CyberScape: The Federal Cybersecurity Summit

Seth McKinnis is the Deputy Assistant National Cyber Director for Critical Infrastructure in the White House Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD). In this role, he leads policy and strategic efforts to secure America’s critical infrastructure against cyber risk.

Seth has previously led cyber strategy, operational planning, risk analysis, and critical infrastructure protection teams to address issues at the nexus of cyber and critical infrastructure. His most recent roles include serving as Chief of Strategy and Policy for CISA’s Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative and Chief of Future Plans for CISA’s cyber operational collaboration with interagency and private sector partners. Seth has led critical infrastructure and cyber defense efforts at CISA and the Department of Homeland Security since 2013, including CISA’s Shields Up, Cybersecurity Services and Tools, and risk analysis on the security of critical infrastructure systems.

Seth is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and a graduate of Patrick Henry College and the Naval Postgraduate School’s Emergence Program.

Carter Farmer is an accomplished technology executive with over 15 years of experience leading enterprise IT transformation in both public and private sectors. He most recently served as Director of IT Systems and Solutions at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), where he led major cybersecurity initiatives, modernized the organization’s identity and access management architecture, and oversaw strategic cloud infrastructure projects. Prior to USIP, he held a key IT leadership role at Amtrak, where he contributed to critical improvements in operational technology and service reliability for one of the nation’s largest transportation networks.

Carter began his career in the private sector, holding strategic roles at Telarix, a global telecommunications software company, and DISYS, a professional services and technology solutions firm. In these roles, he advised enterprise clients on system modernization, data security, and IT service delivery. Carter holds a B.S. in Information Systems Management, and a B.S. in Computer Science from Radford University and is currently pursuing an M.S. in Information Technology.

As CIO for the Environmental Protection Agency, Carter brings a pragmatic and mission-focused approach to technology leadership, prioritizing modernization, data integrity, and operational excellence to support the EPA’s statutory and strategic goals.

Mr. Adarryl M. Roberts was appointed to serve as the Director, DLA Information Operations (J6), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) on August 2, 2023.

As the Director, J6, Mr. Roberts is the DLA Chief Information Officer (CIO), responsible for coordinating and integrating policies, guidelines, procedures, and activities to ensure effective, efficient, and economical information technology (IT) planning, acquisition, and management in support of DLA and the Department of Defense (DOD) missions and objectives. He is responsible for the management and supervision of all DLA IT policies and planning, and investment management to include cyber resilience, technical architecture and infrastructure, emerging technology, research and development, data management, and IT acquisition program management throughout the Agency and DOD.

DLA is the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)’s logistics combat support agency, providing worldwide logistics support for the material and personnel readiness and sustainment of the Military Departments and the Unified Combatant Commands under conditions of peace and war. It also provides logistics support to other DOD components and certain Federal agencies, foreign governments, international organizations, and others as authorized.

Prior to his selection as CIO, Mr. Roberts was appointed to the Senior Executive Service and selected as the Program Executive Officer (PEO) DLA on November 4, 2019.

As the PEO, Mr. Roberts was instrumental in leading DLA’s Digital Business Transformation efforts to modernize, transform, and fundamentally change the way DLA provides value to our customers. He was the corporate provider of acquisition management services and provided overall direction and guidance for the development, acquisition, testing, systems integration, product improvement, and fielding for assigned DLA programs on behalf of DOD wide sponsors.

Before being appointed as the PEO, Mr. Roberts served as the Portfolio Manager, Enterprise Sourcing, Medical, and Contingency (ESMC), DLA Information Operations, Program Executive Office responsible for oversight and acquisition expertise across the life cycle in support of the DOD and DLA user communities for 16 programs and 35 applications. Prior to his tenure as the ESMC Portfolio Manager, Mr. Roberts held a variety of increasingly responsible positions at DLA, including Director of the Business Systems Center of Excellence (BSCoE) working with Industry IT Business System partners within DOD to look at innovative ways to develop and sustain business systems, and Program Manager of Wide Area Workflow (WAWF).

After graduating from Fayetteville State University, Mr. Roberts enlisted in the United States Air Force where he served as the equivalent to a civilian Contracting Officer for the 81st Contracting Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base. Upon separation from the Air Force, Mr. Roberts worked as a Functional Analyst Lead for contract writing at CACI, Inc. He then entered Federal service as a Procurement Analyst with Army Business Center for Acquisition Systems before transferring to the Business Transformation Agency in 2008 serving as DOD agency lead for Federal Procurement Data System Next Generation, and Deputy Program Manager of Federal Business Opportunities, and later Program Manager of WAWF.

Mr. Roberts holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Management from Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, NC and he is DAU certified at level three in Contracting. Mr. Roberts awards include the Air Force Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Ribbon, Outstanding Unit Ribbon, and Air Force Squadron/Group Company Grade Officer of the Year.

Pavan Pidugu was sworn in as Chief Digital & Information Officer of the U.S. Department of Transportation on February 18, 2025. Pavan is a visionary and results-driven leader with over a decade of experience in carrying out technological innovations in the retail industry for global players such as Target, NCR, and Walmart, prior to joining the federal Government in 2020. Pavan is a transformational leader who believes technology alone will not solve anything, but instituting People and Processes with Technology does its wonders, and he is an expert in integrating all three facets of transformation. Pavan has led the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), an agency within the Department of Transportation, as the Chief Technology Officer, where he radically transformed how technology is developed and delivered in a federal institution. Pavan has built a strong reputation in innovation and leadership in technology and received many awards, including the World 100 Technology Leaders 2024 award for his contributions to the technology landscape.

