Charles Ash accepted the position of CIO with The Ohio Department of Transportation in May of 2018. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a B.S. degree in Information Systems and a J.D. from the College of Law. He is a visionary thinker who pushes boundaries and questions the status quo to ensure that the DOT will remain prepared for current and future technology demands and drives IT to improve and optimize its operations in order to become a more lean and efficient organization.

Phil Bertolini is a senior vice president for Government Technology, the premiere event and thought leadership content provider for state and local government technology professionals. 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.

Vinod Brahmapuram is Senior Director of Security for state and local government and education markets at Lumen Technologies. With more than 25 years of information technology experience, Vinod has held cybersecurity leadership positions in three states, advising governors and legislators on key cyber issues. Before joining Lumen, he served as the State Chief Information Security Officer for the State of Washington.

Jeff Brown leads Google's US Public Sector team focused on Workspace collaboration. He has spent the last 12 years with Google working with regulated organizations to understand and adopt cloud technologies. Large scale cloud transitions are paradigm shifts, some of those he is responsible for include the Army, ManTech, ETS and the States of: Colorado, Utah, Iowa, Arizona and West Virginia which required detailed user adoption, training and organizational change management. Prior to Google, Jeff spent the last 15 years in the public sector and is based out of the Boulder, CO Google office.

Michael Carmack is Chief Information Officer for the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. His 30-year career in the government IT sector includes roles as a programmer, database administrator, business intelligence expert, and IT operations leader. As a CIO, Michael’s focus is on modernizing government technology and processes so that services are aligned with the expectations of Ohio’s citizens; and he believes the advent of generative AI creates exciting new pathways to achieve that goal.

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.

Remard Colston is the InnovateOhio Platform Administrator and responsible for managing the State’s Customer Experience team. The Customer Experience (CX) team establishes the strategy and manages operation for the State’s User Experience and Digital Identity functions.
He previously served as the Service Owner and PMO lead for the Ohio Administrative Knowledge System (OAKS), the State’s ERP application, where he was responsible for driving the business strategy and providing oversight of all projects.
Prior to joining the State, he worked in IT consulting focusing on implementing technology solutions for public sector clients.
Remard earned a bachelor's degree in MIS from the University of Notre Dame. He is a certified Project Management Professional, Scrum Master and ITIL 4 Managing Professional.

Joseph is a seasoned leader with over 23 years of experience in Data Analytics, Risk and Audit. He is a thought leader in the Trustworthy and Ethical use of Artificial Intelligence. He is passionate about empower agencies to utilize AI to solve some of the most complex problems they face, while mitigating and monitoring AI risk and protecting the American public. Joseph has held various global leadership roles in innovation and analytics over the past 10 years. He is currently Deloitte Trustworthy AI leader for the Government and Public Services practice. In prior roles he was Head of Innovation and Analytics for Bank of New York Mellon’s Internal Audit department after a track record of success as the Head of Data, Analytics and Automation, beginning 2016. Prior to BNY Mellon, Joe held two global leadership roles at AIG, starting as the Head of Data Analytics within the Internal Audit Department and progressing to the Head of Data Analytics within the Chief Data Office. From 2000 to 2012, Joe held multiple positions in the Risk Information Services group within Deloitte’s Risk Advisory Services.

Holly Drake was appointed State of Ohio Chief Information Security Officer in February 2023 and brings extensive experience managing cybersecurity and privacy teams in complex organizations. As CISO, she leads the Office of Information Security and Privacy that supports the productivity, innovation, and organizational objectives of the state to provide secure services to Ohio citizens.
Drake was most recently Deputy Cybersecurity Strategic Advisor for CyberOhio within the office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. As a member of the CyberOhio team, she built cybersecurity governance and technical maturity to protect Ohioans and their state government from today's complex challenges.
Her information governance and oversight career initially spanned senior roles in private sector organizations ranging from mid-market to Fortune 50 in size where she drove the development of privacy, cybersecurity, and compliance initiatives. Prior joining to the State of Ohio, Drake built a bespoke privacy program for The Ohio State University, one of the largest educational institutions in the United States. She also led the cybersecurity governance teams, with responsibility for policy, cybersecurity control framework, risk assessment, disaster recovery, and data governance.
In either the public or private sectors, her mission is to always bring a pragmatic, collaborative approach to solving business and compliance challenges by balancing the uses of information while keeping core privacy and cybersecurity principles at the fore.
A graduate of The Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University, and Capital University, Drake also maintains CIPP, CIPT, CISSP, and CISA certifications. She currently serves several industry initiatives while outside of work, she is a volunteer and advocate for literacy initiatives in her community.

