Dr. Carter has worked expressly in the field of higher education for over fourteen years. In her current role as eCampus Director for the Technical College System of Georgia, she has the opportunity to support the mission of expanding educational opportunities to all citizens of Georgia. In addition, Dr. Carter has supported the team leading the first system-wide implementation of a Customer Relationship Management System aimed at improving student, staff and faculty communications through technology and automation.
Dr. Carter has experience with the student life cycle from enrollment through to graduation at all levels, including nine years of service as an online adjunct instructor. Dr. Carter is a passionate leader in education with a vast knowledge of student development and online learning. Dr. Carter has helped to author strategic plans and execute initiatives to improve student success outcomes tenfold.
Dr. Carter holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Leadership from Capella University and is a proud wife and mother of three. She also holds a Master of Arts in Post-Secondary Education from Argosy University and a Bachelor of Arts in Child and Family Studies from Berea College.

Brad Cobbs is a Principal in Deloitte’s Enterprise Performance practice with over 15 years of experience specializing in management consulting, IT operations, and enterprise implementation. During his time at Deloitte, he has served clients across the Commercial and Government and Public Services (GPS) industries. Brad is currently focused on delivering Cloud ERP and Student Information Systems in State and Local Government and Higher Education sectors. Brad earned an MBA from Troy University and a Bachelor of Science from Carson-Newman University. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Jennifer.

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.

Charles Elliott is a Field CTO and Practice Lead within Google Cloud dedicated to empowering state, local, and education customers with cutting-edge AI solutions. His expertise lies in leveraging Google Cloud's vast capabilities to transform public services, accelerate research and scale development teams. With over 15 years of experience in Big Data, Analytics, and AI, Charles has a proven track record of helping clients design and implement innovative cloud-based solutions that streamline government operations, enhance community engagement, and optimize workloads.  Charles is also a trusted technical advisor to research institutions and actively champions the integration of cloud technologies in government and academic advisory boards.

Steven Ferguson is a 23-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 IT 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. Recently, he spearheaded the adoption and deployment of an award-winning artificial intelligence chat bot, successfully championed a data center infrastructure consolidation initiative, standardized and expanded enterprise cybersecurity technologies and led the system through the rollout of a new mobile app to enhance the student experience.
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. Steven currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Development Authority of Lumpkin County, Advisory Board Member for the Georgia Digital Government Summit, President of the Board of Directors for Castleberry Ridge, Communications Chair for Leadership Lumpkin County and as a volunteer for various non-profit and educational organizations. Recipient of the 2019 Georgia CIO of the Year ORBIE Award Winner | Nonprofit/Public Sector.

Dr. Jaroslav Klc is an accomplished Director of Strategic Initiatives and Development at Georgia State University’s Instructional Innovation and Technology Department. With a robust career spanning over two decades at the university, Dr. Klc has led transformative projects that leverage cutting-edge technology to enhance the student and faculty experience. Holding a Doctor of Business Administration from Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business, his research focuses on distributed decision support systems, evidenced by his dissertation titled Linked Decisions: A Data Standard for Distributed Decision Support Systems.
Beginning his tenure at Georgia State as a Graduate Research Assistant in 2004, Dr. Klc progressed through roles such as Software Systems Engineer and Applications Engineering Manager before assuming his current directorial position in 2014. In this capacity, he has overseen the design and deployment of over 70 custom solutions, including the widely used Student Dashboard, which supports over 50,000 students. His leadership was pivotal in the university’s move toward cloud-based solutions and the adoption of serverless architecture, reducing infrastructure costs and enabling faster innovation. For instance, the successful collaboration with Slalom Consulting transitioned the student portal to a serverless AWS infrastructure, significantly enhancing the system’s performance, scalability, and user experience while reducing operational costs.
Dr. Klc has also spearheaded initiatives in artificial intelligence and machine learning at Georgia State. His team’s proof-of-concept project using generative AI re-imagined how students navigate financial aid processes. The AI-powered financial aid tool personalizes student interactions by retrieving relevant financial information and deadlines, significantly easing students’ ability to secure funding and manage tuition balances. This project also allowed Georgia State to build in-house AI expertise, positioning the institution as a leader in higher education technology innovation.
Throughout his career, Dr. Klc has been recognized for driving the integration of diverse and emerging technologies into higher education, from AI-powered search engines using Elasticsearch and Kibana to cloud migration initiatives. Dr. Klc continues to lead projects that focus on enhancing digital accessibility and optimizing operations to support the university’s long-term strategic goals.

