David Allen – CISO – Georgia Technology Authority David Allen leads GTA’s Office of Information Security, which unifies information security responsibilities for the state’s IT enterprise, the Georgia Enterprise Technology Services (GETS) program, and GTA. In 2020, David received the State Scoop 50 State Cybersecurity Leader of the Year Award and the Georgia Technology Authority Leadership Award. David holds a Master of Project Management from DeVry University and is a 1995 graduate of North Georgia College. He earned a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College in 2019. In addition, David holds key management and cybersecurity certifications, including Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), GIAC Certified Enterprise Defender (GCED), and Certified Scrum Master (CSM). David has held numerous IT positions over his 20+ year career at companies, such as BellSouth Telecommunications, Accenture, and Wayne Farms LLC. Prior to joining GTA in 2019, COL(R) Allen served as the Chief Information Officer/G6 for the Georgia Army National Guard.

Paul M.A. Baker, Ph.D., is Chief Operations Officer, Center for the Development and Application of IoT Technologies (CDAIT), and Principal Research Scientist and Senior Director, Research and Strategic Innovation, at Georgia Tech's Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP). He is currently researching the role of innovation networks in technology development and workforce development, policy approaches for advancing technology and universal accessibility goals for persons with disabilities; the operation of online virtual spaces, and the public sector use of information and communication technologies (ICT’s). He has taught courses in the areas of political science, disability policy, public administration, information policy, and state and local government policy making. Baker has been an active researcher in public policy and technology for near 40 years, and during that time, has produced more than 125 journal articles, book chapters and books. Baker earned his Ph.D. in Public Policy from George Mason University.

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.

Phil Bertolini is senior vice president of the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. Previously, he served as deputy county executive and CIO for Oakland County, Michigan. During his 31-year tenure, Phil built a world-class IT organization in the second-largest county in Michigan, just north of Detroit. As Oakland County CIO, he oversaw more than 150 employees serving over 1.2 million residents. In 2005, he was also promoted to deputy county executive, holding dual positions until his retirement. Phil’s efforts earned the county national attention, winning numerous awards for technology innovation and excellence. He was named Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year and Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers. He was also honored by the President Obama White House as a Champion of Change.

Wendy Blatt is the DocuSign State and Local Area Vice President. She has been with DocuSign for 5 years. During this time she has helped countless State and Local entities streamline their business processes to save time, reduce risk, and provide better services to constituents and government employees. Throughout Wendy's career, she has also provided services to State and Local entities, while working for Oracle and Salesforce.

Justin Bruce currently serves as the Director of Client Services of Tyler Technologies Data and Insights division. He brings a wealth of experience to the position. Having served as a client success manager and an implementation and program specialist at Socrata previously. In those roles, he helped governments embrace and implement data, innovation, and performance management methodologies that drove efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency. Additionally, he assisted government partners with long-term strategic planning for their respective programs and led the Socrata Performance Community of Practice which is a compilation of over 275 performance practitioners.
Justin is an innovative, creative leader born and raised in the Jackson metro area of Mississippi. While he is pushing forward to make an impact in the community today, his efforts from the past have not gone unnoticed. In 2009, Mr. Bruce launched Ivolution, Inc. – a company centered on the premise that every person can “I-volve.” Essentially, “I-volving” is Justin’s belief that all people are capable of self-progression and that our aim in life is to be content but never complacent.
To that end, Justin has gained a wealth of professional experiences that have shaped his approach to success. He served as the first Director of Innovation and Performance for the City of Jackson after working as a senior strategist in the office of Mayor Tony Yarber. While leading the Innovation and Performance program, Jackson started down the path of becoming a data-driven government. Bruce and Jackson successfully implemented an open data program, JackStats performance management program, and developed a culture of process improvement through simple data analytics. Jackson’s work has been highlighted by major universities, public and private sector entities, and leading practitioners across the country.
For his efforts, Justin was selected as a Next Generation Leader in 2015 through his work with the African American Mayors Association. Justin also received the 2017 Emerging Leader Award from the American Society of Public Administration’s Center for Accountability and Performance for his accomplishments in the realm of performance management.

Kanti Chalasani serves as the Division Director for the Georgia Data Analytics Center (GDAC) at the Office of Planning and Budget (OPB). With over 25 years of experience in IT and management, and hands-on data warehousing / analytics experience, she brings an abundance of knowledge. Prior to joining OPB, she worked for various state agencies in Georgia ranging from Senior Business Intelligence Architect for the P20 data warehouse at the Office of Student Achievement to Associate Director/Chief Data Architect at the University System of Georgia Board of Regents as well as Information Systems Manager at the Georgia Department of Education. Kanti started her career after receiving her Master’s in Computer Applications from Osmania University in India in 1995.