Jayson is a public sector technology subject matter expert with 20 years of city and county government experience. Prior to joining AWS Jayson served as the Chief Information Officer for the City of Cincinnati where he led the city’s enterprise technology department, chaired the city’s IT Governance Board, and managed the city’s capital budget and project approval processes. Jayson also has a background in public safety technology having served as a county 911 and Emergency Communications Director, as well as experience in the private sector as a Business Analysis Manager responsible for technology contracts and procurements totaling $350 million in annually.

Hoang Duong joined DAS OIT in January 2023 as the Cloud Center of Excellence Manager within OIT's Infrastructure Services Division. Hoang has 20+ years experience in IT and has experience in helping migrate and modernize applications to the cloud with multiple cloud service providers.

Adam Frumkin is a leader with experience in developing, directing, and executing business transformation and strategies. He has an established record collaborating with other executives to bring clarity to strategic business decisions and implementing technology to transform business processes.
He has focused experience in strategic planning, cultural & organizational development and emotional intelligence, process reengineering, enterprise system implementations, cybersecurity and disaster recovery and business continuity planning.
Council Chair to the PTI Executive Committee of the City/County CIO Leadership Council and Vice Chair for the NACo IT Standing Committee. Additionally, named as one of the 2023 Top 25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers by Government Technology and StateScoop – Local Smart County Executive of the Year 2021 and the Columbus Business First – BizTech Executive of the Year 2021.
He is an adjunct professor at The Ohio State University, and for the PTI Certified Government Chief Information Officer (CGCIO) through Rutgers University.

Tommy Gardner is HP’s Chief Technology Officer for HP Federal, spanning the US Federal Agencies, Higher Education, K-12 Education, State and Local government customer segments, as well as Federal Systems Integrators. His current responsibilities include technology leadership, strategic technology plans, product and technology strategies, sales force technical support, and customer and partner relationships.
Previously, Tommy has served as the Chief Technology Officer for Jacobs Engineering, Scitor, and ManTech. Earlier in his career he was a senior technical executive at Raytheon. In the U.S. Navy he served as the Deputy for Science and Technology for the Chief of Naval Research. He oversaw the Navy’s Deep Submergence Program as well as its Advanced Technology Program. He also commanded the nuclear submarine, USS San Juan (SSN 751).
Tommy’s educational background covers multiple disciplines and fields of interest including: cybersecurity, data science, blockchain, quantum information science, artificial intelligence, high performance computing and systems integration.
Tommy holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, an M.S. in Management of Technology from MIT and a Ph. D. in Energy Economics from George Washington University. He is a Professional Engineer, an ASME Fellow, and serves on the ASME Board of Governors, the ANSI Board of Directors and the U. S. Council on Competitiveness as the Co-chair of the Advanced Computer Roundtable.

Kirk Herath is Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted’s Cybersecurity Strategic Advisor and Chairman of CyberOhio, the State of Ohio’s Cybersecurity Advisory Board. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at both Ohio State’s Moritz School of Law and Cleveland State’s Cleveland-Marshall Law School. Kirk retired as VP, Associate General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer for Nationwide after 32 years.
For over two decades, Kirk was responsible for all legal and policy issues at a Fortune 100 financial services company impacting data governance, privacy, information security, technology and information systems, contracts and supply services management, third-party risk, confidentiality and data integrity.
He is Past President and past board member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and is still active within the association. He also served on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee from 2005 to 2011. He speaks regularly on a broad array of privacy, security and technology issues.
He received undergraduate degrees in political science and history from the University of Cincinnati and has a master’s degree in international affairs from the American University in Washington, D.C. He holds a JD from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, and is admitted to the Ohio Bar. Kirk is also a Certified Information Privacy Professional/US and Certified Information Privacy Professional/Government.