With more than 20 years of experience technology and leadership, Pavan pioneered innovative tech solutions for large retailers and achieved millions of dollars in revenue and cost savings for businesses. A few of his accomplishments include:

• Defining an outcome-oriented digital strategy and roadmap for FMCSA to serve carriers, commercial vehicle drivers, and law enforcement agencies to enforce safety in CMV transportation.
• Led transformation of Walmart’s digital customer and omnichannel experience in the stores internationally and championed transforming “Ways of Working” by instituting design thinking and product management principles in technology development.
• Driving change with a comprehensive thought process and fact-based decision-making while managing the delivery of new capabilities for a global point-of-Sale system at Walmart.
• Launching an offshore IT development center in India that grew from 5 to 500 employees in two years at Target.
• Developing omnichannel product roadmaps and implementing strategic solutions for NCR’s retail customers.

Pavan constantly seeks to add technology-driven business value and guide companies to be future-proof with people and processes. Pavan strongly believes in aligning technology strategy with business priorities and growing the next generation of leaders.

Benjamin Koshy serves as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this critical role, he is responsible for safeguarding the comprehensive health service delivery system that serves approximately 2.6 million American Indians and Alaska Natives across 574 federally recognized tribes in 37 states.

Mr. Koshy’s career at the IHS spans several years, demonstrating a deep commitment to public service and cybersecurity. He began his journey in 2009 as a help desk analyst, gaining foundational insights into IT operations. His dedication and expertise led him to join the security team as an information systems security officer, and he later spearheaded the agency’s incident response efforts before ascending to the CISO position.

Prior to his current role, Mr. Koshy also contributed his expertise as a consultant with Deloitte, where he provided cybersecurity support to a diverse portfolio of federal and commercial clients. This experience has equipped him with a broad understanding of cybersecurity challenges and solutions across various sectors.

Academically, Mr. Koshy holds a Master of Science in Cybersecurity and a Master of Business Administration, reflecting his comprehensive understanding of both the technical and strategic dimensions of information security. He is also a highly certified professional, holding several IT security certifications including the (ISC)² Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and EC-Council’s Certified Network Defense Architect (CNDA).

In recognition of his significant contributions to the field of cybersecurity, Mr. Koshy was honored with the (ISC)² Global Achievement Award in 2022.

Manuel “Manny” Medrano has over 20 years of experience, 13 years with Department of State. He has contributed to many technology modernization efforts in the Secretary of State’s office. He now leads State’s Office of Cyber Monitoring and Operations. Manny has served in this role since 2022, defending State’s networks and systems against advanced and persistent cyber threats. His duties include overseeing cyber monitoring, incident response, penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and designing, engineering, and operating State’s cybersecurity defense systems. Previously, as Deputy Division Chief for Cyber Threat Intelligence, Manny was integral to the pursuit of actionable, outcome-based intelligence and partnering with private industry.

Jennifer Franks directs the Center for Enhanced Cybersecurity within GAO’s Information Technology and Cybersecurity team. She oversees reviews that primarily focus on emerging cybersecurity issues and assessing an agency’s ability to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its sensitive data and computing infrastructure. Her multi-disciplinary teams actively review agencies’ computer security vulnerabilities across their enterprise-wide computing environment by assessing program management compliance and technical controls recommended for the agencies to follow in accordance with federal guidance and leading practices. In addition, she leads reviews in the areas of IT management and operations, financial management, healthcare and public health IT, data protection, and privacy.

Further, Jennifer serves as the Acting Director of the Analytics Foundry; a dedicated cloud computing environment that manages GAO’s complex analytical functions.

Jennifer earned a master’s degree in information security policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University and earned a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from Hampton University.

Ms. Rosa Underwood is the Senior Cybersecurity Advisor within Information Technology Category (ITC), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), supporting the transition to a more modernized and resilient infrastructure. She also contributes to GSA initiatives for the adoption and integration of cybersecurity into the acquisitions process to help strengthen the resiliency of the supply chain, government-wide.

Rosa has an extensive background in IT and telecommunications with many years of profound experience from various roles in the private sector. Before joining GSA, she was a contractor supporting the implementation of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program at the Dept. of Commerce. In her role as a Senior Systems Engineer at Juniper Networks, Rosa focused on idealistic solutions for compliance with Federal and international standards for hardware and software, including cryptographic module validation programs, across routing, security, and switching platforms. Much of Rosa’s expertise comes from her tenure at Verizon Communications where she spent over 10 years of her career in Verizon Labs as a Subject Matter Expert (SME). Using her technical knowledge, Rosa crafted innovative solutions that led to 22 patents granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The depth of her experience includes roles in governance, risk, and compliance (GRC); project management; network operations; customer service; hardware and software testing; and systems integration.

Rosa’s professional experience is complemented by degrees in Internetworking Technology, Telecommunications Engineering, and Optoelectronics Engineering. She holds several professional certifications in cybersecurity, project management, and cloud technology. Rosa is a recipient of the 2024 Federal 100 Awards, presented to government, industry, and academic leaders who have played pivotal roles in fostering IT modernization and innovation, government-wide. She was named a winner of MeriTalk’s 2023 Cyber Defenders Awards which recognizes individuals in government and industry who drive innovation, advance the nation’s cybersecurity, and who have made significant contributions across cyber programs in Federal IT.

Sai Sravan Cherukuri is a DevSecOps and infrastructure engineering leader specializing in Windows Server build standardization, security hardening, and compliance automation. He focuses on embedding federal control requirements directly into platform architecture, transforming accreditation from a documentation exercise into an engineered, continuously measurable capability.