Name: Connecticut Digital Government Summit 2023
Start: 2023-09-07T08:00
Location: Hartford Marriott Downtown

Overview

The Digital Government Summit brings together technology focused public-sector professionals with leading industry partners to connect on innovative approaches, get inspired and discover new technologies. Join us and let’s improve the future of government together!

A message from our Keynote Speaker

It is my pleasure to invite you to the 7th annual Connecticut Digital Government Summit. This Summit provides a unique opportunity for government and technology leaders to discuss our common challenges, learn from industry innovation, and collaborate to better serve our State’s residents. This Summit is not targeted specifically for technical individuals. It is relevant to all governmental leaders and practitioners who wish to improve the services we provide. I hope you will join me in building the next generation of government this September in Hartford, Connecticut.

– Mark Raymond, Chief Information Officer, State of Connecticut

Speakers

Governor Ned Lamont

State of Connecticut

Commissioner Michelle Gilman

Department of Administrative Services, State of Connecticut

Senator James Maroney

State of Connecticut

James Maroney was first elected to represent the 14th District (Milford) in 2018. Before being elected to the Senate, he was a State Representative for the 119th District from 2012-2014, where he served on the Higher Education Committee. Due to his distinguished service on the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee, he was asked to serve on the Planning Commission for Higher Education and help develop a strategic plan for higher education in Connecticut.
Prior to politics, Sen. Maroney was a past president and founding member of the Milford Education Foundation and also served on the Milford Board of Education. A proud and active participant in the community, he is a member and past president of the Devon Rotary, where he is the co-chair of the scholarship committee.
Sen. Maroney founded First Choice College Placement in January of 1999 which aims to make young people’s higher education dreams come to fruition. First Choice College Placement also makes community service a priority and offers a number of educational seminars, donates to scholarships, and makes practice SAT and ACT tests available to the community. First Choice is a member of the Milford Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Milford Business Association.
Prior to a successful career in public service, State Senator Maroney attended Yale (Class of 96), where he was a 3-time varsity letter winner in both track and field and cross-country. In his senior year, he was elected captain of the track and field team and was awarded the Yale Men’s Cross-Country Award for Performance and Dedication. He graduated from Jonathan Law High School of Milford in 1992.
Senator Maroney lives in Milford with his wife Jennifer and his son Jay.

Mark Raymond

Mark Raymond, Chief Information Officer, Department of Administrative Services, State of Connecticut

Experienced Chief Information Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the government administration industry. Strong information technology professional skilled in Organizational Design, Business Transformation, Management Consulting, Program Management, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).

Heather Younger

Founder & CEO of Employee Fanatix, TEDx speaker, Best Selling Author

Heather R Younger is the Founder and CEO of Employee Fanatix, a leading employee engagement and consulting firm. She is a sought-after keynote speaker who brings revealing insights to the stage from over 25,000 employee experiences. A diversity, equity and inclusion strategist, and the world’s leading expert on listening at work, she is the host of the Leadership with Heart Podcast. Heather is a regular contributor to Forbes and Fast Company and is the best-selling author of The 7 Intuitive Laws of Employee Loyalty, which hit the top of the "Forbes Must-Read List for HR Professionals." Her latest best-selling book, The Art of Caring Leadership, teaches the radical power of caring support in leadership and in the workplace. Heather’s upcoming book, The Art of Active Listening, increases belonging, loyalty, profitability, and innovation. It is the difference between thinking we understand what people want and knowing what they want. Available for preorder now, this book is your key to building stronger relationships, avoiding misunderstandings, and anticipating problems before they surface at work.
A former attorney who for many years worked in corporate America, what is most important to know about Heather is that she brings a breadth of experience - extensive quantitative and qualitative research - and a truly deep passion for advocacy, resilience, human relations, and connection - to every audience, every workshop, every consultation. Her journey began as an employee retention specialist and quickly pivoted into leadership and becoming a workplace culture expert. Over the years, Heather has been on a mission to help organizations and leaders understand what listening can actually do for them, leading to better workplace outcomes such as customer satisfaction, lower turnover and more engagement. Heather inspires others by teaching the kind of intentional leadership that drives real business results.

