Danielle is a Managing Director with Accenture and is the Public Sector Security Lead for the South. As the former CISO for the State of Florida, she adopted a Cyber Security framework that guided stakeholders in securing critical assets. Danielle is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) with over 20 years of experience in IT & Cyber. She has developed and directed enterprise-wide cyber programs including:
Security strategy & risk assessment
  IT audit and compliance
  Application security
  Security information and event monitoring (SIEM)
  Information security policies and standards
  Data protection/privacy
Danielle enjoys spending her free time with her husband and 4 children, primarily on a beach!

Justin has been with Tyler Technologies’ Data and Insights Division (formerly known as Socrata) since 2017, where today he serves as the Director of Client Services. Justin previously served as an implementation manager and client success manager, working directly with Tyler clients to embrace and implement solutions that drive efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency. His expertise primarily exists in three categories: data analysis and transparency, performance management, and process improvement. Justin leads the Socrata Performance Community of Practice which is a compilation of over 275 performance practitioners.

Charles Burton has led technology teams in Louisiana government for 20 years and is currently the Calcasieu Parish Technology Director. Data Center and communication modernization projects along with Cybersecurity programs have been some of his successful accomplishments with disaster recovery being one of the more challenging success stories. He holds a Masters in Cybersecurity and bachelor’s in computer science. His certificates include ITIL, PMP, CGCIO, CISSP, CompTIA as well as Microsoft certificates.
Mr. Burton serves on several boards and committees at the State and Local level, he speaks at conferences and advises on the topics of Cybersecurity & Technology. Mr. Burton is involved in several community organizations where he resides in Lake Charles, LA with his wife and family.

Jeremy Deal is the IT Statewide Administrator of End User Computing for the State of Louisiana Office of Technology Services. Jeremy started in this role as part of the statewide IT consolidation effort in 2015 where he was charged with establishing all EUC lines of service. These services include 24x7 Service Desk and Network Operations Center functions, Field Operations support, Device Configuration Management support and VoIP phone services. EUC provides these services for more than 40,000 state government Executive Branch customers and devices statewide. Prior to joining OTS, Jeremy held multiple executive and management level IT positions within departments for the state of Louisiana. He has a Master's degree in Public Administration from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems from Louisiana Tech University.

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.

Dr. James Ghawaly is a Senior Research Scientist - AI/ML in the Louisiana State University Stephenson Disaster Management Institute (SDMI), where he is leading efforts to develop applied artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques. He is also the lead of the SDMI Machine Learning and Sensors Intelligence (MLSI) laboratory. Prior to LSU, he was an applied data scientist in the Advanced Radiation Detection, Imaging, Data Science, and Applications Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He holds a B.S. in nuclear engineering, a MS in computer engineering, and a PhD in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Dr. Ghawaly specializes in the utilization of deep learning methodologies across diverse domains, harnessing the power of AI and machine learning to enhance global security, safety, and overall well-being.

As the Chief Cyber Officer for the State of Louisiana's Division of Administration, Dustin collaborates closely with distinguished state entities like the GOHSEP, LANG, and LSP-CCU, orchestrating a state framework for cybersecurity risk mitigation. His recent accolades include helping to pioneer the State's first-ever Cyber Assurance Program, clinching the coveted 2023 State Scoop Leadership Award, and being an instrumental element to the genesis of the Louisiana State Military Department's Office of Cyber Readiness.

Mike Halas is an Account Executive Director - Public Sector at Socure. In this role, Mike partners with state government and agency leadership to develop and scale. Socure’s public sector offerings for identity verification and fraud detection. This includes leading efforts to promote and evangelize industry leading concepts in digital identity inclusion and fairness. Prior to Socure, Mike served in a senior advisory capacities in both financial services as well as in the defense industry. Mike continues to serve as an officer in the United States Army Reserves.

Bruce Johnson has over 38 years of experience in the information technology industry, including security, infrastructure architecture, software development, and management of multiple portfolios. He has experience in Splunk, security solutions, cloud migration, portal, content workflow, integration, and project management. As the Senior Director, Enterprise Security for TekStream, he works to implement security and compliance solutions leveraging Splunk for customers in a variety of environments and industries, as well as a variety of cloud migration and broader Splunk consulting solutions.

Trever is a passionate thought leader, advocate, educator and innovator in the cloud and emerging technology spaces. At Google Public Sector, Trever leads the Customer Engineering organization responsible for State, Local and Educational institutions across 19 states. He finds true joy in educating others in new technologies and empowering them to deliver projects and results that truly make the world a better place!

Kimberly Walker LaGrue heads the Office of Information Technology & Innovation for the City of New Orleans. Her team delivers stable IT services to city government and develop strategies to ensure equitable growth of technology services throughout New Orleans. In 2018, she was appointed Chief Information Officer by Mayor LaToya Cantrell, and assigned to lead the City’s digital equity and smart city strategies, driving the mayor’s goal to provide all residents equal access to technology, making New Orleans a connected, data-driven smart city.
A New Orleans native with over 25 years of IT experience, Kimberly has spent most of her career developing technology solutions for government. She is president of the Cities Today Leadership Institute-North America, and an advisory board member of the Internet of Things Consortium. A fierce advocate for local broadband development, she is personally committed to digital equity, digital literacy and connecting under-served communities in New Orleans.

Joe Lee is the director of OTS Data Center Operations. He is privileged to work with amazing teams providing networking, server, storage, mainframe, cloud, database, and data center services to meet the IT infrastructure needs of a wide range of customer agencies. Over the years Joe has managed the deployment of the statewide email system and directed the consolidation and standardization of hosted server infrastructure services. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and being outdoors.

