Sherry Amos brings over 20 years experience to her role leading industry strategy for the Education and Government industries for Workday. She is responsible for working with customers, partners, and industry trend influencers to bring high-value, next-generation, cloud solutions to market. Prior to joining Workday, she led industry strategy teams for SAP for all Regulated Industries, including state and local government, education, federal government, utilities and healthcare. Sherry has also previously held executive positions with Oracle and Peoplesoft in strategy, product management, and marketing roles.

As CEO of Robocist, Jeff Barghout delivers strategic, market based solutions for the development, evaluation and adoption of mobility and robotic technologies.
Government agencies, universities, and businesses engage us to help them understand, plan for, and integrate connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, robotic systems - and the supporting infrastructure –solving problems efficiently and cost-effectively. Over the past 20 years, Jeff has been a successful entrepreneur, an engineer at Chrysler, assessed technologies for NASA, and served as vice president of Transportation Initiatives at a cutting-edge research and consulting firm. His work has placed him in high exposure environments where he has been continuously challenged to navigate the complex intersection of technology, market forces, regulation and the vast array of stakeholder opinions, perception and needs.

As Vice President of Cybersecurity Solutions at SAS, Stu Bradley provides business leadership and solution direction for SAS’ emerging cyberanalytics business, overseeing the sales, product management and product marketing functions. Previously, he was Senior Business Director for Security intelligence Solutions at SAS, where he managed SAS’ end-to-end strategy for development and delivery of fraud, financial crimes, cybersecurity, compliance and public safety solutions. He also provided subject-matter expertise on operationalizing security intelligence solutions to clients across six industries.
Bradley has 18 years of experience delivering solutions across industries to address clients’ most difficult business problems. Prior to SAS, Bradley was an executive manager for a leading global consultancy in the risk and regulatory space, where he delivered engagements to implement state-of-the art fraud solutions, global operations for client on-boarding and regulatory compliance, and regulatory risk platforms.

Steve has more than 20 years of client services experience partnering with Public and Private Sector organizations to help them transform business processes, drive innovative technology initiatives, and deliver return on investment for their software implementations. His extensive account management experience includes successful partnerships with New Orleans (LA), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Gainesville (FL), Metro Nashville & Davidson County (TN), Baton Rouge (LA), Raleigh (NC), Miami-Dade County (FL), Chattanooga (TN), Costco, General Electric, John Deere, Microsoft, Starbucks, and many others.
Steve is truly passionate about the customer experience, gets energized by bringing innovation and leadership to his partnerships, thrives on challenges, and knows great ideas and applications are fueled by data. Steve attended Central Washington University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He lives in Washington State with his wife and four children.

Phil Emer has spent 25 years working at the intersections of information technology, research, academia and business – splitting time between the public and private sectors. In the private sector Phil worked as an engineer with IBM, as a technology executive with venture-backed Carolina Broadband and with MCNC. In the public sector Phil directed voice, video, and data communications at NC State University and served as Director of Technology with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. He is currently Director of Technology Planning and Policy at the Friday Institute, where he has been a leader on the School Connectivity Initiative, the NC Education Cloud, and the NC Digital Learning Plan.
Phil has served on the NC eLearning Commission, the advisory board of the Institute for Next Generation IT Systems, and the architecture review board of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Currently, he serves on the Board of the Wireless Research Center of NC.
Phil earned a B.S. in electrical engineering at Virginia Tech and an M.S. in computer engineering at NC State University.

As VP for Public Sector Strategy, Tony Encinias heads up ViON’s efforts to design and implement enterprise-class IT solutions for governments and commercial customers. Tony most recently served as the CIO for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where he was also CTO (2008 - 2012). A retired US Naval Officer, Tony’s military career included service with the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Office for the CIO, DoN and DISA. Tony received the 2014 Government Technology Doer, Dreamer, and Driven Award, 2014 Computer World Premier 100 Technology Leader Award, and the 2014 StateScoop Executive of the Year Award.
Tony earned a Master’s degree in IT Management from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, a BA in Mathematics from the University of Colorado, a Masters Certificate in Project Management from the George Washington University, a Federal CIO Certification through Carnegie Mellon University and is a member of Drexel University’s MIS advisory board.

