Women Tech Leaders Working Group

Cate Berard is a Program Manager in the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Sustainable Environmental Stewardship. Cate and her colleagues focus on providing technical assistance, training, and recognition to DOE sites to support meeting sustainability and environmental compliance requirements and goals. Cate directly supports Departmental policies and programs related to sustainable IT management and data center efficiency and optimization. Cate also co-chairs the inter-agency IT Sustainability Subcommunity of the Federal CIO Council. Cate holds a B.S. from James Madison University and an M.S. from Johns Hopkins University.

Jessica N. Berrellez is the Executive Officer in the Office of Digital Transformation (ODT) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Ms. Berrellez oversees strategic planning, people strategy and operations, communications, learning and development, administrative operations, organizational development, and high-priority change initiatives. She has held multiple leadership roles at FDA and was the ODT Executive Director for Strategy and Operations, Senior Advisor to the CIO, Senior Advisor to the Principal Deputy Commissioner and Director for Program Evaluation and Process Improvement. Ms. Berrellez is the recipient of agency, federal, and industry awards, and has received national recognition for her volunteer work. She received her M.A. and M.S. from the University of Arizona and B.A. from Indiana University.

Adriane Burton is the Chief Information Officer of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), joining the agency in 2014.

Before coming to HRSA, Adriane served as the Director of the Division of Computer System Services at the Center for Information Technology within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She participated in the Health and Human Services Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program where she rotated to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and she functioned as the Acting Deputy CIO at the Indian Health Service (IHS).

Prior to participating in the SES CDP program, Adriane was the Deputy Director of the Division of Network Systems and Telecommunication within the Center for Information Technology at the NIH.

She began her federal career at the Internal Revenue Service as a computer systems programmer. She transferred to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Justice Management Division where she served as the Branch Chief of DOJ’s premiere Network Service Center and consolidated DOJ’s fourteen networks into one enterprise network infrastructure.

Adriane has a Masters of Science degree in Telecommunications Management and a Bachelors of Science in Computer and Information Science from the University of Maryland University of College.

Brittney Chappell is the Program Manager for the NASA Acquisition Innovation Launchpad (NAIL). The NAIL construct is intended to empower a culture of innovation where big ideas can come from anywhere and any level, and anyone can be an Innovation Champion. As the Program Manager, Brittney provides program oversight while championing efforts to continue innovating by collaborating with NASA’s acquisition community.

Immediately prior to accepting the NAIL position, she served as the Sr. Procurement Analyst for NASA on Information Technology (IT) acquisition policy. Prior to joining NASA, Brittney served as the Director, Office of Acquisition for the General Services Administration (GSA), Technology Transformation Services (TTS), where she provided leadership and oversight of TTS’s procurement functions, policy, and initiatives. She was the Acquisition Team Lead over the Department of Transportation (DOT) IT Acquisition Center of Excellence division where she was responsible for standing up the division to support the agency’s IT shared services initiative.

Prior to DOT, Brittney was a Senior Contracting Officer at GSA in the Federal Systems Integration Management Center division providing assisted acquisition services for major Department of Defense IT requirements and completed an extensive detail as a Contracting Officer for the Executive Office of the President.

She is a graduate of the Digital IT Acquisition Professional Training Program, USDA’s Executive Leadership Program, and holds an MBA from George Mason University. Brittney has received numerous awards including the DOT Administrator’s Award for Excellence and the Multiple Award Government and Industry award for Acquisition Excellence.

Valerie M. Cofield serves as the Chief Strategy Officer of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Ms. Cofield serves as the principal policy and strategic adviser to CISA leadership and senior management, integrating strategy across all the organization’s mission areas and ensuring policy, strategy, and operational consistency throughout the agency.

Prior to CISA, Ms. Cofield served at the FBI for 22 years in a variety of roles. She was a Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) for the Cyber Capabilities Branch within the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Cyber Division where she led coordination and deployment of the division’s technical tools and capabilities, and oversaw cyber-related training, recruiting, hiring, and budgeting for the division. She also served in a senior executive role as chief of staff of the Science and Technology Branch and as a DAD of the Digital Transformation Office (DTO), where she engaged with interagency partners and other key stakeholders on policy issues related to current and emerging technologies and their impact on law enforcement.

