Defense IT Summit

Ms. Leslie A. Beavers is a career member of the Senior Executive Service and serving as the Acting Department of Defense Chief Information Officer (DoD CIO). In this capacity, Ms. Beavers serves as the primary advisor to the Secretary of Defense for Information Management / Information Technology (IT) and Information Assurance, as well as non-intelligence space systems; critical satellite communications, navigation, and timing programs; spectrum; and telecommunications.

Prior to assuming the role of the Acting DoD CIO, she served as the Principal Deputy, DoD CIO from April 2023 to July 2024.

Before joining the CIO, Ms. Beavers served as the Director of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Enterprise Capabilities (ISREC). In this capacity she led OUSD(I&S)’s Defense Intelligence Digital Transformation Campaign Plan, known as Project Herald.

Project Herald’s overall goal is to evolve how the DoD delivers intelligence to warfighters while providing the unifying focus to realize next-generation capabilities. To this end, Ms. Beavers oversaw the planning, programming, budgeting and execution of the Defense Intelligence mission area within the Battlespace Awareness portfolio.

Ms. Beavers began her DoD career as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Air Force serving in various roles before retiring as a Reserve Brigadier General serving with the Joint Staff J2. Her assignments included: 16th Air Force, San Antonio, TX; Pacific Air Forces, Hickam, HI; Distributed Common Ground System 2, Beale AFB, CA; and 4th Air Force, March ARB, CA.

Additionally, Ms. Beavers has over 15 years’ experience in the private sector working in the Film/TV, Healthcare, and Oil and Gas industries. She served as Vice President at NBC/Universal Pictures responsible for recovering 80 years of film and television content destroyed in a fire. She worked with GE’s Healthcare Diagnostic Imaging division improving to manufacturing capacity, profit margin, and revenue. At Husky Oil, she consulted with C-suite executives on operational integrity establishing processes to manage risk introduction in drilling operations.

She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a MBA in Finance with Honors from South University. Ms. Beavers is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, a Distinguished Graduate of the Air Force’s Signals Intelligence program, and the recipient of numerous DoD and professional awards including the Defense Superior Service and Legion of Merit.

Mr. Gurpreet Bhatia serves as the Acting Deputy DoD Chief Information Officer for Cybersecurity (DCIO(CS)) and the DoD’s Acting Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) per 44 USC 3544. In this role he provides expert policy, technical, program, and defense-wide oversight support to the DoD CIO on all cybersecurity matters. He is responsible for leading the DoD-wide cybersecurity program and associated governance processes. He partners with industry to improve cybersecurity and information sharing through the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and represents the Secretary of Defense and DoD CIO in international discussions and negotiates cybersecurity topics in both bilateral and multi-lateral (alliance and coalition) channels. He leads the development of the cybersecurity investment priorities for the Department and provides planning guidance to Components.

Prior to assuming this position, Mr. Bhatia served as the DoD Principal Director for Cybersecurity / Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Before joining the Office of the DoD CIO, Mr. Bhatia served as the Chief of Partner Engagements in Foreign Engagements at the National Security Agency (NSA), where he was responsible for the day-to-day management of NSA’s foreign cryptologic partnerships including technical guidance, management, and implementation of cryptologic foreign partner strategies, and representing NSA positions to foreign partners.

Mr. Bhatia’s 28 years of experience spans the Department of Defense and private industry, including three years at the Navy Public Works Center (PWC) in Washington and three years in the private sector. Over his 22 years with NSA, he led the incubation of joint secure chip technology with private industry focusing on fostering U.S. manufacturing, built foundational GIG authentication and policy reference architecture, and overseeing development of authentication technologies for DoD key management infrastructure. While detailed to the Pentagon, Mr. Bhatia served as a Senior Information Assurance (IA) Representative to the Joint Staff, J6 and to the Office of Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Cyber Policy. In this role he supported requirements and delivery of warfighter IA capability, was an integral part of the United States Cyber Command standup team, and a co-author of the 2011 DoD Strategy for Operations in Cyberspace. Upon returning, he led the organization responsible for development and delivery of the initial NSA cloud platform, analytics, and data stores.

