State of Mississippi

Jonathon Tate Reeves (born June 5, 1974) is an American politician serving as the 65th and current governor of Mississippi since 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 53rd Mississippi State Treasurer from 2004 to 2012 and the 32nd lieutenant governor of Mississippi from 2012 to 2020. At age 29, he was the youngest state treasurer in the nation when elected in 2003 and the first Republican to hold the office in Mississippi. He was the Republican nominee for governor of Mississippi in the 2019 election and defeated the Democratic nominee, Attorney General Jim Hood.

Michele Blocker currently serves as the Interim Chief Information Officer for Mississippi and the Interim Executive Director for the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services. In this role, Ms. Blocker leads the agency which is the catalyst for effective planning, development, and operation of innovative technology for Mississippi State Government. Ms. Blocker is a dedicated public servant with over 28 years of state government experience in a myriad of roles related to technology delivery as well as recruitment and support of the technical personnel vital to maintaining the enterprise systems supporting Mississippi government and citizens.
Prior to her role as Interim Executive Director, Ms. Blocker led the administrative focus for the agency including governmental collaboration with Mississippi’s Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches, as well as federal contacts and national affiliations. Ms. Blocker has a Bachelor of Science degree from Mississippi State University with a double major in Marketing and Finance. She is a Certified Public Manager (CPM) and graduate of the John C. Stennis State Executive Development Institute. She is also a graduate of the Human Resources Certification Program (HRCP) sponsored by the Mississippi State Personnel Board. Ms. Blocker has served and continues to serve on numerous task forces, committees, and groups supporting and promoting all aspects of technology within state government.

Dan Thurmon is the founder and President of Motivation Works, a company that helps leaders and their organizations move confidently through change and transformation so that they achieve and contribute MORE. Dan is an expert speaker and performer. He has delivered thousands of presentations across six continents for audiences including world leaders, Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, educators, and even troops on the front lines of battle. In 2011, he was inducted into the prestigious Speaker Hall of Fame. Dan recently served as the President of the National Speakers Association. During his tenure, he led the Board of Directors and the 3,000+ member organization through a critical transformation, which included new governance, a new mission, higher member value, and greater financial accountability. He’s authored two books: Success in Action and Off Balance On Purpose. Dan produces an ongoing weekly video coaching series and podcast in which he shares leadership principles and life-enhancement strategies in under three minutes. He is a health and fitness advocate. In his 50s, Dan continues to train and perform advanced acrobatics, and enjoys hobbies such as golf, mountain unicycling and the flying trapeze.

Teri Takai is the Co-Director of the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. She worked for Ford Motor Company for 30 years in global application development and information technology strategic planning. From Ford, she moved to EDS in support of General Motors. A long-time interest in public service led her to the government sector, first as CIO of the State of Michigan, then as CIO of the State of California, and subsequently the CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense, the first woman appointed to this role. She then served as the CIO for Meridian Health Plan. She is a member of several industry advisory boards. Teri has won numerous awards including Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year, CIO Magazine’s CIO Hall of Fame, Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers, the Women in Defense Excellence in Leadership Award, and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Phil Bertolini is the Co-Director 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.

Dustin Haisler is the Chief Innovation Officer for e.Republic. As Chief Innovation Officer, he has a strategic role to help shape the company’s products, services, and future direction. Primarily, he leads e.Republic Labs, a market connector created as an ecosystem to educate, accelerate, and ultimately scale technology innovation within the public sector. Dustin began he career at a very young age as the finance director and later CIO for Manor, TX, a small city outside Austin. He quickly built a track record and national reputation as an early innovator in civic tech, for which he was named a Government Technology Top 25 Doer, Dreamer and Driver in 2009. A member of Code for America’s original steering committee, Dustin pioneered government use of commercial technologies not before used in the public sector – including Quick-Response (QR) barcodes, crowdsourcing, and gamification. Dustin went on to the private sector to help broaden the adoption of these and other civic innovations. His work has been featured in Wired, Fast Company, the Wall Street Journal, Inc., and the Today Show on NBC. An in-demand speaker, he has given two TEDx speeches – one on Disrupting Government (TEDxAustin) and the other on Disrupting Education (TEDxLivermore).