Brian Kaselak is the Engineering Director for Fortinet and a frequent speaker at cyber security focused events. For the past seventeen years, Brian has worked in the IT security industry in both sales and implementation of solutions ranging from Endpoint to Cloud. His current position brought him back to the technical sale evangelizing the importance of a security fabric in order to protect your environment in an ever-changing world.

Renee Mascari-Bauer is a dedicated change and project management professional with over 15 years of experience in the public sector serving higher ed and county government. She has a knack for meeting people where they are and adapts to change quickly. She has managed several ERP implementations throughout her career and prefers to focus on the change impact to people rather than the technology. Renee is dedicated to the betterment of technology to positively effect partners and residents throughout Franklin County. She is a native Ohioan, graduate of Ohio University, and an unapologetic cat-mom.

Nikki has been at Franklin County Data Center for since 2017 within Information Security progressing from Director of Information Security to Chief Information Security Officer. In the 5 years she was able to grow the information security team from 3 employees, including herself, to what is now a team of 13 specializing in a variety of security domains. Her passion is in the development of security professionals and ensuring public services are available when needed. Her commitment to information security has led her to achieving the Certified Chief Information Security Officer (C-CISO) from EC Council, the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) certificate through ISACA, and the Certified Information Security Systems Professional (CISSP) certificate through ISC2. Prior to working at Franklin County Data Center she was a Senior Identity Engineer at Lbrands. Nikki also worked at Nationwide for 10 years in varying technology and workforce management roles.

Chris is a technology and security strategist covering State, Local Government, and Education at VMware. Chris brings over 20 years of public and private sector experience, leading transformative change through technology to his role. He is a well-respected adviser, having held CIO, CTO and CISO positions across the public sector.
Chris is a recognized cybersecurity expert, with a unique perspective that emphasizes leveraging security strategies 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, security, and digital service. Chris presently holds CISSP, CRISC, and CISM certifications in information security and risk management. Chris is an Air Force Veteran who honorably served in Operations Desert Storm and Southern Watch. Upon returning to civilian life, Chris held various engineering and marketing roles at technology startups, ultimately following his calling to public service.

As Interim State Chief Data Officer, with the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, Raivo Murnieks leads the InnovateOhio Platform Data Analytics Program and is responsible for establishing and managing the state’s data strategy.
He previously served as the Operations Chief for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities and as the first Chief Data Officer for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).
Prior to joining ODJFS, he served as the Deputy Director of Employer and Innovation Services at Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) from 2011 to 2018. At OOD, Raivo established and managed the employer services unit and was also responsible for OOD’s strategic planning, data and reporting unit, and lean six-sigma program. He began his career in 1994 as a statistician at the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
Raivo earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Dayton and master’s in public administration from The Ohio State University. He is certified in return-on-investment (ROI) methodology from the ROI Institute and is a Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt.

Rich Nagle has a unique perspective on information technology and security informed by experience across a variety of industries and IT specializations over the last 25 years. Currently AVP and CISO for The Ohio State University, Rich began his journey at Ohio State in 2015 as Associate Director of Identity & Access Management (I&AM), leading the Identity Management and Shibboleth teams. In 2017, he assumed responsibilities for access management and other access functions. He was appointed as the first Deputy CISO at Ohio State in 2018, leading I&AM as well as leading Security Intelligence, Endpoint Security,and Intrusion Detection and Incident Response (ID/IR).
Before coming to Ohio State he served as a leader in information systems and security with experience in software development, finance, banking, manufacturing and distribution industries. Rich’s experiences include security, information risk, Identity & Access Management (IAM), infrastructure management, purchasing operations, IT asset management, project management, business analysis, user training and operational initiatives.
Rich received a BA in Communications, History from Capital University.