After returning from an overseas assignment, Mr. Bhatia was selected to be a 2016 Brooking LEGIS Congressional Fellow. He served in a member office in the U.S. Senate, where he raised cybersecurity awareness writ large, advised on cybersecurity and privacy legislation across healthcare, Internet of Things (IoT), and business IP theft, and supported legislative efforts to update the right of individuals to serve in the U.S. Armed forces while retaining their articles of faith. He was then detailed as the Deputy Director, Legislative Liaison, and principal advisor at United States Cyber Command, where he advised on all legislative matters and secured crucial legislative wins. In 2019, Mr. Bhatia served as a member of the NSA cybersecurity strategy team which recommended the standup of the Cybersecurity Directorate (CSD) and then led the CSD implementation team.

Mr. Bhatia is a Certified Information Security Systems Engineer (CISSP), a two-time recipient of the Joint Meritorious Civilian Service Award, and a recipient of the National Partnership for Reinventing Government, Vice President Gore’s Hammer Award. Mr. Bhatia holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alabama at Huntsville, a Master’s in Science in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Georgetown University.

Kynan Carver is a cybersecurity expert and leader with over 18 years of experience in the field. He currently serves as the Cybersecurity Lead at Maximus, a global provider of government services.

In this role, he applies his extensive knowledge of advanced cybersecurity engineering, security operations, and cyber intelligence to design and deliver next-generation cybersecurity solutions for defense agencies. He also oversees the development and implementation of the continuous Authority to Operate (cATO) framework, which enables faster and more secure application delivery.

Prior to joining Maximus, Kynan led the cybersecurity division for the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), where he was responsible for the accreditation and oversight of the Defense Enterprise Office Solution (DEOS) program, a cloud-based office suite for the Department of Defense.

Kynan also managed the Security Operations Center (SOC) and Information Assurance (IA) for both cloud and on-premises infrastructures.

Kynan has published several articles on cybersecurity topics, such as technical debt, agile methodology, and DevSecOps practices. He is also a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences, such as the Potomac Officers Club and MeriTalk.

He is passionate about sharing his insights and best practices with the cybersecurity community and advancing the state of the art in the field. He served in the Georgia Air National Guard and local/federal civil services, holds a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity, and resides with his family in Spotsylvania, Virginia.

Lamont Copeland is the Senior Director of Federal Solutions Architecture for Verizon’s Global Presales organization in support of the Verizon Business Group Public Sector Vertical. He leads a team of technology subject matter experts who are focused on developing integrated, complex enterprise solutions and enabling business outcomes for Federal customers through the power of Verizon technology portfolios and partner solutions. He also supports the growth and development of Verizon Product Portfolio working closely with Verizon’s Product teams to enhance and deploy new products for our Federal consumer base.

In his previous role with Booz Allen Hamilton, Lamont served as Senior Associate/Engineering Manager where he led a team of engineers and analysts for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reporting directly to the National Protection and Programs Directorate/Network Security Deployment (NPPD/NSD) Director and Chief Security Engineer for the EINSTEIN3 Program. The team delivered system engineering, architecture design, and integration support of network security sensor systems and communications infrastructure designs for Government networks. He was also responsible for the development the market strategy for growth of the cyber engineering and analysis products and contract Profit and Loss (P/L) and growth for Booz Allen’s Federal cyber contracts.

While at Sprint, Lamont was Chief Engineer leading the engineering design and performance of Sprint’s core IP network services. He led the infrastructure build outs, feature functionality testing of network capabilities, and managed the project schedules and annual capital budget for network capacity deployment and new product roll outs.

Lamont holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University and a Masters of Business Administration with a focus on Management of Technology Innovation, Venture Capital/Finance Investment, and Small Business Development from George Washington University.

Dr. Prithviraj (Raj) Dasgupta is a research scientist in the Distributed Intelligent Systems Section, Information Technology Division at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. His research is in the areas of adversarial artificial intelligence, machine learning, game-playing AI and game theory. He has led several large projects in these areas involving multi-agent and multi-robot systems, and has published over 150 research papers in premier journals and conferences. His research has resulted in several best paper and commendation awards. He is a senior member of IEEE; he serves as the editor of IEEE Intelligent Systems and on the program committees of top-tier AI conferences including IJCAI, AAAI and AAMAS. Prior to joining the Naval Research Laboratory, he was a full professor (tenured) with the Computer Science department at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2001.

