Lieutenant Colonel Seth A. Barun was born in Denver, Colorado. He graduated from Waubonsie Valley High School located in Aurora, Illinois in 1995. Upon completion of high school, he attended the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science. Furthering his education, he graduated from Purdue University with a Master of Science Degree in Cyber Security. He also holds a Master’s of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA.
LTC Barun began his military career in 1995 has a Cadet, and later commissioned at the United States Air Force Academy in 1999. As a Commissioned Officer, he attended the Air Force Aerospace Basic Course. Other courses he attended include the United States Air Force Undergraduate Space and Missile Training, United States Air Force 4th Space Operations Satellite Mission Control School, United States Army Battalion/Brigade S6 Officer Course, United States Army Contractor Officer Representative Course, United States Army Signal Captain’s Career Course, United States Army Command and General Staff Officer Course, Army Information Operations Course and the U.S. Army War College. He has commanded at both the company and battalion level and is currently the Chief of Cyber Operations for the North Carolina National Guard at JFHQs in Raleigh, NC.

Boinodiris, a Fellow of the London-based Royal Society of Arts, has been dedicated to promoting inclusion in technology since 1999. She currently leads IBM Consulting’s Responsible AI Practice, which she co-founded, and serves as a member of the Global Council for Responsible AI. She is also the author of AI for the Rest of Us. In addition, Boinodiris co-founded the Future World Alliance, a 501(c)(3) organization committed to curating K-12 education in AI ethics.
Her accolades include being named the 2030 Responsible AI Leader of the Year, receiving the United Nations Woman of Influence in STEM and Inclusivity Award, and being recognized as one of the Top 100 Women in the Games Industry.

Cynthia Bowles is a Senior Account Executive leading the State and Local Government and Higher Education sectors in the Eastern U.S. With her Bachelor's degree in Education and over 18 years of experience in government technology, she is dedicated to connecting organizations with innovative collaboration and productivity solutions.  Cynthia provides tailored guidance to ensure the successful adoption of Atlassian solutions, empowering teams to align work to agency goals, unleash knowledge, and accelerate collaboration for faster more efficient outcomes.

Keith Briggs is the Chief Architect and Innovation Director for the State of North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT). Before joining NCDIT in June 2022, Keith served as Chief Information/Chief Technology Officer for the North Carolina Department of Insurance. Keith has 30 years’ experience in technology leadership in application development, cloud technology solutions, data centers management, information security, and IT service management. Throughout his professional career, Keith has worked for large private-sector businesses in the financial services, technology manufacturing, and health care industries. For the last seven years, Keith has focused his efforts towards state government. Keith has served for five years on the North Carolina IT Strategy Board through his appointment by the North Carolina Senate. His focus as member on the Digital Transformation subcommittee is to drive modernization of state government through innovative services and new channels of delivery. Keith holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA from Texas Christian University.

Christie Burris was appointed as the state's chief data officer with the N.C. Department of Information Technology in January 2024.
She leads NCDIT's statewide development of enterprise data strategies, including management, privacy and governance across all platforms. As director of NCDIT's Government Data Analytics Center, she also guides the state's use of integrated data to support public safety, fraud, compliance, healthcare, finance and performance and policy decision analysis.
An award-winning communications executive with experience in industries from radio and television to public housing and insurance, Burris joined the N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority, within GDAC, in 2016. She became its executive director in December 2017 and oversaw the ongoing strategy to develop a mature and modernized state-designated health information exchange, NC HealthConnex, and support health care providers in fulfilling the state mandate for data connections.
Burris holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Government Chief Information Officer Certification from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government. She received a State Leadership award from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers in 2019.

