Tanya Acevedo is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Capital Metro in Austin, Texas, with three decades of technology experience, Tanya Acevedo has a proven track record of establishing the technology vision and leading innovative strategies that add value, increase revenue opportunities, and ultimately decrease costs of service, for large organizations. Her prior roles included the CIO for Miami Dade College, Houston Airports and Travis County, Texas.
Tanya holds a Master of Business Administration in Information Systems and in 2021 Tanya was recognized as a Public Sector finalist by the Houston CIO of the Year ORIBE awards, in 2017 she was listed in Government Technology magazine as a Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Driver, and in 2016 she received the Texas Public Sector, Chief Information Officer of the Year.

Amina Al Sherif is a technical engineering lead in machine learning and generative AI at
Google. She immigrated to the United States in 2010 as a first generation Arab-American. She has spent twelve years in the Department of Defense serving as an Army officer in the
Reserves and North Carolina National Guard as a tactical cyber operator and cyber targeter.
Amina has previously worked as an early stage startup executive focused on artificial
intelligence innovation and product. Prior to her startup experience, Amina worked at Google as a Cloud Engineer bringing the innovation and power of Google’s capabilities to the
Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. She focused on big data and
machine learning, gaming and simulation, and data privacy and security in cloud computing
and analytics. Amina has worked with the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as an Arabic, Farsi, and French language enabled Open Source Exploitation Analyst at Fort Belvoir, VA and Fort Bragg. She deployed under Operation Inherent Resolve to Baghdad, Iraq in 2015/2016. In 2016-2017 she deployed to Afghanistan supporting the Special Operations Community. Most recently Amina deployed to Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Israel for a Special Missions Unit out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina supporting cyber-HUMINT operations. Amina holds a BA in Linguistics and Arabic from the University of Mississippi and a Masters in Professional Studies in Cybersecurity and Information Sciences from Penn State University. She is currently attending the University of Texas in San Antonio to pursue a career in astrophysics at the PhD level. She regularly blogs on Medium documenting her self-taught technical career. In January 2020, she published her first book An Approach to Machine Learning in Cyber Defense for the Department of Defense. She is also working on a three-part young adult fiction novel series and is currently contracted with Black Rose Writing for publication. She also blogs regularly on her website, https://www.aminaalsherif.camp.

Cody Autrey is the manager of the Cyber Risk Management Team and former Threat Intelligence Analyst for the Texas A&M University System Office of Cybersecurity and Tx-ISAO partner with Statewide Security Services. Cody served as a Combat Engineer in the United States Army and Tactical Explosive Detection Dog Handler during Operation Enduring Freedom. Following his military career, Cody worked for the U.S. Department of State as a liaison to the Iraqi Army’s intelligence division as a subject matter expert on hazardous explosive devices and human intelligence.
Cody has a bachelors’ degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Management from American Military University, and a graduate of Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service with Executive Master of Public Service and Administration.

John Azariah has worked in the technology sector for over 20 years and is a Solutions Engineer with Cloudera since 2019, during this time he has been helping government customers with their data management strategies including modernization , analytics and governance  with Cloudera's Hybrid Data Platform. Prior to Cloudera, John has also worked at Oracle and Accenture consulting where he was involved in architecting high performing data warehouses and mission critical business applications. He has also played instrumental consulting roles in large global platform modernization and digital transformation projects across various industry sectors. John holds an MS in Computer Science from Texas A&M university.

