AI Summit

Susan Davenport is the Chief Data and AI Officer for the Department of the Air Force.

Dawn Zimmer was appointed in November 2025 as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In this role, she leads DOE’s enterprise information technology and cybersecurity initiatives, ensuring that DOE’s systems are secure, efficient, and innovative. Dawn plays a pivotal role in aligning DOE’s IT modernization efforts with its broader mission priorities, including transformative technology programs that advance U.S. energy security and innovation.

With over 25 years of experience and a proven track record of excellence across government, academia, and the private sector, Ms. Zimmer brings a deep understanding of how to build and sustain high-performing technology organizations. Before joining DOE, she served as Executive Director of IT Engagement & Experience at Virginia Tech, where she led university-wide initiatives to enhance digital service delivery and user experience. Her federal experience includes senior leadership roles at the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Justice, where she advanced enterprise IT modernization, strengthened cybersecurity resilience, and established user-centered service frameworks.

She is widely recognized for her strategic vision, collaborative leadership style, and ability to bridge technology and mission objectives.

Chris Kraft is a seasoned executive and technology leader with extensive experience driving transformational change across the public and private sectors. Currently serving as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the U.S. Secret Service, he oversees enterprise IT operations, software, and cybersecurity, managing a $100M annual budget and a workforce of 400 personnel. In this role, he has implemented initiatives to streamline operations, enhance service delivery, and align technology with mission-critical priorities, including advancing the agency’s adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) for protective operations.

Prior to his current position, Mr. Kraft held several senior leadership roles at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including Acting Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Deputy CTO for AI and Emerging Technology. He led enterprise-wide AI adoption, deploying DHS’s first generative AI platform, DHSChat, and establishing the DHS AI Corps, the largest dedicated federal AI team. His efforts in AI governance, workforce enablement, and modernization have positioned DHS as a leader in responsible AI innovation.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Kraft served as Assistant Administrator for Financial Systems at FEMA, where he modernized financial systems and introduced robotic process automation (RPA) to enhance efficiency. In the private sector, he held executive roles at SiriusXM, leading large-scale financial system integrations and IT transformations. Mr. Kraft holds a Juris Doctor from The George Washington University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Decision Sciences/Management Information Systems from George Mason University.

Sonny Bhagowalia is the CIO at the CBP.

Moksh Jawa serves as the Chief Technology Officer for the U.S. Department of Commerce. In this role, he provides Department-wide technology leadership, guides the adoption of emerging technologies, and advances strategies to modernize systems and improve digital service delivery. Moksh works across Commerce’s bureaus and operating units to strengthen the Department’s technology capabilities, ensure its investments support mission priorities, and bring a technical perspective to its broader work on AI and other critical technologies.

Before joining the Department of Commerce, Moksh worked as a software engineer at Retool and held engineering roles at Nuna, Facebook, and Two Sigma. His experience spans software development, AI, entrepreneurship, and technology strategy. He is particularly interested in the intersection of technology, business, and effective government.

Moksh is also committed to expanding access to computer science education. While in high school, he created Decoding AP Computer Science A, a 450-page textbook and nearly 11-hour online course designed to make AP Computer Science A accessible to over 100,000 self-directed learners to date.

Moksh graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Master of Science in Engineering in Computer Science from Penn Engineering, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School. At Penn, he was selected as a Wharton graduation speaker and received the Cane Award for his contributions to the Class of 2021. Moksh later earned a Master of Global Affairs from Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman Scholar, focusing on semiconductor and AI policy.

Jesus Caban is the CDAO at the DHA.

