Robert Blackwell Jr. is Chairman and Founder of EKI-Digital, a leader in quantitative digital strategy and execution. Financial and performance improvement opportunities are discovered using quantitative models (mathematical, economic and statistical) and have help large public and private sector organizations identify and capture $billions in savings. Robert has written several papers and given presentations related to digital modernization, innovation and efficiency in the public and private sectors. Robert has been an advisor to government and business leaders on ways to better leverage its procurement and IT investments to improve revenue and service quality while reducing costs and risk from portfolios of spend. Robert is also CEO of Killerspin, the world’s leading table tennis engagement brand. The Killerspin experience reaches hundreds of thousands of people annually. It strives to connect people to those they care about through its UnPlugNPlay offerings. Killerspin events have been seen in over 160 countries.

Roger Boone is a Director, Government Solutions (Enterprise Architecture) – and has built and delivered document management records management and fully automated workflow business systems for almost 20 years.  Roger enjoys talking about practical technology solutions to everyday problems.  He has architect certifications and real-life experience building world-class products and applications on all the major public cloud hyper-scalers. Roger has a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Management from Colorado Technical University and is pursuing his MBA at Washington University Olin School of Business. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri, home of the World Champion Cardinals, and has five children and two grandchildren.

Has spent the past 15 years in the cybersecurity space with a recent focus on SOC and SOC operations, Jon Bosche brings valuable vendor centric insights to cybersecurity use cases in the wild. Having worked with acquired technologies for major cybersecurity vendors Jon can offer insight into recent trends of new cybersecurity tools as well as some basics that can be applied to any organization. Jon resides in Chicago Illinois with his wife and daughter, when he's not out securing the digital world he can usually be found in a park, in the kitchen cooking, or enjoying city life.

Christopher Britten, proudly served as the Group Chief Information Officer for the Department of Innovation and Technology's Public Safety Sector. With a remarkable five-year stint as the CIO for the State of Illinois and more than two decades of IT expertise, Chris is a well-seasoned professional in the realm of Information Technology.
In his present role, Chris plays a pivotal role as the bridge between Public Safety agencies in Illinois and the Department of Innovation and Technology. His strategic acumen comes into play as he navigates the intricate landscape of IT needs to bolster all the agencies within the Public Safety sector.
Chris firmly believes that technology is the key to the State's ability to serve the citizens of Illinois more efficiently and effectively in the future. This visionary approach underscores his commitment to leveraging technology for the greater good.
Chris holds a degree in Computer Information Systems from Clark Atlanta University, and he further fortified his knowledge base with an Executive Master of Business Administration from Purdue University.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Chris has a deep-seated passion for aiding children in need and mentoring youth. He currently serves as the Board President of You Matter 2, an organization that empowers young individuals to engage in philanthropy and give back to their community. He is also an active member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., a distinguished African American fraternity dedicated to community service and mandated programs.

As a Public Sector Advocate and Cloud Digital Leader, John Cecala is dedicated to helping smart government agencies innovate and improve constituent service. Driven by a passion for leveraging technology to enhance public good, Mr. Cecala's mission is to collaborate, inform, and educate government leaders on the ways they can utilize cloud computing and assistive accessible AI technologies to achieve their goals and make progress.
Recognized as a StateScoop 50 Award winner for Industry Leadership of the Year, John is committed to making a positive impact in the government IT community and in public service. John's expertise lies in helping agencies navigate the complexities of cloud adoption, ensuring they make informed decisions that align with their mission-critical needs. Mr. Cecala is a firm believer that technology has the power to transform the way government operates, and is dedicated to helping agencies realize the full potential of safe and secure modern cloud technology. "Through my work, I strive to create a more efficient, effective, and responsive government that better serves the needs of its citizens."

Steve Chu serves as the Snowflake Public Sector account executive in Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri, helping organizations solve their data silo and data sharing challenges.
Before joining Snowflake, Steve worked at Microsoft as a State and Local account executive covering several area state, city, and county governments.

Bill Downing is relatively new to the State of Illinois, arriving in early 2023 as the Group Chief Information officer for the Department of Innovation and Technology’s Natural and Cultural Sector. Bill recently assumed the role of Chief of Enterprise Architecture and is leveraging his extensive professional experience to build out the Enterprise Architecture team for the State.
A proud graduate of Northern Illinois University with a bachelors in Applied Data Processing, Bill first entered the consulting world with CSC Consulting where he started as a DBA. As a Principal with CSC he functioned as a technical architect on ERP implementations and system architect on a complete redesign of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s Pension systems. Bill founded and ran 2 startups, one focused on ERP systems and the second on providing network and server support for mid-sized businesses, spent 7 years as Director of Corporate Systems for CVS/Caremark, oversaw the design and implementation of all technology associated with Central DuPage Hospital’s 300 bed pavilion and the implementation of their new datacenter and their HR integration with Northwest Memorial. Bill is now very proud to be part of the DoIT team and to give back to the state he has always called home.