Wendy Barron serves as the Chief Information Officer of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV), a customer focused agency that provides motor vehicle services, including registration and titling, to the citizens of Texas. As the Department’s technology leader, Wendy is helping to build strategic partnerships across and outside the organization to deliver customer-centric motor vehicle services to the TxDMV constituents.
Wendy has managed information technology projects and operations at Texas government organizations for over 20 years. Her prior leadership roles include serving as the Deputy CIO of the TxDMV and leading the Information Technology Divisions of the State Office of Administrative Hearings and the Texas Water Development Board. In the early days of her career, Wendy served in various information technology roles including as a data analyst, systems analyst, and project manager.
Wendy has a BBA in Computer Information Systems and a Master of Public Administration, both from Texas State University. She is also a certified Project Management Professional.
In her off time, Wendy enjoys spending time with her husband and being a mom to her elementary-aged son. She also enjoys the outdoors and helping her family run their cattle ranch in the Texas Hill Country.

As a Director and Principal Architect at Cradlepoint, the global leader in cloud-delivered wireless edge solutions, Roger leverages his 35+ years of experience in network architecture and design to help lead the technical strategy group for 5G and AI within the company. He develops multi-vendor business solutions with a focus on cellular technologies, and explores and evaluates new and emerging technologies, such as next-generation SD-WAN, SASE, Private Cellular, AI, and the upcoming 6G technologies that will be deployed by network operators around the world. Roger's mission is to enable and empower enterprises and organizations to leverage the power and potential of 5G and beyond, and to create innovative and impactful solutions that transform the wireless edge.

Chris Bunton is a seasoned IT professional with over 20 years of experience and a passion for sharing knowledge.
Chris is a state IT Leader who has been sharing his real-life industry experience with IT professionals for over 20 years. He brings real-life industry and private sector experience, with an in-depth ability to apply technical concepts to reality. During the last 15 years, he has held Infrastructure Director and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) positions for the state. He currently serves as the Chief Information Officer for the Texas Department of Agriculture. He has also served on several advisory panels, including the Technical Advisory Panel for TxDOT, Security Advancement Forum for the Enterprise (SAFE) for DADS, and the Interview Panel for ACC's Provost. Additionally, he has been a part of the IT Leadership Committee, served on the Cybersecurity Counsel, and is a member of the Digital Government Advisor Board. Chris holds a bachelor’s in Computers Science degree and an Associates in Business Administration.
Chris enjoys sharing technical expertise to help people utilize technology for advancement. He has a passion for customer service and helps Texans!

Marie Cohan leads the Statewide Digital Accessibility Program at the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) working with Texas agencies and institutions of higher education to ensure they have the resources and tools needed to provide accessible technology to all Texans. For over 20 years, Marie’s experience includes managing technology projects and compliance programs, management consulting, and co-founding two ERP consulting firms. She has a BBA in Accounting and Management Information Systems from the University of Texas system and several professional certifications.

Mike Driessen is a Vice President for Government Technology and the Publisher for Industry Insider.  He is responsible for managing the strategy and operations for all recurring revenue services including GovTech Industry Navigator, a market and sales intelligence tool for private-sector SLED teams, and GovTech Industry Insider which provides daily news and insights into gov tech markets.   
Mike brings over 30 years of experience in IT consulting and systems integration with firms like Accenture, Grant Thornton and Hitachi Consulting.  His experience covers sales and marketing leadership, advising on digital strategies, and managing enterprise application alliances and implementations.  He has managed both large global teams and led start-ups. Mike lives in Los Angeles, although he grew up in the Midwest, and graduated from Marquette University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Business Administration.    

Elliot is a technical leader behind Tyler Technologies' initiatives on behalf of high-profile government organizations to help them manage, share, and explain their data more effectively. Elliot is an expert on cross-organizational data sharing, data analytics and visualization, and data standards. He also brings deep experience using data visualizations to help non-data savvy users understand data, and he trains government employees, developers and data scientists on how to use APIs and web visualization frameworks together.