Born in Columbus and raised in Central Ohio, Sam Orth has spent the last 41 years helping government and education use technology to create value for the citizens of Ohio. He joined Mayor Ginther’s team as Chief Technology Officer and Director of Technology on July 3, 2016.
His focus at the city has been helping the Mayor, Cabinet and city modernize how IT is used to serve the citizens of Columbus and the region. His first major initiative was partnering with Public Safety to adopt the city’s first body-warn camera program. Other major projects have included creation of the city’s first Data Analytics and Integration program, modernization of the city’s data centers and infrastructure, adoption of a new 311 platform, and expanding technology access for city employees to enable telework during the pandemic.
He is currently working with the Public Safety to develop the city's Real-Time Crime Center program and and is working with the Smart Columbus and the Digital Equity Coalition to address the Digital Divide in Columbus and the region.
Prior to serving as the CTO for Columbus he served as the CTO for the Management Council of the Ohio Education Computer Network, and State Chief Information Officer for the State of Ohio. While State CIO he worked with IT leaders across government to modernize state IT operations by fostering inter-agency collaboration, IT consolidation and shared services. While at the state, he chaired the Ohio Broadband Council and Multi-Agency Radio Communication steering committee and served on the OARNet Governing Board.
From 1997 to 2004, Sam served as the Executive Director of the Ohio SchoolNet Commission where his team implemented nearly $1B in educational technology programs - including expanding the capacity of broadband connectivity for Ohio’s schools and placing over 600,000 computers in Ohio’s classrooms. While at SchoolNet, he was a founding partner with OARNet to fund and light what was then known as the Third Frontier Network. TFN grew to become what we know as the Broadband Ohio OarNet network today.
Before joining state government in 1996, he spent 14 years in the private sector IT where he owned his own consulting company, worked for central Ohio computer resellers and served as a Systems Engineer and Market Development Executive for Apple Computer. His private sector career was focused extensively on K-12 and government.
He is passionate about information technology’s role in serving government and education, and is well known for his collaborative, team-oriented, citizen-focused approach

Masha is a design and innovation leader with Accenture Song based in Chicago, passionate about the role of design in elevating the quality of life in an equitable and inclusive way. Architect turned strategic designer and educator, her career spans civic design in the public and non-profit sector, innovation work in healthcare, and design of built environments. She is skilled at bringing systems thinking to tackling complex, ambiguous problems, while balancing user-centered approach with business impact.
Most recently, Masha led the re-design of the benefits application platform to improve the experience of residents applying for benefits online, which drove strategic product improvements, simplifying the experience and supporting applicants along the way.
Masha holds Master of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and Master of Design Methods in Design Strategy from the Institute of Design.

Tom is a Field CISO within CDW’s Global Security Strategy Office (GSSO). He has 30 plus year career in business and Information Technology, beginning as a Personal Banker for a large Chicago Financial Services Company, moved into IT as Quality Assurance Analyst and eventually Vice President of Network Services. Tom transitioned from here into his key competency of IT Security where he led the North American Technology Risk Management Group for a large international bank before moving to the largest Futures and Options Exchange as Managing Director of Global Information Security. Throughout his career, Tom has been responsible for all facets of developing and maturing Information Security Program with extensive background in strategy, design and implementation of a risk-based IT Security Programs built on various frameworks from NIST, ISO, CIS and the Standards of Good Practice.

Mark began service as Chief Information Officer at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services in July of 2021. The department is responsible for supporting Ohio’s workforce and unemployment programs, along with the programs for child protective services, foster care and adoption, cash assistance, food assistance, and child support. The agency is also responsible for the end-point support of 17,000 users in 180 county departments, administering the above statewide programs.
Prior to joining JFS, Mark served as the Chief Operating Officer at OIT in the Ohio Department of Administrative Services. Over the course of a 30-year career in state service, he has also held leadership positions at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and Ohio Office of Budget and Management.
Mark lives in central Ohio, is a graduate of Franklin University.

Kevin Talbert is a dedicated Senior Solutions Engineer with Cloudera Government Solutions. He comes from an architecture background working with large, distributed data platforms, and designing customer-centric solutions for problems at scale. He provides technical expertise to customers' looking to modernize their data stack and builds solutions to integrate Cloudera wherever they are on that journey.

Earl has 20+ years of experience in IT leadership, including consulting and software implementation. As Director, Government and Education, he leads a team of consultants who help public sector clients optimize their IT infrastructures, processes, and operations.