Phil Bates is the Chief Information Security Officer for the Department of Technology Services, State of Utah. He has been involved in Cyber Security for many years, as the IT Director for the Department of Public Safety Phil aided in the creation of the Utah Cyber Task Force. Phil began his career in Law Enforcement, retiring as a Lieutenant from the West Jordan Police Department. While at West Jordan, Phil directed the deployment of the first large-scale use of Commercial Mobile Data for Public Safety in the US.

Hanna Bennett is the Senior Strategic Intelligence Analyst for the Utah Statewide Information & Analysis Center (SIAC) with the Department of Public Safety (DPS). She has worked for DPS since 2010 at the Bureau of Criminal Identification, Utah Highway Patrol, and at the SIAC since 2016. She was awarded Cyber Analyst of the Year from the National Fusion Center Association (NFCA) and the Public Safety Medal of Excellence from DPS in 2019 for her work to establish the SIAC's cyber program sharing cyber threat intelligence and information with public and private sector partners.
The SIAC is one of 80 fusion centers across the nation, and are focal points for the receipt, analysis, gathering and sharing of threat-related information between State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT), federal and private sector partners.

Alan is Executive Vice President of e.Republic and Publisher of Government Technology magazine and Techwire. In this role, Alan is involved in the annual production of dozens of events as well as the strategic direction for Governing, Government Technology, Emergency Management, the Center for Digital Government and the Center for Digital Education. Alan is also the senior executive that has overall charge of e.Republic’s research organization which includes, custom research, the Digital Government and Digital Education Navigator tool and the Content Studio (webinars and custom content).
Alan has been a guest lecturer at universities and a frequent speaker for key government and industry organizations. For over 35 years, Alan has worked with industry, education and government officials to help them better understand the importance and use of information technology. Alan received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration at California State University, Sacramento.

Joe Dougherty is the director of public affairs for the Utah Department of Public Safety. For the last year, he has been on assignment to the governor’s office to coordinate public communications around the COVID-19 pandemic.
In previous roles, Joe spent 9 years as the public information officer for the Utah Division of Emergency Management and 7 years as an award-winning journalist for the Standard-Examiner and Deseret News covering a variety of beats, including crime, courts, public safety, military, environment, and local, state and national politics.
Joe also provides regular training and conference presentations on crisis and risk communications, media relations and social media. He is a past president and current secretary of the Utah PIO Association. He was recently named the Mid Level Professional of the year by PRSA and is a Certified Emergency Manager.
Joe graduated from Utah State University in 2003 in broadcast and print journalism.
He lives in Davis County with his wife and four kids.

David Fletcher is currently the Chief Technology Officer of the State of Utah where he oversees the State’s digital government initiatives and coordinates the introduction of new innovation and the state’s technical architecture program. David has a long history of involvement with technology initiatives, having previously served as director of the state’s Division of Information Technology, Deputy CIO over egovernment, and Deputy Director of the Utah Department of Administrative Services. During his tenure with the State of Utah, he has promoted the use of technology to improve citizen and business interaction with state government. Utah now offers over 1450 interactive online citizen and business services through its award-winning portal, Utah.gov. Many of these services have become the primary channel for service delivery. David has a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Washington.

Navina Forsythe works as the Director for the Center for Health Data and Informatics at the Utah Department of Health. She has a Ph.D. in Psychology and a Master’s in Public Administration. She has three decades of experience in health and social services government agencies including clinical work, technology and information systems management, and data management. As a clinician she has conducted neuropsychological, psychological, cognitive and achievement assessments, provided therapy, group sessions, and cognitive remediation. As a chief data officer she has overseen development of reporting systems and provided information for assessment, policy decision making, process and outcome evaluation, program improvement, and litigation defense. She facilitated the multi-agency collaborative creation of the Utah State Health Assessment (2016) and the Utah Health Improvement Plan (2017). As a technology manager she has overseen development and maintenance of multimillion dollar case management information systems and worked with the Utah Digital Health Services Commission to update and maintain the Utah State Health Information Technology Strategic Plan. She also chairs the Utah Department of Health Institutional Review Board & Ethics Board.

Amanda spends her days as a Data & AI Specialist helping State and Local Governments harness the value of data with advanced compute and analytics capabilities and deliver secure, accessible citizen services. She gets excited showing how Azure empowers employees to be productive anywhere, modernize existing systems for efficient operations, and serve citizens and communities more effectively. Amanda started her career as a Data Manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. She then spent years as a Product Manager of Data products. At Microsoft, she continues to evangelize the power of Data. Amanda spends her weekends taking advantage of all the adventures her home State of Colorado has to offer.