Before joining the School of Government in February 2009, Ferrell served as chief information officer for the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, Virginia. His efforts were recognized by the governor at the Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS) in 2004 for Technology Innovation in Higher Education. He also served as principal investigator for a three-year National Science Foundation grant that totaled $1 million, which focused on providing technology experiences for high school students. Previously, Ferrell was the IT director for the Danville Public School System. Ferrell earned an MBA from Liberty University, a bachelor's degree in business administration from Averett University, and an associate's degree in information technology from Danville Community College.

Tony Gillespie recently retired GS15 Assistant Chief of Staff G6 for Marine Corps Installations East. He has nearly 35 years of experience in the Marine Corps active duty and Civil Service. Gillespie was responsible for the Voice, Video, Data and Security for all USMC bases on the East Coast south of Quantico, VA., and the primary architect and Pilot for C2C for the Department of Defense.

Andy Laurence is a Solutions Strategist with a rich history in information technology stretching back to 1984. Andy has worked in a solutions development role for marquee vendors such as Hewlett Packard Company, EMC, Arrow Electronics and most recently SYNNEX. Andy focuses on the development of strategic solutions based on emerging and 3rd platform technologies including big data / analytics, private / hybrid cloud and infrastructure cloud automation.

Since 2004 Dr. Saeed has been serving as the Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University. He also serves as the Chief of Psychiatry at the 960-bed tertiary care academic medical center, Vidant Medical Center; the Director of the Center for Telepsychiatry at ECU; and as the Director of North Carolina Statewide Telepsychiatry Program (NC-STeP).
A 1982 medical graduate of Dow Medical College, Dr. Saeed completed his residency training in psychiatry at the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute, Chicago. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is also certified in Psychiatric Administration and Management by the American Psychiatric Association and holds a M.S. degree in Counseling and Psychotherapy.
Prior to his appointment at East Carolina University, Dr. Saeed served as Professor and Chairman, Department of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (1995-2004) where he was also the Clinical Director for the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Service NetWork of North Central Illinois, a state-operated Network serving people with serious and persistent mental illness in 23 counties and covering 1.5 million lives in north central Illinois.
Dr. Saeed was the founding Editor of the American Association of Psychiatric Administrator's Journal, Psychiatrist Administrator (2000-2010). He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Psychiatric Administration and Management (JPAM). He serves on the editorial board for the Academic Psychiatry and North Carolina Medical Journal. He is a fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists, a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Health, London. He also serves on the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP), a think-tank for psychiatry dedicated to shaping psychiatric thinking, public programs, and clinical practice in mental health. Last year Governor McCrory appointed him to the Governing Board of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine.

1LT Lester J Smith III is a currently serving as the Deputy for the North Carolina National Guard's Defensive Cyber Operations Element. 1LT Smith graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelors in mathematics and minor in Japanese in 2012, and upon graduating he commissioned into the Signal Corp for the Army National Guard. Since commissioning he has held the role of platoon leader, and executive officer for a communications company and has been the deputy for North Carolina National Guard state cyber team since February of 2014. 1LT has participated in multiple cyber wargame exercises at both the state and national levels and has exercise experience as a defensive team lead, an offensive team lead, and a lead planner and exercise controller.

In 2012 Kyle returned home to North Carolina to lead the development of an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Ecosystem as part of an effort to transition the state to a modern air transportation system. In the role as the NGAT Consortium Director at NC State University, Kyle is reaching across North Carolina to connect researchers and educators with industry and government offices that are preparing for future aviation capabilities. Kyle has spent his entire career researching, developing, testing, educating, and advocating for new aerospace and aviation technologies. Having seen the initial Space Shuttle launches from his backyard as kid, to standing on the flight line for a couple of the last SR-71 flights at NASA Dryden, to being a driving force in the domestic integration of UAS for civil and commercial operations, Kyle continues to be inspired by the science of flight and seeks to share those moments with those around him (especially his wife and young son!).

