoption.

More
Anthony Wood

Anthony Wood

Head of Innovation, Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Commonwealth of Virginia

Anthony Wood is the innovation spark for the Commonwealth of Virginia. As befitting his role as Head of Innovation for the VITA Innovation Program, Wood is in constant motion. He has brought excitement, curiosity, volunteerism and partnership to Virginia agencies, localities and universities and the vendors who support their initiatives. Programs on topics from blockchain to unmanned systems and smart communities have helped keep the commonwealth on the cutting edge of opportunity. Wood's Virginia government career began, appropriately, at COVITS, and it is with his typical great enthusiasm that he addresses Virginia's Innovation Symposium today. Hold on to your hats and prepare to meet the future!

More
Morgan Wright

Morgan Wright

Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government

Morgan is an internationally recognized expert on cybersecurity strategy, cyberterrorism, identity theft and privacy. Morgan's landmark testimony before Congress on Healthcare.gov changed how the government collected personally identifiable information. He is currently a contributor to TheHill.com on matters of cybersecurity, national security and intelligence in addition to his national news appearances. Previously, Morgan was a senior advisor in the U.S. State Department Antiterrorism Assistance Program and senior law enforcement advisor for the 2012 Republican National Convention. In addition to 18 years in state and local law enforcement as a highly decorated state trooper and detective, Morgan has developed solutions in defense, justice and intelligence for the largest technology companies in the world including Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent/Bell Labs, Unisys and SAIC.

More
Jeffrey Young

Jeffrey Young LinkedIn

Solution Consulting Manager, Adobe

Jeffrey is a Solution Consultant Manager for Adobe System’s Public Sector. During his 12 years at Adobe, he has partnered with Federal and State governments to help build and maintain trust through digital experiences, creativity, and efficiencies. He is better known as soldier 258 in Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds and as “Dad” to seven children.

More
View Speakers

Agenda

Wednesday, September 7

8:00 am Eastern

Registration and Morning Refreshments

Lobby and Grand Ballroom A

9:00 am Eastern

Welcome

Grand Ballroom B/C

Robert Osmond, Chief Information Officer, Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Commonwealth of Virginia

Opening Remarks

Margaret “Lyn” McDermid, Secretary of Administration, Commonwealth of Virginia

9:15 am Eastern

Keynote – Master Your World!

Grand Ballroom B/C

Leadership is a lot simpler when circumstances are easy. But we are not living in easy times. Global and local issues challenge us daily. Maintaining focus – and our teams’ focus – is a constant struggle. Regardless of our titles or positions, we need to find ways to inspire those around us to be supportive, communicative, and productive. To be at the top of your game requires accurately and actively assessing both strengths and blind spots. This timely keynote address, by renowned leadership coach and author Mary Kelly, provides actionable takeaways for mastering your world during extraordinary times.

Mary Kelly, PhD, Former Commander, US Navy

10:10 am Eastern

Bits & Bytes – The Future of Data in the Commonwealth

Grand Ballroom B/C

The last few years have exponentially highlighted the value of data governance, data sharing, and intelligence across the Commonwealth – but also identified challenges and gaps. Government can’t be run with anecdotes anymore; decisions must be data-driven in order to drive efficiency. Come hear from the Virginia Office of Data Governance and Analytics’ leaders about their vision for guiding and supporting an enterprise data management strategy within the Commonwealth and why we need it.

Moderator: Zach Thorn, National Conference Director, Government Technology

Ken Pfeil, Chief Data Officer, Office of the Secretary of Administration, Office of Data Governance and Analytics, Commonwealth of Virginia

Marcus Thornton, Deputy Chief Data Officer, Office of the Secretary of Administration, Office of Data Governance and Analytics, Commonwealth of Virginia

10:30 am Eastern

Networking Break

Grand Ballroom A

11:00 am Eastern

Concurrent Sessions

The Evolving Cyberthreat Landscape

Room B15-A (Level 1)

The cyber landscape is constantly shifting, and strategies and safeguards that were considered secure just a few years ago don’t cut it anymore. Users are more distributed. Nation-state actors are more emboldened than ever. This session takes a practical look at what to do when breached and dives into strategies on the ever-evolving cyber front.