Sharon Delaney McCloud is an Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, keynote speaker, corporate trainer, emcee and moderator ready to make your event a smashing success, whether in person or virtual.
You can feel confident you're hiring a professional whose number one priority is your audience. With more than 30 years of experience on local and national stages, television stations and online, Sharon will deliver an exceptional experience for your attendees. 
As a Certified Diversity Executive CDE®, adjunct professor, agency owner, cancer survivor, Olympic Torch Bearer, author and communications expert, Sharon knows how to get the job done. She helps leaders & companies improve communication & executive presence to drive business results. As a member of the Global Speakers Federation and the National Speakers Association, Sharon connects with people, while at the same time, offering actionable insights. She does this through in-person and virtual presentations, webinars and live streams. 
Sharon earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication from Florida State University before embarking on a career as a television journalist. From the Persian Gulf War to NASA to the Super Bowl to hurricanes, floods, politics and entertainment, she has covered thousands of stories that have affected people's lives on a daily basis. Sharon also moderated gubernatorial and mayoral debates throughout North Carolina and served as a mentor for young journalists beginning their careers. 
After leaving television news, Sharon founded Greenroom Communications, a video production and marketing firm, with Kim and Penn Holderness (the XMAS Jammies Family). They worked with big brands like Target, Samsung, H&R Block and Chase Bank. At one point, they even had a reality show on UPtv. In 2016, Greenroom merged with Walk West to become a full-service digital marketing agency that's landed on the INC 5000 list three times in a row. 
Sharon has been featured in numerous publications, including Sheryl Sandburg's Option B digital platform, Thrive Global, Enterprising Women and co-author of the book, Keep Going, Memoirs of Strength, Courage & Perseverance. In 2019, Sharon had the opportunity to share her big idea with the world on a TEDx stage. Through Giving Vilomahs a Voice, Sharon shows us how to approach conversations with bereaved parents.  This passion led to her writing a letter to the White House advocating for bereavement leave policy. That letter turned into an invitation to meet one on one with President Joe Biden in the summer of 2021 when they discussed the need for paid bereavement leave. 
Sharon was born in Nairobi, Kenya and spent her early years in East Africa attending schools in Kenya and Tanzania before moving to the United States. In addition to her television career, Sharon worked for the Department of Defense's U.S.O. program and traveled all over the Middle East, Mediterranean and Europe entertaining American troops as part of an all-girl group, The Florida Girls. Sharon is very active in the community and serves on a number of Boards of Director and advisory committees for non-profit organizations in North Carolina. She's married with three kids and during her free time, you'll find Sharon planning their next family vacation. Ask her where her next trip is.

Michael Euliss is the Director of Communications, Government Relations, and Training for the North Carolina Office of the State Controller. Mr. Euliss is also a motivational teacher and holds numerous nationally-recognized certifications in training, teaching, and organizational health. He has provided educational events to hundreds of governmental, church, corporate, and civic groups across North America to help them develop a culture of servant leadership and displace ineffective and autocratic leadership practices.
He is internationally recognized for practical but powerful motivational and inspirational learning experiences. His expertise is in leadership development, public and interpersonal communication skills, strategic direction, and group dynamics. He uses a variety of methods to equip today's leaders with the tools they need to become peak performers as well as make others around them better.
Mr. Euliss has experience in the corporate world as well as the public sector. He served in local government for 20 years and served in executive management in the private sector for 10 years before founding a non-profit organization focused on servant leadership development where he served for 7 years.
He has been married since 1984, is the father of three children, and grandfather of six. He resides with his family in North Carolina.

Patrick Fleming is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for the North Carolina Community College System. He is responsible for the delivery, operations, and maintenance of reliable, secure, and sustainable technology solutions designed to serve our audiences. Prior to joining the System in 2012, Fleming managed clinical and environmental laboratory information management systems for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Fleming began his public service career with North Carolina in 2005 after a successful decade with a small, Raleigh-based internet start-up and Microsoft partner named Clear and Vision Unlimited. Starting as a network engineer in 1995, he specialized in voice-over-IP, internet services, and convincing small business owners to trade in their IBM Selectic II typewriters for desktop computers. Fleming graduated from Appalachian State University with a bachelor's degree in History and earned his master's degree in History at East Carolina University.