Amy Ritualo serves as Acting Chief Data and AI Officer and Managing Director of the Center for Analytics at the U.S. Department of State. With over 21 years of federal service, she is a senior executive specializing in data analytics, artificial intelligence, strategic planning, evaluation, and policy analysis. She leads cross-functional teams and drives organizational transformation through innovative technology solutions, with expertise in advancing data-driven decision making and implementing generative AI technologies. Previously, Amy served as Deputy Chief of the Office of Performance and Quality at the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) where she managed several enterprise-wide portfolios, including forecasting and modeling to inform agency resource allocations and statistical reporting on immigration benefits. Amy also managed and set standards for research and evaluation of multimillion dollar school feeding, agricultural development, and trade programs in the Foreign Agricultural Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Quentin T. McCoy is an innovative Federal Acquisitions expert with 20 years of experience in public health, defense, security, and intelligence acquisitions, and over 25 years of public service. Mr. McCoy is Executive Director for the Office of Mission Acquisition Solutions, within the Office of Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources (ASFR) at HHS. In this role Mr. McCoy oversees the procurement operations of HHS Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions and provides enterprise-wide procurement solutions for HHS common IT and Professional Services essential to advancing the department’s health mission.

Prior to his current role, Mr. McCoy has been at the helm of federal cyber, AI, and emerging tech adoption missions – establishing and leading procurement organizations across the Department of Defense. Mr. McCoy began his acquisition career at HHS’s National Institutes of Health supporting its nationwide health missions.

Mr. McCoy is a University of Tennessee alum (Go Vols!), holding an MBA in Aerospace and Defense, a BS in Accounting – Strayer University, AAS in Business Administration – Prince George’s Community College, and is FAC-C certified in Contracting.

Anna Steers-Smith is Senior Advisor to the Chief Data and Super Intelligence Officer at NASA, where she works on the practical problems of making SI usable across a large, decentralized agency. She ran the evaluation and rollout planning for NASA’s enterprise SI chat service, now used by more than 11,000 people, including the cost modeling that set the agency’s token entitlements, and she supports implementation of NASA’s new Data and SI Directive and the enterprise data and SI platform behind it, which is meant to give users and systems programmatic access to the agency’s data, software, and models through a single front door. She also works on SI governance, cross-agency partnerships with USDA, GSA, and the Army, and the question of which tools belong at the enterprise level and which belong to the missions. Before joining NASA in 2025, she spent over a decade as a statistician at the USDA.

Matheus Passos is a Senior Advisor for Technology and Strategy at the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC).

In his current role, Matheus serves as the designated Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) Lead for the Department, directing the Commerce Quantum Information Science and Technology (QIST) Program and overseeing Department-wide governance, integration, execution, resource coordination, reporting, and risk management for Commerce responsibilities in quantum information science and technology and post quantum cryptography. Matheus also advises the Department on emerging and frontier technologies, artificial intelligence, and technology strategy, and is a recipient of the 2026 Federal 100 and 2025 MeriTalk AI Honors Awards, as well as a finalist for the 2025 FedScoop 50 Award.

Prior to his current role, Matheus served as the Department’s Chief Technology Officer, providing direction and oversight to the Enterprise Architecture and Strategy, Emerging Technologies and Innovation, and Customer Experience Design & Digital Delivery directorates, in a concerted effort to drive the enterprise towards a OneCommerce future state.

Matheus is an experienced technologist with over 18 years of experience in the fields of strategy and execution, providing leadership in the areas of IT strategic planning, capital planning and investment management, project and program management, process and performance improvement, budget formulation and execution, federal statutory compliance, and government-wide policy development and advocacy.

Matheus holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Information Systems from Stevenson University and a Juris Doctor degree from The Catholic University of America, where his research focused on efficient and ethical government contracting. A strong believer in lifelong learning, Matheus holds a variety of professional accreditations and certificates, including the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional, Technology Business Management Council’s Certified Technology Business Management Executive, Federal Acquisition Institute’s Contracting Officer Representative, and George Washington School of Business’ Certified Project Manager.

Matthew Such is currently an Acting Assistant Commissioner for Patents at the USPTO, where he leads strategic technology initiatives that strengthen operations of the Patents business unit to advance the mission of the agency. Since joining the Senior Executive Service in 2018, he has also served as a Group Director overseeing patent examination operations in optics and semiconductors, as the Patents IT Product Line Lead, directing the delivery of innovative information technology solutions for the Patents business unit and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and most recently as the Director of the Office of Information Technology for Patents. Mr. Such has been a driving force behind the USPTO’s journey on artificial intelligence from its earliest stages, guiding the creation and deployment of AI tools for operations.

