Dr. Siamak Aram is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Data Analytics at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Dr. Aram received his B.S. degree in Software Engineering. In December 2007, he was awarded the first prize in the student passive robotic contest organized by Sharif University. Later on, he graduated from Sharif University of Technology with a M.S. degree in Information Technology Engineering – Data Security & Networking in 2010. Also, during these years, Siamak was a computer developer in different languages and with different platforms, from desktop to mobile applications.

Brett Barganz is a Solutions Executive for Network-as-a-Service and Connected Healthcare at Verizon. Brett has expertise in leading public service organizations through their visions of change, especially technology transformation.

Phil Bertolini is senior vice president of the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. Previously, he served as deputy county executive and CIO for Oakland County, Michigan. During his 31-year tenure, Phil built a world-class IT organization in the second-largest county in Michigan, just north of Detroit. As Oakland County CIO, he oversaw more than 150 employees serving over 1.2 million residents. In 2005, he was also promoted to deputy county executive, holding dual positions until his retirement. Phil’s efforts earned the county national attention, winning numerous awards for technology innovation and excellence. He was named Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year and Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers. He was also honored by the President Obama White House as a Champion of Change.

Andrew directs the Innovation Management group within Philadelphia’s Office of Innovation and Technology. Aligned closely with the City’s Chief Administrative Officer, Innovation Management focuses on developing capacity for innovation within municipal government and finding ways to make technology accessible and meaningful to the public. Before moving into the innovation space, Andrew directed Philadelphia’s implementation of a citywide network of technology-enabled community centers known as Keyspots. Andrew earned a graduate degree in geography from Temple University in Philadelphia and continues to teach there as an adjunct instructor.

Patti Chapman was named Chief Information Officer of the Integrated Enterprise System (IES) in May 2020. Patti oversees the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system supporting human resources, payroll, travel, finance, funds management budget planning, procurement, plant maintenance, flexible real estate, sales and distribution and reporting.
Patti has over 30 years of experience in the public sector, specifically in the areas of procurement and information technology. This is Patti’s second career with IES, formerly serving as the procurement functional team manager responsible for implementation of the commonwealth’s ERP system. Prior to her current position, Patti was the Director of IES and the Director for Supplier Management and Director for IT Procurement.
Patti is focused on delivering high quality customer service and has experience in team building and developing strong business relationships.
Patti has a degree in accounting and holds certificates in ITILv3 foundation and Service Strategy.

Colby Clabaugh was appointed executive director of the Governor’s Office of Performance through Excellence (OPE) in January 2019. He leads a team of continuous improvement and performance management professionals who help commonwealth agencies empower employees, improve customer experience, and achieve measurable results for Pennsylvanians. Before being named executive director, Colby oversaw OPE’s performance management and data program as the office’s director of performance delivery. Prior to joining OPE, Colby served as an executive budget specialist in the Office of the Budget. He has also served as a government innovation fellow with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Government Performance Lab. A Central Pennsylvania native, Colby received his Bachelor of Arts degree in international affairs and political science from the George Washington University. He also holds Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in politics from Princeton University. Colby lives in midtown Harrisburg with his wife and their three kids.

Over 25+ years of consulting experience supporting organizations embrace of changing environments across multiple industries. Frank has supported client personnel and IT organizations adapt to rapidly changing environments of intersection between people, technology, and process. A high-energy, resilient professional who has wide-ranging experience across state and local government, manufacturing, and supply chain. Frank has led large scale, complex projects that have directly benefited citizens across the country. Frank is a people centric manager focusing on creating a cultural environment where people can realize their potential, feel safe in doing what is right, and apply their talents to feel a genuine sense of fulfillment for their contributions in pursuit of a common purpose. Frank received his Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Tennessee and his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee. Frank loves eSports like League of Legends, and music of all genres.

