Carahsoft DevSecOps Conference

Ms. Rosie Bauer was selected as the Deputy Director to the office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Data – Engineering – Software) under the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology) in September 2022. In this position, Ms. Bauer supports the implementation of modern software practices including agile software development and DevSecOps, data centricity, and digital engineering across ASA(ALT).

Her previous assignments within Army Communications–Electronics Command (CECOM) Software Engineering Center (SEC) included Division Chief for the Intelligence Support Division (ISD) and Communications Network Division (CND). During her time with SEC, she was responsible for providing cyber compliant software quality product to the DCGS family of systems within the Program Executive Office Intelligence Electronic Warfare & Sensors (IEWS) and multiple Army tactical network family of systems within the Program Executive Office Command Control Communications–Tactical (PEO C3T) portfolios. She oversaw multiple branch chiefs, 120+ Army civilians and 80+ contractors with annual budget in excess of $84 – $100 million per year.

Her previous assignment was as Branch Chief for the Tactical Network Operations within Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Space & Terrestrial Communications Directorate (S&TCD) where she was responsible for the research and development of the next generation cyber security capabilities resulting $5 million per year increase of reimbursable support and the oversight of 20 civilians and 10 contractors. Over the course of her 22 years of federal service, Ms. Bauer has held many positions of different responsibilities to include Associate Director of the Research and Development portfolio within S&TCD, and Branch Chief of Network Operations Branch. Ms. Bauer led the requirement, and approval of the first multi–Directorate and multi–Command technology base program totaling $60M over the course of 4 years, within what used to be known as U.S. Army – Communications, Electronic, Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC).

Former additional assignments include project leadership, test engineer, and systems engineer for the United States Army CERDEC S&TCD supporting the various programs within PEO C3T, PM TR and PM TN. Ms. Bauer also supporting field exercises as part of various Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programs.

Ms. Bauer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Systems Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ. She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband and 3 children, William 20, Alexa 18, and Gabriela 8.

Kevin Walsh is a Director in GAO’s Information Technology and Cybersecurity team. He oversees work related to AI, Census, CIO authorities, legacy modernizations, and satellite and space systems. He has led reviews covering topics related to the authorities of federal Chief Information Officers, management of legacy IT systems, coordination of IT contracts, and assessments of IT-related risk.

Kevin joined GAO in June 2006, and led projects related to FITARA and GAO’s High Risk area on Improving the Management of IT Acquisitions and Operations.

Kevin earned a master’s degree in business administration from Virginia Tech. Kevin earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland, College Park.

David Raley is the Chief Digital Business Officer at Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS), where he leads enterprise-wide digital transformation initiatives that directly impact the quality of life for Marines and their families. As the founder of MCCS’s innovation capability and the architect behind its customer experience (CX) modernization strategy, David has redefined how mission-critical services are delivered across the Marine Corps.

He is the visionary behind Operation StormBreaker, a pioneering DevSecOps and pipeline-as-a-service framework that accelerates secure software delivery across the Department of Defense. Under his leadership, MCCS achieved the Marine Corps’ first authority-to-operate (ATO) via automated continuous delivery—setting a new benchmark for speed, compliance, and agility in government software development.

David’s work has been featured in FedScoop, Federal News Network, GovCIO Media & Research, and the ATARC Federal IT Newscast podcast, where he shares insights on agile ATOs, CX innovation, and cloud modernization. His efforts have saved MCCS an estimated $100K per application per month by reducing the cost of delay and streamlining acquisition and accreditation processes.

A frequent speaker at DoD and federal IT events, David brings a mission-first mindset to every conversation—bridging the gap between emerging technology and operational impact.

Jim Tunnessen is the CIO & Chief AI Officer for the National Endowment for the Arts, where he provides executive leadership and oversight of the agency’s Office of Information & Technology Management in support of the NEA’s mission and strategic goals. He is a Doctor of Engineering (AI/ML) candidate at George Washington University, with research focused on multi-agent governance in the federal IT environment. Jim is a member of the Forbes Technology Council, the Society for Information Management – Capital Area Chapter, and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.

Capt. Thompson is a Massachusetts native and 1998 graduate of the U. S. Coast Guard Academy. Upon graduation, his first tour of duty was in Cape May, New Jersey aboard the USCG Cutter HORNBEAM, where he served as a Deck Watch Officer and the Communication Officer. Thompson was then assigned Operations Officer in USCGC GENTIAN in Miami Beach, Florida.

In 2001, he was assigned as the Operation Officer of Electronic Systems Support Unit Boston where he was responsible to maintain all surface and shore electronic and computer systems for the Coast Guard from New York to Maine. During this tour he performed extensive temporary duty including an assignment as the Communications Officer for the Joint Incident Command Post in New York following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001.

From July 2007 to March 2010, he served at Coast Guard C4ISR Acquisition Directorate’s Deepwater Program as the Information Assurance Director. Deepwater was a 25-year, $24 billion effort that is modernizing many of the Coast Guard’s technologically obsolete assets and systems, including: 91 cutters; 195 aircraft; and C4ISR equipment. During this tour, Thompson oversaw the Certification & Accreditation, TEMPEST and Physical Security effort during the design, development, and installation of Coast Guard’s most-complex C4ISR Systems on the new National Security Cutters. This effort included the Coast Guard’s first ever afloat SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility). From March 2010 to April 2011, he served as the C4ISR Project Officer for the Coast Guard new Offshore Patrol Cutter Program forming novel acquisition strategies and C4ISR specifications for the new cutter fleet.

From April 2011 to May 2015, he served as the Operations Officer of Coast Guard Cyber Command, responsible for protecting enterprise information systems for 60,000 users and providing a secure communication and sensor platform for Coast Guard Maritime Operations. During this period, he also a qualified at the 1st Coast Guard officer to serve as a Battle Watch Captain at US Cyber Command, where he monitored the Security Operations for sixty four combatant command, service, and agency network centers engaged in full-spectrum cyber operations.

From May 2015 to Jun 2019, he was assigned to the command staff of C4IT Service Center in Alexandria Virginia. During this period, he was selected to lead the several high-profile teams. The first in 2015 was Cyber CAT (Crisis Action Team) Delta, a focused DOD driven effort to secure the IT infrastructure of whole of government against foreign adversaries. Next in 2016, he led a team to launch Cyber/CIO/C4IT Task Force to ensure unity of effort and alignment with the Coast Guard and Department of Defense Cyber Strategies. From May 2017 to May 2019, he led a $100M effort to upgrade all desktop compute and network infrastructure capabilities across the Coast Guard 60K user base and transition the architecture to support the environment Microsoft Windows 10.

From July 2019 to May 2022, he was assigned to the new C5I Service Center in Alexandria Virginia leading the Coast Guard’s transition to Microsoft DoD365 productivity suite and modernization of telephony, video conferencing and mobility. From May 2022 to present, he has been assigned to lead the Coast Guard’s Infrastructure Division leading all Information Technology, hardware, networks and cloud technologies across the U.S. Coast Guard. From 2020-2023 he served as the president of ISC2 International Advisory Board and president of the ISC2 Northern Virginia Chapter which was recognized the top chapter in North America in 2020.

Victoria Yan Pillitteri is the Cybersecurity Lead at NIST.

Nihal Singh is a Software Engineer at Moody’s Corporation.

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.