AI Summit
Artificial intelligence continues to transform how federal agencies operate and serve the public. The AI Summit 2026 brings together federal AI leaders and industry experts to explore the opportunities and challenges of scaling AI responsibly across missions.
Attendees may receive up to 6 continuing professional education (CPE) credits. For more information, please click here.

The administration’s roadmap and major initiatives like the AI Action Plan and the Genesis Mission are accelerating AI implementation across the federal government. This includes implications for governance, procurement, cybersecurity, infrastructure and more. Learn how these policies are translating to agency investments and what execution challenges remain.
Speaker
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Moderator Amy Kluber Editor-in-Chief GovCIO Media & Research
Speaker
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Justin Herman Federal Civilian Director, Cognition
AI agents are helping government agencies automate repetitive tasks, execute complex processes and make decisions faster. Panelists discuss where agencies see the biggest opportunities and challenges for agentic AI, and how they’re measuring value around efficiency goals.
Speakers
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Moderator Carten Cordell Senior Staff Writer, GovCIO Media & Research -
Alexis Bonnell Head of AI Adoption and Deployment, OpenAI for Government -
Jesus Caban CDAO, DHA -
Matheus Passos Acting Deputy CIO, Department of Commerce
Successful AI adoption depends on modern, scalable technology foundations that can support growing compute and data demands. This discussion explores how agencies are modernizing cloud environments, data architectures and high-performance computing to enable AI at scale.
Speakers
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Moderator Laura Mannweiler Staff Writer, GovCIO Media & Research -
Derek Herbert Chief Production Officer, VBA -
Michelle Kerchner (Pending Agency Approval) Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Infrastructure and Support Services, CBP -
Leif Olson Distinguished Technologist in Client Technologies, HP
Agencies are balancing AI innovation with security, transparency and accountability. This discussion explores how federal leaders are managing risk, establishing oversight and building governance processes to protect security and public trust.
Speakers
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Moderator Henry Kenyon Senior Staff Writer, GovCIO Media & Research -
Omar Bouaichi Director, Emerging Technologies & Innovation, HUD -
Mallory Sword Glenn Director, Product Marketing for AI Agents, Okta -
Amy Ritualo Acting CAIO, State -
Sterling Thomas Chief Scientist, GAO
In quick-hit presentations followed by live audience Q&A, agency leaders share AI initiatives that improve mission delivery, enhance decision-making and streamline operations. Hear what’s working, lessons learned and where agencies are scaling next.
Speakers
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Moderator Carten Cordell Senior Staff Writer, GovCIO Media & Research -
Brandon Dixon CTO and Co-Founder, Ent -
Capt. Ryan Hetrick GenAI Task Force Lead, DOW -
Garrett Lee RVP, Public Sector Sales, Broadcom, Enterprise Security Group -
Mark Rodriguez (Pending Agency Approval) Infrastructure IT Specialist, Army
The Energy Department-led Genesis Mission calls for integrating America’s supercomputers, national laboratories and secure datasets into a unified AI platform — an effort that aims to double the productivity of the U.S. research and development enterprise within a decade. Leadership shares the vision behind the initiative, its early progress and the investments, partnerships and policy changes expected to drive the next generation of AI.
Speakers
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Moderator Sarah Sybert Managing Editor, GovCIO Media & Research -
Dawn Zimmer CIO, DOE
Speaker
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Will Erb Managing Director, Filevine Federal
The Flywheel Awards recognize leaders and their work in the federal government.
The flywheel — a critical component in a machine to increase its momentum — is also a critical symbol representing our publication’s goal to keep federal IT decision-makers informed on technology’s impact on government. This momentum is what fuels the constant need for transformers to innovate and drive efficiency in government.
Categories include: Rising Star, AI Talent Advocate, AI Innovator, AI Mission Impact and CAIO of the Year.
Finalists
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Rising Star Nathan Lansky Senior Paralegal NCO, 4th Legal Operations Detachment, Army Reserve Legal Command -
Rising Star Bella Mendoza Data Scientist, Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Commerce -
Rising Star Anusha Prasad Software Engineer Fellow, U.S. Digital Corps -
AI Talent Advocate Maj. Christopher Clark AI Lead, Marine Corps -
AI Talent Advocate Maj. Michael Donovan Head, Cyber Threat Intelligence, Marine Corps -
AI Talent Advocate Lauren Haynes Director, Fellow Experience, U.S. Digital Corps -
AI Innovator Anil Chaudhry Senior Advisor for AI, DOT -
AI Innovator Paula Osborn Deputy Chief Data and AI Officer, State Department -
AI Innovator Col. Scott Wilson Chief of Staff, 4th Marine Logistics Group -
AI Mission Impact Warren Kibbe Deputy Director, Data Science and Strategy, NCI -
AI Mission Impact Joel Peterson Modern Workplace Architect, HHS -
AI Mission Impact Lisa Walbert CIO, DEA -
CAIO of the Year Stephanie Carlton Deputy Administrator, Chief Clinical AI Officer, CMS -
CAIO of the Year Kevin Murphy Acting CDO/CAIO and Chief Science Data Officer, NASA -
CAIO of the Year Katie Noyes CAIO, FBI
Traditional procurement processes often struggle to keep pace with rapidly evolving AI technologies. Agency acquisition and technology leaders discuss how they’re accelerating procurement for AI, managing risk and creating strategies that keep pace with innovation.