Heather Hall serves as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Her 19-year state career includes serving as the Director for Strategic Decision Support at the Health and Human Services Commission, the Project Management Office Director, Deputy CIO and CIO at the Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS); Project Manager at the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts; and other roles within DADS, Department of Human Services, and Office of the Attorney General.
Throughout her career, Heather has volunteered her time and professional skills to several professional organizations including Project Management Institute (PMI), Austin Chapter (President, Vice President of External Services, and Professional Development Day Director); Executive Women in Texas Government (Vice President/Conference Chair and Communications Director); and State Agency Coordinating Committee, IT Subcommittee (Vice Chair and Chair).
Heather is a PMI-certified Project Management Professional and holds a bachelor’s degree in Latin from Baylor University, a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from The University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D. in Information Science from The University North Texas.

President, e.Republic

Dustin Haisler is the President of e.Republic - the nation's leading state and local government data, media, and events company - and the parent company of Government Technology, Governing, and the Center for Digital Government. He is also active in the academic and research community, serving as co-lead of the Center for Public Sector AI, an Eisenhower Fellow (2019 Zhi-Xing Program), board member of the Good Governance Worldwide Academic Journal, and Program Faculty for the Certified Public Management Program (CPM) at Texas State University.
As the former Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Assistant City Manager for the City of Manor, Texas, Dustin quickly built a reputation as an early innovator in civic tech. He pioneered government use of commercial technologies not previously used in the public sector, including open innovation, Quick-Response (QR) barcodes, crowdsourcing, and gamification. Recognized as one of the nation’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers for government technology, he was also named a Business Transformation 150 Leader by Constellation Research. His work has been featured in Wired, Fast Company, the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, the Today Show on NBC, The Economist, CNN, Fortune, and Citizenville by California Governor Gavin Newsom. Most recently, Dustin has led initiatives to help public sector agencies safely adopt and integrate artificial intelligence technologies through public speaking, research, training, expert testimonies, and the development of AI tools.
Dustin graduated Magna Cum Laude from LeTourneau University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and has conducted research with universities around the globe on incubating next-generation technologies in government, including the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University and the University of Trento, Italy. He is a frequent speaker and expert advisor who collaborates with Fortune 500 companies, investors, government agencies, academia, startups, and non-profits worldwide on the global govtech market, public sector technology trends, and artificial intelligence development.

Asim’s role as CTO is fueled by his vast experience in security, storage, and resilience. In his most recent roles he was integral to the implementation for The Common Application and complete migration of Harvard Business Review’s Primary and DR data center to AWS. He maintains a strong personal interest in frictionless technical designs focused on end-user happiness and employee satisfaction, still thinks that ‘Data Availability Architect’ (from his early days working with HPE) is the coolest certification title ever and is an ex-CISSP.

Kerrica has over 30 years of local government experience and for over twenty years she has successfully engaged leadership teams, stakeholders, customers, staff, and vendors to create innovative, customer driven, community focused technology solutions for the Austin community. 
As the Chief Information Officer for the City of Austin, she focuses on digital transformation efforts that will help the city modernize its technology portfolio and improve the digital experience for employees, the community and business operations. Additionally, her teams provide the core IT services that the City depends on daily.
Kerrica is a University of Texas alumna and she’s active in the Austin technology community serving as an advisor to the SIM (Society for Information Management) Austin Board of Directors and sits on the ACC Continuing Education IT Advisory Board. She was awarded the Statescoop Local IT Leader of the Year Award in 2023.

Devon Halley, a Principal at Deloitte Consulting, has dedicated his career to reimagining the interaction between people and technology. Over the past two decades, he has been deeply engaged in leveraging technology to drive positive change, with a particular focus on ethical considerations and design principles as technology continues to evolve. From national security to enhancing access to education and social services, fostering global connectivity, and improving digital accessibility, Devon's work has consistently centered on leveraging technology-enabled experiences to address complex challenges for his clients. Mr. Halley, who leads Deloitte's work in Digital Accessibility, is deeply committed to championing technology that serves the greater good, striving for solutions that not only function effectively but also contribute positively to society. Outside of Deloitte, Devon shares his expertise on design, technology, and ethics as adjunct faculty Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College, as well as serving as a guest lecturer at places such as the University of Virginia and Indiana University.

