Jeffrey W. Brown is a recognized information security and IT risk expert with a strong track record of more than 25 years implementing cost-effective controls for global Fortune 500 financial institutions including Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, GE Capital, BNY Mellon and AIG. He currently serves as the first CISO for the State of Connecticut where he is building a centralized cybersecurity program for all agencies under the Executive Branch of government.
Jeff is a co-Chair of Evanta’s New York CISO Executive Summit events and is a frequent speaker at many industry events and conferences. He is the author of multiple articles and publications including The Security Leader’s Communication Playbook. His new book, Leading the Digital Workforce, is scheduled to be published in early 2023 by CRC Press. Jeff also serves a board advisor for iQ4 on their Virtual Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Challenge and advises the cyber programs at Ithaca College and the Connecticut Institute of Technology: University of New Haven.
He holds a B.A. and an M.S. from Pace University, a certificate in Cybersecurity from Ithaca College and multiple industry certifications including CISSP-ISSMP, CISM, CRISC and PMP.

Talya has 17+ years of experience managing client relationships, strategic partnerships, campaign activation, and cross-functional teams in advertising, marketing, experience design, and has shaped and led research, brand, and experience programs, specializing in human-centered experience design through the lens of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in various industries. In an area of focus for both Accenture and our clients, Talya drives impactful programs that shift behaviors and mindsets in new and innovative ways, while making sure to build and cultivate safe spaces that allow all people to reach their potential, to have discourse, to learn, to grow and lead in their spheres of influence.
Talya's eminence and leadership style is a differentiator. From the C-Suite to her peers she demonstrates the importance of empowering historically excluded employees to find their own voice, and equipping leaders, residents and employees with tools, data, language and insights to drive meaningful and relevant change.

Rich Gaffney is the General Manager in the East for HP, Inc. In this role Rich is responsible for managing customer and partner relationships, strategic financial plans, product and technology strategies, and sales force structure and strategy within the public sector business. Rich focuses on providing IT innovation, enabling business outcomes, and supporting State and Local government, K12 and Higher Education in the US.
With a 26 year tenure at HP, Rich has held a variety of leadership positions in channel and b2b sales and developing, managing and sustaining high performance teams.
Rich is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, and resides in Chelmsford, MA where he is active in a number local community organizations.

Daniel Giacomi has worked in the different aspects of the state government for going on 15 years. For the past five he has served as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Director for the Connecticut Department of Social Services, overseeing the state’s largest anti-hunger program that serves over 476,000 Connecticut residents annually. In addition, Dan also serves as the agency’s business lead for the MyDSS Progressive Web App, DSS Chatbot, Code for America Safety Net Innovation Lab Project, and has been heavily involved in the development of the MyCT multi-agency benefits platform.
As part of DSS’ leadership team, Dan has worked hard to fight food insecurity in Connecticut securing over $1 billion dollars in additional SNAP benefits during the public health emergency, was instrumental in the modernization of the agency’s benefits eligibility platforms and technologies, and strives to improve the client experience for CT residents. He is a member of the American Association of SNAP Directors Executive Advisory Council, CT Food Policy Council, Governor’s Workforce Council, CT Legislature’s Human Services Committee Food is Medicine Work Group, and SNAP R01 Research Study Advisory Board.
Dan lives in Southington, CT with his wife and two children. When Dan isn’t spending time with his family or discussing the intersection of policy and technology, you’ll find him cheering on the UConn Huskies or trying to find the state’s best buffalo wings.

Scott Gaul is Chief Data Officer for Connecticut, at the Office of Policy and Management, where he supports the state’s efforts to improve open data, integrated data, through the state longitudinal data system, GIS data and data analytics. Previously, Scott worked on research, evaluation and community indicators at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the community foundation for the Greater Hartford region. Prior to that, he served as director of analysis in the Washington, D.C.-based Microfinance Information Exchange and worked for the World Bank, Mercy Corps, and Quantitative Risk Management. He holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Johns Hopkins and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago.

Max Gigle is a government innovator with experience leveraging effective and targeted management, communication, and engagement strategies in the Public Sector. Driven by positive change, Max serves as the Program Manager of Connecticut’s Digital Services team (DAS-BITS), which brings human-centered solutions to government’s most pressing technical challenges. In addition to his career in government, Max holds a masters from the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy, is passionate about public transportation, and is an avid travel / street photographer. Go Huskies!

Barbara Irish has worked in the retail, nonprofit and technology sectors for more than 25 years, helping transform work cultures for competitive advantage and workforce engagement. Her specialty is preparing work cultures for and integrating the different cultures after a merger/acquisition.
She has three decades’ experience coaching executive teams through employee-driven participatory workplace redesign. Her clients span Fortune400, international, national, government, nonprofit and technology startups.

Jeff Mitchell has worked in high-tech with Fortune 500 companies and at startup ventures his entire career. He is a proven business leader and has extensive experience in providing Intelligent Data Management, SaaS, and cloud-based solutions. Just prior to joining Scan-Optics, Jeff was President and CEO of Compass Group, a full-service management and consulting company providing advanced SaaS software solutions to a wide variety of clients.
Throughout his career, Jeff has held global executive leadership positions including Thomson Learning as SVP, Global Sales; Professional Services and VP, Application Software at Siemens; and VP, Executive Managing Director, Sales at LexisNexis Group. He also served as an executive for the first e-marketplace startup in the consumer-packaged goods industry.

Paul Noren is the General Manager of NIC Connecticut, a division of Tyler Technologies. Paul leads a team based in Hartford, CT who are responsible for developing and maintaining the state’s official website, as well as other online services for the State of Connecticut. Paul brings more than 20 years of technology experience in both the public and private sector.

