New Jersey Digital Government Summit 2023 Banner

Overview

The Digital Government Summit brings together technology focused public-sector professionals with leading industry partners to connect on innovative approaches, get inspired and discover new technologies. Join us and let’s improve the future of government together!

A message from our Keynote Speaker

Offering increasing levels of digital services to New Jersey’s residents is an enabler for better government as well as a tool for increased transparency. As IT professionals, it is our duty to advocate for security, stability, and innovation with the technology we create and support. In order to deliver, we need our industry partners; and this event is a great place for us to collaborate, discuss opportunities, and share both successes and challenges. Although each calendar day is precious, spending this time away from our normal, daily schedules is worthwhile and provides an excellent platform for these interactions. I am again looking forward to seeing you there!

– Christopher Rein, Chief Technology Officer, State of New Jersey

Speakers

John Register

John Register

Paralympic Games Silver Medalist, Persian Gulf War veteran, TEDx Motivational Speaker

John Register is a two-time Paralympian, Paralympic Games Silver Medalist, Persian Gulf War veteran, and TEDx Motivational Speaker. He embraced a “new normal mindset” in becoming an amputee following a misstep over a hurdle while training for the 1996 Olympic Games, after participation in two consecutive Olympic trials.
An Oak Park, Ill. native, Register discovered how to “amputate his fear of disability” and founded the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Military Sport Program in the early 2000s. He launched a book titled: 10 Stories to Impact Any Leader: Journal Your Way to Leadership Success, as business leaders return to work with their staff amid stressful circumstances surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic and the recent unrest in our urban cities.
Register teaches business professionals through his “Hurdling Adversity” speeches and podcasts to “amputate fear and embrace their new normal,” as they discover “stories within themselves.”
He finds that “it is the personal stories that inspire teams more profoundly with greater impact.”
Register is a four-time All-American graduate of University of Arkansas. He served six years in the U.S. Army—including in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and in active-duty with the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program—winning nine gold medals in the Armed Services Competition and two World Military Championships.
Register had his left leg amputated after a misstep over a hurdle changed his life. Register hyperextended his knee and severed the popliteal artery. He started swimming to aid in his recovery, made the U.S. Paralympic Team in 1996, and later won a silver medal in the long jump—as he set an American record—and sprinted to fifth in the 100 meters and 200 meters at the U.S. Paralympic Games in Sydney.
Register resides in Colorado Springs, CO with his wife Alice. The couple have three children - John Jr., Ashley, and Ronald.

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Jack Shaw

Jack Shaw

Innovation and Technology Strategist, Speaker, Author, Consultant

Starting over three decades ago, even before the birth of e-commerce, and through the advent of blockchain in the early Millennium era, Jack took an early and enduring interest in understanding how new technologies create disruptive change while enabling creative innovation in everyday processes, corporate strategies, and even fundamental business models as well as how organizations must adjust and adapt to those impacts.
His decades of experience designing, developing, and implementing emerging technologies have given him a deep understanding of how these evolve and are adopted. This experience enables him to speak with unique perspective on such current leading-edge technologies as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, 5G, and the Internet of Things and how, individually and collectively, they will impact business and society.
Jack has delivered over 1,000 keynote presentations and executive forums in 26 countries and every state across the U.S. He is a Yale University graduate, and he holds a Kellogg MBA degree specializing in Finance and Marketing.

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Craig Chapman

Craig Chapman

Sr. Solutions Architect, SHI International Corp

Craig Chapman is an Infrastructure Solutions Architect with SHI’s Advanced Solutions Group with over two decades of successful experience specializing in solution design, vision development, virtual data center design, cloud consulting and IT enablement. His tenure includes the resign of entire City and Metropolitan networks. He has managed Value-Added Reseller Services teams and has extensive manufacturer experience, both serving as an Enterprise vSpecialist for Dell EMC and a Systems Engineer/Principal Cloud Architect for Pure Storage. Craig also considers himself a Star War Aficionado!

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Brian Cohen

Brian Cohen

Vice President, Center for Digital Government

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.

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Kevin Dehmer

Kevin Dehmer

Executive Director, Heldrich Center for Workforce Development

Kevin Dehmer is Executive Director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. He is responsible for executive management and day-to-day oversight of research, administration, communications, program development, technical assistance, policy implementation, client services, and project operations.
Previously, Kevin was the Assistant Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer of the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE). In that position, he oversaw all aspects of public-school funding in New Jersey, including allocating more than $11 billion in state aid annually and over $1 billion in federal grants. From 2017 to 2022, Kevin led a large and diverse group of professionals, including economists, public policy analysts, lawyers, accountants, and technology specialists in that division. Prior to that role, Kevin directed numerous offices within NJDOE, and twice was appointed by New Jersey governors as the Interim/Acting Commissioner of Education.
During his more than 15 years in public service, Kevin served on multiple state councils and advisory groups in New Jersey, including the State Employment and Training Commission; the Council on the Green Economy; the Commission on Science, Innovation, and Technology; Governor Phil Murphy’s Coronavirus Task Force; and the New Jersey Computer Science Advisory Board.
Kevin was educated at St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science. He earned a Master’s of Public Policy at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, and was also a Graduate Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.