G joined Granicus in 2022 bringing 25 years of executive leadership in customer experience, success, and support with technology companies like Microsoft and Amazon who deliver world-class experiences serving billions of customers globally. An evangelist and thought leader, he is host of #GPoV on Linkedin Live, frequent keynote speaker, and advisory board member for CCW – world’s largest customer contact event series.

Richard is a senior CIRT analyst and threat researcher for DIR. He protects cybersecurity assets across the state by supporting cybersecurity incident detection, incident response activities, threat assessments, and provides actionable cyber threat intelligence.
Prior to joining DIR, Richard served as the Information Security Officer (ISO) for the Texas Office of Court Administration (OCA) where he was responsible for managing the information security program for OCA and numerous Judicial entities throughout the state.
He began his career in cybersecurity as a Communication and Information Officer with the United States Air Force. Richard has a Bachelor's of Business Administration from New Mexico State University and a Master of Art’s in Computer Resource and Information Management from Webster University.

Travis is a Texas Registered Professional Engineer, and a Sr. Distinguished Engineer within Dell’s Technical Leadership Community. His responsibilities include strategy, research, product development, and performance optimization with a focus in high impact technologies for mobile and fixed compute products. Travis is chair of Dell’s Client Patent Committee with 188 granted and pending patents. Travis is an active member of multiple standards bodies and organizations inclusive of AHSRAE, Green Grid, and represents Dell Client Organization on the ECMA TC 26 subcommittee. 
Travis leads a talented technical team of engineers, technologists, and key partners focused on pushing the boundaries of cooling, power, acoustics, and performance technology. Key innovations developed by Travis and team are inclusive of Dell’s Aerogel Insulation which was technology inspired from NASA and in partnership with W. L. Gore, graphene sheet and paint solutions utilized on Dell’s XPS mobile products, and new technologies pushing the boundary of performance such as carbon liquid crystal polymer blades and Dell’s Element 31 encapsulated liquid metal thermal interface material.
Prior to joining Dell, Travis had responsibilities leading Chatsworth Products data center research power and cooling laboratory focused on energy solutions. Travis was responsible for containment solutions and Data Center analysis and completed multiple data center infrastructure solutions from hardened cabinet containment systems for various military customers to major animation studios. 
Travis graduated from the University of Missouri Columbia with a Master of Science in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering with a focus in heat transfer, space flight control, and artificial intelligence. 

As an executive government advisor, Carlos is a public sector data practice subject matter expert who specializes in helping organizations leverage data to make informed, actionable decisions. He also works with Chief Data Officers, Geospatial Information Officers, and other data leaders to develop mission-driven data programs.
Prior to joining Amazon Web Services (AWS), Carlos gained 27 years of experience in federal and state government and higher education. Carlos was the first Chief Data Officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia. During his tenure, he helped former-Governor Northam, his executive team, and public health and emergency management professionals respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by leveraging data-driven intelligence products to help keep Virginians safe.
In Virginia, Carlos developed a statewide data program that leveraged the data trust as the legal framework to facilitate data sharing across public and private entities. The data program featured a secure cloud-based data sharing platform as the technical implementation of the data trust. He also established a centralized entity resolution service mapping individuals across multiple data systems supporting longitudinal studies. Carlos also provided an enterprise reporting system to facilitate the development and delivery of data-driven intelligence products to internal and external stakeholders. Lastly, he implemented the governance structure which facilitated engagement among leaders across the organization from agency data stewards to state senators in the data conversation.
Carlos also served as Chief Data Officer and Chief Enterprise Architect for the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration in Washington, D.C. Prior to these roles, Rivero worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami, Florida, as a physical scientist and as a research associate at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. This is where he developed a passion for geospatial information systems, ecological modeling, and data.
Carlos earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies from Florida International University. He received a Master of Science in Business Intelligence and Analytics from Saint Joseph’s University, focusing on database design, data management, business intelligence, big data, and data analytics.
Carlos enjoys traveling the US with his wife, daughter, and dogs in their RV and participates in outdoor activities everywhere he goes.