Matt Federoff served as the Chief Information Officer for the Vail School District in Vail, Arizona for 22 years. He helped open 18 new schools, and was first in his state to provide comprehensive wifi, 1-1 student laptops, and all digital content for instruction. Before Vail, Matt taught high school science for eight years, where he was named an Apple Distinguished Educator in 1997. Matt was the 2005 Arizona Technology Director of the Year, a 2007 National School Board Association "20 to Watch”, a 2010 Tech & Learning “100 Future Technology Leaders to Watch”, 2013 Center for Digital Education “40 Top Innovators”, and in 2015 received ISTE’s “Making IT Happen” award. Matt served on Intel’s Education Board of Advisors from 2015-16. From 2018-19 Matt assisted the Tucson Police Department in digitizing their police academy curriculum, earning an “Award of Merit” in 2019. Retired in 2021 after 30 years in public education, Matt lives with his wife and children in the wilds of the Empire Mountains south of Vail.

Steven Ferguson is a 26-year veteran of the IT industry. As the Chief Information Officer for the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), he leads a talented team of professionals in support of TCSG’s technical education, adult education, economic development, and workforce divisions across the 88 campuses of Georgia’s 22 technical colleges. Ferguson was selected as a 2022 member of Georgia’s TITAN 100, 2021 Technology Leader of the Year for Innovation, and the 2019 Georgia CIO of the Year. He is currently driving innovation in higher education through the launch of TCSG’s eCampus platform and was recently named as a founding and executive committee member of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded National Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Adult Learning and Online Education (AI-ALOE).
Ferguson holds an M.S. in Information Technology from Southern Polytechnic State University, a B.S. in Business Administration, Information Technology from Columbia Southern University, an A.S. in Engineering from Gainesville State College, and is a proud graduate of TCSG’s Executive Leadership Academy.
Beyond his service to the State of Georgia, Ferguson is very active in the community, currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and as a volunteer for various non-profit and educational organizations.

Kermit Graham leads System Engineering in State, Local Government, and Education for the Eastern United States. His organization is responsible for the design and deployment of Fortinet solutions built on integrated security architectures that help solve the business challenges of customers.
After serving 13 years in the United States Marine Corps., Kermit entered the private sector via the Arrowpoint startup. After being acquired by Cisco, Mr. Graham held various leadership roles across Federal and SLED businesses, both domestically and internationally. With over 30 years of IT experience, he brings extensive knowledge of the Public Sector business.
Kermit and his wife Deonna reside in Austin, TX and are the proud parents of two sons.

Mr. Kagansky joined GTA in 2021 from Amazon Web Services where he worked for over four years helping state agencies across the country in their cloud implementations and migrations.
Prior to his time with AWS, he served as Executive Vice President of Development for Star2Star Communications, a cloud-based unified communications company. Previously, Mr. Kagansky was in many technical and leadership roles for different software vending companies. Most notably, he was Federal Chief Technology Officer for Quest Software, spending several years in Europe working with commercial and government customers.
Mr. Kagansky holds a BBA in finance from Hofstra University and an MBA in management of information systems and operations management from the University of Georgia.

Salimah LaForce is a research scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the senior policy analyst at Georgia Tech’s Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP). She specializes in policy research, identifying and describing intended and unanticipated implementation outcomes. Salimah has 15 years’ experience conducting user needs research, utilizing study results to inform policy and practice recommendations. Salimah is a co-investigator on several federally funded projects to build capacity for inclusive emergency response efforts, improve health outcomes in underserved populations, increase accessibility and usability of information communications technologies, and improve employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Salimah’s efforts to translate research findings into practice are centered on her participation in the federal rulemaking process and the provision of evidence-based policy and practice recommendations. Salimah has co-authored more than 78 federal regulatory filings, papers, presentations, and journal articles.

As President for Broadband Access and Adoption, Jeff is responsible for leading AT&T’s efforts to help bridge the digital divide by working with state, county and city governments. Jeff and his team coordinate efforts with AT&T’s Network, Product and External and Legislative Affairs teams to create best-in-class broadband solutions for government entities.
Jeff brings a wealth of experience to his role, with 25 years in AT&T’s network organization. Previously, Jeff served as Vice President - Wireless and Wireline Access Network across the nation’s 24 western states. Jeff and his 5,000-strong team were responsible for the strategy, design and implementation of AT&T's network infrastructure supporting 4G LTE, 5G, in-building solutions and FirstNet® - public safety's dedicated communications platform - as well as wireline fiber access technologies.
He has held numerous leadership positions throughout his career, working his way from Outside Plant Design and Planning engineer to a series of roles in National Construction & Engineering. Jeff has broad experience in introducing new technologies and defining engineering method and procedures.
He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from UCLA and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Corporate Finance from the University of Southern California.
A first-generation immigrant, Jeff has a passion for working with the Asian community.
He serves on the board of APIA (Asian/Pacific Islander American) Scholars, the nation’s largest education research, policy, and scholarship organization devoted to serving APIA students and educators. He also serves on the board of Wescom Credit Union, a $5B financial institution with 24 branches and over 200,000 members throughout Southern California.