In 2019, Ms. Cofield was selected as the FBI’s senior detail to the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. This Congressional Commission was authorized through the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Its mission was to develop a national strategy for preventing cyberattacks of significant consequences. While on the Commission, Ms. Cofield was a Senior Director and Task Force Lead. The Commission completed its report in March of 2020 with over 75 recommendations, 25 of which were included in the FY21 NDAA and enacted into law.

Ms. Cofield holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics with a minor in Accounting from UCLA.

Lee Ann Crochunis is the Deputy Director of the Office of Information Technology (OIT) at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Led by CMS’ CIO, OIT sets the information technology strategic direction for the agency and supports CMS programs and employees through secure IT solutions and services.

Lee Ann initially began her career at CMS as a data analyst. Over the next 15 years, she worked on a wide-range of activities such as Medicare Program Integrity, Y2K oversight and agency-wide risk and project management. Later, she served as a Division Director overseeing change management for the Medicare fee-for-service program; analysis and planning for the procurement and implementation of Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs); performance assessment of legacy carriers and fiscal intermediaries; and contract performance and IT security compliance for the MACs.

Lee Ann left CMS to spend 10 years working part-time in the private industry focusing on helping companies design and deliver IT support solutions for CMS and other federal agencies. During that time, she served as Chief Growth Officer for an 8(a) company as well as directed projects for several contracts with CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator. After her hiatus from CMS, she returned in 2018, serving as the Deputy Director of the Division of Shared Systems Management as well as the Chief Program Officer of the Medicare Payment System Modernization. She most recently served as the Director of the Applications Management Group where she where she was responsible for the management and operations of a complex suite of systems that support the Medicare program and CMS.

Lee Ann holds a BA in mathematics from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and an MBA from the University of Baltimore.

Jothi Dugar is a leader in the cybersecurity field, and currently serving as the Acting Deputy Director of the Center for Information Technology (NIH CIT) at the National Institutes of Health. CIT is one of twenty-seven institutes and centers at the NIH responsible for providing trans-NIH IT services, systems, and network capabilities with an annual budget of approximately $500 million and a 1,000-person workforce.

As the current Acting Deputy Director, Jothi fully shares in providing leadership, management, and vision in carrying out the broad range of executive responsibilities the organization’s work. She is a critical member of the CIT senior leadership team which oversees mission critical systems and services supporting basic and clinical research, extramural research management, and administration and management activities for the NIH. In her past role as the CISO, she was responsible for protecting and safeguarding enterprise systems and services that are used by NIH, other government agencies, and over 300,000 researchers around the world.

She is a prominent international speaker and frequently speaks about the value of a diverse workforce, women in leadership, holistic approaches to cybersecurity, wellness for the technology world, and other topics and has been published in numerous magazines, media, and press. She is also an international best-selling author, having written three books focused on self-help, wellness, and women in cybersecurity.

Arianne Gallagher-Welcher, Esq. serves as the Executive Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Digital Service (DS) in the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). In this role, Arianne is responsible for standing up and maintaining the USDA Digital Service, an office designed to recruit and develop an expanded team of technology, innovation, and service delivery leaders to meet the many missions needs across USDA.

Mrs. Gallagher-Welcher has been in the Federal Government for over 12 years, beginning her career as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in August of 2011. During her Fellowship, she served in the Executive Office of the President (EOP) White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as the co-founder and later Deputy Director of the Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) program, now housed at the General Services Administration (GSA). Previous positions include serving as a Performance Manager in the office of Performance and Personnel Management in the Executive Office of the President, U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and most recently as the Director of the PMF Program at OPM. Her work has included many different initiatives and disciplines, focusing primarily on Federal workforce recruitment and development and includes innovation, open data, and human-centered design. Arianne is extremely excited to be working with the USDA OCIO to help the Department meet their many compelling missions through tech talent partnerships and human-centered problem solving.

In addition to being a PMF alum, Mrs. Gallagher-Welcher is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute (FEI). She also holds- a Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, is a licensed attorney, and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Arlene Gaylord was appointed Executive Assistant Director (EAD) of the Information and Technology Branch (ITB) in August 2023. As EAD, Gaylord leads ITB’s mission to design, build, and operate FBI networks, infrastructure, end-user devices, cybersecurity, applications, and data systems.