Anh Selissen serves as the Chief Information Officer at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) with a $500 plus million annual information technology portfolio. Anh has served as the Chief Information Officer for TxDOT since September 2019. In this position, Anh serves as a principal technology advisor to TxDOT’s Executive Director and the senior leadership team. She leads the department’s efforts to transform TxDOT by implementing smart technology solutions, promoting innovation, and strengthening TxDOT’s cybersecurity. She is responsible for transforming the agency’s technology services to exceed the expectations of the customers to meet the mission of the agency – Connecting you with Texas.
Anh has led information technology organizations in both the public and private sectors. She previously held positions as Chief Information Officer (CIO) at NuStats Inc., Director of Enterprise Systems at the University of Texas at Austin, and Deputy CIO at the Texas Comptroller’s Office. 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 about 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. Among several professional affiliations, Anh is on the AASHTO Transportation Technology Committee. She served two years as President of the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications, and IT Chair of the State Agency Coordinating Council.
Most recently in April 2023, Anh received a State Leadership of the Year award from StateScoop 50. In 2022, Anh was awarded the Trailblazer Award by the CIO Roundtable 2022. She was named one of the 2021 Boss Ladies by the non-profit, Austin Women in Technology. She received the 2021 IT Executive of the Year Award sponsored by Society of Information Management (SIM) Austin. In 2020 under Anh’s leadership, the Information Technology Division was awarded the TxDOT Grit Award for exemplary performance during the agency’s ransomware event. In 2019, she was the recipient of the Austin Women in Technology - Women in Tech Excellence Award also sponsored by SIM.

Located in Houston, Texas, Mr. Smock is a senior cybersecurity advisor and consultant with a career that spans more than 40 years. His experience includes senior leadership as well as operational roles for large, complex, life-mission critical security programs. Combining 17 years of operational experience as CISO with the NASA Space Shuttle Program, as well as 13 years as the head of Gartner’s Cyber Security Consulting Practice for North America Public Sector, he has conducted and led more than 2,000 operational security program evaluations as both practitioner and consultant across numerous industry verticals.
Mr. Smock holds CISSP, CISM, and PMP professional certifications, and has working knowledge of mapping security program outcomes to national and international government and industry standards and frameworks including: ISMA, FIPS, RMF, CMMC, PIV-ICAM, NIST CSF, NIST SP 800-series, CIS Top 20, ISO 27001, ITSG-33, and others.
Bob has degrees in Computer Science and Electronics Engineering from Texas A&M University, is a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps, a graduate of the US Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and an adjunct professor/industry advisor of cybersecurity for the University of Houston.

Adam Wengert leads Avanade’s global Legacy Modernization business and is excited at the opportunity to bring all of our experience, tools and resources to bear to help clients address the challenges and opportunities in their current technology estates. Adam scoffs at the idea that generative AI will make all tech debt go away with one well-worded prompt to a highly tuned LLM. At the same time, he wont be making saddles as we watch the Ford Model-T go by the window. His team is embracing, and out on the leading edge, of how to really integrate the amazing things that GenAI can do - like understanding legacy code bases and helping to create connections humans would struggle to see - while ensuring that things like code conversion happen deterministically with tools (like Avanade’s AMT platform) that are well-known and aren't going to hallucinate. Working closely with Microsoft on maximizing the value of their cloud ecosystem for our clients - Azure, Dynamics, PowerApps, and the transformative impact of Microsoft Fabric for a space like legacy transformation - and helping clients take advantage of the huge investments made with solutions like Copilot and Azure OpenAI - are all part of Adam and his team's focus. Adam’s hope is to help clients and our partners better understand their options and make great decisions for their businesses.