Jeff joined the Department of Information Technology in January 2015 and is General Counsel and Policy Director. His team provides legal and policy guidance to the agency that includes a key IT policy initiative at the Broadband Infrastructure Office (BIO). BIO provides guidance and resources to state and local leaders to facilitate the expansion, adoption, and use of broadband. His duties include overseeing the agency’s federal and state legislative outreach.
A native of Greensboro, Jeff has more than 20 years of experience as an attorney and public policy expert working at the state and federal levels on issues related to cybersecurity, homeland security, transportation security and critical infrastructure security and development.
Prior to joining DIT, Jeff was a member of the Legislative and Public Policy Group at Alston & Bird LLP in Washington, D.C. He previously served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and as Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration. He also served as Legislative Counsel to U.S. Congressman Vernon Ehlers, and as Assistant Majority Counsel for the Michigan House of Representatives.
Jeff earned his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from UNC - Chapel Hill and his J.D. from the Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan.

Maria brings to the State over 20 years of experience in Information Technology and cybersecurity. She served 20 years in the United States Marine Corps and retired as the Cybersecurity Chief/Information Assurance Chief for the Marine Corps. Since then, she has served in numerous security roles such as Certification and Accreditation (C&A) lead for the Multi National Forces – Iraq. There, her primary mission was to conduct Risk Analysis and apply Risk Management for systems and applications entering the Iraq Theater of Operations (ITO) and deployed in support of U.S. missions in Iraq. In addition to C&A, she provided security advisory services to Military Commanders, translating risks to solutions, and driving compliance.

Since then Maria has served in other notable roles, such as a Senior Security Engineer supporting the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) Software Integration Lab and Security Lead and Program Manager (contractor), to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA), Network Security Operations Center. There she oversaw and provided security infrastructure support, threat and vulnerability management and compliance to the EPA’s many disparate divisions across the continental Unites States. Maria was instrumental in helping the Agency through its security infrastructure upgrades and all other cybersecurity strategic initiatives.

Maria earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, University College (UMUC), in Information Systems Management. She also holds a Masters in Information Technology from UMUC. Maria’s personal honors include receiving the 2007 National Security Agency’s prestigious Rowlett Award for individual achievement in Information Assurance. Additionally, she received the 2008 Office of Secretary of Defense Certificate of Excellence for the implementation of an IA strategy for the Information Assurance Workforce. Maria’s currently holds the ISC2 CISSP, ISACA CRISC, National Security Agency IAM/IEM and ITIL v3 certifications.

Shannon Tufts designed and implemented the first local government Chief Information Officers Certification program in the nation and continues to run CIO certification programs for local and state government IT professionals. She created a National Certified Government Chief Information Officer program in 2007, in order to serve the growing needs of public sector IT professionals across the nation. Tufts has taught numerous courses on public sector information systems across the United States, including IT investment strategies, embracing technology, project management, and stakeholder engagement in technology-enabled government. She serves on several federal, state, and local government committees to promote the effective use of technology in the public sector. Her publications in the area of e-government and public sector information technology include Humanizing IT: Advice from the Experts with G. David Garson, numerous book chapters, and articles in Social Sciences Computer Review and Popular Government. She was named Albert and Gladys Coates Distinguished Term Assistant Professor for 2012–2014. Tufts earned a BA from UNC-Chapel Hill, an MPA from UNC-Charlotte, and a PhD in public administration with a concentration in public sector information systems from North Carolina State University.

Deanté Tyler joined Information Technology Services within the State of North Carolina in October of 2014. As a Technology Officer, he supports technology initiatives across several cabinet agencies. In addition, Deanté currently serves as the Deputy Director within North Carolina’s Innovation Center. In his role, he focuses on collaborative technologies, change management practices and fostering relationships with the State’s higher education programs. Prior to joining the State, Deanté consulted with companies overseas on how to improve their business models. Deanté earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from North Carolina State University and a Master’s Degree in Innovation Management from the Institut d’Administration des Entreprises Aix-en-Provence and North Carolina State University. He also holds a certificate in Innovation Management from Zhejiang University.