Jack Shaw

Innovation and Technology Strategist, Speaker, Author, Consultant

Jack Shaw is a global thought leader and emerging technology strategist with over 30 years of experience. From hearing the echoes of Sputnik's signals as a small child to watching the Moon landing as a teenager to entering the software industry in the 1980's to leading an AI company in the early 2000's, Jack's journey through technology's evolution has equipped him with a uniquely balanced perspective on disruptive change.
Voted one of the World's Top 25 Professional Speakers and one of the Top Five Technology Futurists, Jack has shared his insights with nearly 300,000 leaders and professionals in 26 countries and every U.S. state. He has advised key decision-makers at Fortune 500 corporations such as Mercedes Benz, Bosch, and Coca-Cola, as well as numerous trade associations and governmental organizations. Jack's expertise extends to AI, Blockchain, 5G, the Internet of Things, and the emerging autonomic economy.
A Yale University graduate with a Kellogg MBA, Jack is the author of three books on emerging technologies. His forward-thinking approach and ability to explain complex concepts in easily understood terms make him an invaluable guide for any organization seeking to navigate the future.

Michael A. Atkinson

Principal Sales Engineer, Armis

Mike lives in the North suburbs of Chicago with his wife, their four kids, a dog and an indeterminate number of hermit crabs. He's been working in cybersecurity for almost thirty years, with most of that time focused on serving the public sector.

Jeff Brown

Chief Information Security Officer, Department of Administrative Services, State of Connecticut

Jeffrey W. Brown is a seasoned information security and IT risk expert with a 25-year track record of 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 Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the State of Connecticut, where he is developing a centralized cybersecurity program for all agencies under the Executive Branch of government.

Jeff has authored numerous articles and publications. His latest book, Leading the Digital Workforce, is set to be published in in June 2023 by CRC Press. He is also co-Chair of Evanta's New York CISO Executive Summit and is a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences. He serves as a board advisor for iQ4 and Cowbell Cyber and offers guidance to the cyber programs at Ithaca College and the University of New Haven.

Jeff 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.

Brian Cohen

Vice President, Center for Digital Government

Brian Cohen is the Vice President of the Center for Digital Government and Center Digital Education, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government and education. Prior to joining the Center, Brian was Vice Chancellor and University CIO for the City University of New York (CUNY). As the Vice-Chancellor and University CIO at CUNY, Brian directed the Office of Computing and Information Services (CIS), developed, and managed the enterprise IT vision, strategy and day-to-day technology operations of the University. His areas of focus included academic and business systems, cloud strategies, IT policies and procedures, Cybersecurity, project management, IT resiliency and disaster recovery, and network and telecommunications. Brain also served in leadership roles with the City of New York. Among his many accomplishments, Brian developed the City of New York’s E-Government strategy, implemented the City’s award-winning nyc.gov website, and managed the City’s effort to address the Y2K technology challenge.

Jeff Corriveau

Deputy Director - Digital Engagement, Department of Administrative Services, State of Connecticut

Eyal Darmon

Managing Director, Public Service Generative AI Lead, Accenture

Eyal works with clients across the public sector (including higher education and non-profit) to help them take advantage of the Generative AI and AI innovations that are transforming the delivery of customer experiences, organization workforce, and the enterprise. He leads teams of dedicated strategy, consulting, technology and operation professionals to design, implement and deliver Generative AI solutions that can enable public sector organizations to transform their operations and the customer experiences they offer, simplifying and accelerating how citizens are able to access government services.
Eyal combines passion and pragmatism to shape innovative solutions that have a positive impact for his clients’ customers. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Eyal lives in Colorado with his wife, daughter and two English cocker spaniels.

Adel Ebeid

Director of IT Policy, Office of Policy and Management, State of Connecticut

Adel Ebeid is the Senior IT Policy Advisor to the OPM Secretary. In this role, Adel overseas the IT capital investment program for the state and the development of IT policies and standards. Adel spent most of his professional career leading IT organizations in the public and private sector.

Sarah Ellis

M.S. Ed, Director of Accessibility Services, Charter Oak State College

Sarah Ellis, M.S. Ed, is the Director of Accessibility Services at Charter Oak State College. In addition to overseeing all student accommodations and advocacy initiatives, she chairs the Digital Accessibility Compliance Committee at Charter Oak State College. Sarah provides staff and faculty training in digital accessibility, including accessible procurement, VPAT assessments, and requestor workflows. Sarah greatly enjoys working with her colleagues in the CSCU to bring about equal access for all.

Scott Gaul

Chief Data Officer, Office of Policy and Management, State of Connecticut

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

Program Manager, Connecticut Digital Service, Department of Administrative Services, State of Connecticut

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!