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Tony DiCuffa

Tony DiCuffa LinkedIn

Practice Lead, Adobe Solutions Consulting

Tony is a senior solution consultant at Adobe and has extensive experience supporting complex solution applications. His contributions have helped Federal, State and Local governments maximize their technology to help their citizens live better lives. Prior to joining Adobe, Tony was a solution architect with Accenture.

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Brynn Duprey

Brynn Duprey

Federal Program Officer, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

Brynn Deprey joined the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in August 2022 as the federal program officer (FPO) for the State of New Jersey. In this role, Brynn coordinates partnerships and outreach with the state and local governments, community groups, and other entities with a vested interest on NTIA’s high-speed internet grant programs and policy issues.
Brynn works directly with New Jersey’s broadband office and the state-level county and municipal associations to ensure comprehensive engagement from all stakeholders in the state on the State’s high-speed internet planning and funding process. Before joining NTIA, Brynn was with Eastern International College for four years where she was the Director for IT and e-learning, providing digital skills to educators and students as well as IT system integration and support. Prior to her work in Jersey City, she spent five years with local regional and education networks in New Jersey at Edge and in Connecticut with the Connecticut Education Network helping to expand fiber optic connectivity among higher education institutions, municipalities, K-12s, libraries and select businesses.Brynn holds a Bachelor of Arts in French from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Marketing from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK.

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Adam Eckhard

Adam Eckhard

VP of Engineering, Fortinet

Adam Eckhard is a Director of Systems Engineering with Fortinet responsible for Public Sector accounts in the Northeast. He has provided strategic solutions and in depth technical knowledge in order to design, implement and secure enterprise environments across all market segments. Adam Eckhard joined Fortinet in 2004 and has over 20 years of IT security experience.

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Jon Ford

Jon Ford

Managing Director, Mandiant

Mr. Ford is 25-year veteran in cybersecurity, incident response, and intelligence led cyber operations in both government and commercial sectors. Prior to joining Mandiant, Mr. Ford served in executive leadership roles for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Mr. Ford served as the responsible executive to the U.S. Cryptologic Centers for strategic and tactical oversight of global cyber operations and key asset protection. In these roles. Mr. Ford developed the framework used by the U.S. Government to manage risk of cyber threats supporting government and critical infrastructure capabilities receiving recognition by the White House National Security Council and the United States Congress.
Currently, Mr. Ford serves as the Senior Executive to Mandiant’s multi-lateral partnerships and Pinnacle clients. Mr. Ford leads operations, strategy and solutions for our global partners, and globally leads Mandiant’s Insider Threat risk offerings. Mr. Ford coaches’ boards and executives on how to measure and manage enterprise risk, regularly speaks at industry conferences. Mr. Ford is a member of the Geneva Dialogue on Responsible Behavior in Cyberspace and the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise. Mr. Ford is the founder of Mandiant’s Elevate program to advance women in IT security into senior leadership and Board positions.
Mr. Ford serves as an adjunct professor teaching advanced curricula on cybersecurity and risk frameworks at St. Mary’s University. Mr. Ford is a graduate of Harvard, John F. Kennedy School on Cybersecurity Policy; a graduate of Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Business in Strategic Change Leadership; and a graduate of Carnegie Melon University’s series on Insider Threats. Mr. Ford is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), a Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP), and a Leadership Professional in Ethics and Compliance (LPEC) professional. Mr. Ford also holds several Global Information Assurance Certifications (GIAC). Mr. Ford is the recipient of the Director of National Intelligence
Certificate of Distinction and Meritorious Unit Citation.

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Tommy Gardner

Tommy Gardner

Chief Technology Officer, HP Federal

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.

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Roger Gibson

Roger Gibson

Chief Operating Officer, Office of Information Technology, State of New Jersey

Roger Gibson is the Chief Operating Officer at the New Jersey Office of Information Technology. He is responsible for overall management and administration of the mainframe operations, managed hosting, network operations, telecommunications, internal security, enterprise services, and public cloud operations teams with NJOIT. Roger previously served NJOIT as Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Cloud Operations before accepting the COO role in October 2019. Before joining NJOIT, Roger held a number of roles with the State of New Jersey, Department of the Treasury, Division of Purchase and Property, including Hearing Officer, Assistant Technology Licensing Officer, and Assistant Division Counsel. In these roles, Roger heard and resolved protests related to public procurements conducted by the Division for review and issuance by the Director of the Division, served as the primary negotiator and designated signatory for technology-related license agreements, and provided advice and counsel to the Director of the Division consistent with advice issued by the Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Law. Roger also served as a voting member on the evaluation committee for the NASPO ValuePoint Cloud Solutions contract lead by the State of Utah. Before joining the Division of Purchase and Property, Roger was a Deputy Attorney General in the Division of Law, where he litigated disability public pension matters, represented the State of New Jersey in procurement and contract matters, and served as general counsel to the State Lottery Commission and the Division of State Lottery. During law school, Roger served as an intern with the Honorable Justice Virginia Long, J.S.C. (Ret.), on the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and thereafter held a clerkship with the Honorable Marie E. Lihotz, P.J.A.D. (Ret.) on the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division. Roger received his B.A. in Criminal Justice with a minor in Business and Gerontology from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and J.D. from the Widener University School of Law, Delaware.