David specializes in economic, fiscal and policy issues. He has a master's in public administration from LSU where he served as a Governor's Fellow in Economic Development and supported his professors with their economic research. As an undergraduate, he earned Upper Division Honors while studying Economics from the Ogden Honors College.
Before joining our team, David spent two years working for the Louisiana Legislature as a budget analyst creating data visualizations for lawmakers and focusing on the $500 million annual operating budgets for the workforce, economic development and tourism departments. Additionally, he oversaw the tracking of American Rescue Plan Act dollars and the $800 million replenishment of the unemployment insurance trust fund. This skill set will benefit Louisiana as the state administers about $1 billion in broadband funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in the next five years.
David is excited to join the Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity to increase economic, educational and telehealth opportunities for all Louisianians. In his spare time, David enjoys cycling, reading and rooting for Brazil's national soccer team.

Robert Manuel has worked for over 40 years in Louisiana in various roles at IBM and within state government. He has acquired considerable knowledge about how information is acquired and used by state agencies and how this data might be further leveraged for the benefit of Louisiana’s citizens. As OTS’ Chief Data Officer since December 2014, Robert has experienced firsthand the challenges and rewards of successfully undertaking the “balancing act” required to more fully utilize the state’s information while simultaneously safeguarding the privacy of the subjects and sources of these invaluable information resources.

Eric Mills is a research associate at the Kathleen Blanco Public Center where he specializes in social research, program monitoring and evaluation, and data analysis. After a tour of service in the United States Peace Corps he received his M.S. in International Affairs from The New School, with a concentration in human rights and economic development. At the Blanco Center Eric and his colleagues engage in research activities that aim to improve the economic, social, and environmental conditions for all Louisianians. As part of a larger team, he has facilitated focus groups across Louisiana discussing the challenges and barriers to digital equity, developed monitoring and evaluation systems for the Department of Children and Family Services, and is investigating the longitudinal outcomes of Louisiana’s education system as part of the new LA FIRST data sharing initiative. In his spare time Eric enjoys running, playing music, and frequenting the evening chess clubs in New Orleans’ French Quarter.

Brent is a uniquely qualified professional with 25 years of experience in technology consulting, business analysis, solution design, and process implementation. He is a proven leader with strong expertise in next-generation contact centers, SaaS/CaaS, security solutions, networking, and telecommunications. He works to solve customer problems from all perspectives, while ensuring his clients are getting the correct solutions along with the strategic vision to advance their business. He is tasked with communicating and educating clients about Lumen portfolio offerings across the distinct platforms and works tirelessly with his clients and account managers both pre- and post-sales while managing relationships. Brent has a diverse background working in a myriad of industry verticals, consulting, designing, and delivering solutions. He is trained and certified across the three Genesys platforms; Engage, PureConnect and GenesysCloud as well as Fortinet.

Harsha Musunuru is a Senior Manager with Deloitte Consulting – Strategy and Analytics practice. He has over 17 years of experience delivering enterprise data platforms and mission analytics for State Government and Commercial clients. Harsha also serves as the enterprise data and analytics manager for the Arkansas Department of Human Services (ARDHS). Harsha incorporates his extensive knowledge in Health and Human Services (HHS) and State Health domains to assist state governments in harnessing enterprise data and AI for the purpose of catalyzing organizational transformation, fostering the development of innovative business ventures, enhancing operational efficiencies, and refining service delivery.

William (Bill) Rials, Ph.D., is a professor and associate director (department chair) of the Tulane University School of Professional Advancement IT and Cybersecurity Program, where he focuses on continually delivering and updating the program curriculum based on innovative and emerging technologies. Before transitioning to academia and higher education, he had a diverse gov tech career delivering value to state agencies, local governments, and law enforcement agencies throughout the state of Mississippi. He has served in CIO, CTO, and CISO roles for local governments and also in various leadership positions within the state of Mississippi’s IT organization as a deputy to the state CIO. Dr. Rials holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Belhaven University, a master’s degree in computer information systems and cybersecurity from Missouri State University, as well as a Ph.D. in higher education administration and public administration from Jackson State University. His dissertation research involved the critical factors that affect the adoption of cloud services within the public sector. He is a noted expert in the IT and cybersecurity space and is frequently quoted by national media outlets. He is also a frequent contributor to national IT government organizations such as NASTD and NASCIO.

Bryan Schneider is a Director in the Fortinet Capture Team. His expertise includes 20+ years of experience in Public Sector advanced solutions business development for a range of Wireless carriers, including leading strategic initiatives such as Mobile Security, Endpoint protection, Digital Transformation, Mobile Forms, LBS, Interoperability, IOT and OT, covering SLED, K12 and Federal Agencies. Bryan also brings domain expertise into Public Safety, Next Generation 911, FirstNet, Telco/ISP, CJIS, Remote WFH solutions, and Federal ZTA initiatives.

Nathaniel Weaver leads the City of New Orleans’ thirty-million-dollar Justice Technology Modernization program. In his current capacity he is responsible for overseeing the implementation of data integration and legacy system replacement projects involving six independent criminal justice agencies. Prior to joining this initiative, he served as Director of Analytics for the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), successfully rebuilding the Analytics Unit’s data visualization and Business Intelligence (BI) infrastructure.
In his ten years with the New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation, Nathaniel developed and oversaw innovative public safety projects from the ground up, including SafeCam NOLA and the NOPD digital recruitment campaign. He also served for three years as a Program Manager for the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice Coordination, focusing on modern business intelligence analytic tools and no-code productivity apps to improve outcomes in the criminal justice system from the initial emergency call for service through final case resolution.