With over two decades dedicated to the USPTO’s mission, he has leveraged his deep technical expertise to modernize operations, boost efficiency, and enhance the quality of patent examination, delivering transformative solutions across the agency. As a result, Mr. Such has been recognized for numerous awards, including a Department of Commerce Gold Medal for Leadership, a Department of Commerce Gold Medal for Scientific / Engineering Achievement, and a Department of Commerce Chief Acquisition Officer’s Award for Excellence in Acquisition. He holds degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Purdue University and Northwestern University and began his career in the private sector before joining the agency in 2005.

Mr. Derek Herbert was appointed Chief Production Officer in 2026. In this role, he serves as a principal advisor to the Under Secretary for Benefits and provides executive leadership and strategic direction for initiatives that strengthen operational performance and ensure the timely and accurate delivery of benefits to Veterans and their families.

Mr. Herbert leads enterprise investment coordination with the Office of Information and Technology and oversees claims-processing support operations through one of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ largest government-industry partnerships, valued at more than $4.7 billion. He also leads the ongoing digital transformation of claims processing, by leveraging emerging technologies and integrating business capabilities to improve accuracy, efficiency, and service delivery.

These efforts have reduced processing times, enhanced the claims experience for Veterans, and advanced the Department’s broader modernization and transformation priorities.

Ms. Michelle M. Kerchner is a results-driven, civic-minded senior leader serving as the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer for Infrastructure Services and Support (ISS) within U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Information and Technology (OIT). Leading an organization of over 1,900 personnel and a $330 million annual budget, she guides large, complex technical teams through rapid technological enhancements. Since stepping into this role in 2022, Ms. Kerchner has focused on optimizing organizational productivity, enhancing operational effectiveness, and empowering workforce collaboration to ensure the seamless execution of CBP’s 24x7x365 national security mission.

Demonstrating a forward-leaning vision for technological advancement, Ms. Kerchner established a dedicated Emerging Technology Team in early 2026 to safeguard and strengthen national security and public safety. This specialized unit identifies and cultivates cutting-edge technologies that commercial markets have yet to explore, accelerating the deployment of proven innovations to give frontline officers a decisive advantage in speed, precision, and safety. Under her leadership, the team has executed game-changing proofs of concept (PoCs) and operational assessments, most notably orchestrating a rapid six-day procurement to deploy an operational assessment of advanced hardware for real-world testing during the FIFA World Cup semi-finals in Atlanta, Georgia, demonstrating an exceptional ability to transition innovative concepts into immediate operational capabilities.

Prior to her current role, from July 2020 to April 2022, Ms. Kerchner served as the Chief Business Operations and Acquisitions Officer for OIT’s Enterprise Data Management & Engineering Directorate (EDMED), managing a 609-person organization and a $261 million budget. During this period, she played a critical role in high-stakes national missions, including driving the operational IT outcomes for Operation Allies Welcome—the largest airlift in U.S. history—and leading EDMED’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic by standing up 24/7 Incident Command Centers. Grounded in an unwavering commitment to the American Rule of Law and fiscal accountability, Ms. Kerchner is a graduate of the DHS Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, holds a Master’s Certificate in Project Management from The George Washington University, and continues to advance CBP’s mission through strategic innovation and executive excellence.

Omar Bouaichi is a global technology executive with more than 30 years of experience leading IT strategy, Big Data, Data Lakes and digital transformation. As Head of Emerging Technologies and Innovation at Ginnie Mae, he drives the adoption of next-generation capabilities, including Super Intelligence, large language models, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), machine learning, low-code platforms, and blockchain.

Known for his expertise in complex data ecosystems and large-scale program management, Omar applies ITIL, COBIT, and TOGAF frameworks to deliver secure, scalable enterprise solutions. He has led major technology initiatives for PwC, Fannie Mae, IBM, and CACI, as well as U.S. federal agencies.

Kyra M. Stewart is the Director of the IT Vendor Management Office (ITVMO) within the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS). As the lead of the government-wide program, chartered by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Chief Information Officers and Chief Acquisition Officers Councils, Kyra addresses IT acquisition challenges through innovative strategies.