Jason Rosa is an experienced IT leader, educator and cybersecurity risk manager. He is in the process of transitioning to DAS/BITS as the Customer Success Manager (CSM) assigned to the CT Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP). Jason previously served as the Director of Information Systems and Cybersecurity, and interim FBI CJIS Information Security Officer at DESPP, where he was also appointed as the agency’s first Chief Information Security Officer.
Prior to joining the public sector, Jason served in various leadership roles at IBM, including Global Portfolio, Program and Project Management, in addition to Product Sales and Marketing. Jason has an MBA in Information Management from UCONN, obtained various cybersecurity and digital forensics certifications, and completed the Summer Venture in Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Jason also served as a part-time Lecturer for over 13 years in the MIS Department at CCSU, his undergraduate alma mater.

Deborah Schander began her tenure as Connecticut’s first female State Librarian in 2021. Prior to joining the Connecticut State Library, she was an educator and law librarian, serving in library administration at Seton Hall University and Vanderbilt University as well as working at law libraries in Georgia and California, where she specialized in foreign and international legal research, technology, and library outreach. She holds a JD and an MLIS from Florida State University (2007).
Deborah is an appointed member of Connecticut’s Commission on Educational Technology; the Data Analysis and Technology Advisory Board; and the Connecticut Semiquincentennial Commission. She represents the State Library on more than two dozen other local, regional, and national library, law, history, and archives interest groups.
Deborah is past chair of the Professional Engagement, Growth, and Advancement special interest section of the American Association of Law Libraries, past president of the Atlanta Law Libraries Association, as well as current vice chair of Southern Connecticut State University’s ILS Advisory Board.
Deborah lives in Berlin, where she is an active member of the Kensington-Berlin Rotary Club. The daughter of an educator and a scientist, she has been to all 48 contiguous states; read the complete Sherlock Holmes stories; can recite the first 22 elements of the periodic table in order; and owns a Star Trek cookie cutter set. In true librarian fashion, her house is full of books, crafts, and two rescue cats who oversee it all.

Scott Smith is currently the Chief Information Officer for the City of Bristol, CT & Bristol Public Schools. He has been in the engineering/Information technology field for over 31 years in different capacities with the last 24 being in Bristol.
He also enjoys sharing his experiences and knowledge of IT Networks as an Adjunct Professor, teaching classes in IT networking at Naugatuck Community College.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut and a Master’s Degree in Information Technology from the University of Maryland.
Scott has also been a member of GMIS, an International organization of public sector technology leaders for over 15 years. He is currently serving on the GMIS International board as the Treasurer and has been the Treasurer of the CT chapter for about 11 years.
Under his leadership, the City of Bristol was one of the first cities in Connecticut to build a wholly City-Owned fiber network to connect all of the City and school facilities. This network was built over 10 years ago and since then, the City has used this network to further efficiencies by implementing applications on top of this high-speed network such as server consolidation and IP telephony. Scott has always been a believer that high speed fiber networks are no longer just a “nice to have”, but rather a necessity to be able to handle the bandwidth needed for our ever-increasing technologies.

Joe Stanford has been with the State of Connecticut since 2016. Joe spent the majority of his first five years as the Chief Innovation Officer for the Department of Social Services. While at the Department of Social Services Joe led the IT Division and was responsible for implementing innovative solutions as a part of HHS Shared Services. As part of CT IT Optimization and the forming of Bureau of Information Technology Solutions, Agency Success was created, and Joe became the Director of Agency Success. In his current role Joe is responsible for working with state agencies and ensuring various needs are met.

Renee Tarun has over 20 years of experience in the cybersecurity and information technology fields with leadership experience in development and engineering, operations, strategy, policy, and portfolio management, across the intelligence community, law enforcement, and private industry. As VP of Information Security SO at Fortinet, she focuses on enterprise security, compliance and governance, and product security. Prior to joining Fortinet, she served as Special Assistant to the Director, National Security Agency (NSA), for Cyber and Director of NSA's Cyber Task Force, in which she advanced NSA's execution of its cybersecurity and cyber-related missions by overseeing resources; defining and integrating mission capabilities; and shaping agency strategy and national level policy at the White House. Renee is also a board member for the George Mason University Volgenau School of Engineering, creating synergy between the school and the professional community by addressing workforce development demands, industry expectations, and employment trends. She is married with two children.

Matt Thibault leads the cybersecurity business for AT&T’s Public Sector, specifically focused on securing the missions of State, Local, and Education (SLED) customers across America. Entering the industry as a cybersecurity solutions architect and serving as Chief of Staff for the Public Sector organization, Matt brings together deep technical knowledge with an understanding of the business and customer landscape to own and direct the relationship with key leadership across the Federal and SLED markets.

Maria S. Thompson is the State and Local Government Cybersecurity Lead for Amazon Web Services (AWS). In this role, she brings over 20 years of experience in information technology, strategic planning, computer network defense and risk management. Prior to her role with AWS, Maria served as North Carolina’s first State Chief Risk and Security Officer. There she was instrumental in establishing the Whole of State Approach to Cyber. This included the development and implementation of the state’s first Cyber Disruption Plan, and the Joint Cyber Task Force (JCTF). Maria also served 20 years in the United States Marine Corps and retired as the cybersecurity chief/information assurance chief for the Marine Corps. Other security roles held includes certification and accreditation (C&A) lead for the Multi-National Forces – Iraq and senior security engineer in a joint military organization and Security Operations Center lead for a federal agency.