Gaylord had previously served as Assistant Director (AD) of the Information Management Division (IMD) since July 2020. Prior to that, in December 2016, she was appointed the FBI’s Equal Employment Opportunity Officer and AD of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Affairs.

Gaylord joined the FBI in 1991 as an Honors Intern with the Visual Investigative Analysis Unit at FBI Headquarters (HQ). In 1992, she was promoted to Spanish Language Specialist, supporting several field offices in addition to HQ.

In 1998, Gaylord became a Supervisory Language Specialist with the San Diego Field Office (FO), where she transitioned to an Intelligence Analyst (IA) in 2004. She joined the Sacramento FO as a Supervisory IA in 2009.

In 2010, Gaylord became Senior Supervisory IA in charge of the Western Regional Intelligence Group. She returned to HQ in 2012 as National Program Manager of the Joint Regional Intelligence Groups.

In 2013, Gaylord was appointed as an executive within the Directorate of Intelligence — first as Section Chief of the Language Services Section, and then, in 2015, as Section Chief of the Global Intelligence Section.

A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gaylord is a certified FBI Intelligence Officer and has been designated a Master Police Instructor by the FBI and Master Instructor by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from American University in Washington, D.C., and a master’s in organizational management from the University of Phoenix.

Nicole Shiley Gilbride began her federal career as an intern with the Department of State in Political-Military Affairs and has spent over a decade supporting various federal departments, including the Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). She is passionate about recruiting and retaining millennials and Gen Z in the federal workforce and has presented and advised on these topics at the national level.

Nicole serves VA in the Office of Information and Technology (OIT) as the Chief Strategy Officer driving OIT’s Digital Transformation efforts. She specializes in strategic communications, outreach coordination, business operations, strategy execution, change management, and stakeholder engagement. She recently served as the Veterans Health Administration-OIT liaison and scrum master for VA OIT’s COVID-19 response activities in 2020 and for the MISSION Act and Decision Support Tool go-live activities in 2019.

Nicole thrives in a demanding work environment and enjoys tackling new challenges. She leverages stakeholder input, collaborates with industry partners, and serves as a catalyst for change and continuous improvement throughout her organization. She is also a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace and led the team that pioneered an automated solution at VA to enable all employees to share their pronouns across information technology systems.

Nicole is based in Lexington, Kentucky, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Government and International Politics from George Mason University and an Executive Master of Business Administration in Strategic Leadership from the University of Tennessee. In her personal time, Nicole enjoys traveling, tasting, and experiencing various cultures throughout the world. She loves a good book, playing board games, and spending time creating floral designs with flowers she grows in her field.

Rebecca Goodman is the Chief Digital Officer for the FDIC. She is a technologist with a background in engineering, user experience, and digital service delivery. Rebecca is passionate about using technology, data, and design to increase access to agency services and products, while improving interactions between government and the people it serves. She strives to deliver exceptional digital experiences that are accessible, inclusive, and equitable.

Prior to her arrival at the FDIC, Rebecca was at the Securities and Exchange Commission where she worked on user experience and compliance across the agency’s digital properties. Before the SEC, Rebecca worked at a variety of government agencies, streamlining web and digital media experiences through data analysis, empathy, and engineering.

Rebecca is active in both the open-source and civic tech spaces. She contributes code to open-source projects, and plans training events + meet-ups for her peers in civic tech with a focus on learning from each other and fostering connections. All of this feeds into her love of cultivating a positive environment where people can grow and excel.

Rebecca was born and raised in DC and Northern Virginia. She holds a Master’s in Software Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University. When not in front of her computer, Rebecca enjoys mixing beats and spinning house music; running ultramarathons; and searching for DC’s best tacos.

Rebecca in Northern VA with her family and two dogs.

Amy S. Hamilton, Ph.D. is the Visiting Faculty Chair from the Department of Energy to the Department of Defense (DOD) National Defense University (NDU) College of Information and Cyberspace (CIC). She has served for the past three years as the Senior Advisor for National Cybersecurity Policy and Programs at the Department of Energy. She spent two years as a senior cyber security policy analyst at the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President. She served in the Michigan Army National Guard as a communications specialist and was commissioned into the US Army Officer Signal Corp, serving on Active Duty and later the US Army Reserves. She has worked at both the US European Command and the US Northern Command & North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on multiple communications and IT projects.