As Director, Kyra spearheads the application of technology, procurement, and process improvement best practices to advance Category Management goals. This includes modernizing government procurement of common goods and services, ensuring optimal pricing, and eliminating contract duplication. She also leads GSA’s OneGov IT Strategy, a governmentwide initiative supporting Executive Orders on Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement and on Ensuring Commercial and Cost-effective Solutions in Federal Contracts, and focused on streamlining IT procurement to achieve greater savings and improved outcomes for agencies.

Kyra is instrumental in leveraging government data and enterprise resources to enhance vendor management and IT acquisition practices, informing $100 billion in annual federal IT spend. ITVMO, under her leadership, facilitates industry and government collaboration to provide agencies with meaningful acquisition intelligence, enabling faster and smarter IT buying decisions.

Prior to her role with ITVMO, Kyra led the Technology Business Management (TBM) Program Management Office (PMO) at GSA. She drove TBM implementation across the federal government, enhancing cost transparency and data-driven decision-making for the over $90 billion spent annually on federal IT. In partnership with OMB, the TBM PMO identified best practices, understood agency needs, and established relevant guidance and policy.

Kyra joined GSA as a White House Leadership Development Program Fellow, where she joined the Federal IT Spending Transparency Cross-Agency Performance Goal team, supporting the President’s Management Agenda. Before GSA, Kyra served as the Director of Innovation at the Department of Transportation (DOT), leading the IdeaHub Program, an online ideation platform. IdeaHub, the largest ideation platform in the federal sector, enabled DOT’s 55,000 employees to propose process improvements. The program contributed to DOT’s recognition as a Top 10 Best Places to Work in the federal government and was recognized as a Top 25 innovation in government by Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Kyra holds a Master of Public Administration from American University’s

Greg Dodson serves as the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Administration at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). His leadership responsibilities include oversight of the Trademark organization’s information technology enterprise, internal and external customer experience and support, personnel and workforce programs, administrative and executive staffing, and budgeting and financial planning.

The fourteen distinct lines of business under Mr. Dodson’s oversight underpin the Commissioner for Trademarks’ goal of ensuring outstanding cross-functional support. He drives organizational focus on capability analysis, innovation, development, management, and data quality, and by developing and deploying a cutting-edge, end-to-end IT enterprise. Of particular current importance is Mr. Dodson’s critical responsibilities with regard to super intelligence and emerging technologies, and their integration into every applicable functional area.

Prior to joining the USPTO, Mr. Dodson worked for General Dynamics Information Technology, where he supported IT services to the U.S. Department of Defense. Before that, he was a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, holding commands in the United States and while deployed.

Mr. Dodson holds a BS in management information systems, an MEd in international relations, and an MS in national resource strategy.

At U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Dr. Edward J. Mays currently holds the Senior Executive Service position of Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC), Infrastructure and Support Services (ISS), Chief Enterprise Infrastructure Officer (CEIO), and Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) for the Office of Information and Technology.

Dr. Mays has over 30 years of experience in delivering IT business systems, applications, and infrastructure in the Marine Corps, industry, and the federal government. Dr. Mays (Colonel USMC, Ret.) served many years working with Information Technology (IT) and Software Development for logistics and intelligence programs supporting the U.S. Marine Corps operational forces. He created a major Marine Corps logistics system used in the Marine Corps for over 25 years and is a veteran of numerous combat actions across the globe. In 2008, Dr. Mays became the Director, Effects Based Operational Assessment for Multinational Forces, Al Anbar, Iraq, where he played a substantive role in the return of Anbar Province to the government of Iraq. He also served in the U.S. Operations in Afghanistan, delivering IT capability, and supporting the Afghan National Acquisition Agency.

Dr. Mays earned a Bachelor of Science from University of Florida and a Master’s Degree in Information Technology from the University of Southern California. Additionally, he attended the Naval Postgraduate School and earned a Master’s Degree in Computer Science with a focus on artificial intelligence and robotics. He also obtained a Doctor of Information Technology from Capella University in 2020.

In 2016, Dr. Mays was selected as the Executive Director for the Enterprise Data Management and Engineering Division in OIT. In this role, he engineered cost effective, secure, and reliable IT solutions, and built the framework for Cloud computing at CBP.

