Sean Alagar-McCartney works in the City of Portland’s Technology Services bureau, where he helps lead cloud infrastructure and governance efforts across city bureaus. His work focuses on secure, scalable cloud solutions, data classification, and aligning systems with the City’s cybersecurity standards. He brings a background in cloud architecture, DevOps leadership, and enterprise IT operations, including roles in data center operations, networking, and system administration at the University of Arizona. Sean has contributed to the development of Portland’s citywide AI Administrative Rule and is helping shape its emerging AI governance framework while advancing DevOps practices across the organization.

Nathan Barbarick is a writer focused on building the bridge between people and technology. His role includes user experience content, documentation, and technical communications for the City of Portland's first Digital Services team. Before joining the City, he worked as a teacher, editor, and writer, and earned master’s degrees in writing from the University of Kansas and Portland State University. Outside of work, he organizes the Portland chapter of Write the Docs, an international community of writers, designers, and developers who love technical documentation.

Bill Carter is a dynamic cybersecurity leader with a passion for securing the digital world and educating others on the evolving threat landscape. Currently serving as a public sector cybersecurity strategist at Fortinet, Bill previously protected Ohio’s 12 million citizens as the Chief Information Security Officer for the Department of Commerce and Deputy Chief Information Security Officer for the State, overseeing security strategies across 80+ agencies.
With a career spanning additional roles as Field CTO, Senior Systems Engineer, and Technical Consultant, he brings deep expertise in cybersecurity strategy, infrastructure, and risk management.
A hands-on technologist and sought-after public speaker, Bill holds a master’s degree in Cybersecurity and multiple industry certifications, including CISSP, SecurityX, and all MITRE credentials. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Cybersecurity, and an active member of the Ohio Cyber Reserve and the FBI’s InfraGard. Beyond his professional pursuits, Bill is dedicated to philanthropy in serving as CEO for an80,000-person strong non-profit organization.

Priyanka leads the upskilling initiative for AMP, driving Oregon State University’s digital transformation. Guided by a systems-level and behavioral science–driven approach, she develops and scales upskilling program across HR, Grants, Finance, and Budget to prepare the workforce for evolving roles, systems, and data.
She partners with senior leaders including the CHRO, AVP for Research, VP for Finance, and Controller and functional teams to align workforce development strategies with institutional priorities and identify emerging skill and capability needs. She leverages upskilling to support people through organizational transformation and build a future-ready workforce. With over 11 years of experience across IT, aerospace, biotechnology, and higher education in the U.S. and India, Priyanka has led workforce development, change management, and organizational development initiatives as part of large-scale organizational transformations, serving as both an internal and external consultant.
She holds Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Behavior Management from Western Michigan University and another Ph.D. in Management (Human Resources) from Nirma University, India, as well as an MBA in Human Resource Management.

José is a dynamic and visionary leader who sees technology and people as part of a symbiotic environment and brings them together to propel forward an organization’s mission and vision. He brings a balanced approach to risk appetite, risk management, return on investments, and people-centric initiatives to promote digital transformation.
With over 30 years of experience working in technology, José currently serves as the Chief Information Security Officer at the University of Oregon (UO), where he is responsible for defining cybersecurity strategy and operations. He leads teams managing information security risk and compliance, IT security services and operations, IT disaster recovery, security incident response and the university’s Cyber Security Operations Center.
When he is not working, José enjoys spending time outdoors. You can find him hiking, kayaking, backpacking camping, skiing, road and mountain biking, you name it. If it is outdoors, José has probably tried it.

Michael Kirchner is a cybersecurity professional at Lumen Technologies, specializing in the protection of critical IT infrastructure. With over a decade of experience in threat detection, incident response, and network defense, Michel advises private enterprise and government efforts to strengthen digital resilience. At Lumen, he drives strategic initiatives that anticipate and neutralize emerging cyber threats, helping organizations stay ahead in an increasingly complex threat landscape. Michel is a trusted voice in the cybersecurity community, contributing to industry best practices and speaking regularly at security forums. On this panel, he will share practical strategies for defending critical IT infrastructure, offering insights drawn from real-world challenges and frontline experience.