Speakers
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Moderator Laura Mannweiler Staff Writer, GovCIO Media & Research -
Moksh Jawa CTO, Commerce -
Kyra Stewart (Pending Agency Approval) Director, IT Vendor Management Office, FAS, GSA -
Paul Sullivan Director of Sales, LYME Technology Solutions
As AI becomes embedded in mission systems and enterprise operations, agencies must rethink their cybersecurity strategies. This discussion examines how federal leaders are securing AI environments, mitigating threats, safeguarding sensitive data and balancing innovation with resilience across the AI ecosystem.
Speakers
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Moderator Henry Kenyon Senior Staff Writer, GovCIO Media & Research -
Maj. Michael Donovan Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence, Marine Corps -
Tim Freestone Chief Strategy Officer, Kiteworks -
Nick Marinos Managing Director, IT and Cybersecurity Issues, GAO -
Edward Mays (Pending Agency Approval) DAC, Infrastructure and Support Services, and Chief Enterprise Infrastructure Officer, CBP
Federal AI leaders discuss where AI investments are headed next. The discussion explores enterprise deployment, workforce transformation, procurement and other developments shaping how they are strategizing the next phases of federal AI over the next year.
Speakers
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Moderator Sarah Sybert Managing Editor, GovCIO Media & Research -
Dan Fedick Field CTO, Hashicorp, an IBM Company -
Chris Kraft CIO, Secret Service -
Kevin Murphy Acting Chief Data and Super Intelligence Officer, NASA
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Dawn Zimmer CIO, DOE -
Chris Kraft CIO, Secret Service -
Moksh Jawa CTO, Commerce -
Jesus Caban CDAO, DHA -
Kevin Murphy Acting Chief Data and Super Intelligence Officer, NASA -
Amy Ritualo Acting CAIO, State -
Matheus Passos Acting Deputy CIO, Department of Commerce -
Derek Herbert Chief Production Officer, VBA -
Michelle Kerchner (Pending Agency Approval) Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Infrastructure and Support Services, CBP -
Omar Bouaichi Director, Emerging Technologies & Innovation, HUD -
Kyra Stewart (Pending Agency Approval) Director, IT Vendor Management Office, FAS, GSA -
Edward Mays (Pending Agency Approval) DAC, Infrastructure and Support Services, and Chief Enterprise Infrastructure Officer, CBP -
Maj. Michael Donovan Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence, Marine Corps -
Nick Marinos Managing Director, IT and Cybersecurity Issues, GAO -
Sterling Thomas Chief Scientist, GAO -
Capt. Ryan Hetrick GenAI Task Force Lead, DOW -
Mark Rodriguez (Pending Agency Approval) Infrastructure IT Specialist, Army -
Alexis Bonnell Head of AI Adoption and Deployment, OpenAI for Government -
Brandon Dixon CTO and Co-Founder, Ent -
Will Erb Managing Director, Filevine Federal -
Dan Fedick Field CTO, Hashicorp, an IBM Company -
Tim Freestone Chief Strategy Officer, Kiteworks -
Mallory Sword Glenn Director, Product Marketing for AI Agents, Okta -
Justin Herman Federal Civilian Director, Cognition -
Garrett Lee RVP, Public Sector Sales, Broadcom, Enterprise Security Group -
Leif Olson Distinguished Technologist in Client Technologies, HP -
Paul Sullivan Director of Sales, LYME Technology Solutions
Sponsorships Available
Contact [email protected] for more information.
Ticket Pricing
Government: Free (requires a valid .gov or .mil email address)
Industry: $499
Academia: $50 (requires a current .edu email address)
Registration Form
We are looking for federal government leaders to speak on a panel or present during lightning rounds. We are accepting proposals for this event from the community. If your proposal is accepted, a member of our team will reach out to you about speaking at the event.
Speaker Proposal Form
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NASA, CBP Tackle Data Access, Security Challenges Amid AI Expansion
NASA and CBP data leaders discuss how their agencies are balancing data accessibility, security and governance to advance AI capabilities.
2m read -
VA CDO Wants Data to be as Reliable as Water, Electricity
Lisa Rosenmerkel said the agency is striving to utilize its data with utility-level reliability to make it easier to get services to veterans.
3m read -
Lawmakers Weigh Frontier AI Safety Next Steps From Joint Accord
Some tech stakeholders said limiting unintended consequences of AI agents means the industry’s incentive structure has to change.
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HHS Looks to Centralize IT Buying, Speed Access to Emerging Tech
HHS is centralizing IT procurement while pursuing faster acquisition tools for AI and other emerging technologies.
9m watch

