Michael Allen was appointed Deputy Commissioner for Technology of ITS in March 2024. In this role, he serves as the IT leader for the Department of Labor to drive improvements, problem solve and strategize as part of the agency’s leadership team and operate the IT department while ensuring State IT resources and assets are accounted for and managed. Michael first joined NYS government in 2006 as a student assistant in the IT department of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Since then, he has overseen several state agencies business application services departments, leading hiring and training of diverse skillsets, improving customer experience, creating new solutions, all to meet an agencies mission. Michael has a web development and programming degree from Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY.

Christian Balcazar is the Vice President of Sales and Customer Success at Portage CyberTech, bringing over 15 years of experience in SaaS, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure. He has held key sales and leadership roles at organizations such as Manulife, Insight Canada, and INAP, where he led high-impact initiatives focused on enterprise growth, customer success, and digital transformation.
Known for his strategic approach and strong leadership, Christian has built and scaled sales teams, driven multi-million-dollar public sector and enterprise deals, and consistently exceeded targets—earning multiple President’s Club awards. At Portage, he leads go-to-market strategy and customer engagement across digital identity, e-signature, and trust services, with a focus on delivering measurable value and long-term client success.

Thierno Diallo is the Manager of Web and Accessibility Services at the DMV Dedicated Support Team where he leads the web & digital accessibility teams and help with initiatives to ensure inclusive design for DMV applications and other digital documents.
With over a decade of experience in web development, project management, and policy implementation, Thierno advocates for integrating accessibility from procurement to deployment. He is passionate about empowering teams through education, sustainable practices, and leadership that puts people first.
A strong advocate for people-first design, Thierno believes that digital inclusion benefits everyone and strengthens public trust in government services. He brings a practical, systems-thinking approach to problem-solving and strives to empower others through mentorship and knowledge-sharing.

Gail Galusha serves as the Director of Enterprise AI, Data & Analytics for the New York State Attorney General’s Office. Her experience spans across state agencies, higher education, and K-12 systems. She specializes in the ethical and responsible use of emerging technologies, while maintaining data privacy and integrity. Gail has a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, a master’s degree in Labor and Public Policy, and certificates in Social Policy, Data Privacy and Security Policy, and AI Strategy. She is also a Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP).

Mila Gasco-Hernandez holds a MBA and a Ph. D. in public policy evaluation. She is the Research Director at the Center for Technology in Government as well as an Associate Professor at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, both at the University at Albany – SUNY. Before joining SUNY, Dr. Gasco-Hernandez served as a senior researcher at the Institute of Governance and Public Management (currently known as ESADEgov - Center for Public Governance) and the Institute of Innovation and Knowledge Management, both at ESADE Business & Law School in Spain.
The main general research question at the center of Dr. Gasco-Hernandez’s research agenda is: why and how does technology-driven innovation happen in the public sector? Most of her research in the last six years has focused on the topics of open government, public sector innovation, smart cities and communities, telework, and artificial intelligence in government, which she has addressed using a comparative an international approach. In these areas, she has published six books, more than 45 peer-reviewed articles, 18 peer-reviewed book chapters, and more than 55 peer-reviewed conference papers. She has been invited to deliver more than 70 keynotes worldwide and has been awarded more than 15 grants in external funding competitive calls and more than 25 consultancy/applied research projects.
Dr. Gasco-Hernandez has also considerable consulting experience. In this respect, she has worked for a wide variety of organizations worldwide such as the United Nations Development Program, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the Latin American Centre on Management for Development, the World E-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Google.

J. Ramon Gil-Garcia, Ph.D., is a Full Professor of Public Administration and Policy and the Director of the Center for Technology in Government, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY). In 2009, Dr. Gil-Garcia was considered the most prolific author in the field of digital government research worldwide and in 2018 and 2019 was named “One of the World’s 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government” by Apolitical, from the United Kingdom. More recently, in 2021, Dr. Gil-Garcia was one of the recipients of the two inaugural Digital Government Society (DGS) Fellows Awards, which recognize “distinguished scholarly achievements and sustained accomplishments and contributions to the research or practice of digital government as a field of study.” Currently, Dr. Gil-Garcia is also a professor of Business at Universidad de las Americas Puebla in Mexico, a Faculty Affiliate at the National Center for Digital Government, University of Massachusetts Amherst and an Affiliated Faculty member of the Information Science Doctorate Program at the College of Emergency Management, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, University at Albany.
Dr. Gil-Garcia is the author or co-author of articles in prestigious international journals in Public Administration, Information Systems, and Digital Government and some of his publications are among the most cited in the field of digital government research worldwide. His research interests include collaborative digital government, inter-organizational collaboration and information integration, smart cities and smart governments, data and data analytics for decision making, artificial intelligence in government, adoption and implementation of emergent technologies, digital divide policies, information technologies in the budget process, digital government success factors, and multi-method research approaches. Dr. Gil-Garcia is also a former Fulbright Scholar.
Dr. Gil-Garcia has extensive teaching experience and has collaborated with 12 universities, including departments of Public Administration, Government, Political Science, Social Science, Information Studies, and Management Information Systems. He has lectured on topics such as Public Management, Policy Analysis, Database Applications, Statistics, Web Development, Quantitative Analysis and Modeling, Research Methods, Systems Analysis and Design, Local Government Management, and Information Technologies in the Public Sector. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Gil-Garcia held several government positions, and he also has many years of experience as a consultant for federal, state, and local government agencies. He has been a volunteer and leader of several non-profit organizations and is an active member of professional associations in related fields such as Public Administration, Information Systems, Public Policy, and Political Science.