Gabe Grab

AI and Data Leader for State Government, Deloitte

Gabe Grab, brings over 15 years of experience in leading mission-focused analytics and artificial intelligence projects. He has delivered numerous enterprise analytics and technology projects across multiple industries with a primary focus in Human Services, Health, Labor, and Transportation programs. Gabe serves as Deloitte’s national state government leader in AI and Data where he focuses on helping clients improve strategic decision making and insight.
Key project impacts include implementing a Generative AI solution for a Medicaid organization to improve understanding of changing policy requirements, building a data lake solution which combines information across 17 agencies into a centralized hub to provide a Governor’s office with the ability to address critical business questions, and implementing a machine learning solution to identify individuals impacted by the Public Health Emergency unwind. Additionally, he supports Deloitte’s Cortex platform which provides an array of machine learning, GenAI, visualization, and data lake technologies to help clients access, explore, and interact with data in a governed environment.

Dan Johnson

Customer Engineering Manager, Google Cloud

Dan Johnson heads State and Local Government customer engineering for Google, a position he has held since January of 2020. Dan and his team are responsible for working with a range of government customers to apply advances in big data and machine learning to their business problems. Prior to his current role, Dan led Financial Services customer engineering for Google working in Global Banking and Financial Markets.
Dan started his career 19 years ago at NLV Financial Corporation as a Systems Programmer. His path leading to Google in 2013 includes leadership and engineering roles at Cisco Systems, ATT and the University of Oregon.
"Through ML and AI, cloud computing will provide both the data storage and the processing power necessary to train new models tackling new problems that were previously incalculable."
Mr. Johnson holds a BA in Economics from the University of Washington and a MS in Organizational Leadership from Colorado State University.

David Labbadia, Director of Digital Government and Operational Excellence, Bureau of Information Technology Solutions, State of Connecticut

In David’s current role, he helps oversee the State’s teams focusing on improving our resident experiences engaging with content and services, digitally. This includes the full product lifecycle from ideation solutioning through design and development.
In his previous posts, David spent over twenty five years leading and building fast-growth, data-driven, service-oriented companies in support of enterprise client niche market research and advanced analytic needs.
David, is a Portland, CT native and currently resides a few miles from his childhood home with his wife and children.

Jeff Mitchell

Chief Executive Officer, Scan-Optics

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.

Mike Provencher

Director of Technology, Tyler Connecticut, Tyler Technologies

Mike Provencher has over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He has supported many large-scale implementations in his career including implementations for the United States Golf Association, State of Connecticut, Hartford Steam Boiler, Unilever, University of Syracuse and Johnson and Wales University. His skills include process improvement, technology leadership, software architecture and change management.
In his free time, he is working on a Master’s Degree in Information Technology Management, volunteers for Boys Scouts of America and volunteers as President for the Weare Athletic Club, a non-profit support youth sports.

Alex Rose

Director of Governmental Partnerships & Threat Research, SecureWorks

Rose’s career has centered around providing leadership, technical insight, and guidance on the global threat landscape to bridge expertise between private sector and government organizations. She previously established and led a U.S. government inter-agency team of 50+ data scientists, technologists, and domain experts delivering advanced capabilities for countering foreign influence and adversarial propaganda. She has also served in a variety of roles within the National Security Agency – Chief Operations Officer, Technical Leader, Analyst, & Linguist throughout her time in the U.S. Air Force and as a Federal Civilian. Rose is recognized as a subject matter expert in the field and is consistently engaged by law enforcement and intelligence community.

Frank Snyder

Sales Director, Socure

Frank Snyder is the Eastern Director for Socure’s Public Sector team. He has 18+ years leading Identity related software teams supporting State Local and Education customers in the United States. Most recently he led Yubico’s national strategy to introduce FIDO2 and multi-protocol Multi Factor Authentication strategy to augment ICAM solutions across the State and Local market. He was the Eastern SLED Director for eleven years at Quest Software delivering Active Directory Management, Privileged Access Management, Identity and Access Management, and MFA. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy with a B.S. in Mathematics and an MBA from Georgetown. He is a United States Marine veteran with a specialty in Air Traffic Control.

Maria Thompson

State and Local Government Cyber Security Leader, Amazon Web Services

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.

Jenna Tombolesi

Director of Systems Engineering, Public Sector, Fortinet

Jenna supports and offers thought leadership to the New England and Upstate NY public sector customers. Prior to joining the Fortinet SLED team, Jenna supported over 2000 of Fortinet’s partners across the country.