Peter has a JD / MBA and a well rounded business background in business consulting (ran a business and new product accelerator that serviced over 200 per year), in International Business (Corporate Counsel, Regulatory Compliance, and Financial Management), Real Estate (Commercial Leasing, Title Insurance, and Escrow), and Litigation (Antitrust, Consumer Protection, Securities, Family Law, Probate). As corporate counsel, managed contract negotiations and drafting, domestic and international corporate compliance, intellectual property, and litigation. Created complex financial business models for commercial contracts.

Aaron Jeter is the Director for Cloud & On-Prem Hosting at the Department of Technology Services with the State of Utah. He has worked for the State's Department of Technology for approximately 12 years with over 20 years of experience in the technology sector.

Nick Kryger is the Chief Data/Geographic Officer for Salt Lake City. Nick has been working in GIS & IT for over 30 years. He is responsible for all Data, analytics, and Mapping needs for Salt Lake City. The goal is to be able to make better decisions based off good data. He has a BS degree in Business Administration and in Industrial Relations Nick is a Certified Geographic Information Systems Professional (GISP) and is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.

Daniele Loffreda is Marketing Lead for Ciena’s Virtualized Edge Solution State/Local Government and Education (SLED) and Healthcare in Ciena’s Solutions Development organization. In this role he leads Ciena’s initiatives applying next generation networking technologies to help these sectors deliver higher quality experiences to their constituents through disruptive technologies, optimized cloud strategies, virtualized infrastructure and improved data security.
Daniele has more than 25 years of experience helping customers leverage Information, Communications and Technology solutions provide greater value, streamline their operations and generate higher returns on network investments. In addition to his current role at Ciena, Daniele has worked in pioneering roles at AT&T, Sprint and Fujitsu. He has presented at numerous industry conferences, and published articles and posts on next generation network connectivity as a critical foundation of enterprise transformation.

Joseph Morris is vice president of Research and a national keynote speaker on issues, trends and drivers impacting state and local government and education. He has authored publications and reports on funding streams, technology investment areas and public-sector priorities, and has led roundtables, projects and initiatives focused on issues within the public sector. Joe has conducted state and local government research with e.Republic since 2007 and knows the ins and outs of government on all levels. He received his Bachelor of Arts in government and international relations from the California State University, Sacramento.

Jeff Mottishaw is the Director of Operational Efficiencies at the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget (GOPB). He oversees the state's enterprise-level remote working program, A New Workplace, and is responsible for the development and implementation of the program. Jeff also works with state agencies to help improve efficiencies. Prior to joining GOPB, Jeff worked at the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) for nearly four years as the division director of Fleet Operations and in the Division of Purchasing for nine years in various roles such as purchasing manager, program manager, auditor, and management analyst.
During his time at DAS, Jeff received the Governor's Award for Excellence, the DAS Innovations Elevated Award, and the DAS Employee of the year. Other awards he has received include the National Conference of State Fleet Administrators 2017 Fleet Excellence Award, the National Association of State Chief Administrators Award of Excellence in General Services, and the Utah Clean Cities 2019 Green Fleet Award.
Jeff spent time in the private sector in a number of different jobs, including truck driver, garbage man, dispatcher, accounts receivable, controller, operations manager, shipping consultant, ski instructor, bicycle mechanic, and manufacturing director. He has a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Utah, an MBA from Weber State University, and roots for the Utah State Aggies.

Corona Ngatuvai is the chief enterprise architect for Utah’s Department of Technology Services (DTS). Corona was introduced to public service at Utah’s Department of Health (DOH), where he implemented networks for various Utah health departments. Since joining DTS in 2006, he has led Utah’s migration to the cloud and assisted in developing/implementing enterprise initiatives.

Dr. Orgeron has extensive experience in both the private and public sector. Currently, he serves as an Executive Government Advisor with AWS coaching Government Executives to accelerate their journey to the cloud. Prior to joining AWS, he served as the CIO for the State of Mississippi, and President of NASCIO.

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.

