Dr. Cedric Alexander has spent nearly four decades in search of a better way to police our nation. He’s the author of The New Guardians, and he has served as a law enforcement analyst on ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN. In 2015 he was appointed to the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. He has served at every level of government: as a Federal Security Director in the US Department of Homeland Security, as a Deputy Commissioner for Criminal Justice in New York State, as Public Safety Director in a major county, and as a City Chief of Police and Deputy Mayor.

Matt Axtell is a dynamic and passionate leader on CDW’s Cloud Client Executive (CCE) team. Over the last 13 years Matt has assisted clients across various market segments with the pragmatic selection and deployment of Cloud-based solutions. His customized, business-centric, results-driven methodology for Cloud adoption has served as the underpinning for numerous organizations as they develop their business’s Cloud adoption strategy. Matt’s expertise makes him particularly suited to deliver value to organizations in two areas. First, in assisting Corporate IT to implement a Cloud strategy designed specifically to meet the changing technology needs of their line-of-business counterparts. Secondly, by ensuring the proper best practices (security, connectivity, Cloud-readiness & Cloud candidacy, etc.) are in place as a foundation from which your business can confidently implement emerging technologies without exposing your business to next generation risks.

Danielle Whitworth Barnes was reappointed to serve as a member of the Governor’s Cabinet as the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services in 2019. The Department provides services to over two million Tennesseans each year through programs such as Families First, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Child Support, Child Care Services, Vocational Rehabilitation, Disability Determination Services, Adult Protective Services, Child and Adult Food Program and Social Services Block Grant. Operating a budget of over $2.6 billion and providing leadership to over 4,000 employees, Ms. Barnes continues to drive for strong results for individuals, families and communities through meaningful work outcomes and community partnerships.
Since her appointment in 2017, Ms. Barnes has led the department in operationalizing its two-generational approach through the concept of building a thriving Tennessee. Under her leadership the Department has increased the number of collaborative partnerships with emphasis on feeding families, enhancing the customer experience, modernizing technology, and employment opportunities.
Prior to her appointment at DHS, she served as Deputy Commissioner & General Counsel for the Tennessee Department of Human Resources. In her capacity, she had oversight over all administrative and legal issues within the Department, offering counsel and advice to her agency, other state agencies, state employees and individuals on employment matters. Before her tenure in public service, she also practiced at the law firm of Farris Mathews Branan Bobango & Hellen, PLC in both the Nashville and Memphis office.
Ms. Barnes holds certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), and International Public Management Association Senior Certified Professional (IPMA-SCP). In addition, she is a Rule 31 Listed Mediator. She earned her undergraduate degree from Spelman College and her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Ms. Barnes is also an active member of various boards and councils throughout middle Tennessee.

Jonathan Benett is a business and information technology (IT) leader with over 20 years of experience in leadership, IT program and project management, strategic planning, operations, and corporate business development. He specializes in the identification of public sector business requirements and the development of innovative technology solutions to meet the unique challenges of government.
Jonathan is currently the Technical Director for Digital Government Solutions at Adobe Systems Federal. Prior to Adobe, he was the Chief Enterprise Architect for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) within the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). He also worked at the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in a variety of leadership roles, including Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Administrator, IT Program Manager for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Acting CTO, and Acting Deputy Regional Administrator for FNS’ Northeast Regional Office. Before working at the USDA, Jonathan led the Project Management Office for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, preceded by ten years of successful experience in private industry.

Jessica Cone is a Program Specialist for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (MS-ISAC®), and the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center™ (EI-ISAC®), divisions of CIS® (Center for Internet Security, Inc.®). Jessica serves on the Stakeholder Engagement team providing U.S. State, Local, Territorial, and Tribal (SLTT) governments with free cybersecurity resources and services to enhance their cyber defenses. Jessica manages the accounts of hundreds of MS-ISAC and EI-ISAC members throughout the country, with a focus on southern states, to support their collective mission of stronger cybersecurity. She co-chairs the Application Security Workgroup, which focuses on organizational protection while procuring third-party vendors. Before coming to CIS, Jessica worked in Trust & Safety, developing and enforcing policy for a major tech company, as well and program development in the non-profit sector.