In March 2022, Dr. Mays was appointed as the Deputy Assistant Commissioner for OIT’s Infrastructure and Support Services organization which combined three infrastructure organizations under his purview. The organizations have an enterprise focus: Field Support
Directorate (FSD), Enterprise Infrastructure Operations Directorate (EIOD), and Enterprise Cloud Services Division (ECSD). The new organizational structure created internal efficiencies executed the new ECSD to complete CBP’s migration to the Cloud more affordably, effectively, and securely. Ultimately providing a modern, reliable IT infrastructure (Cloud, Networks, Mobility, etc.) and 24/7 year-round support services serve as the backbone for technology solutions that deliver critical capabilities at the speed of mission.

Dr. Mays also serves as the OIT Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE), aligning IT investments (digital services) across the overall IT Portfolio. He has served at levels allowing him to excel as

The Chief Enterprise Infrastructure Officer (CEIO), bringing IT Service Management, IT Operations Management, IT Service Delivery (automation focused – digital services delivery), Technology Business Management, and the Agile Methodology together in a synergistic manner to meet the complex CBP mission.

In January 2024, Dr. Mays was presented with the 2023 Federal 100 award, a prestigious honor awarded to leaders in the federal IT community to those who have made the greatest impact. He was selected from a panel of government and industry senior executives resulting from the difference he’s made in the way IT is used to advance vital government missions.

Dr. Craig Schlenoff currently serves as the Chief of the Super Intelligence (SI) Research, Measurement, and Standards Division and the Senior Advisor for SI in the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In this role, he advises the ITL Director and other NIST senior management on trends in SI and how NIST can best position itself to enable U.S. industry to lead in SI innovation. Prior to this, Dr. Schlenoff served as the NIST Acting Deputy Associate Director of Laboratory Programs (ADLP), where he advised the ADLP, provided operational guidance for NIST’s scientific and technical laboratory programs across six laboratories, led program and budget development, and coordinated interagency and outreach activities, accelerating U.S. innovation. Prior to this, Dr. Schlenoff served as the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s (OSTP) Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) National Coordination Office. In this role, he coordinated $11B of Federal Government IT R&D to identify, develop, and transition into use the secure IT, high-performance computing, networking, and software capabilities needed by the Nation, and fostered public-private partnerships that provide world-leading IT capabilities. He also served as the co-chair of the NITRD AI R&D Interagency Working Group, where he led the development of the 2023 AI R&D Strategic Plan Update.

Michael Donovan serves as the Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence for the U.S. Marine Corps, where he advises senior leaders on enterprise cyber risk and the implications of artificial intelligence for cyber defense.

He is also a Marine Corps Artificial Intelligence Research Fellow and the architect of Artemis, an AI-enabled cyber investigation system designed to conduct end-to-end investigations across large-scale enterprise telemetry. His work focuses on the practical challenges of deploying AI in operational environments, including security, reliability, data access, human oversight, and secure software delivery. He is also exploring agentic AI approaches for vulnerability discovery, validation, and remediation within existing DevSecOps processes.

Michael holds a Master of Science and Technology Intelligence from the National Intelligence University, with concentrations in Data Science and Cyber Intelligence, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Nick Marinos serves as the Managing Director of the Information Technology & Cybersecurity team at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Nick leads a team of over 200 IT and cybersecurity professionals who examine the federal government and make recommendations on how it can improve IT management practices; ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of IT acquisitions and operations; adopt IT management best practices; protect individual privacy and sensitive data; strengthen cybersecurity and protect information systems; and develop and execute a comprehensive national cybersecurity strategy.

GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the “congressional watchdog,” GAO examines how taxpayer dollars are spent and provides Congress and federal agencies with objective, reliable information to help the government save money and work more efficiently.

Nick joined GAO in 2002. Over the course of his career, Nick has testified over a dozen times as an expert witness before congressional committees and has led his team’s major reviews of:

• Efforts by the executive branch to implement the National Cyber Strategy
• Cybersecurity risk management practices at major federal agencies
• Data protection practices at the Department of Homeland Security, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Federal Student Aid office, and key financial regulatory agencies
• Cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, including within K-12 schools, the financial services sector, the nation’s electricity grid, and oil and gas pipeline sectors, among others

Please visit www.gao.gov to learn more about the work GAO performs across a vast array of topic areas in support of Congress.