Sergeant Jeff Plank began his career with the Utah Highway Patrol in 1998. He transferred to the Utah State Bureau of Investigation in 2001 and worked on the Methamphetamine Precursor Unit, Narcotics Unit and the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force. In 2006 he was promoted to Sergeant and supervised a Major Crimes Unit which was responsible for investigating narcotics, fraud and violent crime investigations. In 2013 Sergeant Plank was assigned to supervise the Utah State Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Crime Unit which is embedded with the Salt Lake City FBI’s Cyber Task Force. Sergeant Plank investigates various kinds of Internet fraud and financially motivated computer intrusions. Sergeant Plank graduated from Southern Utah University with a master’s degree in Cyber Security and Information Assurance in 2020.

Jenney Rees previously served as the mayor of Cedar Hills, a position to which she was elected in 2017 after having served as a member of the city council for six years. In her role as mayor, she served on the Joint Policy Advisory Committee and the Regional Growth Committee for the Wasatch Front Regional Council, the Legislative Policy Committee for the Utah League of Cities and Towns, the Utah County Council of Governments, the Quality Growth Commission for the State of Utah, and on the Regional Planning Committee for Mountainland Association of Governments.
Before serving in public office, Rees was the chief of staff and the director of healthcare information systems for MediConnect Global, a healthcare information technology company servicing the legal, life insurance and health insurance markets. She has also worked as the director of billing services for an Arizona physician’s organization and as the director of training for AdvancedMD, the first completely web-based practice management system. Rees holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Master of Public Administration degree.

Deborah is an accomplished C-level influencer, with a broad range of experience in government, policy, cybersecurity, privacy and information technology. An experienced and highly respected thought leader who has held executive roles for over two decades.
She recently retired from her position as New York state’s chief information security officer (CISO) after over 35 years of public service.
In that role, as part of New York state’s information technology transformation and consolidation initiative, she helped redesign how the state protects its data. As state CISO, she directed the state’s comprehensive cybersecurity governance, risk management and compliance program, providing strategic leadership and vision, and assuring business-aligned, risk-based investments that maximized business opportunity and minimized cybersecurity risk. She also directed the NYS Cyber Command Center, hotline, procedures for reporting and response to cyberthreats, and digital forensics.
She holds multiple industry certifications including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP); Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC); SANS Strategic Planning, Policy, and Leadership (GSTRT) Global Information Assurance Certification; and Project Management Institute certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Brett Stott is the general manager of NIC Utah (known previously as Utah Interactive), the state’s partner for digital services. He leads NIC’s 30-person Salt Lake City office that manages the state’s official website, Utah.gov, and delivers digital services on behalf of the State. Brett joined NIC (Nasdaq: EGOV) in 2000 and has served as a business development leader with direct sales, marketing, and proposal management expertise. In addition to his national enterprise business development experience, Brett has represented NIC as a frequent speaker at digital government events and served as a liaison to a variety of professional associations that support key decision-makers, including governors, chiefs of staff, secretaries of state, budget officials, and chief information officers. Most recently, Brett led NIC's strategic alliances and partnership program and spearheaded the effort to acquire Complia, the nation’s leading provider of cannabis licensing platforms. Prior to joining NIC, Brett was a strategy analyst for the consulting firm Novations Group, first in the Organizational Strategy practice and later in the Organizations & People practice.

Teri Takai is Co-Director of the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. She worked for Ford Motor Company for 30 years in global application development and information technology strategic planning. From Ford, she moved to EDS in support of General Motors. A long-time interest in public service led her to the government sector, first as CIO of the State of Michigan, then as CIO of the State of California, and subsequently the CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense, the first woman appointed to this role. She then served as the CIO for Meridian Health Plan. She is a member of several industry advisory boards. Teri has won numerous awards including Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year, CIO Magazine’s CIO Hall of Fame, Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers, the Women in Defense Excellence in Leadership Award, and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

As Executive Editor at e.Republic, Steve is responsible for the coordination of editorial strategies and standards across all the firm’s media platforms. He directs the editorial teams that produce Government Technology, Emergency Management and Digital Communities and their respective Websites, in addition to developing and maintaining corporate policies and standards for editorial. Steve has over 20 years of writing and editing experience including more than 17 years covering technology in the state and local government market.
Steve joined e.Republic in 1996. During his tenure, e.Republic’s print and electronic media have received many awards for editorial excellence, including “Magazine of the Year” from ASBPE for Emergency Management in 2013, “Best New Web Site” from ASBPE for emergencymgmt.com in 2009, ”Best Overall Publication” at the Maggie awards for Government Technology in 2008 and “Magazine of the Year” from ASBPE for Public CIO in 2007.