Prior to joining the Center, Matelski served for 25 years as an Information Technology & Security executive for municipal (City of Orlando, FL) and county government (Gwinnett County, GA), most recently retiring from DeKalb County, GA after 12 years of service.  John’s duties included executive management of all information technology and security resources and systems that support operations and drive innovation throughout the County enterprise. As DeKalb County CIO, he oversaw more than 100 employees serving ~800 million residents.
Matelski graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Computer Science and an M.B.A. with an emphasis in Computer Information Systems and has been a Certified Government CIO since 2011.  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 rebuilt DeKalb County, GA’s technology capabilities from the ground up, helping lead to 8 straight years of recognition as a top 10 winner of the Center for Digital Government annual Digital Counties Survey.  
John has won numerous awards including Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers, State of Georgia CIO ORBIE Award Finalist, and the Computerworld/Smithsonian Laureate Award for Information Technology.  During his tenure with DeKalb County, Matelski was also very active in technology leadership roles with the National Association of Counties (NACo), having served as Chair of the IT Standing Committee, Vice Chair of the Telecommunication & Technology Committee, and Vice Chair of the County Technology Advisory Council.

Charles McCants is a dynamic IT leader with over 20 years of experience, currently the Executive Director of Information Technology at Gwinnett Technical College. Known for his strategic vision and hands-on approach, Charles has a knack for transforming IT infrastructure, driving project success, and leading high-performing teams. 
He holds a B.S. in Information Technology from Columbia Southern University and an A.A.T. in Computer Information Science from Gwinnett Technical College. 
Charles is celebrated for his ability to enhance network efficiency, cut costs, and implement cutting-edge technologies. His leadership ensures reliable, secure IT operations while fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment. Whether managing complex projects or mentoring the next generation of IT professionals, Charles is always committed to excellence and continuous improvement. 

Dr. Kelly Steed manages the Academic Affairs division of USG eCampus. She earned a BA in English from Tennessee Technological University and a doctorate in Psychology from the University of West Georgia. She served as Associate Dean for the School of Arts & Sciences at West Georgia Technical College from 2018-2022, and has taught Psychology at UWG and WGTC.
She was previously managing editor of Providence House Publishers and marketing director for Foundations Recovery Network in her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, where her work with dually diagnosed patients and their families led her to pursue a graduate degree in psychology at the University of West Georgia. During her doctoral studies she founded Bainbridge Research and served as principal investigator and evaluator for federal SAMHSA grants providing addiction and mental health treatment services through state and local government agencies.
Dr. Steed applies her professional experience to support the development of engaging and meaningful online learning experiences for eCampus students. She shares four children - Cali, Zane, Anna, and Elise - with her husband, Zach. She serves on the Carrollton Arts Commission and enjoys supporting the arts and local music in West Georgia.

As Georgia State University’s first Chief Innovation Officer, Phil Ventimiglia is helping shape Georgia State University’s exploration of new ideas for teaching, learning and research through innovative uses of technology.
Phil has nearly two decades of experience in new technology development and strategy, working internationally and across industries, to foster the growth of new technologies, encourage entrepreneurship and help grow educational opportunity.
Phil currently serves on the advisory board for the Educause Learning Initiative (ELI) and as a mentor in Georgia Institute of Technology’s Flashpoint startup incubation program. Before joining Georgia State University, Phil was Vice President for Innovation and New Product Development at NCR Corporation, where he led a global team that acted as an innovation catalyst and development accelerator. Phil also held the position of Vice President & General Manager for the NCR Hyderabad Development Center in India. In Hyderabad, Phil was responsible for leading the creation of an independent, emerging-market development center with end-to-end, in-market product development capabilities, including engineering and product management. Also, while in Hyderabad, Phil helped facilitate the introduction of a new international school in order to improve educational options in the area.
Prior to NCR, Phil worked at Dell for over 10 years, helping to build and lead Dell’s entry into new lines of business, including Inspiron notebooks, Dell Printers, Dell Flat Panel Monitors, Dell TVs and Dell Projectors. In addition, he spent over three years in Singapore, helping to lead and build Dell’s Singapore Design Center.
Phil began his career as a product marketing manager with the IBM Consumer Division and held various engineering positions at Lockheed Sanders. He holds a Master’s of Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut.

John was appointed vice president and chief information officer for Spelman Technology Services at Spelman College in July 2019.
As CIO, he is responsible for realizing a critical aspect of Spelman’s Strategic Plan and upgrading campus technology infrastructure. In this role, John partners with administrative units to create and use accessible and effective technology processes to promote innovation and support streamlined business operations and cutting-edge technological capabilities, including data analytics, cybersecurity, automation and systems integration.
John’s background in higher education technology includes operational support, strategic leadership, vision and direction. He has managed several key administrative application portfolios that include student information, human resources, finance, identity and access management, integration, customer relationship management (CRM) and imaging/workflow systems. Prior to joining Spelman he spent 17 years as a senior manager of information technology at Emory University, directed the enterprise information systems at Georgia Institute of Technology where he was responsible for strategic planning and operational oversight.