John Matelski is an Information Technology & Security executive with over thirty-five years of progressively responsible experience. He is currently the Chief Innovation and Information Officer for DeKalb County, Georgia, a position he has held since 2012. In his current position, John’s duties include executive management of all information technology and security resources and systems that support County operations, as well as driving innovation and customer experience initiatives throughout the County enterprise. Based on his background and focus, Matelski also was asked to serve as an Advisory Board Member for Customer Experience at the George Washington University School of Business.
Matelski graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Computer Science and a M.B.A. with an emphasis in Computer Information Systems. Matelski has a proven track record of leadership in the public and private sectors utilizing innovation and resourcefulness with a proven ability to build a compelling vision and move an organization toward it.
Matelski has been published in several industry trade journals including CIO Magazine, Government Technology magazine, State Tech, DBTA and Oracle Profit magazine. He has conducted key notes, workshops and presentations at industry conferences across the globe, and also consults with numerous commercial and government entities to establish strategies that proactively deal with IT and security issues.
Matelski was most recently honored to receive two National Association of Counties (NACo) presidential appointments. He serves as Vice-Chair of the National Association of Counties (NACo) Information Technology Standing Committee, as well as Vice-Chair for the NACo Telecommunications and Technology Steering Committee.

Tiana joined T- Mobile in August of 2019 as a Program and Business Development Manager.
Prior to joining the team, Tiana was at Sierra Wireless where she managed a product portfolio for managed IOT Services Globally. Tiana has a long history in wireless and specifically in IoT and Emerging Solutions. Tiana has held various strategic positions in Product Development, Market Research, Smart City Alliance Programs, and Business Development for Carriers and Channel Ecosystems.
Tiana also leads a group of 25 young women through the National Charity League, giving back to local communities and non-profit organizations as well as mentoring and leadership skills.
Tiana is passionate about her work with the partners and customers we help thrive.
Tiana has been married for 20 years with two children – Analiese (16) and Gavin(12). Weekends are spent with children’s activities, gardening, running, and hiking.
Tiana and her family are avid Atlanta United Soccer Fans and can be found in season at the Benz!

Seeing is believing. That’s why visualization technologies – particularly geospatial, or mapping tools – are indispensable components of Government Services. Leveraging these technologies makes government more efficient and effective – it saves tax-payer dollars and opens the door to better accountability, planning, decision-making, economic development, storytelling, citizen services and public safety – improving the overall prosperity of the state of Georgia and its citizens.
Susan Miller, Georgia’s Geospatial Information Officer (or GIO), leads the state’s new Geospatial Information Office (Office/Team), whose role is to orchestrate bringing such mapping tools to bear for every level of government throughout the state. To do this, her team builds programs and leads collaboration efforts to develop and maintain critical geospatial data and applications for all, including the design and implementation of supporting legislation, policies, standards, best practices, business process and change management required for success.
Her team partners with local, regional, and state level government, along with federal agencies, universities, and the private sector to facilitate their cross-cutting interdisciplinary work. They strive to instill the value of data throughout Georgia government as the mission critical asset it is, and to successfully facilitate connections between people, organizations, data, and systems across multiple sectors resulting in greater returns on any single investment in data and technologies.
Prior to joining the team in Georgia, Susan was the Director of a global GIS program for The Nature Conservancy, the world’s largest conservation organization, where she led the design and implementation of organizational-wide geospatial strategies in support of approximately 3,500 GIS practitioners in 48 countries and all US States.
Susan’s undergrad and graduate degrees focus on the application of geospatial sciences to solve complex problems facing our world today. She has served on many Boards, including Georgia Tech’s Centre for GIS, as well as the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC), a group which advocates State interests on national geospatial policy and initiatives.
She has received distinguished honors for her work in Georgia, including: a Special Achievement Award from Esri for advancing geospatial sciences and technology as a leader in the states data response efforts surrounding Covid-19; named one of the nation’s Top 50 Leaders in State Government and Information Technology in 2019 for making state government more efficient and effective through the implementation of new technologies, as well as one of the Top 50 Women in Technology in the United States in 2018 for her dedication, excellence, and successful promotion of the use of technology from StateScoop; in 2017 she received an Innovation Award for using technology to streamline the workflow of administering the US Federal Transportation Bill in Georgia from the National Association of Development Organizations; and in 2016 was awarded the Outstanding Service Award for advancing state and national geospatial technologies from NSGIC.