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Ellen P. Goodman

Ellen P. Goodman

Distinguished Professor at Rutgers Law School, Senior Advisor for Algorithmic Justice at NTIA, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Ellen P. Goodman, @ellgood, is Distinguished Professor at Rutgers Law School, where she has also served as Assoc. Dean for Strategic Initiatives. She is currently on leave, serving as Senior Advisor for Algorithmic Justice at NTIA, U.S. Department of Commerce. At Rutgers, she co-directs and co-founded the Rutgers Institute for Information Policy & Law (RIIPL) and was until recently a Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund. Goodman has published widely on media and telecommunications law, smart cities and algorithmic governance, freedom of expression, and advertising law. She has been a Knight Foundation grantee for projects relating to digital platform transparency and has served on Pittsburgh and Philadelphia algorithmic accountability and smart city task forces. Her short-form writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Guardian, Slate, Los Angeles Times, Democracy Journal, etc. She served in the Obama Administration as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar with the Federal Communications Commission and has been a visiting scholar at the London School of Economics and the University of Pennsylvania. She has been the recipient of Ford Foundation, Democracy Fund, and Geraldine R. Dodge grants for work on advancing new public media models and public interest journalism. Prior to joining the Rutgers faculty, Goodman was a partner at the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP, where she practiced in the information technology area. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, clerked for Judge Norma Shapiro on the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and has three children.

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Gillian Gutierrez

Gillian Gutierrez

Senior Advisor/Director, Office of Unemployment Insurance Modernization, Department of Labor & Workforce Development, State of New Jersey

As the Senior Advisor/Director of New Jersey’s Office of Unemployment Insurance (UI) Modernization, Jill Gutierrez oversees the effort to build a flexible and claimant-experience focused UI system for the State of New Jersey. She works closely with her colleagues across the State and in federal government to transform the unemployment benefit experience for New Jerseyans by delivering iterative solutions using agile methods and human-centered design.
Previously, Jill was the Director of Strategic Planning and Outreach for the NJ Department of Labor, where she led efforts to increase access to worker’s benefits and protections, including paid family and medical leave and earned sick leave. She also served over a decade at the US Department of Labor, where she was a strategic planner for the Women’s Bureau.
Jill holds an MPA in Domestic Policy from Princeton University and a bachelor’s degree from Colby College.

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Erling Hoie

Erling Hoie

Systems Architect, Cisco

Erling has spent 16 years at Cisco focused on driving vision and strategy to customers leadership and architecture teams based on best practices that align to their business objectives. These solutions architecture designs spans across Cisco products portfolio. He holds a Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science in Bioengineering and Neuroscience from Syracuse University and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Information Systems Security Architecture Professional (ISSAP) and holds The Open Group Architecture Framework Level 2 certification (TOGAF) and certified in ITILv3.

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Ray Ingram

Ray Ingram

Founder, Dathil

40 years in information technology ranging from product design and development to management of software organizations – always being directed by customer requirements and market opportunities. An active user and deliverer of solutions for the Web since 1995, and a user and deliverer of cloud-based solutions since 1999.
A global background with experience of multi-national requirements specification, architecture and design, development, delivery and support. Significant experience in creating and building partnerships.
Expertise in a wide range of solutions including knowledge encapsulation, large volume data design, data mining, forensic analysis, and predictive usage of data.
Very strong communications and listening skills along with a continual desire for learning built around the building blocks of requirements, data and process analysis.
A refined and well-practiced ability to create data, project and process visualizations so that meta data can be identified and effectively utilized to make complex processes and projects approachable and understandable to a wide audience.
Very active in the community directly and indirectly supporting social entrepreneurship and the breaking down of the digital divide.

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Bernadette Kucharczuk

Bernadette Kucharczuk

Director of Information Technology, Department of Administration Division of Information Technology, City of Jersey City

Bernadette is a Certified Government Chief Information Officer currently serving the City of Jersey City as Director of Information Technology and she is an Adjunct Professor for the Masters of Public Administration Program at Saint Peter’s University. She is a Past President of the New Jersey Chapter of GMIS, a peer association of Government IT Leaders, and is currently serving as President of the chapter’s 501(c)(3) TEC Foundation. A member of the VFW and long-time Rotarian, her service to the Jersey City community has many facets.
Bernadette previously served as IT director in Atlantic City and in East Orange, New Jersey as well as Sutter County, California. Prior to her role managing local government technology departments, she served as Deputy County Administrator in Sutter County and Assistant Director of Public Works in Tehama County, California. Before her career in local government, she served as a decorated officer and navigator aboard KC-135 airplanes in the United States Air Force. Bernadette holds a BS in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Aviation Management from Embry-Riddle University.