Nick earned an MBA in information systems and technology and a bachelor’s degree in business information technology, both from Virginia Tech. Nick is a certified information privacy professional.

Dr. Sterling Thomas is GAO’s Chief Scientist in Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics.

Prior to joining GAO, he was the Chief Scientist at Noblis, a Reston, VA based research institute overseeing their applied research programs for the past 13 years. Sterling has also served as a principal investigator for research programs funded by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity. His work has included creating new methods regarding synthetic biology, strategies for decoupling qubits for improving error correction in quantum computing, methods for using artificial intelligence to detect decentralized coordinated cyber-attacks, and network-based optimization algorithms to detect abnormalities in public equities markets.

Sterling’s contributions have been recognized across industry including by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for best paper utilizing machine learning methods in detecting breast cancer, and at his former institute where he received the Science and Technology Achievement award. He has also been awarded four patents and has multiple pending patent applications. Sterling earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Life Sciences from VCU, a Master of
Business Administration from Columbia University, and Bachelor of Science from Old Dominion University.

Major Christopher D. Clark enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2008. His initial assignment was with the Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron Futenma, where he served as a Financial Analyst until 2010. He then moved to Marine Corps Forces Pacific, holding the position of Budget Chief until 2013, where he was responsible for overseeing financial transactions worth $38 million annually.

In 2012, Major Clark completed an Associate of Arts in General Studies at Hawaii Pacific University, which assisted in his selection for the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program. He continued his education at The Ohio State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Physics in 2016, followed by commissioning as a Communications Officer in the Marine Corps.

Major Clark served as the Staff Communications Officer (S-6) for Marine Aircraft Group 24 (MAG-24) from 2017 to 2021. In this role, he managed the communications requirements for the Group and its seven Squadrons in garrison, exercise, and deployment requirements across the Pacific Region to include multiple Marine Corps Rotational Forces Darwin deployments, exercises in South Korea and the Philippines, and Service Level Training Exercises as the Aviation Command Element S-6.

Major Clark obtained a Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management and Policy from the University of Maryland Global Campus in 2020 while working as the MAG-24 S-6, complementing his military duties and expertise in the field of information security.

Major Clark was then selected to attend the Naval Postgraduate School, graduating in 2023 with a Master of Science in Computer Science, specializing in Artificial Intelligence. For his thesis, he created a novel adversarial example attack using the A* Search algorithm that creates adversarial images that cause deep neural networks to misclassify images with minimal added noise. This thesis involved significant work in building, training, and attacking advanced machine learning models in white and black box settings.

Currently, Major Clark is the Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Information, Service Data Office Artificial Intelligence Lead Officer, a role that utilizes his extensive academic background and experience in the Marine Corps. He is the author of the USMC Artificial Intelligence Strategy, is leading the development of the USMC Artificial Intelligence Implementation Plan, and is a Doctor of Engineering in Artificial Intelligence candidate at George Washington University.

Captain Ryan T. Hetrick is a U.S. Army Cyber Officer serving within the Department of War’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, where he leads the Generative AI Task Force for the Department of War. His team embeds directly with warfighters and mission partners, including the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. Navy SEALs, and White House task forces, to rapidly develop and operationalize frontier AI capabilities that make the Joint Force more efficient, effective, and lethal.

Prior to his current role, Ryan led the development of the Department of War’s first Title 10 AI Assurance pipeline, initially built at United States Cyber Command and later scaled across the Department to evaluate open-source large language models before operational deployment in cyberspace. As a Lieutenant, he wrote, championed, and published United States Cyber Command’s first generative AI policy, signed by the Director of the National Security Agency and Commander, U.S. Cyber Command.