Andrew is a Principal in Deloitte & Touche LLP’s Cyber Risk Services Practice and specializes in assisting clients with the risk associated with cyber threats. Andrew currently serves as the U.S. leader of Deloitte’s Cyber Strategy, Defense, and Response practice. In this capacity, he is responsible for Deloitte’s Cyber Strategy and Governance practice, Cyber Threat intelligence practice, and Cyber Defense and Incident Response teams. His focus is on the development and delivery of cross-industry services helping clients improve their preparedness for cyber-attacks, and accelerating enterprise business recovery in the wake of cyber incidents. Andrew also works closely with Boards of Directors and executive teams on the governance of Cyber Risk including serving as the chair of the Governance Center Cybersecurity Working Group Cyber Security working group for The Conference Board. Andrew has 20+ years of experience in information security and privacy and is a frequent speaker on Cyber Risk topics for boards, conferences and the media.

Jason “Jay” Meil is the director of data science and chief data scientist for SAIC’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Innovation Factory, where he leads AI technical strategy and solutions that enable rapid decision-making at scale in support of multiple intelligence disciplines.
With two decades of experience in applied mathematics, data science and deep learning, Meil is a recognized expert in analytical tradecraft,, all source intelligence and open source intelligence. He serves as a technical advisor to numerous intelligence organizations within the Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DOD), applying his tradecraft to the domains of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; targeting; and algorithmic warfare.
Meil has led cross-functional teams in designing, building and deploying deep learning models to support federal government customers in complex missions of national importance, with the ultimate objective of making the nation safe against peer and near-pear threats. In addition to IC and DOD customers, he has supported civilian agencies including the Department of Homeland Security.
As an SAIC research fellow, Meil has focused on two areas:
· integrating multi-modal intelligent decision support systems into command and control operations
· offensive and defensive AI algorithms in identity intelligence, information warfare, information operations and unconventional warfare (I2/IW/IO/UW) operations.
Meil is a frequent participant in research panels and industry discussions on the impact of AI on national security, including with the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; the Center for Security in Politics at UC-Berkeley on behalf of DARPA; CERN’s OpenLab and Quantum Technology Initiative; the European Geosciences Union; the Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security; the Potomac Officers Club; and AFCEA.

Nathan W. Moon, Ph.D., is the Director of Research for the Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP) in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts (IAC), where he also holds an appointment as a Principal Research Scientist in the School of Public Policy (SPP). He possesses 16 years of experience in research to advance social participation and inclusion of individuals with disabilities, particularly within education and employment. Dr. Moon has developed and led a program of research to increase access to education and employment for people with disabilities, with specializations in accessibility of information and communications technologies (ICTs), workplace accommodations and employment policy, and broadening participation in STEM education. In parallel with this work, he has developed a secondary focus on program evaluation building upon his longstanding efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Tim first joined IBM in 1995 as an industry solutions consultant. Tim graduated from Harvard University, where he studied international relations and became obsessed with deterrence theory and nuclear war-gaming. He has spent 22 years at IBM, though not contiguously—he left briefly in 1999 to try his hand at a startup, catching the dotcom implosion at just the right time before rejoining the mother ship three years later.
Tim now serves as IBM’s Global Government General Manager, a role in which he leads IBM’s Global Government Industry in helping agencies across the world transform the way they serve and protect citizens – through the journey to Hybrid Cloud and the Cognitive Enterprise. Tim has had the honor of working personally with 100’s of government agencies both in the United Stated and abroad, at both the national, provincial and local levels. While fluent in all segments and levels of government, Tim’s particular passion lies in helping public safety, emergency management, intelligence and defense agencies in harnessing information as a strategic asset for protecting the society they serve. Throughout his career at IBM, Tim has led a range of strategy and marketing, solution sales and solution management teams across services and technologies at IBM.
Tim lives in Connecticut with his wife Angela, three children, and their Labrador retrievers. For rest and relaxation, he serves as a nationally certified fire rescue instructor, and recently retired from 15 years on the thin red line as a firefighter in Simsbury, where he achieved a terminal rank of captain. He is also an avid mountain biker and fly fisherman.
Tim is recognized as one of IBM's Government leaders worldwide, and is frequently found representing IBM at industry events as a presenter or panel representative. Recently he participated in a live tabletop exercise along with senior leaders from the U.S. Directorate of National Intelligence, Centers for Disease Control and Federal Emergency Management Agency, in which the panel simulated incident management and government emergency response to a hypothetical outbreak of hemorrhagic fever after a professional basketball game in a major U.S. city. "This was one of the few times where my professional life at IBM intersected with my hobby as a fire rescue instructor and fire officer," Tim says. "It was an incredible experience to have earned a seat at the tabletop exercise with such experienced government leaders."