Christopher Dressler was named Acting Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the commonwealth in October 2022.
As acting CISO, Christopher is responsible for the enterprise-wide management of the commonwealth's cybersecurity programs. He brings a collaborative approach to securing information assets and technology and managing cyber risk. Christopher has nearly 27 years of experience in the public sector, specifically in information technology and information security. He began his career at the Department of Revenue where he served as an Information Technology Manager and later as Information Security Officer. In 2018, Christopher became the Information Security Officer for the Employment, Banking and Revenue Delivery Center supporting the Departments of Labor & Industry, Revenue, State, Banking & Securities and Insurance.
Christopher earned a master’s degree in Information Systems from Shippensburg University, a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh and is a graduate of Harrisburg University’s Information Security Officer program.

Jeannette Fackler is a Technology Strategist working with state and local governments in the US to connect the dots from strategic initiatives to evolving technology solutions and actionable technology plans that deliver on business results. With over 20 years in the telecommunications service provider industry, all dedicated to the government sector, Jeannette brings a wealth of knowledge of the infrastructure underpinning the IT and security services that governments today are delivering to serve constituents and employees alike, as well as the unique challenges and needs of governmental organizations.

Lauren Farese has been at Oracle for the last 20 years bringing Oracle technology to public sector customers. At Oracle, she leads the Account Sales Engineering and Cloud Architect Team for Public Sector State and Local Government in the Eastern US. Over the past 35 years, she has been involved in the planning, development, and implementation of technology solutions for government, utilities, financial services and other commercial sector organizations.
Before coming to Oracle, Lauren was a developer, trainer, senior consultant and solution architect at Advanced Data Management, Digital Equipment Corporation and Hewlett-Packard. Lauren is currently a member of the NASCIO Enterprise Architecture and Data Governance committee where she has been part of the team to publish a number of technology briefs on emerging technologies. Lauren is also a member of the Smart Cities Council and has spoken at a number of Digital Government Technology Summits on topics including SOA/Integration, Data Warehouse, Data Management, Application and Data Center Modernization, and Cloud.
Lauren lives in Hunterdon County NJ with her husband and two children. She is a former church elder, currently volunteers at a foodbank/thrift shop weekly and supports animal rescue and adoption activities.

Brian Hagan currently works in the public sector promoting Cloudera as an integral component of overall data management and strategy, including the processes of data engineering and data analytics. With 20 years of experience in the software industry, Brian collaborates with his customers, defining software architectures to achieve measurable outcomes using Cloudera. His current customers include those in healthcare, education, transportation, and law enforcement.

Jason Hebbe was named the Chief Technology Officer for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in June 2021.
Jason participates in the development and execution of the commonwealth’s information technology strategic plan. He has nearly three decades of information technology expertise across multiple industries, including banking, insurance, manufacturing, logistics and state government. During his career, Jason has held multiple IT leadership positions, focused efforts on IT architecture to design and implement solutions to meet business needs and brought a passion for using technology to bring value and efficiency to the customers and organizations served to all that he does.
Jason has completed studies in leadership, finance, project management and has held multiple technology certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, EMC and the Linux Professional Institute. He is also a graduate of the Government Technology Institute’s Certified Government Chief Information Officer (CGCIOTM) Program and is ITIL Foundations Certified.
Outside of work, he is actively involved in his church and volunteering to serve others. He has a wife, two children and two stepchildren.

Brad is the Director of one of three regions in Google Cloud’s SLG and Higher Ed North American business unit. His Team's focus is AI, Analytics, Constituent Experience and Cyber Security. He has been working in enterprise technology for over 25 years with two decades spent at Novell and Oracle in leadership positions respectively. He is based out of Cary, NC where he lives with his wife and two small kids.

Derrick is the National Practice Leader for Cyber Operations within AT&T Cybersecurity Consulting, responsible for its direction and overall business performance. Derrick specializes in collaborating with clients on strategic cybersecurity initiatives such as cloud security, Zero Trust, SASE, cybersecurity operations, and cybersecurity transformation. Derrick leads a team of security professionals in designing strategic, future vision next-generation architectures and preemptively assessing network and cloud infrastructures to identify security weaknesses and mitigate risk. Derrick is a CISSP, a CMMC Registered Practitioner, and a Forrester Certified Zero Trust Strategist with 24 years of experience behind him as he advises customers in both technical and strategic-level discussions through workshop sessions, speaking engagements, industry forums, and overall collaborations sessions. In addition to supporting customer cybersecurity challenges, Derrick is also responsible for defining and developing new cybersecurity services for Cybersecurity Consulting based on common customer needs and industry direction.

