AI Gov

Dr. Gil Alterovitz is the inaugural Director of the National Artificial Intelligence Institute (NAII) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, represents the agency as a Responsible AI Official (RAIO), and is a bestselling author. He has a PhD in electrical and biomedical engineering from MIT. Throughout his career at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Dr. Alterovitz has led national and international collaborative initiatives for developing novel informatics methods and approaches for integrating clinical, pharmaceutical, and genomic information, from research to point-of-care.

As the NAII director, Dr. Alterovitz focuses on helping VA develop AI R&D capacity to help Veterans in the Office of Research and Development. The NAII also brought together 20+ offices to develop the VA AI Strategy. Dr. Alterovitz is also one of the core authors of The National AI R&D Strategic Plan produced by the White House Office of Science Technology.  In addition, he is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. He has produced over 80 peer-reviewed publications and three books in his research field. He has been an international Fulbright awardee twice- once to Canada and a second time to the UK as a Fulbright Scholar.

Taka Ariga is GAO’s first Chief Data Scientist and Director of the Innovation Lab. As an integral part of the Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team, he will help GAO develop and implement advanced analytical capabilities for its auditing practices. Prior to joining GAO, he held executive positions at Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked with audit, compliance, legal, and regulated entities.

Taka earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He is natively fluent in both Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. In his spare time, Taka is a serious amateur classical chamber musician (performing on cello throughout the Washington DC region), as well as a competitive tennis player.

Yll Bajraktari serves as the Executive Director of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI). Prior to joining NSCAI, Mr. Bajraktari was a Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow at the National Defense University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies on temporary assignment from the Office of the Secretary of Defense. While at NDU, Mr. Bajraktari planned and executed the first Artificial Intelligence seminar for rising military and civilian leaders. Mr. Bajraktari has worked for nearly a decade at the highest levels of U.S. national security advancing America’s security and interests. Prior to joining NDU, Mr. Bajraktari worked as the Chief of Staff to the National Security Advisor, LTG H.R. McMaster. In that capacity, Mr. Bajraktari led and directed action across the National Security Council, to best support and prepare the National Security Advisor to provide advice, options, and recommendations to the President. Prior to working at the White House, Mr. Bajraktari served for three years in a variety of leadership roles for the Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work. In that role, Mr. Bajraktari was instrumental in planning and executing the Third Offset Strategy, the Department of Defense’s signature strategic effort to strengthen the military’s advantage against future threats. Mr. Bajraktari also served as the Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff GEN Martin Dempsey where he provided policy input to prepare the Chairman for his role as principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council. Mr. Bajraktari served as the Country Director for India, where he successfully developed and executed major defense policy efforts to improve and deepen U.S. cooperation on military technology with India. Mr. Bajraktari began his career with the Department of Defense as a country director for Afghanistan, where he engaged key allies and partners in bilateral and multilateral forums to increase their troop contributions for the security mission in Afghanistan. Prior to entering government, Mr. Bajraktari worked on conflict and post-conflict issues at the prestigious U.S. Institute of Peace and Institute for Defense Analysis. Born and raised in Kosovo, Mr. Bajraktari holds a B.A. degree in International Relations from the George Washington University and a M.A. in Public Policy from Harvard University.

Dr. Jill Crisman is responsible for developing the Department-wide AI roadmap and unifying and coordinating the Department’s plans and investments to achieve a competitive advantage in AI. She will be emphasizing the engineering required to transform AI research into operational AI in collaboration with the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) and the Services. Dr. Crisman joins Research and Engineering after serving as the chief scientist at the JAIC where she, as part of the leadership team, helped to stand up the organization. Previously, she was the chief scientist at Next Century Corporation and a Program Manager at the U.S. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA). Dr. Crisman’s primary interest is in the field of machine perception, planning, and interfaces that significantly enhance human/machine collaboration. She holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, where her thesis created some of the first perception algorithms for selfdriving cars. Dr. Crisman was an Associate Professor and director of the Robotics and Computer Vision Systems at Northeastern University and a founding faculty member of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.