Tommy Gardner is HP’s Chief Technology Officer for HP Federal, spanning the US Federal Agencies, Higher Education, as well as Federal Systems Integrators. His current responsibilities include technology leadership, strategic technology plans, product and technology strategies, sales force technical support, and customer and partner relationships.

Previously, Tommy has served as the Chief Technology Officer for Jacobs Engineering, Scitor, and ManTech. Earlier in his career he was a senior technical executive at Raytheon. In the U.S. Navy he served as the Deputy for Science and Technology for the Chief of Naval Research. He oversaw the Navy’s Deep Submergence Program as well as its Advanced Technology Program. He also commanded the nuclear submarine, USS San Juan (SSN 751).

Tommy’s educational background covers multiple disciplines and fields of interest including: cybersecurity, data science, digital supply chains, quantum information science, artificial intelligence, high performance computing and systems integration.

Tommy holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, an M.S. in Management of Technology from MIT and a Ph. D. in Energy Economics from George Washington University. He is a Professional Engineer, an ASME Fellow, and serves on the ANSI Board of Directors. He is currently on the U. S. Council on Competitiveness and serves as the Co-chair of the Advanced Computer Roundtable.

In his spare time Tommy teaches graduate students at Catholic University of America in Cybersecurity, Software Programming, the Digital Supply Chain and Cyber Ethics. He was awarded the 2021 Part Time instructor of the year at CUA.

Louis Koplin is the Program Executive Officer for Digital and Enterprise Services (PEO Digital), where he oversees and coordinates the efforts of over 1,300 personnel providing the Marine Corps and Navy with a decisive information advantage that is modern, innovative, and secure – any data, anytime, anywhere. He is responsible for evolving the organization to deliver a world-class digital experience at the speed of mission, across a $2B portfolio that spans the digital workplace, cybersecurity and IT lifecycle, IT platforms, and IT infrastructure.

Most recently, Mr. Koplin served as the Deputy CTO in DON CIO, responsible for overseeing Modernization and Technology efforts across Navy and Marine Corps IT. He focused specifically on infrastructure optimization, network and data center portfolio management, cloud and zero trust strategies, enterprise services, digital identity and access, and strategic spectrum management. Mr. Koplin also served as the acting Portfolio Manager of Platform Applications Services within PEO Digital prior to being selected as the Executive Director.

Before serving as the DON Deputy CTO, Mr. Koplin served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV N4) as Logistics IT portfolio manager, where he led digital transformation efforts across a portfolio spanning over 2,000 systems and applications. Mr. Koplin also managed the functional community of 36,000 DON civilian logistics personnel. Prior to that, Mr. Koplin worked at Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Weapon System Support (WSS) in Philadelphia, PA. During that time, he managed supply chains for avionics, electronic countermeasures, and unmanned aerial systems (MQ-8 Fire Scout, MQ-4B Triton), as well as managing global distribution logistics for high-value repairable systems and spare parts.

Mr. Koplin has received two Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Awards and the ADM Stan Arthur Award for Logistics. He received a B.S. in Computer Science and B.A. in History from Pennsylvania State University in 2001; a Certificate in Systems Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2007; and an M.S. in Supply Chain Management from the Syracuse University Whitman School of Business in 2012.

Joel Krooswyk is the Federal CTO at GitLab, the AI-powered DevSecOps platform. Joel has actively been involved in GitLab’s growth since 2017. His 25 years of leadership experience span not only the US Public Sector, but also small, mid-market, and enterprise businesses globally. Joel combines deep government policy expertise with a wealth of experience in technology, software development, AI, and cybersecurity. He is frequently called upon by industry and agencies alike for policy commentary and response.

Mr. Joey Mathews is the Superintendent of the Information Technology Division at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). He leads a broadly-based program of research and development spanning artificial intelligence & autonomy, networking & communications, information operations, high assurance systems & cyber warfare, knowledge management & decision support, and computational science. He further coordinates related intramural research investments within NRL’s base research program.