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Michael LeBlanc

Michael LeBlanc

General Manager, Tyler Technologies, Inc.

Michael LeBlanc joined Tyler Technologies in 2015 and served under several roles including the Director of Technology and Director of Operations, overseeing project management, application development, security, and infrastructure. Michael currently leads the Tyler New Jersey team as General Manager - focusing on making government more accessible through technology.

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Jean-Guy Lauture

Jean-Guy Lauture

Assistant Township Administrator & Information Technology Director, Township of Bloomfield

Kim Mirabella

Kim Mirabella LinkedIn

Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Sales, Verizon

A 24-year veteran with Verizon, Kim Mirabella is the Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Sales in Verizon Public Sector and oversees the development, design, and capture of strategic opportunities. She leads a team focused solely on serving the Public Sector, including State and Local Government, Public Safety, K-12, and Higher Education.
Kim was given the Verizon Credo award for delivering excellence to customers, employees, shareholders and society. For instance, she worked with various law enforcement partners ahead of Super Bowl 55 in Tampa, FL, to make sure all aspects of Verizon were ready for the big game. Kim also has been instrumental in enabling hybrid learning for thousands of students through Verizon’s Distance Learning program and delivery of affordable wireless solutions.
In addition, Kim leads volunteer initiatives focused on the mentor and development of women seeking to improve business acumen and overall career development at Verizon.

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Chris Montgomery

Chris Montgomery LinkedIn

Transformation Strategist, VMware

Mr. Montgomery is a cybersecurity strategist covering State, Local Government, and Education at VMware. Chris is a recognized cybersecurity expert, with a unique perspective that emphasizes security strategy to improve user experience and enable innovation. He is known in the industry as a thought leader for organizational change management associated with technology modernization.

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Mehnaz Mustafa

Mehnaz Mustafa

Executive Director, Health Care Quality and Informatics, New Jersey Department of Health

Mehnaz Mustafa is the Executive Director for Data and Analytics at the New Jersey Department of Health. She oversees the Office of Vital Statistics, Center for Health Statistics, Healthcare Quality Assessment, Health Services Research and the Centralized Data and Analytics Hub for the Department. Mehnaz has served on NJ’s COVID 19 Vaccine Governance Steering Committee along with the Commissioner of Health, Governor’s Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel, and Superintendent of Police. She led the creation of New Jersey Department of Health Centralized Data and Analytics Hub that serves the Department through data driven insights for faster decision making and democratizing access to public health data.

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Michele L. Norin

Michele L. Norin

Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Rutgers University

Michele Norin is the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. As the institutional leader for technology in a highly complex environment, her primary responsibility is to provide leadership in the strategic adoption and use of information technology in support of the University's vision for excellence in research, teaching, outreach, and lifelong learning.
Ms. Norin serves as the University’s primary advocate and spokesperson for IT strategies and policies; defines and communicates a campus-wide vision for technology; and provides campus-wide oversight for IT-related issues and strategic planning. She also works closely with Big Ten Academic Alliance peer institutions, Research 1 CIO Colleagues in representing RU’s IT strategies and partners with the chief information technology officers within the northeast region to achieve synergies in IT.

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Charles O’Shea

Charles O’Shea

Eastern Regional Executive for State Government Strategy,T-Mobile.

Mr. Charles (Charlie) O’Shea is the Eastern Regional Executive for State Government Strategy at T-Mobile. Before joining T-Mobile, Mr. O’Shea had a long and distinguished career in public service, beginning as a New York State Assemblyman. While in the Assembly, Mr. O’Shea served on several powerful committees, none more important than the Committee on Ways and Means, which gave him deep insight into the financial operations of all state departments. After twelve years in the Assembly, Mr. O’Shea ran for and was elected as the Chairman of the Nassau County Board of Assessors and Nassau County Real Property Tax Director. In this capacity, Mr. O’Shea pushed for and secured a hard-fought modernization of the county’s tax assessment and collection system. After leaving elected office, Mr. O’Shea continued his public service career as the Director of Government Affairs & External Relations for the New York State Department of Transportation. His long and dedicated career in public service has earned Mr. O’Shea respect and accolades across the political spectrum in New York City and State Government Circles. After leaving government service, Mr. O’Shea joined the highly respected law and policy firm of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein as a government relations attorney. Mr. O’Shea was motivated to join the T-Mobile brand because of his longstanding efforts to improve and modernize government.
Mr. O’Shea, a graduate of Duke University and the Fordham University School of Law, resides on Long Island, New York, with his wife, Carole.

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Zach Patton

Zach Patton

Chief Editor, Content Studio, Government Technology

Zach Patton is the chief editor of the Content Studio at e.Republic and Government Technology. He has been covering the public sector for nearly 20 years. Until 2019, he was the executive editor of Governing magazine, where he also had served as a staff writer for more than a decade.