Brian R. Gattoni is the Chief Technology Officer for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Mr. Gattoni is responsible for the technical vision and strategicalignment of CISA data and mission services to manage risk to federal networks and critical infrastructure. CISA is the Nation’s risk advisor, working with partners to defend against today’s threats and collaborating to build more secure and resilient infrastructure for the future.

Previously, Mr. Gattoni was the Chief of Mission Engineering & Technology responsible for developing innovative analytic techniques and new approaches to technology insertion to increase the value of DHS Cyber mission capabilities. In 2015, Mr. Gattoni was named the DHS Systems Engineer of the Year. Prior to joining DHS in 2010, Mr. Gattoni served in various positions at the Defense Information Systems Agency and the United States Army Test & Evaluation Command.

Mr. Gattoni holds a Master of Science Degree in Cyber Systems & Operations Planning from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Lieutenant General Michael S. Groen assumed his current position as the Director, Joint Artificial Intelligence Center on 1 October 2020. As a member of the JAIC team, he leads the transformation of U.S. Joint warfighting and departmental processes through the integration of Artificial Intelligence.

Prior to this nomination, General Groen was assigned to the National Security Agency and served as the Deputy Chief of Computer Network Operations, leading this premier Computer Network Exploitation organization. In 2018/2019, he served as the Director for Intelligence, Joint Staff (J2) in direct support of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Joint Staff. He also served as the Vice J2. Prior to his Joint Staff assignments, General Groen served as the Director of Marine Corps Intelligence (DIRINT) where he championed the redesign of intelligence capabilities into a Marine Corps Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Enterprise (MCISRE).

General Groen has served in a variety of operational, ground, air, and naval units. His service has included Central America, the Western Pacific, the Philippines, the Balkans and Iraq, General Groen served afloat with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and supported aviation units in the U.S. and Okinawa. In 2003, he was assigned to the 1st Marine Division. He initially served as the Deputy Intelligence officer, then became the Intelligence Officer (G-2) in 2004. He has supported both conventional combat and counter-insurgency operations. General Groen was a principal in the redesign of Marine Intelligence to meet the emerging demands of the Global War on Terror. Later, General Groen served with the U.S. European Command as the Chief of Intelligence Planning for Europe and Africa. He was instrumental in transitioning intelligence processes into the Joint Intelligence Operations Center.

General Groen has commanded intelligence and operational units including the 3d Radio Battalion (conducting its first deployment to the Southern Philippines in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM) and the Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division in Camp Pendleton, California. He was also given additional duties as the Division’s Chief of Staff. As a perpetual change-agent, he has served as a Combat Development, Requirements, and Acquisition officer. He served as the initial Director of the Commandant’s Amphibious Capabilities Working Group (Capabilities), the Ellis Group (Expeditionary Futures) and as the Director of the Commandant of the Marine Corps Strategic Initiatives Group (SIG).

General Groen is a graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI with a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering. He has received multiple Master’s Degrees from the University of Southern California (Systems Management) and from the Naval Postgraduate School (Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics.) General Groen is a graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the Naval War College.

General Groen’s personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Combat Action Ribbon.

General Groen is a native of Michigan with three sons.

Bryan Lane has over 15 years of leading advanced analytics and technology initiatives. As a leader within the Data and Analytics CoE and co-creator of the Artificial Intelligence CoE, Lane advises federal agencies on establishing mature data governance and management practices, developing innovative approaches for leveraging data as a strategic asset, and laying the foundation for advancing data discovery, access, and use through artificial intelligence and machine learning. Prior to joining the CoE, Lane was a project manager for a commercial geospatial software company, an analytic consultant in the defense and national security industry, and assisted in managing a $750M rapid acquisition portfolio.

Moshe Levi, MD, is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Levi completed undergraduate training in chemical engineering at Northwestern University and received an MS in chemical engineering at Stanford University. He earned his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed his internal medicine internship and residency at Cornell University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital. He completed a nephrology clinical and research fellowship at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

Funded by numerous NIH grants including three R01s in progress or concluding this year, Levi’s research involves renal and cardiovascular complications of obesity, diabetes and aging; regulation of mineral metabolism; and applying new label free techniques for imaging lipids, inflammation, oxidative stress, metabolism, and fibrosis. He has co-author 200 manuscripts and nearly 40 book chapters, and has mentored more than 20 MD or PhD research trainees.