Ron Fuller is a Cloud Architect in the Network and Security Business Unit (NSBU) in VMware focused on working with customers to address their challenges with comprehensive end-to-end Cloud and Data Center architectures and how they can best utilize VMware technology to their advantage. He has 24 years of experience in the industry and has had the opportunity to speak in Europe, Australia and the United States on multiple networking and security topics.

Kim Hagan currently serves as the Director of Member Services for the State of Tennessee, Division of TennCare. She has been in this position for the past three years. Kim has worked for TennCare for 18 years and previously served as the Member Services Policy Director, Director of Eligibility Services and as an attorney with the Office of General Counsel.

Hugh Hale currently serves as Chief Information Officer for the State of Tennessee, Division of TennCare. He has been in this position for the past three years. Prior to joining TennCare, he was with Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY), the largest not-for-profit home and community-based health care organization in the country, where he served as Chief Information Officer. Hugh has over 35 years of Healthcare Information Systems leadership experience. Hugh’s prior work also includes Executive roles with the IBM Corporation and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, including its subsidiary, Shared Health.

Tennessee was the first state in the country to establish the executive position of Chief Learning Officer (CLO), appointing Dr. Trish Holliday to this role. Trish fosters a culture that promotes engagement, encourages retention, and provides continuous learning and leadership development for all employees, ultimately positioning the state as a learning organization.
Dr. Holliday’s commitment and passion for helping professionals reach their greatest potential is rooted in her experience as an adult educator and certified executive coach, and her early years in full-time ministry as a missionary in Tennessee Appalachia. As a successful change agent, facilitator, and storyteller, she is often asked by executive leaders to undertake complex problem solving opportunities by bringing people together and helping them discover innovative solutions, and develop the leaders needed to execute.
As an award-winning leader, Trish is the cover feature in the 2019 March issue of the National Chief Learning Officer Magazine. She was named one of the 2019 Women of Influence by the Nashville Business Journal. Trish received the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) Warner W. Stockberger Achievement Award in honor of a lifetime of outstanding contributions toward the improvement of public human resources management.
Trish was awarded the Tennessee Personnel Management Association (TPMA) Richard L. Stokes Personnel Achievement Award for innovation and high standards in Human Resources Management. Other awards received are Corporate Learning Network Learning Leader of the Year, the CLO Learning Innovator Leader of the Year, and the HR.com Top Corporate Leader for Leadership Excellence ranked 2nd worldwide. She is a graduate of Leadership Tennessee and Leadership Middle Tennessee.
Trish serves as an Adjunct Professor at both Lipscomb University and Trevecca Nazarene University. She teaches Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Education as part of the Doctor of Education program at Lipscomb and prepares future leaders in human resources leadership and management, and personal leadership development at Trevecca.
Trish is an inaugural member of the TEDxNashville Society of Fellows. Trish is a speaker at the local, national, and international level. She serves on various non-profit and academic boards and enjoys giving back to the community. Trish was a founding board member of the non-profit organization, Impact Nashville and currently serves as the community liaison.
Doc Holliday is driven to help leaders develop strategies, create learning organizations and implement effective change initiatives!

Daniele Loffreda is Senior Advisor, Healthcare State/Local Government and Education (SLED) in Ciena’s Market Development organization. In this role he leads Ciena’s initiatives to apply next generation hardware, software and services networking technologies to help these sectors deliver better services to their constituents through digital transformation, optimized cloud strategies, virtualized infrastructure and improved data security.
Daniele has more than 20 years of experience helping customers leverage Information, Communications and Technology solutions provide greater value, improve their operations and generate higher returns on network investments. He has been involved in smart city projects since 2014, he has been a speaker at smart city events, and has published a number of articles and blog posts on network connectivity as a critical foundation of smart cities.