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Tim Paydos

Tim Paydos

Vice President and General Manager, Global Government Member, IBM Industry Academy

Tim first joined IBM in 1995 as an industry solutions consultant. Tim graduated from Harvard University, where he studied international relations and became obsessed with deterrence theory and nuclear war-gaming. He has spent 22 years at IBM, though not contiguously—he left briefly in 1999 to try his hand at a startup, catching the dotcom implosion at just the right time before rejoining the mother ship three years later.
Tim now serves as IBM’s Global Government General Manager, a role in which he leads IBM’s Global Government Industry in helping agencies across the world transform the way they serve and protect citizens – through the journey to Hybrid Cloud and the Cognitive Enterprise. Tim has had the honor of working personally with 100’s of government agencies both in the United Stated and abroad, at both the national, provincial and local levels. While fluent in all segments and levels of government, Tim’s particular passion lies in helping public safety, emergency management, intelligence and defense agencies in harnessing information as a strategic asset for protecting the society they serve. Throughout his career at IBM, Tim has led a range of strategy and marketing, solution sales and solution management teams across services and technologies at IBM.
Tim lives in Connecticut with his wife Angela, three children, and their Labrador retrievers. For rest and relaxation, he serves as a nationally certified fire rescue instructor, and recently retired from 15 years on the thin red line as a firefighter in Simsbury, where he achieved a terminal rank of captain. He is also an avid mountain biker and fly fisherman.
Tim is recognized as one of IBM's Government leaders worldwide, and is frequently found representing IBM at industry events as a presenter or panel representative. Recently he participated in a live tabletop exercise along with senior leaders from the U.S. Directorate of National Intelligence, Centers for Disease Control and Federal Emergency Management Agency, in which the panel simulated incident management and government emergency response to a hypothetical outbreak of hemorrhagic fever after a professional basketball game in a major U.S. city. "This was one of the few times where my professional life at IBM intersected with my hobby as a fire rescue instructor and fire officer," Tim says. "It was an incredible experience to have earned a seat at the tabletop exercise with such experienced government leaders."

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Marc Pfeiffer

Marc Pfeiffer

Assistant Director, Bloustein Local Government Research Center, Rutgers University

Marc H. Pfeiffer retired in 2012 from a 37-year career in New Jersey local government administration, having served as a municipal administrator in several municipalities, and 26 years of service in the State’s local government oversight agency, the Division of Local Government Services. At DLGS he served as Deputy Director for 14 years, and periodically as Acting Director.
Marc has broad experience in many areas of local government policy and administration, including specific expertise in areas such as finance and property taxation, public procurement, shared services and consolidation, technology, energy, labor relations, and general government administration. He also has deep experience in the legislative process and as a regulatory officer. He is currently engaged in research concerning the use of technology in local government.
In addition to participating in Bloustein Local, Marc makes his extensive government experience available as a guest lecturer and other collaborative efforts. He is also assisting the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration with the State’s Certified Public Manager Program in curriculum development and instruction.

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Joseph Rivera

Joseph Rivera

Manager of Broadband Access, Office of Broadband Connectivity, State of New Jersey

Joe Rivera is the Manager of Broadband Access for the State of New Jersey by way of the Office of Broadband Connectivity located at the NJBPU. In this role he and his office will be leading efforts to ensure that the State of New Jersey achieves Digital Equity and connectivity across the state. His belief is that focusing on the connectivity needs of unserved, underserved, and community anchor institutions will pave the way for increased health initiatives, education, training, employment, and economic development. New Jersey is overdue for a renaissance and believes it will be digital.
Born, raised, and educated in the City of Trenton, he is formally the City of Trenton’s 1st Chief Technology Officer. Some accomplishments include, having made headlines for stopping two cyber threats during Covid-19, recovering over $1M. He also led efforts by creating portals for testing and vaccinations during the pandemic, leading to the City of Trenton to assist the state with the vaccination efforts.
Joe Rivera is a 5-year Digital Government Summit Advisory Board member. Joe has over 20 years of experience in IT, entrepreneurship, strategy, marketing, and content creation as well as community engagement. He has worked for the N.J. State Police, the N.J. Office of Information Technology, N.J. Office of Administrative Law, and the City of Trenton. He has volunteered and served on many community and charitable boards as well.
Some other accomplishments include assisting Trenton in being the second municipality in the state of NJ to have 5G approved with two major carriers. During the pandemic he also ensured the City of Trenton continued critical services remotely and has delivered increased results in communication & information being delivered to constituents.

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Carlos Rivero

Carlos Rivero

Executive Government Advisor, Amazon Web Services

Carlos Rivero is a public sector data practice subject matter expert with over 27 years of experience in federal and state government and higher education. Carlos is an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Executive Government Advisor focused on State and Local Government within the AWS Worldwide Public Sector. Prior to joining AWS, Carlos Rivero was Vice President of Data and Analytics at GCOM Software where he established their public sector data practice. During his time at GCOM, he built a small and mighty team of data professionals working to establish a national data trust. In addition, Rivero was the first Chief Data Officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia ultimately helping Governor Northam, his executive team, and public health/emergency management professionals respond to the COVID-19 pandemic leveraging data-driven intelligence products to help inform actionable decisions that kept Virginians safe. Prior to his appointment, Rivero served as the Chief Data Officer and Chief Enterprise Architect for the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration where he created a data ecosystem delivering intelligence products throughout the organization. Mr. Rivero also served in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service helping to support NOAA’s Big Data Program, Public Access to Research Results, Highly Migratory Species tagging program, and others. Prior to joining the federal service, Mr. Rivero was a research associate and adjunct professor at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science.