Chris Lim has supported State and Local Public Sector for 25+ years, over 5 years within Adobe. As a Digital Experience Sales Leader, within Adobe Public Sector, he has the privilege to help State and Local agencies meet their mission to serve their stakeholders through digital strategies and transformations.

Kelly Powell Logan served as Cabinet Secretary to three Pennsylvania Governors and now serves as Vice President for Strategic Workforce Development and University Centers at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU).
Kelly is responsible for leading expansion of the existing university centers as well as creating new centers that meet strategic workforce needs. She understands the complexities of the twenty-first-century workforce and uses her vision and experience to guide HU’s centers. Kelly is responsible for forming partnerships with employers–including state and municipal governments–to build and market all manner of education programs that meet employer needs, aligning and connecting HU’s educational programs with the needs of employers.

Justin Loose has served as the Chief Information Officer for the County of Berks since 2010. His department is responsible for the delivery of all technology services for the County of Berks and the 23rd Judicial district. Prior to his role as CIO, Justin worked in the telecommunications and banking industries. He holds a Master of Science degree in Analytics as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and certifications in ITIL and Six Sigma. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

As a State and Local Government strategist Jon serves as a subject matter expert and thought leader to support transformation in state and local governments throughout the country. Before Dell Technologies, Jon served as Chief Customer Officer of the NC Department of Information Technology, and CIO, Office of the Governor.

PN Narayanan serves as the Deputy State Treasurer and Chief Information Officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Treasury Department, which is responsible for over 20 million annual payment transactions worth more than $110 billion. With more than 25 years of international experience across the public and private sectors, Narayanan has demonstrated exceptional skills and leadership in all aspects of information technology. In his role as the Chief Information Officer of the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, Narayanan has been responsible for a multiyear, agency wide IT modernization and transformation program that fundamentally transformed the way the agency conducts business, greatly improving operational efficiency and security. PA Treasury’ s Transparency program is a winner of the 2018 CIO 100 award and the 2018 Digital Edge 50 award.
Before joining Treasury, Narayanan led the transformation of the State of Delaware’s financial systems through his successful management of Delaware’s ERP Financial and Human Capital Management upgrade project. Prior to that, he served in multinationals in Europe and Asia Pacific. He is an Electronics and Communication Engineer with an MBA, and is a certified Project Management Professional.

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.

Jeremy is a cyber security professional and deep technical expert with over 28 years of management and technology related experience with an emphasis on providing leadership for the architecture of multi-tier enterprise security tools, management systems and the development of their components. Jeremy is a technical expert in computer and network offense & defense, threat detection and information security. He specializes in full-stack cyber security which includes Windows, Linux and network devices.

Heidi Norman is the Acting Director of Innovation & Performance and CIO, City of Pittsburgh, PA. The mission of the Department of Innovation & Performance is to modernize and innovate the business of city government. To that end, I&P provides and manages all information echnology for the City, connects residents to their municipal government through multiple communications channels, and improves the efficiency and effectiveness of municipal services by developing talent, optimizing processes and designing needed technology solutions. The Department has gained a reputation for being at the cutting-edge of data analytics and utilizing a collaborative approach to government innovation and Smart Cities programs through regional university, corporate and entrepreneurial technology partners.
A 20+ year resident of Pittsburgh, Ms. Norman holds degrees in Political Science and Information Systems Management, and executive education certificates from the Tepper School of Business and the Heinz School of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