Adam Mansell is a Governor’s Management Fellow in the Office of Customer Focused Government. Within the office, Adam manages the Transparent Tennessee site, the state’s cornerstone for transparency and accountability, and oversees the development of interactive data visualizations and dashboards. Transparent Tennessee is the state’s central source for public datasets, performance metrics, and state-wide financial information. He is committed to making public data easily accessible, understandable, and actionable by combining integrated enterprise data with creative visual storytelling.
He is currently working with the Department of Tourist Development on a data management and reporting system that will empower their rural partners to align relevant performance metrics with their long-term strategic goals.
Adam joined the State of Tennessee as a Governor’s Management Fellow in August 2018 after graduating with honors from the University of Pennsylvania where he studied Communication & Public Service and Survey Research & Data Analytics. Previous professional experiences include training as a Hoesley Digital Literacy Fellow and conducting data analytics for political campaigns.
Adam is a native of Hilham, Tennessee,and he currently resides in Nashville where he is a member of Young Professionals in Government and the Nashville Public Library’s Next Chapter Society.

Kay Meyer is a Senior Manager working with the SAS US Government practice. She brings experience, best practices and strategies to help government successfully implement strategic analytic solutions including establishing Centers for Analytics. Kay has over 25 years of experience in information systems development and implementation across a variety of industries. Prior to joining SAS, Kay spent 18 years in state government and led the efforts in North Carolina to set the strategic vision, definition and implementation for the North Carolina Government Data Analytics Center. Prior to the GDAC, Kay led in the formation of NC’s first enterprise fraud, waste, and improper payment detection program, as well as the implementation of NC’s first integrated criminal justice system. Kay holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from the University of Virginia and a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University.

Brendan Montagne is a Program Specialist for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (MS-ISAC®), and the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center™ (EI-ISAC®), part of CIS® (Center for Internet Security, Inc.®). Brendan is a member of the Stakeholder Engagement team providing U.S. State, Local, Territorial, and Tribal (SLTT) governments with free cybersecurity resources and services to strengthen their cybersecurity posture. Brendan manages the accounts of hundreds of MS-ISAC and EI-ISAC members throughout the country, with a focus on Western states, to support their collective mission of stronger cybersecurity. He co-chairs the Mentoring Workgroup, which focuses on pair experts in the cybersecurity field, in hopes of continuing the education of all members of the community.

AJ Siegel is an advisory solution designer with the ServiceNow Solution Innovation team. Helping people interact with technology has been AJ’s passion over the past 12 years. He applies empathy to design technology solutions that meet the needs of humans and deliver value to the business. With ServiceNow, AJ used this philosophy to improve the experiences for employees at Fortune 100 companies, government agencies, academic organizations and military institutions. Prior to ServiceNow, he applied this human-centered design process to auto insurance, making the purchasing experience so easy that any human could do it.

Mark has been driving successful business outcomes through IT network and systems infrastructure solutions as well as developing customer-facing private and hybrid cloud solutions at CDW since 2008. Celebrating over ten years as a CDW coworker, Mark has had the privilege of serving our customers as a Data Center Architect in Florida for the last three years and as a Network Field Solutions Architect for seven years prior to that. Now, Mark is focused on delivering Automation & Orchestration solutions and strategy for private, hybrid and multi-cloud use cases for CDW customers nationwide. Mark has been designing full-stack data center solutions for CDW customers for the past three years in the commercial enterprise and public sectors. These solutions have encompassed compute, storage, networking, security and multidata center strategies. Mark has also worked on several largescale data center migrations for mergers, acquisitions and divestitures of our customers.

Dr. Laura Young is the Chief Nursing Officer for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. She received her Associate of Science in Nursing from Tennessee State University and her Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. In addition, she received her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing with an elective focus in Nursing Education. Dr. Young has been a practicing nurse for over 25 years and has been an Advanced Practice Nurse for the last 9. Her experience has covered a number of areas to include outpatient mental health care in private and community settings, inpatient psychiatric care, serving as adjunct nursing faculty, and as an unblinded drug study manager in clinical drug trials. Dr. Young is board certified as a Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.

Richard Zhu is the Executive IT Director for Business Solutions Delivery supporting the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for the State of Tennessee. Richard has a Master of Business Administration degree from Vanderbilt University and has over 25 years of experience in IT and business leadership.