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Michael J. Strom

Michael J. Strom

Workforce Development Coordinator, Jersey City Housing Authority

Michael J. Strom is an advocate for equitable access to opportunity through his dual roles as Workforce Development Coordinator for Jersey City Housing Authority (JCHA) and Chair of the Digital Inclusion Practitioners of New Jersey (DIPNJ). Michael's connection to Digital Inclusion began with a 2018-19 LEE public policy fellowship at JCHA coinciding with the HA’s ConnectHomeUSA initiative to bridge the digital divide. Michael co-founded DIPNJ in 2019 to develop NJ’s first professional digital inclusion collaborative. In 2021, Michael returned to JCHA as Workforce Development Coordinator for the RECE department, helping residents pursue career advancement through accessible connection to support resources, curated opportunities, and career advancement events. Michael serves on the Steering Committee of the Community Networking Association of Hudson County, and is Development Team Leader for SIMSOC Online, an established societal simulation transitioning to a virtual medium.Michael holds Political Science degrees from Rutgers Newark (MA) & TCNJ (BA).

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Krista Valenzuela

Krista Valenzuela

Bureau Chief, Cyber Threat Outreach & Partnerships Bureau, NJ Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Cell, Office of Homeland Security & Preparedness, State of New Jersey

Krista Valenzuela leads the Cyber Threat Outreach & Partnerships (CTOP) Bureau at the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC), conducting presentations, authoring the NJCCIC Weekly Bulletin, creating resources for the NJCCIC website, and establishing relationships with critical infrastructure, businesses, organizations, and individuals around the State. Mrs. Valenzuela has been with the NJCCIC for over six years and previously worked for the US Department of Defense for three years on their information assurance mission.

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Stephen Walsh

Stephen Walsh LinkedIn

Director, Public & Social Impact New Jersey, Slalom

Stephen J. Walsh is a highly accomplished C-suite leader, senior executive and board trustee, driving growth and innovation at public, private and not-for-profit entities. Leveraging nearly 30 years of governance, strategy, organizational development, operations and technology transformation experience at diverse organizations, Stephen currently serves as the Director of Slalom NJ’s Public and Social Impact (P&SI) Practice, leading a team of seasoned consulting professionals partnering with and supporting public and higher education clients in their digital transformation journey.
A pioneer of many successful public policy and technology initiatives, Stephen transformed several public sector, higher education and not-for-profit organizations, with past leadership experience within the City of New York, State of New York, City University of New York (CUNY), New York Fire Department (FDNY), U.S. Army, Exeter Group and CentraState Healthcare System.
Stephen’s current career interests include the intersection of cybersecurity, IT risk management, data analytics, compliance and fraud prevention.

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Agenda

Tuesday, May 16

8:00 am Eastern

Registration and Morning Refreshments

George Washington Ballroom

9:00 am Eastern

Opening Remarks

Patriots Theatre

Christopher Rein, Chief Technology Officer, Office of Information Technology, State of New Jersey

9:05 am Eastern

Welcome

Patriots Theatre

Presented by: NJ-GMIS

9:10 am Eastern

Keynote – Transform Adversity into Advantage: How to Conquer Life's Hurdles

Patriots Theatre

The world has become more difficult, and the challenges are bigger than ever. Adopting a “new normal mindset” is necessary to empower your team to navigate potential barriers and opportunities and overcome adversity. How will you manage uncertainty? Is your team ready to embrace change? This session will provide a powerful, interactive message of resilience and perseverance that will inspire you to see change as a force for growth.

John Register, Inspirational and Motivational Speaker, Author, and Two-Time Paralympic Silver Medalist

10:10 am Eastern

Bits & Bytes – The Resident Experience Initiative: Transforming Resident Service Delivery

Patriots Theatre

In this session, we will explore the importance of transforming how digital services are delivered to New Jerseyans and how the Office of Innovation and OIT are partnering to bring that transformation to life. How can State agencies capitalize on these efforts to improve the way New Jersey designs and delivers programs and services? We will answer that question and discuss how these programs will ultimately benefit the residents and businesses in the Garden State.

Dave Cole, Fellow, Office of Innovation, State of New Jersey

10:30 am Eastern

Networking Break

George Washington Ballroom

11:00 am Eastern

Concurrent Sessions

My Data + Your Data = Our Data

Patriots Theatre

There’s one thing government has plenty of… DATA! But it’s often siloed, protected, and unusable to anyone but the owner. Your environment may be inundated with disparate systems that include redundant information which makes data-driven decisions difficult, if not impossible. Are you getting the most out of your data? How can we work more effectively across multiple layers of government? This session explores best practices for breaking down silos to make data more manageable, discoverable, and useful.