Prior to joining Georgetown, from 2002 to 2017, Levi was professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics, and bioengineering at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, where from 2005 to 2011 he served as Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Medicine with over 400 faculty members. He also served on the executive committee of the NIH CCTSI Microscopy Technology Core Lab and the Clinical and Translational Imaging Research Center, and as a member of the Center for Fibrosis Research and Translation. Earlier in his career, Levi practiced medicine at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dallas where he was chief of the nephrology section, and at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center from 1984 to 2002 where he was professor of internal medicine.

Levi has served on numerous study sections and associated grant review committees.

In 2013, he was appointed a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and recently concluded his service as its chair.

Levi continues to serve as an NIH National Advisory Committee member for the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics at the University of California Irvine, the O’Brien Center in Kidney Research at UT Southwestern Medical School and for the Beckman Laser Institute and UC Irvine.

Levi is a fellow of the American Heart Association, the American Society of Nephrology, and the American Physiological Society, and is a member of numerous professional associations where he has served in committees and leadership roles. Memberships include the American Physiological Society, the American Society of Nephrology, National Kidney Foundation, International Society of Nephrology, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Biophysical Society, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, American Society for Cell Biology, and the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease.

He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Diabetes, and American Journal of Physiology: Renal Physiology.

Levi is a married to a physician and is the father of two young adult children.

Jim Richberg’s role as Fortinet’s Field Chief Information Security Office for the Public Sector and Vice President of Information Security leverages his 35 years’ experience leading and driving innovation in cybersecurity, threat intelligence, and cyber strategy. During his US Government career, Mr. Richberg served as the National Intelligence Manager for Cyber, the senior Federal Executive focused on cyber intelligence within the US Intelligence Community (IC). He led creation and implementation of cyber strategy for the 17 departments and agencies of the IC, set integrated priorities on cyber threat, and served as Senior Advisor to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on cyber issues. He helped create and implement the multi-billion dollar whole-of-government Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI) that generated new government cyber capability and enhanced cybersecurity in the private sector and critical infrastructure under Presidents Bush and Obama.

Since joining Fortinet, Mr. Richberg has been named a “Fed 100” and a “Pinnacle” awardee for his influence on technology in the Federal government, a “StateScoop 50” leader for driving innovation in state IT, and was nominated as a “Security Pioneer” for his sustained contribution to cybersecurity. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Cybersecurity Leadership Community, the CNBC Technology Executive Council, and the Forbes Technology Council. He currently focuses on helping organizations manage risk and improve IT efficiency and security in the face of increasing operational complexity

Daniela Rus is the Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT. Rus’ research interests are in robotics and artificial intelligence. The key focus of her research is to develop the science and engineering of autonomy. Rus is a Class of 2002 MacArthur Fellow, a fellow of ACM, AAAI and IEEE, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is the recipient of the Engelberger Award for robotics. She earned her PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University.

Congresswoman Haley Stevens grew up in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and graduated from Seaholm High School in Birmingham. She earned a master’s degree in social policy and philosophy and a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy from American University.

Before being elected to Congress, Congresswoman Stevens served as the Chief of Staff to the U.S. Auto Rescue Task Force, the federal initiative responsible for saving General Motors, Chrysler, and 200,000 Michigan Jobs. She also played a key role in setting up the Office of Recovery for Automotive Communities and Workers, and the White House Office of Manufacturing Policy. After serving in the Obama Administration, Congresswoman Stevens worked in a manufacturing research lab focused on the future of work in the digital age.

Congresswoman Haley Stevens sits on the House Committee on Education & Labor, and the House Committee on Science, Space & Technology, where she also serves as Chairwoman of the Research & Technology Subcommittee. On these Committees, Congresswoman Stevens works to protect access to healthcare, promote manufacturing, expand educational opportunity, stand up for workers’ rights, and increase investment in critical research and development.

Congresswoman Stevens resides in Rochester Hills and attends Kensington Church in Troy.