View Speakers

Agenda

Thursday, September 7
8:00 am Eastern	Registration and Morning Refreshments Marriott Ballroom Pre-Function
9:00 am Eastern	Welcome Remarks Marriott Ballroom CDE Mark Raymond, Chief Information Officer, Department of Administrative Services, State of Connecticut
9:05 am Eastern	Opening Remarks Marriott Ballroom CDE Commissioner Michelle Gilman, Department of Administrative Services, State of Connecticut
9:10 am Eastern	Governor Remarks Marriott Ballroom CDE Governor Ned Lamont, State of Connecticut
9:15 am Eastern	Keynote – Seize the Dream Marriott Ballroom CDE Tomorrow’s government will require reimagining how to navigate the increased expectations brought about by a demanding world. To equip your organization to thrive long-term, you need the tools to empower change and risk with agility, confidence and resilience. In this interactive session, you will learn an effective framework to recover more quickly from adversity while clearing a path to retool your workplace through creativity and innovation. Heather Younger, Founder & CEO of Employee Fanatix, Tedx Speaker, Best Selling Author
10:15 am Eastern	Networking Break Marriott Ballroom Pre-Function
10:45 am Eastern	Concurrent Sessions AI in Government Marriott Ballroom A Artificial Intelligence is one of the most talked about technologies inside and outside of government. From chatbots to predictive analytics, it is rapidly embedding itself into organizations across the globe. As with any new technology, there are more questions than answers. This session dives into the latest advances and applications of AI and the various challenges that we must confront now and into the future. Moderator: Zach Thorn, Conference Director, Government Technology Eyal Darmon, Managing Director, Public Service Generative AI Lead, Accenture Adel Ebeid, Director of IT Policy, Office of Policy and Management, State of Connecticut Gabe Grab, AI and Data Leader, State Government, Deloitte Dan Johnson, Manager Customer Engineering, Google You’re on Cloud 9 – Now What? Marriott Ballroom B The cloud is imperative to the success of government technologies. Migration may have been an easy choice for organizations looking to increase scalability, agility, accessibility, and cost efficiency, but what comes next? How can we most effectively operate in multi-cloud environments – and do so securely? This session will illustrate the ways that a cloud approach to technology can help governments manage their futures. Moderator: Brian Cohen, Vice President, Center for Digital Government Maria Thompson, State and Local Government Executive Advisor-Cyber Security Leader, Amazon Web Services Kevin Gravel, Director of Compute Services, Bureau of Information Technology Solutions, State of Connecticut The Future of the End User Experience Capitol Room 1 Communities are built on the ability to get the right services into the right hands at the right time. What will the government experience look like now in the new digital world? Times have changed and people demand quality, mobile-enabled services at their fingertips. This session will explore the public sector’s relationship with the individual and explore the role that we can play in forging a personalized, convenient, and secure experience for the residents of Connecticut. Moderator: Jeff Corriveau, Deputy Director - Digital Engagement, Department of Administrative Services, State of Connecticut Sarah Ellis, M.S. Ed, Director of Accessibility Services, Charter Oak State College Daniel Giacomi, Snap Director, Department of Social Services, State of Connecticut. Max Gigle, Program Manager, Connecticut Digital Service, Department of Administrative Services, State of Connecticut Frank Snyder, Sales Director, Socure
11:45 am Eastern	Lunch Marriott Ballroom CDE
12:45 pm Eastern	Bits and Bytes – AI Policy and Where to Go From Here Marriott Ballroom CDE Senator James Maroney, State of Connecticut Mark Raymond, Chief Information Officer, State of Connecticut
1:05 pm Eastern	Break
1:15 pm Eastern	Concurrent Sessions Staying Ahead of the Cybersecurity Curve Marriott Ballroom A Cyberthreat attacks are increasing in potency and frequency while becoming more treacherous to navigate each year. Zero Trust is becoming less of a buzz word and more of a must have while fraud is a very real concern. It is critical that state and local government be less reactive and more proactive. This session highlights the current reality of security threats and how we can work together to defend and respond. Moderator: Brian Cohen, Vice President, Center for Digital Government Jeff Brown, Chief Information Security Officer, Department of Administrative Services, State of Connecticut Michael A. Atkinson, Principal Sales Engineer, Armis Alex Rose, Director of Governmental Partnerships, Secureworks Jenna Tombolesi, Director of Systems Engineering, Public Sector, Fortinet Intelligent Data Drives Decisions Marriott Ballroom B There’s one thing government has plenty of… DATA! But it’s often siloed, protected, and unusable to anyone but the owner. How can we harness all of that information to make better decisions and tell better stories? How do we know that we can trust the data that we have? This session looks at best practices for breaking down silos and will explore the policies and strategies that must be in place to govern this valuable asset effectively. Moderator: David Labbadia, Director of Digital Government and Operational Excellence, Bureau of Information Technology Solutions, State of Connecticut Scott Gaul, Chief Data Officer, Office of Policy and Management, State of Connecticut David Lukens, Broadband Mapping Coordinator, Office of Policy and Management, State of Connecticut Jeff Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer, Scan-Optics Driving Digital Transformation Capitol Room 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 business processes, and broadening comfort zones. Moderator: Max Gigle, Program Manager, Connecticut Digital Service, Department of Administrative Services, State of Connecticut Easha Canada, Deputy Commissioner & Chief Strategy Officer, Department of Social Services, State of Connecticut. Mike Provencher, Director of Technology, Tyler Connecticut, Tyler Technologies Dave Steuber, Chief of Staff, Office of the Mayor, City of Hartford Executive Briefing Marriott Ballroom CDE (Industry sponsors only) Hosted by: Mark Raymond, Chief Information Officer, Department of Administrative Services, State of Connecticut
2:15 pm Eastern	Networking Break Marriott Ballroom Pre-Function
2:35 pm Eastern	Featured Speaker – Digital Transformation for Government: The Future is Now Marriott Ballroom CDE The world of government technology is shifting by the day. The need for Dynamic Digital Transformation and unlocking the power of emerging technologies like AI and IoT is the future. There are tools that are transforming state and local government including exciting real-world examples drawn from the latest surveys and reporting by Government Technology magazine. Engage in an interactive session to uncover areas where your organization can engage these new opportunities to discover how to improve outcomes for your constituents and your organization. Stay ahead of the curve and revolutionize your government – the future is now! Jack Shaw, Innovation and Technology Strategist, Speaker, Author, Consultant
3:45 pm Eastern	Networking Reception Marriott Ballroom Pre-Function Network with your colleagues and discuss technology solutions with the event exhibitors.
4:30 pm Eastern	End of Conference Conference times, agenda, and speakers are subject to change.