Moderator: Brian Cohen, Vice President, Center for Digital Government

Craig Chapman, Senior Solutions Architect, SHI International Corp

Mehnaz Mustafa, Executive Director, Health Care Quality and Informatics, New Jersey Department of Health

Carlos Rivero, Executive Government Advisor, Amazon Web Services

Staying Ahead of the Cybersecurity Curve

Stokes Library at the Historic Trenton Masonic Temple

Cyberthreat attacks are increasing in potency and frequency while becoming more treacherous to navigate each year. Zero Trust is becoming less of a buzz word and more of a must have. It is critical that state and local government be less reactive and more proactive. To do that, it is imperative to know how the bad actors think. This session explores the current reality of security threats and how we can work together to defend and respond.

Moderator: Michele L. Norin, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Rutgers University

Adam Eckhard, Vice President of Engineering, Fortinet

Jon Ford, Managing Director, Mandiant

Tommy Gardner, Chief Technology Officer, HP Federal

Krista Valenzuela, Bureau Chief, Cyber Threat Outreach & Partnerships Bureau, NJ Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Cell, Office of Homeland Security & Preparedness, State of New Jersey

Driving Digital Transformation

Delaware River Room (Lower Level, War Memorial)

Embracing change means getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Digital transformation is a particularly difficult and complex journey. Effectively utilizing the people, process and technology are the keys to turning possibilities into surefire outcomes. This session focuses on successfully navigating change, driving adaptation, developing better processes, and broadening comfort zones.

Moderator: Zach Patton, Chief Editor, Content Studio, Government Technology

Roger Gibson, Chief Operating Officer, Office of Information Technology, State of New Jersey

Kim Mirabella, Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Sales, Verizon

Chris Montgomery, Transformation Strategist, VMware

Stephen Walsh, Director, Public & Social Impact New Jersey, Slalom

Accessibility for All – Broadband & Beyond

Turning Point Conference Room (1st Floor, War Memorial)

It’s no secret that digital equity and accessibility are imperative to drive today’s modern government. Access to broadband is just one part of a very large puzzle! Do you have the right pieces to build out your strategy? Do you have educational outreach and inclusion baked into your plans? This session will explore what leaders need to consider to make technology usable for everyone.

Moderator: Joseph Rivera, Manager of Broadband Access, Office of Broadband Connectivity, State of New Jersey

Brynn Deprey, Federal Program Officer, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, US Department of Commerce, NTIA

Charles O’Shea, Eastern Regional Executive for State Government Strategy, T-Mobile

Michael J. Strom, Workforce Development Coordinator, Jersey City Housing Authority

Ray Ingram, Founder, Dathil

12:00 pm Eastern

Lunch

Grand Parlor at the Historic Trenton Masonic Temple

1:15 pm Eastern

Concurrent Sessions

Is It Real or Is It AI?

Patriots Theatre

Emerging technologies continue to march into the workplace, bringing new tools to the fingertips of your teams. Some struggle to know whether what they are seeing or hearing is real or computer generated. How will ethics be addressed when pushing AI forward? Are you ready for the challenge? This session delves into the processes and strategies to use emerging technologies – ethically – that empower humans to better utilize their skills to focus on higher-value activities.

Moderator: Marc Pfeiffer, Assistant Director, Bloustein Local Government Research Center, Rutgers University

Ellen P. Goodman, Distinguished Professor at Rutgers Law School, Senior Advisor for Algorithmic Justice at NTIA, U.S. Department of Commerce

Tim Paydos, Vice President and General Manager, Government Industry, IBM

Chat GPT

The Team, The Team, The Team!

Stokes Library at the Historic Trenton Masonic Temple

Your team is more important now than ever before. How will you find qualified people to execute your vision for the future? Do you have the right plan to recruit and retain quality resources? What skills sets are now required to build out an effective group? This session shares tactics and best practices for you to build, grow and maintain the best team.

Moderator: Zach Patton, Chief Editor, Content Studio, Government Technology

Kevin Dehmer, Executive Director, Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Bernadette Kucharczuk, Director of Information Technology, Department of Administration Division of Information Technology, City of Jersey City

Jean-Guy Lauture, Assistant Township Administrator & Information Technology Director, Township of Bloomfield

Modernization & Innovation – Can They Coexist?

Turning Point Conference Room (1st Floor, War Memorial)

Modernizing our systems can be a costly and cumbersome affair but something that must be done in order to provide efficient constituent services. How can we make sure the tools we are adopting for the future are necessary and relevant? Is it even possible to tackle technical debt and innovate for the future at the same time? This session will dive into those questions and will discuss how to deal with the past while also preparing for the future.

Moderator: Brian Cohen, Vice President, Center for Digital Government

Tony DiCuffa, Practice Lead, Adobe Solutions Consulting

Gillian Gutierrez, Senior Advisor & Director, Office of Unemployment Insurance Modernization, Department of Labor & Workforce Development, State of New Jersey

Erling Hoie, Systems Architect, Cisco

Michael LeBlanc, General Manager, Tyler Technologies, Inc.