Ryan holds an M.S. in Technology and Policy from MIT, where he focused on frontier AI, national security, and strengthening America’s technological advantage. His thesis later contributed to AI legislation developed on Capitol Hill, and he gained startup experience through MIT and Harvard’s innovation ecosystems. Ryan earned a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he served as captain of the Division I wrestling team.
Today, Ryan leads the Department of War’s efforts to accelerate the adoption of frontier AI across the Joint Force, translating emerging technologies into operational capabilities that strengthen America’s military advantage.

Mark Rodriguez is an Infrastructure IT Specialist for the Army.

Alexis Bonnell is the Head of AI Adoption and Deployment at OpenAI for Government. Previously, Alexis served as a Federal Agency Chief Innovation Officer, CIO of the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Emerging Technology Evangelist with Google, and was one of the first employees of the Internet Trade Association. Alexis has deployed more than 60 AI systems and solutions in Government. She has trained over 800,000 public servants in AI and has led the most comprehensive Government AI Adoption Research program in the world, which studied the most effective ways to roll-out AI and the power of human-machine teaming. She has won more than 15 Awards for her work in AI in government. She loves the opportunity to share the power of AI in helping people, teams and organizations reach their fullest potential. And…she has really cool sneakers!

Brandon Dixon is a renowned product strategist and security researcher who excels at turning complex telemetry into actionable intelligence. He co-founded PassiveTotal (acquired by RiskIQ) and served as a Security AI Strategist at Microsoft, where he was instrumental in launching Microsoft Security Copilot. From developing industry-standard open-source tools to advancing the Microsoft Defender suite, Brandon is the technical architect behind Ent’s product innovation.

Will Erb serves as Managing Director of Filevine Federal, where he executes the strategic vision for bringing Filevine’s AI-native platform to the federal government. In this capacity, he leads the division across go-to-market strategy, procurement vehicle positioning, and delivery, and drives federal product development, shaping platform capabilities to meet the operational and mission-specific demands of government customers. He oversees Filevine’s positioning at the frontier of agentic AI, advancing autonomous, operational AI agents that execute complex case, matter, document, and workflow tasks within the customer’s own security boundary, without data extraction. This next-generation capability replaces fragmented point solutions with a single configurable platform where AI acts, not just assists, positioning Filevine as one of the fastest-growing startups in the world, at the center of real innovation across the AI sector.

As a leader and entrepreneur, Will’s career spans early-stage technology startups, investment firms, and federal contractors, working across the intersection of commercial innovation and applied AI. His work designing and developing AI-enabled platforms during the formative period of applied enterprise AI grounded his conviction that the organizations who win are those that unify their operations around intelligent systems rather than bolting AI onto fragmented legacy tools. He now applies that thesis at federal scale, translating the pace of commercial innovation into solutions that meet the accountability standards of government missions.

Dan Fedick is a Field CTO at IBM, where he works with federal, Department of Defense, and enterprise customers on Zero Trust architecture, non-human identity, and securing AI agents in production. He joined IBM through its acquisition of HashiCorp and has spent years helping public-sector teams adopt Vault, Terraform, Consul, and Boundary alongside IBM’s broader portfolio. His work spans infrastructure automation, software supply chain security, and machine identity across some of the government’s most demanding environments.

Tim Freestone joined Kiteworks in 2021 and brings over 15 years of experience in corporate strategy and marketing leadership, including demand generation, brand and market strategy, and process and organizational optimization. Tim was previously Vice President of Marketing at Contrast Security, a scale-up application security company where he built out the marketing organization globally, modernized and mechanized the team’s execution, and elevated the company into a world-class brand. Before Contrast, Tim was the Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Fortinet, a multi-billion-dollar, next-generation firewall and cloud security company. In that role, he rebranded Fortinet and built out the comprehensive go-to-market operations for eight solutions encompassing more than 30 products. Prior to Fortinet, he was Director of Americas Demand, Strategy and Operations at NetApp where he built out the programmatic demand execution for the Americas and optimized operations to ensure effective lead flow and opportunity creation through sales. Before NetApp, Tim co-founded a marketing services agency where he created and led the execution of hundreds of marketing programs for large and small technology companies.

Tim holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Communication Studies from The University of Montana.