Joel Nantais is a public sector leader with over 20 years of experience. He is currently serving as the Manager of the Enterprise Technology and Data Services Division in the Bureau of Technology Services for the City of Portland. Prior to joining the city and moving to the PNW, he was with the U.S. Department of State for more than 17 years, most recently serving as Chief of Transformation and Customer Experience Officer, he led a large-scale program focused on improving government service delivery for tens of millions of customers across the United States and worldwide. Previously, as the Chief Data Scientist and Responsible AI Official, he spearheaded the Department's data analytics strategy and developed policies for responsible AI use, collaborating with key White House offices and federal agencies across the government. With a Doctorate in Public Administration, a Master’s in Public Policy Analysis, and a Graduate Degree in Data Science, his focus has long been on leveraging data and analytics to improve public sector policies and services.

Abhijit Pandit is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the University of Oregon, where he leads the university’s strategic vision for information technology. As CIO, he is responsible for driving university-wide IT innovation, optimizing technology infrastructure, and ensuring the seamless delivery of IT systems and services that support the university’s mission of teaching, learning, and research.
Pandit’s leadership extends beyond the university; he serves as Vice Chair of the Board for LinkOregon, the state's Research and Education Network (REN) that supports the public and nonprofit sectors. Additionally, he is a Board Member of the NorthWest Academic Computing Consortium (NWACC) and contributes to industry thought leadership as a member of the Microsoft Higher Education Customer Advisory Board. He previously served on the AWS Higher Education Enterprise CIO Council.
In addition to his leadership in IT, Pandit is committed to academia. He currently serves as a graduate faculty member at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and has previously held faculty positions at the University of Oregon, Oregon Tech, and the University of Phoenix.

Elyse Rosenberg is the Chief Information Officer of the City of Portland, leading nearly 300 talented staff and a $146M budget to provide technology services to 20,000+ City employees and partners and to hundreds of thousands of community members seeking digital access to City Services. During her 27 years of local government service, Elyse has worked in a variety of strategic, financial, and policy roles in arenas including technology, finance, environmental protection, public safety, and aviation.
Elyse holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations, and is a Certified Government CIO. She is active in technology and community mentoring and a leader in workplace giving campaigns. She is married to the wonderful Matt, has two rescue dogs, and enjoys fiddling and singing in various musical projects.

Lindsey Sotelo is Deputy CIO at Multnomah County's Department of County Assets, where she helps lead technology strategy and operations across the county. She joined in April 2026, bringing a career that spans higher education, utilities, consulting, and global retail, with a particular focus on data, analytics, and the practical work of making AI useful inside large organizations.

Lucas Turpin serves as Oregon State University’s Chief Data Officer, where he focuses on improving data access and quality so data can be trusted as a strategic asset supporting teaching, research, and outreach. He developed OSU’s first data and integration strategy and roadmap, establishing a clear direction for modern, reliable data services and decision-making across the institution.
He is leading the simplification and unification of OSU’s data platforms to “free the data, safely”—expanding responsible access while strengthening governance, privacy, and consistency. Lucas is also shaping OSU’s data ecosystem to support artificial intelligence and new business intelligence capabilities, and he champions efforts to improve data literacy so the university community can use data effectively and with confidence.

Victor Villegas is the Broadband Digital Adoption Coordinator with Oregon State University, where he supports statewide efforts to expand equitable broadband access, digital inclusion, and responsible deployment of emerging technologies. He leads the Oregon Broadband Equity Coalition (OBEC) and the AI Oregon K 12 Collaborative, bringing together state and local government, education, community organizations, and industry partners to ensure technology investments—including broadband and AI—are accessible, accountable, and beneficial to everyone in Oregonian.

