Federal AI Forum

Jake is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Science and Technology Foundations. In this role Jake serves as the principal advisor to the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (USW(R&E)) on matters related to S&T, developmental prototyping, and experimentation, acting as a crucial link between fundamental scientific discovery and its strategic application in defense. Jake served as the Senior Technical Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN RD&A). In this role Jake was responsible for implementation of Modular Open System Architecture (MOSA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as well as rapid acquisition in the Department of Navy and the Marine Corps. Jake previously served as Director of Advanced Capabilities for the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) Program. He was responsible for developing and integrating critical new technologies in conjunction with the US Army and DARPA into the CPS platform with an annual budget of over $60M. Jake served as a Program Manager at the Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Unmanned Systems transitioning critical technology to the warfighter and Program Lead for Team Submarine Project Turing rapidly introducing AI into the undersea domain with a total budget of $140M. Jake served as the Assistant Program Manager (APM) for Submarine Combat Future Development and the Payload Control System (PCS) in NAVSEA PEO Submarine with an annual budget of over $30M. His portfolio as APM included all Payload control and integration including unmanned vehicles, missiles and torpedoes for the BYG-1 Combat Control System and the Common Weapon Launchers (CWL). In his future development portfolio Jake was the Program Manager for the Submarine Launched Unmanned Aerial System (SLUAS) providing command and control as well as a Virtual Twin Combat System for the US and Australian Submarine Force.

Jake served as the SEA05 System Design Manager (SDM), Technical Warrant Holder and Chief Engineer for a SCO program in the Unmanned Maritime Systems Program, PMS 406 Program Office. Jake has extensive Naval Engineering experience from with the Remote Minehunting System (RMS) as the lead software engineer and extensive submarine development and engineering experience with the BYG-1 Submarine Combat Control System.

Jake’s first job with the Department of the Navy was a CO-OP at Lockheed Martin Moorestown during his undergraduate study at Drexel University in Philadelphia spending three years working Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense in charge of test development and simulations of the combat system capability. Upon graduating Jake joined the Federal Service at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division Hydrodynamics group spending 4 years as the In Service Engineering Agent (ISEA) for the Seawolf Class Submarine Ship Control System and Data Distribution System.

Jake first came to the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in 2011 serving as the lead software engineer for the RMS and AN/AQS-20A sonar system. From 2012 to 2014 he served as lead engineer of the Submarine Weapon Control System and head of the Open Architecture initiative for the BYG-1 Submarine Combat Control System.

Jake has received several NAVSEA awards including a NAVSEA Innovation Award over his career for innovation and excellence in engineering. Jake was recognized as Engineer of the Year (2020) by ASNE and has been published by the Naval Submarine League on Combat Systems of the Future. He has a Bachelor’s of Science (BS) in Computer Engineering from Drexel University, a Master’s of Science (MS) in Systems Engineering from The George Washington University, a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Maryland and is completing a Masters of Arts (MA) in Strategic Studies at the Naval War College.

Marvin L. Horne is the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Procurement, Agency Procurement Ombudsman, and Competition Advocate. In this role, he shares the responsibility of providing senior executive leadership and oversight of NASA’s procurement functions, coordinating, reviewing, evaluating, and ensuring the timeliness and effectiveness of the full spectrum of NASA procurement activities to the acquisition workforce.

Prior to this role, Mr. Horne served as the Acting Senior Procurement Executive, Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer, and Assistant Administrator for the Office of Procurement, where he provided senior executive leadership and oversight of NASA’s procurement functions, policy, and initiatives.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Aeronautics and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Further expanding his expertise, he completed a Master of Business Administration at William Carey University and is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Managers in Government leadership program.

Mr. Horne has received a Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Level III, a FAC-C Digital Services Specialization (FAC-C-DS), and a Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level I in Program Management. Outside of work, Mr. Horne has a passion for mentoring and has served as a guest speaker on panels across the country and internationally. He has also been featured in various articles including the Direct Industry E-Magazine’s How Does NASA Source and Buy Products? 

Mr. Horne has been recognized with numerous prestigious honors for his exceptional contributions and exemplary team leadership. His accolades include the NASA Administrator’s Gears of Government Initiative Award, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, a Silver Snoopy Award, NASA’s Early Career Achievement Medal, a 2025 Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Procurement Pioneer, and the Air Force Achievement Medal.

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.

Mr. Frutchey is the Chief Technology Officer at Clear Fracture. He has over 25 years of experience in National Security with a focus on emerging technologies for machine learning, course of action automation, distributed processing, and interactive analytics. Among his accomplishments is leading the team that created the command and control AI for the Navy’s first operational drone fleet. Prior to Clear Fracture, Brian was the U.S. DOD Chief Digital and AI Office’s Technical Lead for Europe, CTO of BigBear.ai, and held key roles at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and U.S. European Command. He also served as Director of Endeca Technology’s Public Sector and was an Army Signal Corps officer.

Rafael Ferreira da Silva is a Distinguished Research Scientist and interim Section Head for Data and AI Systems in the Computer Science and Mathematics Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where he leads research and development across AI, agentic workflows, and advanced computing systems. He provides strategic leadership for 45+ researchers and has secured more than $65M in funded awards spanning autonomous laboratories, scientific workflows, and AI-driven analytics. He is a co-PI in DOE’s Genesis Mission, building self-improving AI models for science and energy missions, and serves as PI for a DOE-funded effort applying embodied AI and automation to transform laboratory environments. His work sits at the intersection of distributed systems and trustworthy, mission-ready AI, with particular focus on agentic workflows, provenance, and autonomous science. He is the founder and executive director of the Workflows Community Initiative, a co-founder of the Autonomous Science Network, and a Senior Member of IEEE and ACM.