Dan Kempton serves as the senior technology advisor for the N.C. Department of Information Technology. He brings more than 30 years of technology and business experience, having worked for large and small firms in the private sector as well as for 15 years with the state of North Carolina.
Kempton has held several IT leadership roles, including chief technology officer positions in the private industry and both deputy chief information officer and subsequently chief technology officer at the N.C. Department of Revenue.  At NCDIT, he has led several teams (including the engineering section) that have brought new products, notably multi-cloud capabilities, to state agencies.
Kempton is a strong technology-focused leader who can easily discuss business needs to determine the right solution that fits them. His extensive and broad technical background provides the experience to guide business leaders to the solutions that will achieve the best results.
Kempton has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of South Carolina.  He has also earned certification as a government chief information officer from the UNC School of Government.

Teena Piccione (pronounced pitch-OWN-ee) joined the N.C. Department of Information Technology in January 2025.
As Secretary and State Chief Information Officer, she leads the agency responsible for strategic IT planning and the procurement and delivery of IT services and solutions as well as cybersecurity and efforts to expand broadband access and affordability across North Carolina.
Prior to NCDIT, Piccione was the managing director for Cloud and Customer Engineering over Telecommunications, Media, Entertainment and Gaming at Google. She has also worked at RTI International as executive vice president and chief technology officer, at Fidelity Investments as senior vice president and chief operating officer, and at AT&T as vice president and leader of the Big Data Center of Excellence.
Piccione has also served on the N.C. Information Technology Strategy Board's Digital Transformation Committee where she advised NCDIT on vision, mission and goals for digital transformation and helped develop a digital transformation roadmap for the state.

As a trusted thought leader with over 25 years of demonstrated success, Robert helps organizations in establishing strategic vision, creating digital transformation strategies, nurturing innovation, and building collaborative relationships across the enterprise, thereby helping lead organizations and their technology initiatives to successful outcomes. During his career, Robert has consulted for the federal government and corporate clients helping them to improve operations and IT security. Robert has held senior leadership positions in corporate, State and Local Government organizations with extensive IT operations and security experience in law enforcement and military high value mission critical environments. Robert holds a Master of Science in Cybersecurity and an MBA from the University of Maryland. He also holds the CISSP, MCSE, and Certified Government Chief Information Officer (CGCIO) certifications. Robert is an active member of FBI InfraGard, ISSA, ISC2 Raleigh Chapter and the U.S Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force. Robert has also served in the United States Navy.

Gary Smith is an Executive Managing Director of KnowledgeLake, where he leads the company's efforts in providing innovative AI automation and Synthetic Labor™ solutions. With over two decades of experience in enterprise automation, Gary is committed to driving business efficiency and growth through cutting-edge technology. His leadership has helped KnowledgeLake become a trusted partner for organizations looking to solve high-volume operational challenges and increase productivity.  

Tom is Executive Director of RIoT, supporting Internet of Things and disruptive technology industry growth.  Under Tom’s leadership, RIoT has launched the RIoT Accelerator Program, RIoT Studios, which includes the RIoT Underground Podcast, and RIoT’s ED series.  He has grown RIoT from a Research Triangle focused organization to one with international reach.
In his spare time, Tom co-instructs Product Innovation Lab, a Forbes award winning multidisciplinary course in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at NC State.  Prior to joining RIoT, Tom held an executive leadership role at the ASSIST Center, a National Science Foundation sponsored effort to create wearable electronics for healthcare monitoring.  Previously, he spent two decades in product development and technology incubation for multinational technology companies.
He’s passionate about creating and fostering collaborations across disciplines, markets and cultures.  He enjoys the outdoors, woodworking, board games, big crowds, craft beer and ideas that are just crazy enough to work.

Mark Wittenburg is the Chief Information Officer for the City of Raleigh. Mark has extensive public sector experience working with city and regional leaders in Arizona and now North Carolina to develop strategic direction and manage IT operations. His knowledge helped advance initiatives such as deploying smart water meters to conserve water, advancing regional digital equity by accelerating 5G and fiber installation, and building a culture that embraces innovation. Mark brings that same passion for public service to Raleigh, leveraging thoughtful and appropriate technology to advance the priorities of the community.