Erik was named Chief Information Security Officer for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2010. He is responsible for the information security strategy, governance, technical standards, security policies, risk management, compliance, and cyber-incident response across the commonwealth. Prior to his appointment, Erik served as Deputy Chief Information Security Officer for the Commonwealth since 2007. Erik joined the Commonwealth in October 2005 as an IT consultant and technical architect for the Enterprise Security Auditing and Monitoring initiative. The tremendous success of the project helped Pennsylvania win the 2007 award for outstanding achievement in information technology by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and finalist recognition for the NASCIO 2008 Recognition Awards for Pennsylvania’s Security Incident Response Process. Erik leads a highly successful group of information security professionals. In 2009, his team won the ISE Mid-Atlantic Project of the Year award for "Safeguarding Citizen Data" and in 2011 were the winners of the GovTech award for “Outstanding Leadership and Innovation”. In 2015, Avakian was named by GovTech as one of the top 10 Influencers in Government. Erik received a Top 50 in CyberSecurity from StateScoop in 2018 and was recently named a Top 25 Doer, Dreamer& Driver from GovTech in 2019. Erik has assembled a vast array of experience and expertise in areas of security strategy and design, architecture, risk assessment, policy, compliance, incident response and forensic investigations, and has led numerous enterprise initiatives in areas including intrusion detection, security information and event management, data protection, and automated incident response. Erik holds numerous industry certifications including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Certified Information Security Auditor (CISA), and is a Certified Government Chief Information Officer (CGCIO). He is an Executive Board member for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, a member of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) Security & Privacy Committee, and the Pennsylvania State Fusion Center.

Paul Bahl is the VP of Sales at Tempus Nova and brings more than 20+ years of experience in Project Management, Business Development, and Training / Change Management disciplines. His experience spans many platforms and technologies with personal strengths focused in leadership, problem solving, relationship building and account management. Paul leads and manages the sales team, expands the Tempus Nova brand and reputation within Google as well our strategic relationships with industry leading systems integrators. Paul manages all aspects of Mid Market Business Development from prospecting, lead generation, marketing, seminars, overall sales, and post sales support.

Jennifer is the Chief Information Officer for the City of Midland. She began her technology career in Midland in 2005 supporting communications technology. She was promoted several times: first as a project analyst in 2009, to Information Systems Manager in 2013, to Assistant Director in 2017 and to CIO in 2019.
Jennifer has a department of 22 employees including information technology professionals, project management professionals, and radio communications technicians. Together they support a network of 1000 users across 26 physical sites. She began the first Cybersecurity Awareness campaign for the City of Midland in 2017, and continues annual efforts within the City and community. She strives continually for better process improvement and uses ITIL standards for Midland’s operational processes.
Jennifer has a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications and a Master’s in Business Administration from West Texas A&M University. She earned a CGCIO certification from the University of North Carolina in 2015.
She met her husband Tony at West Texas A&M and they now have three children, three dogs and a cat.

William A. (Butch) Grote Jr.’s professional career might best be described as diverse and colorful. As a consummate user of automation, technology, project management and e-commerce, he understands and uses technology to aid in identifying ways to save time and money and to streamline virtually all aspects of a company’s day-to-day business and operations. In addition to working with computer software and hardware for more than 35 years, Butch has a degree in Computer Science and Management, has helped take several start-up companies public, has managed and mentored employees, has been an executive staff member acting in as a liaison between several CEOs and engineering departments.

Ryan Park is the State and Local Government Marketing Manager at Laserfiche. In his role, Ryan focuses on supporting and growing the state and local government user community, executing process optimization strategies, and helping agencies enhance the citizen experience. Park presents on effectively leveraging content services technology to drive responsive and quality citizen services. He received his bachelor's degree in Public Policy from the University of Southern California (USC) and his Master’s in Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach.

Charles Purma has lead open government and IT initiatives for the City of Austin, TX for over fourteen years. Most recently, his focus is spanning the boundaries between the public, private, and community sectors to deliver upon the promises of open data, AI, and smart city programs. He also manages an amazing team focused on user-centered design, agile project management, and innovation services.