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Advisory Board

Government Representatives

Tom Armstrong
Director, Strategy and Enterprise Architecture
State of Connecticut

Chris Bernard
Chief Information Security Officer
University of Connecticut

Valter Borges
Deputy Director Digital Technology and Operational Excellence
State of Connecticut

Jeff Brown
Chief Information Security Officer
State of Connecticut

Doug Casey
Executive Director
Commission for Education Technology
State of Connecticut

Jeff Corriveau
Deputy Director, Digital Engagement
Department of Administrative Services
State of Connecticut

Adel Ebeid
Director of IT Policy
Office of Policy and Management
State of Connecticut

Max Gigle
Program Manager, Connecticut Digital Service
Department of Administrative Services
State of Connecticut

Michelle Gilman
Commissioner
Department of Administrative Services
State of Connecticut

Ryan Kocsondy
Director of Connecticut Education Network
State of Connecticut

David Labbadia
Director of Digital Government & Operational Excellence
Bureau of Information Technology Services, Department of Administration
State of Connecticut

Dawn Lavalle
Director
Division of Library Development
State of Connecticut

Dennis Mitchell
Customer Success Manager
Bureau of Information Technology Services, Department of Administration
State of Connecticut

Jared Morin
Information Technology Director
Town of West Hartford

Chris Paulin
Military Information Technology
Department of the Military
State of Connecticut

Mike Pensiero
Chief Information Officer
City of Stamford

Naveen Prathikantam
Director of Information Technology
Division of Criminal Justice
State of Connecticut

Mark Raymond
Chief Information Officer
Department of Administrative Services
State of Connecticut

Scott Roberts
Assistant Town Manager, Chief Information Officer, Emergency Management
Town of South Windsor

Scott Smith
Chief Information Officer
City of Bristol & Bristol Public Schools

Joe Stanford
Director of Agency Success
Bureau of Information Technology Services, Department of Administration
State of Connecticut

John Walshaw
Director of Infrastructure Services
Department of Administrative Services
State of Connecticut

Eileen Zhang
Director of Information Technology
Town of Westport