Justin Herman leads Federal Civilian GTM at Cognition, the company behind Devin: the world’s first autonomous AI software engineer. In this role, he works directly with Federal Civilian agencies and partners deploying AI-powered software engineering.

Previous to his role at Cognition, Justin held public sector executive leadership roles in innovative Fortune 500 and startup companies.

Before entering the private sector, Justin spent seven years at the U.S. General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services, where he created and led government-wide programs in AI and emerging technologies for citizen services.

In this role, Justin led AI for Citizen Services for the White House National Science and Technology Committee under two Administrations, and received accolades including Fedscoop 50’s Federal Tech Champion of the Year.

Justin also serves as a veterans nonprofit board chair, and is based in Washington, D.C.

Garrett Lee is the Regional Vice President of the Enterprise Security Group at Broadcom (ESG). He is responsible for Broadcom’s U.S. Public Sector go-to-market for the combined portfolio of Symantec and Carbon Black solutions for Information, Network, Endpoint and Application Security. The Enterprise Security Group delivers legendary enterprise security solutions to protect any IT mission. Over the last 23 years, Mr. Lee has energetically contributed to the U.S. Public Sector’s IT mission with a focus on efficiently advancing our Nation’s critical cybersecurity defenses and programs. Garrett has enthusiastically supported U.S. Federal Agency, Prime Contractor, and U.S. State & Local customers alike in their evaluation and implementation of enterprise security capabilities such as software asset management, application control, incident response, data loss prevention, network security, endpoint detection & response and cloud-native endpoint protection.

Leif is a proud 8-year Veteran of the United States Navy, an HP Distinguished Technologist in Client Technologies, Lifecycle Management, Endpoint Security and has a focus on Systems Management. His experience includes over 29 years in industry and spans Architecture, Design, Engineering, Software Integration, Systems Management, Hardware Imaging, and Implementation of Client Technologies including mobile devices as well as fixed assets.

Leif’s role also includes the Modern Workplace strategy with HP to assist companies in reaching their strategic technology goals as well as enhancing the user experience through innovative solutions and strategy discussions. Prior to his current role at HP, Leif worked at Intel as an Enterprise Technology Specialist for Client and Server Architecture including Storage.

Leif is also the Host of The Razor’s Edge Podcast on CIO.com and co-authored the book “We Are All Retail“. The podcast can be found at https://www.cio.com/podcasts/the-razors-edge.

Bryan Rosensteel, Head of Public Sector Product Marketing at Wiz, has 20+ years of public sector experience. He has advised the US Federal Government on many cybersecurity initiatives, including ICAM, worked on several NCCoE projects leading to NIST 1800 series special publications, helped form and run working groups at non-profit organizations such as ATARC, and assisted with the design and implementation of several government IT modernization projects.

Paul Sullivan is Director of Sales at LYME Technology Solutions. He brings more than two decades of experience helping federal, defense, and intelligence organizations adopt the technology their missions depend on. A United States Marine Corps veteran, Paul served seven years and rose to the rank of Sergeant. His service gave him a firsthand understanding of the people and missions behind every requirement.

Paul’s career spans enterprise software, SaaS, data and analytics, and solution selling. He has worked with national security customers from the ground up and later served in senior leadership as a sales director and chief growth officer. Throughout, he has helped government customers solve complex problems in areas from enterprise applications to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and has earned a reputation as a trusted advisor across the Public Sector landscape.

Paul is known for his mission-focused mindset and consultative approach. He focuses on understanding what customers need to accomplish before recommending how to get there. He builds and grows high-performing sales teams and forms lasting, high-impact relationships with customers and partners. At LYME, he leads the sales and engineering organizations in delivering solutions that help public sector customers across federal, defense, and state, local, and education markets carry out their missions.

Mallory Sword Glenn leads Product Marketing for Okta for AI Agents, building go-to-market strategy for a solution that helps enterprises see, manage, and govern agent identities. She’s shaping how the market approaches AI agent security, a space with no established playbook. Working directly with customers, she’s defining positioning, messaging, and sales strategy as organizations move from experimenting with agents to deploying them at scale. Previously at Adobe and HPE, she built GTM, pricing, and deal strategy for emerging product categories across sales, marketing, and strategy teams.