David Partsch was named Chief Data Officer for the commonwealth in March 2020. David is the first person to hold this newly created position and will be responsible for developing and executing data priorities, strategic plans, direct data investments, procurements, and policy for the commonwealth.
David has 25 years’ experience in the IT industry, most recently as the chief information officer and chief information security officer at InXite Health Systems, a healthcare technology company. He also served at the West Virginia Health Information Network (WVHIN), where he was responsible for all aspects of information technology for the state-wide clinical health information exchange, as well as the Geisinger Health System and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
David is an active member of the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), College of Health Information Management Executives (CHIME), American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), Association for Information and Imaging Management (AIIM), Association for Records Management Administrators (ARMA), and Information Systems Security Association (ISSA).
David has served as a board member of several organizations such as Marshall University’s Master of Healthcare Informatics and University of South Florida’s Cybersecurity for Executives academic programs.
David earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Scranton in Scranton, PA and a bachelor’s degree in Quantitative Business Analysis from Penn State University.

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.

John is the CDW Chief Technology Officer covering all things full stack and cloud services for Eastern Region crossing private infrastructure and multiple public cloud service providers.
As an experienced technologist, John has designed, coded, tested, and implemented a myriad of enterprise applications. With over 30 years of applied application architecture and thought leadership, John brings a unique perspective to any strategic roadmap meeting or whiteboard session. He is led by the architectural and design principles learned as an Enterprise Java consultant: Performance, Reliability, Extensibility, Security, Scalability, Maintainability, Availability, and Manageability.
John is a key member on many cross-functional teams to increase value and bring new innovative offerings to our customers. He provides strategic leadership and implementation at all levels of Fortune 100 companies allowing him to be an effective Trusted Advisor by many. John can meet companies where they are and guide them along their automation journey.

Michael Sage is the Chief Information Officer for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP), where he provides services to county government and serves as a voice for Pennsylvania counties. Prior to joining CCAP in 2019, Michael was with the Commonwealth of PA for over 15 years. During that time, he served in various roles including Chief Security Officer and Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Department of Labor & Industry. He also served as Chief Technology Officer for the Employment, Banking, and Revenue Delivery Center. Michael is passionate about collaborating, strategizing and fostering relationships across all levels of government. He has lead reorganizations, budget analysis, shared service implementations, security initiatives, strategic planning, technology and application modernizations, service optimization, and many other strategic and operational initiatives.

Ellen Strom was named Chief Accessibility Officer for the commonwealth in January 2020.

In this role, Ellen is focused on ensuring that the state’s digital content is accessible to its citizens and employees alike. She works with state agencies to define best practices, design and implement strategies to educate and influence organizational culture, improve procurement processes and organize communities of practice.
Ellen has been in the digital customer experience field for more than 15 years. Prior to joining the commonwealth, she concentrated on designing and implementing a digital program to improve the web and mobile banking experiences for customers with disabilities. She is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC).
Ellen earned a master’s degree in business administration from the American University in Washington, DC and a bachelor’s degree in French and German from Millersville University of Pennsylvania. She spent two of her undergraduate years in study abroad programs at the Université Paul Valéry in Montpellier, France and Phillips Universität in Marburg, Germany.

As National Conference Director for Government Technology magazine, Zachary produces, manages and emcees government IT conferences throughout the country.

Stacey White was named IT Shared Services Transformation Officer in August 2020. Stacey is the first person to hold this newly created role and is responsible for driving higher levels of achievement and initiatives that represent government that works for the people.
Stacey has over 24 years of experience in the Information Technology field, with expertise directing and leading professional teams through transformation initiatives and culture change. Most recently, she served as Acting Director for the Technology Business Office with responsibility to provide strategic IT direction and guidance to the commonwealth, including planning, improvements to an enterprise shared services strategy, service management, policy, investments, training and communications.
Stacey studied computer programming at Harrisburg Area Community College and Government Project Management through the Project Management Institute. Additionally, she is a 2014 Graduate of Harrisburg University’s Certified Government Chief Information Officer program, the commonwealth’s 2013 Leadership Development Institute, and is certified in ITIL v3 Foundation and ITIL Continuous Service Improvement.