Ronald M. Bergmann most recently served as vice president for Information Technology and CIO at Lehman College/CUNY. At Lehman, Ron and his team pioneered the use of analytics, automated major business processes, enhanced classroom technology and opened the first virtual reality lab in the region. Lehman was cited as an exemplar in the 2018 Horizon Report for its innovative Lehman 360 digital platform. Ron is a fellow of the EDUCAUSE/CLIR Frye (now Leading Change) Institute and was named in 2017 as one of the nation’s top technologists, transformers and trailblazers by the Center for Digital Education.
Ron previously served as first deputy commissioner of New York City's information technology agency where he was selected by Government Technology magazine as one of the nation's leading individuals redefining and advancing technology's role in government.

Stacy Cahill serves as the Chief Information Security Officer at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), a position she assumed in April 2024. With over two decades of experience in information technology, Stacy has dedicated 14 years specifically to the field of cybersecurity. Before joining UMBC, she held the role of Chief Information Security Officer at the Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Stacy possesses a strong background in IT modernization, with a keen focus on how architectural design can effectively reduce risk. Her varied experience encompasses software development, middleware administration, enterprise architecture, and identity and access management.

Brian Cohen is the vice president of the Center for Digital Government and Center for 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.
Brian 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.

Neil Delacruz is a cybersecurity consultant with three decades in network defense, denial-of-service protection, and cyber operations. He has architected defenses for finance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, transportation, US FedGov, and SLED customers. A CISSP since 2002, he has dedicated his career to raising awareness about cyber-attack and defense strategies and contributing to the advancement of cybersecurity knowledge and practices.
Neil joined Fortinet in 2024 as a Regional Systems Engineer supporting Mid-Atlantic SLED customers. Prior to Fortinet, he spent 18 years as a Principal Security Consultant at AT&T, plus ten years in IT leadership roles in the financial and insurance industry.
In the last two years, he has focused on the application of GenAI in cybersecurity by exploring ways to turn it into a force-multiplier for defenders. He brings operational insight and a deep commitment to privacy in the age of AI.

Michael Eismeier is a seasoned Chief Information Officer at the University System of Maryland, with extensive experience in higher education administration and IT leadership. Since joining the University System in 2019, he has served in several key roles, including Associate Vice Chancellor and Deputy CIO, where he spearheaded significant digital transformation initiatives.
Previously, Michael directed the Administrative Modernization Program at the University of Maryland, College Park, enhancing efficiencies across finance and human resources systems. His career began in state government, progressing to impactful roles in IT strategy and project management.
Michael holds an MBA and a master’s in Information and Telecommunications Systems from The Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School, and a BS in Geography and Regional Planning from Salisbury University. His academic background complements his leadership, blending business acumen with technical expertise to advance educational and digital governance.

Adrienne Garber is a Chief Technology and Innovation Strategist for Higher Education at Dell Technologies. She is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has been involved with Dell Technologies in various capacities since July 2019.
Adrienne has been improving teaching, learning and technology in higher education for the past 20 years. She has an extensive background in instructional design, faculty development, program assessment, and education technology project management.
At Dell, she supports strategy development for higher education leadership in five keys areas: student and institutional success, teaching and learning, research, security, and IT infrastructure. She also has experience designing and building esports and gaming spaces on college campuses for Alienware, Dell’s award-winning gaming hardware brand.

For nearly two decades, B. Collier Jones has been transforming how students navigate university systems, making complex digital ecosystems feel as intuitive as the consumer platforms students use daily. Starting his career at Virginia Tech contributing to the myVT portal and open-source uPortal project, he joined UMBC in 2006 as Campus Portal Architect, where he has led the evolution of myUMBC from a basic information portal into a sophisticated digital hub that serves as the university community's front door.
Collier specializes in breaking down silos between disparate campus systems creating seamless, personalized experiences that support student success. Rather than simply digitizing existing processes, he approaches portal design as experience architecture, working directly with students to understand real usage patterns and design solutions that anticipate needs.
Currently, Collier is exploring AI-powered personalization, developing systems that use student data to provide real-time, contextual assistance, helping students get answers instantly without navigating multiple systems. This work represents his ongoing commitment to pushing digital tools beyond their traditional limits to create truly student-centered experiences.

Sarvesh Khetan is a Graduate student pursuing his Masters in Machine Learning at the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to his graduate studies, he worked for over two years as an applied data scientist, gaining hands-on experience in generative AI, big data, and full-stack data science projects.
His technical toolkit includes frameworks and platforms such as PyTorch, LangChain, Neo4j, Kafka, Kubernetes, and AWS. Sarvesh is particularly interested in the intersection of distributed systems and artificial intelligence, and he regularly explores state-of-the-art ML and deep learning algorithms—ranging from Transformers and Attention Mechanisms to Diffusion Models and Graph Neural Networks.  He has worked with modern data tools like Snowflake and MongoDB.
Beyond his academic and technical pursuits, Sarvesh is passionate about personal development. He enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and staying active through cricket, table tennis, and badminton. He actively creates content on LinkedIn and Medium, where he shares insights and advice to help others navigate and grow in the tech industry.

As the Executive Director of Maryland Education Enterprise Consortium (MEEC), Tamara Petronka oversees the organization dedicated to centrally coordinated procurement opportunities for member organizations. Using the collective scale of all educational institutions in Maryland, MEEC aims to obtain economic advantages and value in acquiring products and services beneficial to the educational enterprise.
Tamara’s background has cultivated a strong commitment to securing optimal deals for members of the education community. She began her career teaching seventh and eighth grade Science in the public school system in Pennsylvania, where she balanced cost against educational needs. She later transitioned to higher education as a Registrar—a role demanding exceptional attention to detail, adherence to schedules, and comprehension of the long-term impacts of short-term decisions. Her move to the University System of Maryland involved providing structure to a software implementation project that impacted the entire System. Subsequently, she took leadership of what was initially a single contract MEEC program, expanding its reach to multiple contracts, numerous vendors, various institutions, and numerous faculty and staff FTEs. Members of the USM Board of Regents now regard MEEC as the "crown jewel" of Efficiency and Effectiveness.

The Vice President of Information Technology is the university’s Chief Information Officer (CIO). The Vice President provides university leadership for information technology at UMBC and serves on the executive leadership team of the university. The Vice President is responsible for providing information technology services in support of teaching and scholarship, research computing, and administrative support. Reporting directly to the President, the Vice President is responsible for strategic planning and implementation, coordination, budget, personnel, and policy related to information technology at UMBC.
Mr. Jack Suess is an alum of UMBC and has worked at UMBC since 1981. He holds a B.A. Mathematics and M.S. Operations Analysis. Throughout the years he has taught a number of courses at UMBC, including Computer Organization and Assembly Programming, Unix System Administration, and Computers and Society. He has led UMBC information technology since 1997 and was appointed UMBC CIO in 2000. In 2002, he was made a direct report to the President and was named Vice President in 2005. His CV can be found here.
Mr. Suess has been an active researcher in advanced networking and was PI on UMBC’s 1997 NSF grant for vBNS networking and was the PI on a 2014 NSF cyber infrastructure grant to upgrade the network to 100 Gbits. In addition he has been co-PI on a NSF grant to increase women in IT through improved access to global resources and a state grant for broadening IT skills across all majors. He is a regular speaker on data analytics for student success, cybersecurity, identity management, and technology standards for teaching and learning.