Jayson is a public sector technology subject matter expert with 20 years of city and county government experience. Prior to joining AWS Jayson served as the Chief Information Officer for the City of Cincinnati where he led the city’s enterprise technology department, chaired the city’s IT Governance Board, and managed the city’s capital budget and project approval processes. Jayson also has a background in public safety technology having served as a county 911 and Emergency Communications Director, as well as experience in the private sector as a Business Analysis Manager responsible for technology contracts and procurements totaling $350 million in annually.

Tommy Gardner is HP’s Chief Technology Officer for HP Federal, spanning the US Federal Agencies, Higher Education, K-12 Education, State and Local government customer segments, as well as Federal Systems Integrators. His current responsibilities include technology leadership, strategic technology plans, product and technology strategies, sales force technical support, and customer and partner relationships.
Previously, Tommy has served as the Chief Technology Officer for Jacobs Engineering, Scitor, and ManTech. Earlier in his career he was a senior technical executive at Raytheon. In the U.S. Navy he served as the Deputy for Science and Technology for the Chief of Naval Research. He oversaw the Navy’s Deep Submergence Program as well as its Advanced Technology Program. He also commanded the nuclear submarine, USS San Juan (SSN 751).
Tommy’s educational background covers multiple disciplines and fields of interest including: cybersecurity, data science, blockchain, quantum information science, artificial intelligence, high performance computing and systems integration.
Tommy holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, an M.S. in Management of Technology from MIT and a Ph. D. in Energy Economics from George Washington University. He is a Professional Engineer, an ASME Fellow, and serves on the ASME Board of Governors, the ANSI Board of Directors and the U. S. Council on Competitiveness as the Co-chair of the Advanced Computer Roundtable.

Terance Henry currently serves as the IT Director for the City of Marion. He has been credited with suppling the City of Marion will the technology advancement that they have today. Developing, planning, along with protecting the integrity of the network for all the different City Owned departments which includes Police, Fire and public library is just one of his many assignments.
Before becoming the first IT Director for the City of Marion, Terance was an entrepreneur for more than 13 yrs. Along his journey he also was an instructor for the Continuing education department at John A Logan and Siu where he taught computers and ecommerce classes for 12 years.
Terance currently serves on several different boards which includes, Police and Fire Pension board, Board Chair of Southern Illinois Workforce development district 25, Past President of John A Logan Foundation Board, Membership Committee for GMIS of Illinois, State of Illinois and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program Task Force, Illinois Digital Summit advisory board, Washington University STL Thinktank committee, Class of 2023 DLI (DRA) Delta Leadership Institute
Terance has won numerous awards which includes The Southern Business Journal 2010 Leaders Among Us, ACEC 2015 Engineering excellence award, 2018 GMIS International Government to Citizens award. 2016 NAGW Pinnacle Finalist, Marion Main Street Downtown Business Award, 2022 Mairon Chamber of Commerce Transformational Leadership Apogee Award, and countless others. In his spare time, he loves mentoring to young adults on how to start their own business while encouraging them to be productive citizens.

Bill Higgins is an IBM Vice President and Distinguished Engineer who leads watsonx Platform Engineering and IBM’s Open Innovation efforts. As VP of IBM’s watsonx Platform Engineering organization in IBM Research, Bill leads a team of experienced software engineer who, in collaboration with open-source partners at Red Hat, Hugging Face, PyTorch, and Ray, build IBM’s strategic AI training and inference platform components. As Chair of the IBM Open Innovation Community, Bill lead’s IBM’s 120,000-person global technical community and fosters community-driven innovations and giveback.
Bill previously led the transformation of IBM’s internal development toolchain, including the largest deployments of Slack and GitHub Enterprise in history. Bill graduated from Penn State University in 2000 with a B.S. in Computer Science. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his family.