She became a certified Project Management Professional through the Project Management Institute in 2007 and earned her Certified Information Security Manager certification in 2011. She presented on the “The Secret to Life from a PMP” at TEDxStuttgart in September 2016. She taught Project Management Tools at Colorado Technical University and was a facilitator for the Master’s Degree Program in Project Management for Boston University. She is an award-winning public speaker and has presented in over twenty countries on overcoming adversity, reaching your dreams, cyber security, and project management.

Amy holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Geography, from Eastern Michigan University, a Master of Science (MS) in Urban Studies from Georgia State University, Master in Computer Science (MSc) from the University of Liverpool, Master Certificate in Project Management (PM) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) from the National Defense University, and completed the US Air University, Air War College. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at Regent University in their Organizational Leadership Program with a dissertation on “Unexpected Virtual Leadership: The Lived Experience of US Government IT and Cybersecurity Leaders transitioning from physical to virtual space for COVID-19.”

Amy’s motto is “A woman who is passionate about project management, public speaking, and shoes.”

Kimberly M. Hollingsworth is the Manager of the Enterprise Service Desk (ESD) Knowledge Management (KM) within the Office of Information and Technology (OIT).
With excellent experience in digital transformation, systems administration, analysis, policy, and planning, Kimberly currently leads the ESD Knowledge Management team’s development and maintenance of the searchable self-service online knowledge repository available to all VA employees through ServiceNow. Via active outreach, education, and internal partnerships, Kimberly has grown the knowledge tool into a robust and ever evolving model of shared, accessible, well-managed and – maintained knowledge. She believes that knowledge management is a multiplier that brings time-saving efficiency to VA, and thereby to the service provided to Veterans. In 2023, Kimberly contributed her expertise on KM and artificial intelligence to an article in the CIO Magazine.
Kimberly was the Knowledge Management Lead and helped launched the 24/7 Veterans’ Complaint Hotline, formerly known as the White House VA Hotline. Under her leadership, the KM Team created, trained, and delivered a singular knowledge source for the 24-hour Hotline that directly contributed to the success and efficiency of service agents.
Kimberly is also responsible for the planning, development, and execution of the VA “Privacy Builds Trust” and “Privacy Matters” campaigns and related events such as: speaker series’, privacy symposiums, and the Veterans Helping Veterans project. At the US Bureau of the Census, Kimberly directed a successful 24-month strategic communications program for internal and external stakeholders called Data Stewardship.

Hads Holmgren is a Deputy Assistant Director with FBI Information Technology Applications and Data Division (ITADD), where she oversees the development of operational and business IT applications that protect and enable the FBI.

Hads previously served as the Section Chief of the Strategy and Performance Section in the Resource Planning Office, where she oversaw the Bureau’s compensation and benefits budget, internal policy, and the administration of the FBI’s integrated program management process.

Hads began her career in the FBI in 2006 in the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate (WMDD). While in the WMDD, Hads was promoted to Supervisory Intelligence Analyst and overseeing the integration of tactical intelligence analysis in the production of reports, assessments, briefings, and recommended operational priorities for WMDD investigations.

In 2012, Hads joined the Criminal Investigative Division (CID) and served as the Unit Chief of the Transnational Organized Crime – Western Hemisphere Intelligence Unit. In this role, the unit led the FBI’s analytical efforts to identify, target, and dismantle TOC networks related to the Western Hemisphere.

Following CID, Hads served as a Supervisory Intelligence Analyst for the FBI Denver Field Office, where she oversaw intelligence analysis supporting both the national security and criminal branches.

Prior to joining the FBI, Hads authored dozens of in-depth analytical intelligence products for senior Department of Defense leaders as an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency. In this role, Hads was awarded the DIA Meritorious Civilian Service Award. Hads holds a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Boston University.

Karen S. Howard is the Director of the Office of Online Services for the IRS (Internal Revenue Services).

Ms. Howard joined the IRS in August of 2020 with over 35 years of private sector retail, manufacturing and financial services consumer direct operations and marketing leadership experience.

In her public service role with the IRS, she and her team are charged with translating the taxpayer community’s voice and behavior, and internal stakeholder requirements, into an empowered user experience that enables easy access to tax-related information and simplified ways to fulfill tax obligations with digital tools and services.