Prior to Governor Kelly’s appointment as Secretary of Administration, Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace served as the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies at the University of Kansas. Dr. Burns-Wallace started her career as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) with the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Burns-Wallace has been selected for various leadership opportunities, awards and honors throughout her higher ed and government career, including the 2018 White House Champions of Change College Opportunity, and earning a Superior Honor and three Meritorious Honor awards from the U.S. State Department. Dr. Burns-Wallace serves as a national trainer and curriculum developer for various national professional development organizations, non-profits, and higher ed institutions on issues ranging including micro-aggressions, multigenerational workplace differences, diversity and inclusion, change management, professional development pathways, and strategic planning. Service is also a cornerstone of her journey. Dr. Burns-Wallace currently serves on Stanford University’s Board of Governors, and has previously held board roles in numerous local, regional, and national organizations, and international selection committees including Gates Millennium Scholars, Dell Foundation Scholars, and Rhodes, Marshall, and Fulbright fellowships. Dr. Burns-Wallace holds a dual bachelor’s degree in International Relations and African American studies from Stanford University, a Master in Public Affairs from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and a doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania.

Anthony Huey is a highly popular international speaker and communications consultant who offers session attendees pragmatic communications tools, tips and techniques they can use immediately in their professional and personal lives. His career includes tenures as a news reporter, magazine senior editor, crisis management specialist, media relations consultant and executive speech coach. Anthony heads Reputation Management, LLC, one of the nation’s leading communications training and crisis consulting companies. He has presented nearly 2,700 keynote speeches, workshops and seminars. His direct client work includes a wide variety of advertising, public relations and communications initiatives for hundreds of trade associations, municipalities and companies.

Tom Gill is a Principal Architect with AT&T serving the State, Local Government, and Education organization in AT&T's Public Sector. Tom primarily supports customers in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. As a Principal Architect, he is involved with innovation strategy and technical architecture for AT&T. Tom works with customers to align technology roadmaps with their business objectives. Tom began his career as a DSL installation technician and has grown in the industry for over 20 years into areas of security, mobility, voice transformation, as well as automation. Tom enjoys fishing, football, racing, and has recently discovered cycling.

Jim Richberg’s role as a Fortinet CISO leverages his 30+ years’ experience driving innovation in cybersecurity, threat intelligence, and cyber strategy & policy. He is currently focused on cyber risk management, election security, and helping organizations maximize their IT efficiency and security post-COVID.
Prior to joining Fortinet, Mr. Richberg served as the National Intelligence Manager for Cyber, the senior Federal Executive focused on cyber intelligence within the $80B+/100,000 employee US Intelligence Community (IC). He led cyber strategy for the 17 departments and agencies of the IC, set integrated priorities on cyber threats, and served as Senior Advisor to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on cyber issues.
Mr. Richberg’s broad operational experience –including his 20 years at CIA-- gives him practical insight into difficult cyber challenges. He brings a strong focus on strategic problem solving and on framing complex issues in comprehensible terms that facilitate analysis and formulation of solutions.

The CISO provides oversight and management of the State’s Enterprise Security Program that coordinates cybersecurity efforts across all state agencies, including cybersecurity systems, services and development of policies, standards and guidelines.
Jay has worked as a technology consultant with ITS for over 22 years. Jay served as a security consultant when the ITS Security Services Division was established in 2009 and became the Director of the division in 2011. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science from Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi.

Tom Yeatts is an experienced IT executive with a proven track record of delivering results. Before joining ServiceNow as SLED CTO, Tom served as deputy CIO for Howard County, MD. His responsibilities included designing the architecture and delivering IT projects in support of the county’s vision to connect its citizens and workforce on a secure and stable environment. Tom graduated from Virginia Tech and resides in Maryland.

Sims is responsible for overseeing the State’s training programs and professional development courses for nearly 21,000 participants each year. She has 26 years of experience in Mississippi’s public sector, working previously with the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the Public Employees’ Retirement System, and Mississippi Development Authority, where she customized a leadership development program around the economic development industry.
Sims earned a bachelor’s degree from Delta State University and an MBA from Mississippi College. She is one of only five learning professionals in the State of Mississippi to hold the Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) credential from the Association for Talent Development Certification Institute.