Executive Briefing

Delaware River Room (Lower Level, War Memorial)

(Industry sponsors only) Hosted by:

Christopher Rein, Chief Technology Officer, State of New Jersey

2:15 pm Eastern

Networking Break

George Washington Ballroom

2:40 pm Eastern

Featured Speaker – Digital Transformation for Government: The Future is Now

Patriots Theatre

The world of government technology is shifting by the day. The need for Dynamic Digital Transformation and unlocking the power of emerging technologies like AI and IoT is the future. There are tools that are transforming state and local government including exciting real-world examples drawn from the latest surveys and reporting by Government Technology magazine. Engage in an interactive session to uncover areas where your organization can engage these new opportunities to discover how to improve outcomes for your constituents and your organization. Stay ahead of the curve and revolutionize your government – the future is now!

Jack Shaw, Innovation and Technology Strategist, Speaker, Author, Consultant

3:40 pm Eastern

Networking Reception

George Washington Ballroom

Network with your colleagues and discuss technology solutions with the event exhibitors.

4:30 pm Eastern

End of Conference

Conference times, agenda, and speakers are subject to change.

The War Memorial

1 Memorial Drive
Trenton, NJ 08608
(609) 984-8484

Get Directions To
The War Memorial

Advisory Board

Government Representatives

Nick Behmke
Director of Information Technology
Office of Legislative Services, Information Technology Unit
State of New Jersey

Lisa Blauer
Chief of Staff
Office of Information Technology
State of New Jersey

Brian Embley
Geographic Information Officer
Office of Information Technology
State of New Jersey

Lookman Fazal
Chief Information & Digital Officer
New Jersey Transit Corporation

Kai Feder
Chief of Staff
Office of Innovation
State of New Jersey

Roger Gibson
Chief Operating Officer
Office of Information Technology
State of New Jersey

John Harrison
Chief Information Officer
Department of Community Affairs
State of New Jersey

Linda Holland
Director of Information Technology
Department of Children & Families
State of New Jersey

Hagen Hottmann
Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Enterprise Services
Office of Information Technology
State of New Jersey

Bernadette Kucharczuk
Chief Information Officer
City of Jersey City

Jean-Guy Lauture
Assistant Township Administrator & Information Technology Director
Township of Bloomfield

Jack McCarthy
Chief Information Officer
Judiciary of New Jersey

Robert McQueen
Director of Information Technology
Township of Franklin

Lee Micai
Director of Information Technology
Board of Social Services
Mercer County

Edward Michalak
Chief Information Officer
Department of Human Services
State of New Jersey

Thomas Murphy
Chief Information Officer
Economic Development Authority
State of New Jersey

Sharon Pagano
Chief Information Officer
Department of Labor and Workforce Development
State of New Jersey

Marc Pfeiffer
Assistant Director
Bloustein Local Government Research Center
Rutgers University

Christopher Rein
Chief Technology Officer
Office of Information Technology
State of New Jersey

Joseph Rivera
Manager of Broadband Access
Board of Public Utilities
State of New Jersey

Dan Romanov
Director of Information Technology
Tinton Falls

Christina Rothman-Iliff
Digital Media Manager
Princeton

Taran Samhammer
Director
Communications, Marketing & Technology
New Jersey State League of Municipalities

Aparna Shah
Chief Technology Officer
Department of the Public Defender
State of New Jersey

Poonam Soans
Chief Data Officer & Director of Application Development
Office of Information Technology
State of New Jersey

Vernon Spencer
Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Applications & Customer Service
Office of Information Technology
State of New Jersey

Peter Tenebruso
Chief Information Officer
Department of Environmental Protection
State of New Jersey

Eileen Troutman
Chief Information Officer
Department of Health
State of New Jersey

Krista Valenzuela
Bureau Chief
New Jersey Department of Homeland Security and Preparedness

Julie Veffer
Director of Communications
Office of Information Technology
State of New Jersey

Jayanthi Vilayanur
Chief Information Officer
Department of Agriculture
State of New Jersey

Loren Wizman
Business Development Director
New Jersey Association of Counties

Gary Zayas
Chief Information Officer
Department of Transportation
State of New Jersey

Industry Representatives

Barbara Brucker
Principal Account Manager
Amazon Web Services

Rob Dickerson
Client Executive
VMware

Nicole Elliot
Public Sector Account Executive
SHI Intenational Corp.

Cassandra Hill
Major Account Manager
Fortinet

Joel Kelman
Client Executive
IBM

Charles O'Shea
Industry Segment Advisor
T-Mobile for Government

Jay Pizoli
Account Executive
HP Inc.

Stephanie Schrader
Major Account Manager
Dell Technologies

Registration Information / Contact Us

Contact Information

2024 Sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, contact:

Heather Earney
Government Technology
Phone: (916) 932-1339
E-mail: heather.earney@erepublic.com

Venue

The War Memorial

1 Memorial Drive
Trenton, NJ 08608
(609) 984-8484