Moderator: Morgan Wright, Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government

Brett Barganz, Solutions Executive, Verizon

Andy Levitt, Cyber Security Specialist, HP Inc.

Mike Watson, Chief Information Security Officer, Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Commonwealth of Virginia

Modernize and Thrive

Room B15-B (Level 1)

Are outdated systems the bane of your existence? We can’t keep kicking the can down the road, your technical debts are coming due! Now is the time to take stock and consider solutions like platform development - ones that may or may not require radical remedies. Are there more innovative, agile, and adaptive processes that you should be considering? This session focuses on some modernization success stories and underlines why you should do so sooner rather than later.

Moderator: Zach Thorn, National Conference Director, Government Technology

Laura Avent, Executive Government Advisor, Amazon Web Services

Barry Condrey, Chief Information Officer, Chesterfield County

Suresh Soundararajan, Chief Information Officer, Virginia Department of Health, Commonwealth of Virginia

Rethinking Your Workforce

Room B15-C (Level 1)

There is no doubt that this is the Age of Acceleration. How can government compete with recruitment and retention of staff in today’s competitive environment? What are the new IT skills sets of the future? The pandemic opened a window to drive long-needed change, as it served as a catalyst for reexamining how we create and develop winning workforces. This session looks at ways to remain attractive in today’s market.

Moderator: Anthony Wood, Head of Innovation, Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Commonwealth of Virginia

Glenn Davidson, Human Capital Specialist Executive, Deloitte

Dr. Liza Wilson Durant, Associate Provost, Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement, George Mason University

Dr. Samy El-Tawab, Associate Professor and Information Technology Program Director, College of Integrated Science and Engineering, James Madison University

Jeffrey Young, Solution Consulting Manager, Adobe

Intelligent Data Drives Decisions

Room B16 (Level 1)

Data is everywhere and it is being pressed into service in ways that none of us could have imagined just a few years ago. Such a valuable commodity deserves to be leveraged to its fullest benefit. Governments are pushing data up the priority list to mesh programs together. How will you use data to serve your constituents? This session discusses how data rose to such prominence, where we might be falling short and ways to overcome the challenges and risks inherent in pushing the data envelope.

Moderator: Jeana Bigham, Executive Director, Content Studio, Government Technology

Jaime Lees, Chief Data Officer, Department of Technology Services, Arlington County

Ken Pfeil, Chief Data Officer, Office of the Secretary of Administration, Office of Data Governance and Analytics, Commonwealth of Virginia

Tom Schenk, Jr., Managing Director, Analytics, KPMG

Sarjoo Shah, Industry Executive Director, Oracle

Jumpstarting a Smart Future

Governor’s Room/B20 (Level 2)

The concept of smart communities (and smart government in general) has been around for many years, but it is taking on new importance in a post-pandemic era. The technology drivers are well-known: connectivity, networks, cloud, IoT, AI, big data, et al. There are a lot of moving parts, which is why innovative programs have sometimes been slow to materialize. This session discusses how to simplify, accelerate, and strategize your own smart evolution.

Moderator: John Holden, Director, Economic Development and Tourism, Stafford County

Michael Cannon, Chief Technology Officer, Stafford County

David Ihrie, Chief Technology Officer, Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

Jen Morgan, Virginia Program Lead, RIoT

12:00 pm Eastern

Lunch

Grand Ballroom B/C

1:00 pm Eastern

Concurrent Sessions

Driving Digital Transformation

Room B15-A (Level 1)

Embracing change means getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Digital transformation is a particularly difficult and complex journey. Effectively utilizing the people, process and technology are the keys to turning possibilities into surefire outcomes. This session focuses on successfully navigating change, driving adaptation, developing better processes, and broadening comfort zones.