Mr. Mathews directs a multidisciplinary team of 180 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support specialists in conceptualizing, planning, and executing technology applications that underpin current and future maritime, expeditionary, intelligence, and national security missions. He manages all aspects of this program to include personnel, programmatic, financial, and facilities, with an annual budget of $120 million.

Mr. Mathews entered the Senior Executive Service in July 2023. He joined NRL in 2003 as a Computer Engineer developing cyber defense technology that was distinguished by the Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer’s Information Management / Information Technology Excellence Award and NRL Technology Transfer Award. He became a Section Head in 2015, during which time he led the development of cyber sensing and digital forensic capabilities for military cyber operations, and initiated applied research into multimodal techniques for discovering malware, mapping dependencies between information systems and the military missions they support, and protecting embedded weapons systems. He became a Branch Head and Director of the NRL Center for High Assurance Computer Systems in 2020, during which time he led the delivery of science & technology outcomes in communications security, computer security, formal methods, network security, mobile systems security, software engineering, and quantum information science. He further orchestrated a range of partnerships with scientific counterparts in the DoD, U.S. Government, Industry, Academia, and allied foreign governments.

Mr. Mathews holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from The George Washington University. His postgraduate concentrations include Computer Architecture & Networks, as well as Computer Security & Information Assurance. He is an alumnus of the National Security Agency’s Information Assurance Scholarship Program, and The George Washington University’s Cyber Corps “Scholarship for Service” program. Mr. Mathews is a native of Baltimore, Maryland.

Ms. Monica Montgomery is the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer for Management and Strategy, and the Deputy Director of the Cybersecurity Office at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, based in Springfield, Virginia.

Named to the position in March 2022, Ms. Montgomery is responsible for the cybersecurity strategy, standards, policy, and procedures that safeguards NGA’s information systems against cyber threats. Additionally, she is responsible for the development of cybersecurity performance measures, and a comprehensive investment plan, education and outreach, and cybersecurity workforce management.

Prior to her current position, Ms. Montgomery served at NGA as its Chief of Staff for the Office of the Chief Information Officer, and the Director of Corporate Services. In these roles, she led the directorate in managing and executing administrative, communication, and business operations, and led the CIO-T workforce through the COVID-19 response. Additionally, she served as the Chief of Risk Management in the Cybersecurity office, where she broke new ground by streamlining the assessment and authorization process and creating an agile, risk-adaptive cybersecurity posture. She also decreased the time to market for vital intelligence applications, enabling analysts and collectors to gather and exploit intelligence in near-real time.

Prior to joining NGA in 2016, Ms. Montgomery spent 15 years in the private sector, supporting the Intelligence Community’s Chief Information Officer, the Central Intelligence Agency, and other public sector partners. Most recently, Ms. Montgomery created and published ODNI policy and standards for safeguarding and information sharing, and provided strategic direction as a senior advisor to the IC’s CIO.

Ms. Montgomery received a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Bucknell University, and holds the Certified Information Systems Security Professional and the Certified Cloud Security Professional certifications.

Lam D. Nguyen, a member of the scientific and professional cadre of senior executives, is the Chief Scientist for the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center. He serves as the principle strategic advisor on matters related to cyber risk mitigation, cyber defense and analytics, and criminal and counterintelligence forensics.

Mr. Nguyen began service with the Air Force in 2019 as Laboratory Director for the Cyber Forensics Lab. Prior to his current tenure, Mr. Nguyen served in a variety of leadership roles across the public and private sector including the Drug Enforcement Administration, FireEye, Stroz Friedberg, and the High Technology Investigative Unit at the Department of Justice. Mr. Nguyen has also held adjunct positions at The George Washington University and George Mason University. He is a recognized expert in the field of Digital Forensics and EDiscovery and has led large-scale international investigations in both criminal and civil cases. He has testified as an expert witness in numerous federal jurisdictions.

Kedar Pavgi is the Director of Commercial Strategy and Operations at the Defense Innovation Unit. He has been with the organization since 2020, and has supported in a number of capacities, including as a Program Manager for its former hackathons program for its National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) component.