Jason Sankey is a strategic change agent with nearly two decades of progressive leadership and experience in operations and technology. He is known for his ability to effectively collaborate across business lines while continuously driving innovation.
Jason brings his immense experience as a technology leader to the City of Atlanta as the chief information officer (CIO) of the Department of Atlanta Information Management (AIM). In this role, he is accountable for delivering information technology services to all 25 departments, including Public Safety, Justice, Operations, Administration and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Jason is widely known for his executive leadership, technology foresight, and thought-provoking strategies in transforming organizations. He strives to balance innovation with a realistic approach to advancing technology while integrating the City’s goals with efficient services.
Previous to joining AIM, Jason served as the CIO of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). While working at ODJFS, he used his exemplary budget and operation management skills to oversee technology solutions for the department’s $3.5 billion budget while also developing and supervising the States’ public assistance services.
Jason has a track record of building talented, highly accomplished teams that demonstrate excellence and consistently produce impactful results. Prior to joining ODJFS, he spent 13 years as vice president at Citigroup in New York City and Columbus, Ohio.
Recognized as a consummate professional and determined leader who perseveres through challenging times, Jason prides himself on the impact he makes within communities through his work serving as a public service executive. Jason serves on various community boards where he stresses collaboration and seeks enterprise solutions while focusing on maximizing technology through customer experience.

Jessica Simmons serves as the Deputy CIO for Broadband and Special Projects at the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA).
Prior to joining GTA in July 2021, she served as a Deputy Commissioner at the Georgia Department of Revenue where she oversaw the Legal Affairs and Tax Policy Division, the Department’s law enforcement divisions, and the Department’s communications and legislative programs.
She began her career in public service in the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. After working in Washington, D.C., Simmons returned to Georgia as the Assistant Director of the Georgia Elections Division and later served as Chief of Staff in the Secretary of State’s Office.
Simmons is a native of Marietta and holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Georgia. Simmons and her husband, Matt, live with their two children in Sandy Springs.

Experienced Finance and Sales professional with 10+years of international business experience in USA, Latin America and the Caribbean. Develop and implement processes that improve staff accountability, financial reporting consistency and sales growth. Work collaboratively across diverse organizational levels and multicultural groups using strong leadership, communication and mentoring skills. Successful track record of managing and developing distribution and channel partners.

Kimberly Watkins has been a consistent top-performing Senior Sales Executive for software organizations providing SaaS/PaaS software to State and Local agencies and large enterprise accounts utilizing connectivity, data, analytics, workflow enablement and IoT technology to meet operational objectives, improve productivity and increase ROI. Her expertise includes creating long-term partnerships as an advocate for her customers to help them solve problems and drive value.
Kimberly currently works with DocuSign managing the State of Georgia and Alabama for State and Local government. She has also worked with startups focused on PaaS, AI and Machine learning. Her experience includes Sybase/SAP selling Mobility platforms, GuardedNet Security solutions, IBM and SalesTechnologies/D&B Software selling CRM solutions internationally. She earned her BS in Computer Science from Lipscomb University in Nashville. She has two children and outside of work she enjoys golf and traveling on scuba diving adventures.

As a Client Technical Leader, Chris provides overall technology vision, guidance, and strategy for Public Sector clients across the United States. He is a highly talented, forward thinking IT leader with expansive experience in Hybrid and Multi-Cloud solutions, Cloud strategy, infrastructure architecture and design, IT systems transformation and systems integration.

Marc Yoder is a seasoned security executive who began his career at the National Security Agency, and after transitioning to the private sector has held roles ranging from Security Engineer to Chief Information Security Officer. Marc comes to SHI after previously serving as Global VP of Cyber Security Strategy at NTT Security, and prior that, CISO for the Texas Department of Transportation. With more than 12 years of experience as a CISO, Marc enjoys working with clients to move them through the challenging waters of security transformation while maintaining a focus on business drivers.
Marc lives in San Antonio and enjoys training and teaching Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, SCUBA and Skydiving, and travelling with his fiancé Michelle.