Karen has a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Carolina University and several industry certifications in various project management methodologies and master data management.

Cynthia Kaiser is a Deputy Assistant Director with FBI Cyber Division, where she oversees national-level cyber policy, analysis of cyber threats, and partner engagement.

Cynthia has covered cyber, technology, and counterintelligence issues for over 17 years for the FBI; served as a PDB Briefer in two presidential administrations; and has led FBI cyber threat analysis and served as an FBI election lead since 2017. In these roles, she has reshaped FBI information sharing and collaboration with the private sector and federal, state, and local government officials to be robust, proactive, and aimed at imposing risks and consequences on malicious cyber actors.

Cynthia holds a Master’s degree in security policy focused on science and technology and an Executive Master’s degree in leadership.

Beth Killoran is the Government Accountability Office Chief Information Officer since May 2023. Beth leads a diverse team of technologists that support the agency in accomplishment of their mission. Before GAO, she served as the Deputy Chief Information Officer for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) (2018-2023) and the CIO for the Department of Health and Human Services from 2015-2018. She has also held IT leadership positions at the Department of Homeland Security (11 years) and Department of Treasury (9 years). Beth holds a Master of Science in Technology Management from University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a certificate in Personnel Management from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Krista Kinnard is the Chief of Emerging Technologies at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in the Office of the Chief Information Officer. In this role, she leads the organization’s discovery and adoption of new technologies and solutions to meet the unique business challenges faced by DOL agencies. She helps foster the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation (RPA) and other emerging technologies across the organization in support of mission work.

Prior to joining the Department, Krista was a Director of the General Service Administration’s (GSA) Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence, where she partnered with federal agencies to foster the adoption of AI and automation capabilities. She played a critical role in DOL’s standing-up of a robotic process automation capability for procurement and IT based processes. Additionally, she helped lead the Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice (CoP) for GSA.

Krista has several years of experience as a data scientist and technical project lead in the private sector, leading the design and development of machine learning based systems for government clients.

She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology, a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Portuguese from the University of Arizona, and a Master of Science degree in Data Analytics and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University.

Rose Mata serves as the Senior Director of Federal Healthcare, Education and Finance across the Verizon organization. This includes leading a group or professionals across the mobility and wireline sides of business to partner with customers to deliver technology solutions.

Rose has held many leadership roles in her 19-year Verizon career, including those in the consumer and business segments and government sectors.

Rose holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. Rose also serves on the board of directors at Santa Fe Montessori, a non-profit organization that provides early childhood education, at the foundation of educational success and is an active volunteer at several different volunteer programs.

Laura Manning began her career at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a contractor in October of 2010 and transitioned to a VA full-time employee in June of 2021. She has spent fifteen years supporting VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization efforts. She is passionate about helping her colleagues to work efficiently and within compliance standards as they develop software solutions that enable our nation’s Veterans to more easily access the benefits they have earned.

Laura serves in VA’s Office of Information and Technology (OIT) Software Product Automation Department as a Configuration Management Specialist who helps development teams implement efficient workflow strategies within required tool sets and in compliance with VA mandates and security directives. She specializes in tool chain/pipeline analysis and assessments, customizations of to-be workflow patterns and tool chain solutions, strategic maturation planning toward tool automation implementations, change management to meet traceability requirements, and stakeholder engagement through visualized product data. Recently, she served as her department’s subject matter expert on a committee reviewing National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-53 Configuration Management security control family language updates, identifying areas of VA policy needing improvement.

Laura cannot believe that she gets paid to problem-solve at work and enjoys collaborating with colleagues on new challenges. She listens with care to clients pain points, analyzes data with compassion for their circumstances, and serves as a catalyst for collaboration, change and continuous improvement. She is also a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace, believing that everyone has value to contribute toward solutions for critical issues at VA.

Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Tufts University in Boston and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Mills College in California. She lives in Washington DC with her wife and her cat. In her personal time, Laura enjoys exploring Washington’s many cultural and culinary offerings and volunteering on archaeological digs (two ancient kilns in southern Utah bear her named for having discovered them). She loves coffee, good books, and playing in her city’s kickball league

Katrina’s career spans over two decades as a seasoned professional in business development, specializing in program and project management across the private, non-profit, and government sectors. As a highly successful leader and team-player, she brings a strategic mindset and a keen ability to analyze processes to achieve optimal results.