Before joining the DIU team, Kedar was a consultant in Deloitte Consulting’s Government and Public Sector practice supporting Department of Defense clients. Prior to that, he was a Washington D.C. based journalist covering national security, defense and international affairs for Defense One, Government Executive, Foreign Policy among other publications. He received his graduate degree in international relations and international economics from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and his undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary.

Kaitie Penry is the inaugural Director of Research Innovation at the Naval Postgraduate School. In this role, she oversees the development of NPS’ enterprise innovation process and prototyping portfolio, supporting the Secretary of the Navy’s initiative to establish the Naval Innovation Center at NPS.

‍Penry joined the NPS team in May 2023 from the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), a program office within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering. At NSIN, Penry was the Bay Area Regional Engagement Principal focused on building relationships with early-stage startups and academia in order to develop novel solutions for national security problem sets. She was also a National Security Fellow at UC Berkeley. Prior to this, she was the NSIN Deputy Education Portfolio Manager focused on design and execution programming.

‍Penry also worked at Headquarters, Marine Corps for eight years on related strategic areas to include logistics, crowdsourcing/ideation, rapid prototyping, security cooperation, and technology concepts. She earned a master’s in foreign policy from American University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis in International Relations.

Christopher Redding is the Chief Engineer of Enterprise Collaboration Portfolio within DISA PEO Services. Prior experience includes product owner, system and enterprise architecture, designing, developing, and maintaining an enterprise level database application. Experienced in developing and utilizing a High Performance Computing application for distributing analysis across multiple nodes. Utilized programming languages such as Java, C/C++, JavaScript, HTML, Perl, Python, and Bash.

Collen Roller is a distinguished computer scientist and tech leader, recognized for pioneering Generative AI (GenAI) capabilities within the United States Air Force. Holding a Master of Science in Computer Science from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from the State University of New York at Potsdam, Collen brings over a decade of experience in developing conversational AI systems, microservice containerized applications, and production-ready machine learning solutions.

Collen’s most notable achievement is the creation of NIPRGPT, the first Department of Defense-approved GenAI platform, which supports over 80,000+ service members across the DoD. This groundbreaking platform has set a new standard for AI deployment within military operations, earning Collen prestigious accolades, including the AFRL/RI Civilian Scientist and Engineer of the Year, GovCIO Media & Research Rising Star, and MeriTalk AI Honors award in 2024.

Beyond NIPRGPT, Collen leads the Dark Saber software factory, a key initiative in training and empowering airmen to develop grassroots capabilities. Under Collen’s leadership, Dark Saber has successfully developed dozens of operational Air Force applications and has grown into a global team of approximately 100 developers dedicated to driving innovation within the Department of the Air Force.

David Rouse leads Verizon’s Department of Defense and National Security global sales organization. Verizon delivers mission oriented-solutions globally in support of the National Security agencies, international defense organizations, the DoD and its mission partners.

In his previous roles with Verizon, he served as Director for US Department of Defense sales, Associate Director for Department of Defense wireline sales, Managing Client Partner for the US Department of Air Force, Department of Navy, and DoD Healthcare segments, and as Client Partner on the Defense Information Systems Agency account. Rouse was responsible for the company’s early support and increasing role with defense enterprise service offerings in the areas of mobility, cybersecurity, and various technology transformation initiatives.

Beyond Verizon, Rouse served in a variety of technical, sales, and leadership roles with Lumen Technologies and Sprint in support of customers in the federal, state, education, healthcare, utility, and financial industry segments. He also has start-up experience with Quantum Xchange.

Prior to his time in industry, Rouse was a telecommunication engineer at the Defense Information Systems Agency. His work focused on global voice and video communications solutions, including support of Desert Shield/Storm.

Rouse holds a master’s degree in telecommunications and computers from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at The George Washington University, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from West Virginia University. He also holds a master’s certificate in organizational leadership from Villanova University.

Deepak Seth is a chief engineer at the Defense Information Systems Agency. As technical lead for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Quantum Resistant Cryptography, he guides DISA’s strategic engagement with these critical technologies.

Previously, he served as chief of the Architecture Branch, responsible for DISA’s enterprise architecture. His extensive experience spans both technical and managerial roles at prominent organizations including Opnet Technologies, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Nortel.

Seth holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University, a master’s degree in engineering and management from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a master’s degree from National Defense University.