Moderator: Jeana Bigham, Executive Director, Content Studio, Government Technology

Charles O'Shea, Regional Executive for State Government Strategy, T-Mobile USA, Inc.

Sri Srinivasan, Southeast Data Analytics, AI, & Automation Leader, IBM

Melinda Stewart, Chief of Enterprise Solutions, Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Commonwealth of Virginia

Richard White, Director of Information Technology, Department of Labor and Industry, Commonwealth of Virginia

Keeping Our Head in the Clouds

Room B15-B (Level 1)

Faced with serious economic and social challenges, governments organizations are in search of ways to increase scalability, agility, accessibility, and cost efficiency. The cloud is naturally taking center stage in strategic planning, and it is vital to keep up on where the cloud is headed and how to use it to your best advantage. The ability to manage a multi-cloud environment will require the right skillsets both internally and externally. This session will explain the trends, people and technologies that will help guide cloud decisions in the months and years ahead.

Moderator: Naveen Abraham, Chief of Core Infrastructure Services, Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Commonwealth of Virginia

Bob Branch, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, City of Virginia Beach

Jon Minshew, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Dell Technologies

Doug Vestal, Director Consulting Expert, CGI

IT’s Role in Crisis Management and Response

Room B15-C (Level 1)

Somewhere nearby is another crisis or disaster waiting to happen. It might be nature’s wrath, a cyberattack, a sudden social upheaval or a new pandemic. Decisions will have to be made at lightning speed to save lives, time, and reputations. This is possible only to the degree that the right data is gathered, quickly shared, and skillfully analyzed, no matter what the circumstances. This session dives into at tools and strategies that enable quality decisions in the worst of conditions.

Moderator: Morgan Wright, Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government

Aliscia Andrews, Deputy Secretary of Cybersecurity, Commonwealth of Virginia

Dave Burhop, Executive Director, Division of Legislative Automated Systems, Commonwealth of Virginia

David Shames, Senior Account Executive, Tyler Technologies

AI and Government

Room B16 (Level 1)

Artificial intelligence is one of the most talked about technologies both inside and outside of government. From chatbots to predictive analytics, AI is rapidly embedding itself into the tools governments use across the globe. As with any new technology, there are more questions than answers, especially when we consider its ultimate impact on government agencies and their workforces. This session dives into the latest advances in AI and what they might mean to your organization now and in the future.

Moderator: Lindsay LeGrand, Director of Communications, Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Commonwealth of Virginia

Alexis Bonnell, Emerging Technology Evangelist, Public Sector, Google Cloud

Catherine McGhee, Chief Deputy Commissioner, Department of Transportation, Commonwealth of Virginia

Executive Briefing

Governor’s Room/B20 (Level 2)

(Industry sponsors only) Hosted by Robert Osmond, Chief Information Officer, Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Commonwealth of Virginia

2:00 pm Eastern

Networking Break

Grand Ballroom A

2:20 pm Eastern

Bits & Bytes – Connecting, Collaborating, Doing: How VaLGITE is Making a Difference

Grand Ballroom B/C

John Harrison, Director of Information Technology, Franklin County

Steve Jones, Director of Technology, Town of Blacksburg

Mark Perry, Director of Information Technology, City of Fairfax

Gerrit VanVoorhees, Director of Technology, City of Petersburg

2:40 pm Eastern

General Session – Got Customer Service?

Grand Ballroom B/C

Doing the right things at the right time for the right people are core beliefs for public servants. The world has become a “now” society that demands that problems get solved and services get delivered in the blink of an eye. Strong visionary leadership and a skilled team is what makes quality customer service more important now than ever. This session will break down this important topic using intuitive and thoughtful quotes from people around the world that will be a foundation for a discussion with our live panel of public sector leaders.

Moderator: Zach Thorn, National Conference Director, Government Technology

Bojan Duric, Chief Data Officer, City of Virginia Beach

Janet Lawson, Director, Department of Human Resource Management, Commonwealth of Virginia

Robert Osmond, Chief Information Officer, Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Commonwealth of Virginia

3:50 pm Eastern

Networking Reception

Grand Ballroom A

Network with your colleagues and discuss technology solutions with the event exhibitors.