Katrina’s educational background includes a Master’s in Marketing from Johns Hopkins University’s Carey School of Business (Class of 2009) and a Bachelor of Science in Mass Media Arts, Media/Public Relations, from Hampton University (Class of 2002).

Currently, Katrina is a Business Development Specialist and IT Solutions Account Advisor at the General Services Administration (GSA) in the Customer Strategic Solutions Division, Information Technology Category.

Katrina’s most proud accomplishment is being a mom and stepmom to her four boys, ranging from 19 months to 23 years old. In her spare time, she and her family enjoy spending quality time indulging in the amazing restaurants in the Washington, DC area and exploring the culture D.C. offers.

Dr. Jennifer Moser has served as the Associate Director of Scientific Programs for VA’s Million Veteran Program since March 2021. In this role, she leads the strategic planning for the generation and provisioning of molecular data and implements policy to increase access to MVP data in support of research into the genetics of diseases and conditions that impact Veterans. Prior to joining MVP, she served as a Health Science Specialist for VA’s Genomic Medicine Program for nine years.

Annaelizabeth (Anna) Nichols serves as the Senior Procurement Analyst for the DoD’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, Acquisition Directorate. Previously, Ms. Nichols was a Senior Procurement Analyst for the DoD’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and Contracting Officer at DHS’s Customs and Border Protection. Ms. Nichols earned her J.D. from the Washington College of Law and is actively barred in Virginia.

Madhavi L. Nookala serves as a Senior Enterprise Architect within VA Office of Chief Technology Officer (OCTO). In this role, she oversees developing and maintaining technology and modernization roadmaps of Top 100 Critical Products to achieve Operational Excellence (OE) and Vision-Driven Execution. Her leadership focus is based on three dimensions, people, processes, and technology. People are the most important asset of any organization. Her focus is to help everyone find themselves in the story when the organization is going through a transformational change.

She is passionate to create an organizational culture where everyone feels that their voice is heard, they had a seat at the table, and that they are empowered to make timely decisions thereby ultimately improving the Veterans experience.

Known for her strategic thinking, Nookala is recognized a technology leader focused on improving the customer experience, developing technical strategies, and engaging the workforce with a focus on IT modernization. She is also recognized as a savvy leader in driving consensus across diverse organizations and making difficult business decisions to deliver results and innovation across high profile enterprise efforts including Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Data & Analytics, Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), VA Cloud First, and IT Asset Management. She has a strong track record for managing IT investments, ensuring information security and privacy, and championing digital equity and accessibility. Nookala received VA CIO award for helping VA achieve FITARA “A” grade in the software in November 2017.

Ola Olude-Afolabi is the AI Visionary and PM for DOC AI Center of Excellence responsible for AI use cases in the Office of the CTO, a subject matter expert in artificial intelligence systems and emerging technologies.

Her fifteen-year government career centers on leading, implementing, encouraging the adoption of innovative and emerging technologies into operational success, audits, and oversight of AI use cases including developing policies, governance, program plans and Responsible AI standards based on Executive Orders 14110, 14091, 13960, 13859, M-24-10, M-21-06 and the AI Bill of Rights. She evaluates pioneering approaches and platforms in data innovations and artificial intelligence solutions that addresses Federal data priorities by advancing the use of data as a strategic asset to achieve mission outcomes and support evidence-based policies. In addition, she worked as an AI Patent Examiner at U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Her IT career started at a mail inserter company in 1993 and other consulting companies, eventually in AI and Robotics career at Corning Inc, in 1998.

Dr. Olude-Afolabi is a Harvard Senior Executive Fellow, a Clifford D. Clark Diversity Fellow and an Executive Branch AI Lab Technology Fellow by Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Recently, I was selected as 2024 AI Honoree Award, nominated as Top Women Leaders of DC for 2024 to mention a few. She received her Ph.D. in 2010 in Systems Science specializing in Artificial Intelligence Systems and M.S. in 2003 with a concentration in Systems Engineering from T.J. Watson School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Binghamton University, NY, and her B.S. in 1998 studied Computer Science from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Alison O’Mara is an accomplished strategic communications and public engagement specialist with more than 20 years of experience driving technology transformation initiatives across the federal government. She excels at distilling complex technology policies into persuasive narratives that resonate with key stakeholders and decision-makers.