Troy Horton serves as the Chief Information Officer for the Health and Human Services Group at the State of Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology. With an impressive tenure spanning three decades, Troy has cultivated a rich background that bridges various sectors, from agriculture and the military to academia, commercial world & state government.
Guided by a passion for both mentorship and learning, Troy is a visionary in Information Technology. His hands-on approach to system design and development has paved the way for building reliable, scalable applications. Additionally, his adeptness at managing complex projects, even under tight deadlines, is testament to his commitment to excellence. Throughout his career, he has effectively led diverse teams, comprising systems analysts, database architects, technical analysts, test analysts, and end-user support specialists.
At the heart of his expertise is Troy's unique ability to blend technology with human-centric insights. His deep-seated interest in operations, combined with his understanding of its interplay with technology, forms the bedrock of his educational journey. Yet, it's his profound appreciation for the human elements in business and their intrinsic tie to technology that truly fuels his enthusiasm.
In his pivotal role as the CIO, Troy wears many hats. He engages directly with agency partners and clients, striving to comprehend their technological aspirations. This, in turn, enables him to craft, coordinate, and deliver integrated tech solutions that resonate. Troy proudly identifies as an innovator, and his flexibility, adaptability, and results-driven approach are evident throughout his illustrious career. Above all, he embodies passion and dedication, attributes clearly mirrored in his professional journey.

Mark Patrick is a Managing Director with Deloitte Consulting LLP, within their Government technology strategy practice, and leads Deloitte’s AI computer vision growth focus.  He has over 20 years of experience delivering innovative technology solutions across the State, Local and Federal sectors including AI and GenAI solutions.  Mark’s has architected and delivered technology across a wide range of challenges from law enforcement, transportation safety, child welfare & educational facility safety.  His experience with delivering GenAI enabled capability spans computer vision and intelligent inspection projects, customer and citizen engagement and process optimization  across cloud, edge and locally hosted platforms.  

Mary Reynolds serves as the Education Group Chief Information Officer for the Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology.  In this role she facilitates services and communication with education agencies, and advocates on behalf of innovative STEAM initiatives that improve outcomes for students.  For over 39 years, Mary has served in a variety of policy development roles in and around state government focused on issues related to youth, education, juvenile justice, and technology.  Previously, Mary served for 12 years as an elected school board member of a small unit school district and has been an active community volunteer.  Her three adult children are all engaged in STEAM careers.

Alex Rose is the Director of Governmental Partnerships for Securworks. In that role, she is the lead for advancing public and private relationships which has led to Secureworks becoming a CISA Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) strategic partner. In addition to her role at Secureworks, Rose serves as the primary contact with Dell Federal and regularly provides them with global cyber threat insights.
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.

Mike Scott is the State of Illinois’ Chief Information Accessibility Officer. Mike has been promoting accessibility for Illinoisans with disabilities for more than twenty years. Mike started as a Rehabilitation Engineer, designing custom workplace accommodations, and, as the importance of information technology in the workplace grew, shifted his focus to information accessibility. Mike led some of Illinois’ key IT accessibility initiatives, including the development of the Illinois Web Accessibility Standards and the Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act (IITAA), and continues to work to help the State further improve the accessibility of its information for people with disabilities.

Don is the manager of the enterprise storage group for State of Illinois, Department of Innovation and Technology. He manages storage and backup operations for agencies under DoIT’s umbrella of service. He has been with the State of Illinois for almost 25 years working in infrastructure, primary in servers, storage and backup hardware. He is also a six year Navy veteran.

Lori Sorenson serves as the Chief Technology Officer for the Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology. In this role, she is responsible for delivering reliable, secure, customer centric IT solutions and serves as a policy advisor for broadband issues. Lori has more than 25 years of experience in IT. She earned her Master of Business Administration at the University of Illinois Springfield and a Bachelor of Science degree at Illinois State University.

Jason Thoron, serving as the Recruitment Officer at the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology since 2022, has been instrumental in the establishment and growth of the recruitment and talent acquisition division. Demonstrating exemplary leadership, Jason is committed to connecting qualified IT professionals with coveted permanent positions within the State of Illinois.
Jason actively engages with candidates, ensuring he remains attuned to the challenges and dynamics of the IT workforce. His hands-on approach, coupled with a strategic vision and personal experience, has contributed to DoIT's reputation for top-tier recruitment marked by quality, integrity, and a commitment to go above and beyond to assist applicants in securing open roles.
Prior to his tenure at DoIT, Jason accrued over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, holding diverse roles ranging from Regional Director of Sales and Marketing to Area General Manager. His successful leadership of operational teams provided invaluable insights into customer relationship management.
As an adult learner, Jason earned his master's in business administration from Daniel Webster College, enriching his understanding of human resources and marketing. Building on this knowledge, he has served as an adjunct instructor at a local community college for over 7 years, imparting his expertise to college students in various classes.

Stan Wisseman leads the GTM CTO for OpenText Cybersecurity. Stan has over 30 years of cybersecurity experience and has built security into products, systems, software, and enterprises. Prior to joining OpenText (formerly HP) in 2014, Stan served as the Chief Information Security Officer for Fannie Mae with responsibilities for information security and business resiliency across the organization. A frequent speaker and author, Wisseman also co-hosts the Reimagining Cyber podcast, which explores the next generation of thinking on where cybersecurity is heading.