After an initial career as a member of a flight crew in the International Airline industry, Sam Segran joined the Information Technology field in 1985 and has been active in this field for over 30 years.
After three years as Deputy Chief Information Officer, he was promoted to the current position of Chief Information Officer for Texas Tech University in April 2003. In this role, he is responsible for all information technology operations and management for Texas Tech University. He is trained in a number of fields, and holds current certifications in IT Service Delivery, Security Leadership, and Legal Issues in Information Technology.
He serves on various national and regional advisory boards, councils and groups, including the Texas Cybersecurity Council, and he is a current Director on the Texas Lonestar Education and Research Network Board (non-profit corp.)
He was also recognized as the 2012 Texas CIO of the Year for the public sector by the Texas CIO Academy and Government Technology.

Anh Selissen serves as the Chief Information Officer, at the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT). She is honored to be a part of this mission critical agency and to be a part of the TXDOT family.
Anh has led information technology organizations in both the public and private sectors. She previously held positions as Chief Information Officer at NuStats Inc., and Director of Enterprise Systems at the University of Texas at Austin, and most recently Anh served as Deputy CIO at the Texas Comptroller’s Office. Among several professional affiliations, Anh is President-Elect of the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications, and IT Chair of the State Agency Coordinating Council. In each of her leadership roles, Anh has built a diverse range of experience working across the organization to deliver IT services to meet the needs of the organization and customer community. She is passionate in providing strong customer service and strives to work with her team to provide strong support and services to the organization and their customers. This has resulted in improved interactions with the end user communities and positive positioning of the organizations.
Anh prides herself on being a dynamic and influential leader.

George has been involved in working for or supporting government entities for over 30 years. George’s early years in government began with working for the fire department. George currently holds leadership roles in a variety of organizations including a Governor appointed board position on the Texas One Call Board, an elected city councilman for his city The Hills, a Board Member for the Texas eHealth Alliance organization and an Oxygen Mentor for young professionals at AT&T.
George Spencer as Area Vice President leads AT&T’s State, Local Government, Education and Medical (SLED) business in Texas. The team of professionals in this segment work to support and deliver innovative solutions to state, county and city governments as well as special districts, K-12, higher education institutions and medical clients across Texas.
His career at AT&T began in 1998 working in the Public Safety Division of AT&T supporting advanced 9-1-1 technology for police and fire departments. Over the last 22 years George has held several roles within AT&T including time as the Technical Director for Texas SLED as well as the AT&T Director for Homeland Security for the Southwest Region.
George holds both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degree.

Creating Solutions and Harnessing Talent to Deliver Transformative Change
Julie is an evangelist for change. She creates environments where people and organizations thrive, where “families” are formed to deliver transformative and sustainable results. For the past 25 years, she has been an organizational sherpa, using a combination of strategy, behavioral science, creativity, endless energy and coffee to help organizations navigate their journey to something better.
As an alumnae of Loyola University of Maryland and an inductee to their prestigious Green and Grey Society, Julie still subscribes to the school’s motto of “Strong Truths Well Lived,” using her strengths for good. Her graduate degree in Applied Behavioral Science has armed her with a mastery understanding of what influences behavior and how managing those influences can impact an organization.
She is a contributor to Working Mother Magazine, an alum of the live reading series, “Listen to Your Mother” and has served as a guest faculty member at many area universities including Virginia Tech, Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business and George Washington University. She also serves on the Dean’s Alumni Advisory Board for Johns Hopkins University’s Carey School of Business. In 2018, she was selected for FedHealthIT’s 100 award given to 100 individuals across government and industry who challenge conventional wisdom, to go above and beyond to drive innovation.
She speaks frequently on a number of topics including: change management, flexibility in the workplace, personal branding, storytelling, positive psychology and innovation - all topics near and dear to her heart.

Pete is one of IBM’s lead market SMEs for Blockchain focused on advising public sector clients on emerging technologies. As a member of this global team, Pete provides thought leadership, education and practical insights for government leaders on when to use and how to benefit from blockchain solutions. Pete also supports government leadership teams with emerging tech solutions as they fit into their larger digital transformation initiatives.

Cory serves as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Information Resource Manager for the Texas General Land Office (GLO). The GLO has a diverse mission that includes managing a multibillion-dollar real estate trust that helps fund education, providing benefits to Texas veterans, protecting natural resources on the Texas coast, administering federal grant programs for disaster recovery, and managing historic treasures like the Alamo. As CIO, Cory and his team are responsible for all aspects of information technology for the agency’s different lines of business, from daily operations, to the delivery of innovative business solutions that drive the agency forward.
Cory has 20 years of experience in information technology, covering a wide range of roles that includes software development, project management, strategic planning, and enterprise architecture. He is passionate about aligning technology resources to an organization’s mission, and is focused on building a culture of continuous improvement. Cory has a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.