Conference times, agenda, and speakers are subject to change.

Greater Richmond Convention Center

403 N 3rd Street
Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 783-7300

Get Directions To
Greater Richmond Convention Center

Advisory Board

Government Representatives

Vengatesh Agaram
Chief Information Officer
Department of Taxation
Commonwealth of Virginia

Zacc Allen
Chief Information Officer
Department of Corrections
Commonwealth of Virginia

Aliscia Andrews
Deputy Secretary for Cybersecurity
Office of the Governor
Commonwealth of Virginia

Stephanie Benson
External Communications and Outreach Manager
Virginia Information Technologies Agency
Commonwealth of Virginia

David Burhop
Director
Division of Legislative Automated Systems
Commonwealth of Virginia

Michael Cannon
Chief Technology Officer
Stafford County

Barry Condrey
Chief Information Officer
Chesterfield County

Mike Culp
Director of Broadband Accessibility and Affordability Office
Albemarle County

Ben Delp
Director of Research Development & Promotion
James Madison University

Scott Fairholm
Chief Information Officer
City of Chesapeake

Robert Hobbelman
Chief Information Officer
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
Commonwealth of Virginia

Lindsay LeGrand
Director of Communications
Virginia Information Technologies Agency
Commonwealth of Virginia

Rob Mancini
Chief Information Officer
Prince William County

Robert Osmond
Chief Information Officer
Virginia Information Technologies Agency
Commonwealth of Virginia

Ken Pfeil
Chief Data Officer
Office of the Secretary of Administration, Office of Data Governance and Analytics
Commonwealth of Virginia

Joyce Reed
Assistant Secretary of Administration
Commonwealth of Virginia

Michael Riggs
Director of Information Technology
Supreme Court of Virginia
Commonwealth of Virginia

Gregory Scott
Chief Technical Officer
Fairfax County

Emily Seibert
Program Manager, Virginia.gov
Virginia Information Technologies Agency
Commonwealth of Virginia

Suresh Soundararajan
Chief Information Officer
Virginia Department of Health
Commonwealth of Virginia

Melinda Stewart
Chief, Enterprise Solutions
Virginia Information Technologies Agency
Commonwealth of Virginia

Robert Stolle
Senior Vice President
Policies and Regional Initiatives
Center for Innovative Technology

Marcus Thornton
Deputy Chief Data Officer
Office of the Secretary of Administration, Office of Data Governance and Analytics
Commonwealth of Virginia

Peter Wallace
Chief Information Officer
City of Virginia Beach

Mike Watson
Chief Information Security Officer
Virginia Information Technologies Agency
Commonwealth of Virginia

Chuck Williams
Assistant Director of IT
City of Chesapeake

Anthony Wood
Head of Innovation
Virginia Information Technologies Agency
Commonwealth of Virginia

Industry Representatives

Matt Crane
General Manager
Tyler Technologies | NIC

Tricia Harper
Principal
KPMG

Brian Hurd
Client Executive
VMware

Gary Lynn
Senior Account Manager
HP Inc.

Aaron Mathes
Senior Vice President, Consulting Service
CGI

Loren Maughlin
State & Local Technology Cloud Representative
Oracle

Elizabeth Mayo
Director, SLED
Verizon

Joe McFadden
Sr. Account Executive
Dell Technologies

Charles O'Shea
Regional Executive for State Government Strategy
T-Mobile USA, Inc.

Don Parr
Managing Director
Deloitte

Barbara Rigatti
Public Sector Team Lead
Google Cloud

Robert West
Senior Account Manger
Amazon Web Services

Made Possible by Our Corporate Sponsors

Registration Information / Contact Us

Contact Information

2023 Sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, contact:

Heather Earney
Government Technology
Phone: (916) 932-1339
E-mail: heather.earney@erepublic.com

Venue

Greater Richmond Convention Center

403 N 3rd Street
Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 783-7300