In June 2025, Jenson Jacob was named Acting Executive Deputy Chief Information Officer for the NYS Office of Information Technology Services (ITS).
Prior to that, he served as the agency’s Chief Digital Transformation Officer. Jenson brings more than 25 years of IT experience working on both private and public sector initiatives that included building a digital strategy using disruptive and enterprise technologies and overseeing an innovation journey across applications and services.
Prior to joining ITS in 2011, Jenson worked for Unisys and HCL Technologies where he served as an enterprise solution and services architect building customer-centric products. Earlier in his career at ITS, he served as the Deputy Chief Technology Officer overseeing business application development for more than 57 executive agency clients as well as managing an 1,800+ strong workforce delivering mission critical services for New Yorkers. In his spare time, he serves as an Adjunct Professor at the State University of New York at Albany (SUNY), where he teaches data computing, networking and cloud computing to undergraduate students. Jenson holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Mumbai in India.

Mathan (Matt) Jebaraj is currently the Deputy Chief Strategy Officer, directing business value development and partnering with dedicated agency teams and ITS Shared Services to deliver products and enterprise solutions. Prior to that, Matt was the Exec Director for ITS PMO / BA Shared Services & Deputy Exec Director for ITS Workforce, Public Service and Housing dedicated IT teams. Matt's previous role at New York State Education Department was Deputy CIO, leading multiple IT areas including Business Solutions. Matt has directed several large and complex programs and delivered enterprise products and has led multiple IT solution implementations in both public and private sector organizations. Balancing risk and innovation and leading in an evolving technical landscape has been a strategic focus in several of the initiatives directed by Matt, and he is passionate about mentoring others in developing leadership skills.

I enjoy taking apart tech problems and reassembling the parts into functional stuff that real humans can use. I'm a strong advocate of usable and accessible design first and fancy complex frameworks last. I believe that the web should be open and inclusive and promote the free and fair sharing of information. I am still fascinated by HTML and that people can just make websites. I'm passionate about accessibility engineering and making positive change in the world through technology. I’m lucky enough to do that currently as the technical director for NY.gov - the official website of New York State.

Suzanne recently joined the Product Development team within the NYS/ITS/DOH Dedicated Support team to manage business analysis activities for all efforts centered around the NYS Department of Health. 
Suzanne has supported other NYS agencies in efforts to build and implement new systems and applications, develop and manage teams of Business Analysts across NYS agencies, oversee Modernization and Cyber Remediation efforts, and acted as an advisor for business analysis activities on the Integrated Eligibility System (IES) Program.
Prior to that she acted as an Analyst for the Office of the Attorney General as part of the NY Matters Case Management development and as an Analyst for the NYMMIS (Medicaid Management Information System) project for the NYS Department of Health.  Suzanne has 25+ years of public and private sector IT Analysis experience including LexisNexis.
Suzanne holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Economics, and she is currently working on completing an M.A. in Learning with Emerging Technologies.
Suzanne is also an active member of the NYS Forum and has been a co-chair for the Business Analysis and Business Architecture Workgroup since 2019.
Suzanne has moderated previous NY IT Leadership Forums and NY Digital Summit Forums and is dedicated to supporting NYS.

Dr. Nadeem Malik is a Distinguished Engineer and Vice President of AI & ML Technologies at Kyndryl. With over 25 years of R&D experience, he drives the adoption of Generative AI and ML to transform operations across industries. He has filed 116 U.S. patents and authored 30+ publications. A recognized leader, Dr. Malik has held adjunct professorships at UT Austin, SUNY, and Cornell, and serves as a panelist for U.S. government research programs. His innovations span AI/ML, IT automation, security, and microarchitecture design, positioning Kyndryl as a key partner in enterprise modernization.

Carrie is known for her out of the box creative thinking, problem solving skills, being an advocate for customer success & driving sales to enable Cities & States to operate more efficiently. As a Breast Cancer Survivor, she never shy’s away from a challenge & focuses on the specific goals of the agencies to provide holistic solutions to prove Dell is the best Technology Partner in the business.

Teri Takai is the Chief Programs Officer for the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. Teri 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. .
Teri is a member of several industry advisory boards. She 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.

Unal Tatar joined the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity (CEHC) at the University at Albany in 2018 and is currently an assistant professor.
Dr. Tatar has been working on cybersecurity since 2004 in several capacities – as an engineer, a researcher and an academic. Most recently, he served as the head of the National Computer Emergency Response Team of Turkey (TR-CERT) where he coordinated national cybersecurity exercises and took part in the creation of the first national cybersecurity strategy.
He started his cybersecurity career at the National Cybersecurity Research Institute (NCRI), an affiliated institution of The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. He also had a chance to work in international organizations and initiatives such as the NATO Center of Excellence Defense Against Terrorism (COE-DAT) as an academic advisor. At NATO COE-DAT, he organized two workshops on cyber terrorism and prepared the curriculum for a course on terrorist use of cyber space. He participated in NATO Cyber Defense Exercises and developed some of the scenarios. Dr. Tatar carried out a research project with NATO Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence (CJOS-COE) for analyzing the cyber risks in maritime domain.
He is currently one of only two engineers in the 21-member Cyber Terrorism Project, a multidisciplinary, multi-institution project which facilitates debate on core questions relating to cyberterrorism.