With over 27 years of strategic technology leadership experience, Jerry Walker serves as the Chief Information Officer at Oregon State Treasury, where he sets strategic direction for information technology and security services that support the state’s banking and financial operations. With a career spanning public sector leadership, he previously served as Director of IT for the City of St. Louis Treasurer’s Office. He is extensively involved in building the next generation of technology leaders through mentorship, volunteer service, and numerous board memberships. In furtherance of this mission, Mr. Walker is an active leader in Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and serves as an advisory or fiduciary board member for a number of organizations including Gartner Symposium Board of Advisors, Partners in Diversity Portland, BDPA Chapters of St. Louis and Portland, NAACP St. Louis County Chapter, and Ball State University communications and technology programs. Jerry holds an M.S. in Information and Communication Science from Ball State University. His career and leadership stand as proof that perseverance, strategic risk-taking, and community impact can transform obstacles into steppingstones toward success.

Nathan Wenzler is a field chief information security officer at Optiv, where he advises clients on how to strengthen and optimize every aspect of their cybersecurity program. With nearly 30 years of experience, he has built and led security initiatives for government agencies, nonprofits and Fortune 1000 companies.
Wenzler has served as a CISO, executive management consultant and senior analyst, holding leadership roles at Tenable, Moss Adams, AsTech and Thycotic. He also spent more than a decade in public-sector IT and security roles with Monterey County, California, and supported state and federal agencies. 
He is known for helping security leaders better communicate the measurable value and benefit of a mature, effective cybersecurity program to executives, technical stakeholders and nontechnical business partners. His approach emphasizes not only technical excellence but also the human and organizational factors that drive long-term security success. 
Wenzler has spoken at more than 400 events worldwide, educating security leaders and professionals on how to excel in their role as an organization's risk expert. He has also served on advisory boards, including the Tombolo Institute at Bellevue College, and is a former member of the Forbes Technology Council. His areas of expertise include vulnerability and exposure management, privileged access management and identity governance, cyber risk management, incident response, and executive-level communications and program management.

With nearly 20 years as an enterprise CIO and most recently with service as Idaho’s first state CDO and ODOT’s first agency CDO, Mike brings a wealth of business and technical expertise and experience that serves to fuel a passion for transforming data and analytics in the enterprise focusing on modernizing data ecosystems and legacy business processes to effectively and efficiently govern and manage data as valuable business assets throughout their lifecycles. Recognized last year as one of the top 50 global data and analytics professionals by the OnCon Icon Awards, he manages ODOT’s Data Solutions Office and the team that serves the agency in developing and operationalizing its Data Governance framework, data lifecycle management strategies, staff data literacy/competency development, and business data operations (DataOps). Mike serves on multiple state and interagency workgroups and councils, and co-chairs the Oregon Public Sector Data Community which brings together data professionals from both state and local governments in Oregon to discuss commonalities in their several data journeys and to collectively develop ideas and solutions to the challenges of governing and leveraging data assets in the 21st century to drive more trusted data-informed decision-making, improve transparency, implement standards and best practices, and find real-world solutions for data sharing and interoperability.

Before being appointed State CIO in 2018, Terrence was the State Deputy CIO, the Department of Revenue CIO, the Oregon Health Authority Director of IT, and the Department of Human Services Deputy CIO.
Prior to joining state government, Terrence was the Human Resources Manager and Regional Technology Manager for Safeco Insurance.
Taking to heart the interests of state government and the Oregonians it serves, Terrence is the Chair of the Board of Directors for Link Oregon, a non-profit organization providing high-speed, fiber-optic broadband connectivity to our state’s public and non-profit sectors.
Terrence earned a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Information Systems from Portland State University.
Extending his education of organizational behavior and passion for people, Terrence is a Prosci Certified Change Practitioner as well as a Leadership and Executive Coach certified by the Hudson Institute of Coaching.
When the opportunity arises, Terrence is an outdoor enthusiast enjoying camping and ATV riding.