In her current role as a Policy Analyst in the Office of the Federal CIO, Alison spearheads strategic outreach efforts on critical technology policies and priorities for federal agencies. She builds meaningful relationships with government leaders to provide insights on emerging technologies and best practices for modernization.

Previously, Alison was detailed to the CIO Council, where she helped shape interagency technology policies and facilitated collaboration on a variety of technology topic areas. At the General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services, she led high-impact IT modernization programs, accelerating the adoption of innovative solutions.

Earlier in her career, Alison provided management and technology consulting services to Cabinet-level agencies in the private sector. She assessed agency technology landscapes and recommended solutions to advance key mission goals.

Lauren Pavlik serves as the Chief for Data and Software Services within the Enterprise Cloud Management Agency under the Army CIO’s Office. In this position she supports the CReATE DevSecOps software environment for the Army, Cloud Cybersecurity modernization and automation, and cData efforts.

Previously, Ms. Pavlik served as the Chief Information Officer for PEO Soldier. In this position she supported the workforce and the Soldier with cloud technologies, cybersecurity innovation and modernization, enterprise data management strategy and analytics, and network operations. She also served as the Lead CIO for ASA ALT’s CIO Council.

Ms. Pavlik also held acquisition positions at PEO Enterprise Information Systems to include Deputy Technical Director for Army Leader Dashboard (now known as Army Vantage), Project Manager for the Enterprise Resource Planning Cloud Migration (GFEBS and AESIP), Deputy Knowledge Management Team Lead and Knowledge Management Specialist. Ms. Pavlik successfully led diverse teams to deliver enterprise process automations, data visualization capabilities, multiple cloud migrations to unclassified and classified environments and unified knowledge management in multiple areas.

In 2012, Ms. Pavlik earned her Master’s degree in Information Systems Management from Strayer University. She also earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University. Ms. Pavlik is a graduate of the Department of the Army’s Emerging Enterprise Leader program at University of Alabama Huntsville. She is also a member of the U.S. Army Acquisition Core.

Ms. Pavlik began her career in private industry producing national print, radio, and television campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and non-profits with an average audience of 60 to 180 million.

Heather Price has had a diverse leadership portfolio across the Pentagon, providing solutions in weapons systems acquisition, data science, strategic communications, private industry outreach, and business operations to the U.S. Army, the Air Force, and the Department of Defense (DoD). She currently serves as Deputy Director, Industry Engagement in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition & Sustainment), where she manages relationships across DoD and the defense industry in pursuit of strong ties between the Pentagon and the defense industrial base. She previously served as the Communications Director in Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army (G-3/5/7) Strategic Operations (DAMO-SO), working to showcase DAMO-SO as a major partner in DoD’s joint command and control endeavors. Additionally, she has served in Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology), where she built custom business intelligence and data analytics applications for Army senior leadership to monitor the health of the Army weapons systems portfolio. Heather has also served as Business Development & Engagement Strategist for

Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), responsible for advising Congressional and DoD relationship management and supporting DIU’s mission to accelerate commercial technology in AI, autonomy, cyber, human systems, and space. In industry, she served as International Business Development Manager for Raytheon Company, focused on expanding Raytheon’s global growth and international weapons sales.

In 2022, Heather swore in as a proud direct commission Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, where she serves as a Civil Affairs technology officer (38G-6R) assigned to 354th Civil Affairs Brigade. She is deeply passionate about Army recruitment and talent management.

Heather has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the National Military Intelligence Foundation, nominated to the 2023 DefenseScoop50, named one of Women in Technology’s 2021 “Rising Stars in Tech,” and selected as a 2019-2020 finalist for White House Fellows. In 2022, she was a featured speaker at Center for New American Security’s annual National Security Conference, where she addressed military tech talent management challenges after winning the Military Modernization session of the CNAS Pitch Competition.

Monica Rosser is the Executive Managing Director of Federal Health at Maximus. Since joining Maximus in 2023, she has been focused on driving the company’s strategic vision, growth, and customer expansion across the federal health landscape. As a seasoned executive and thought leader, Monica brings over 15 years of experience in driving transformational change, leveraging expertise in business growth, strategic leadership, business development, emerging technology, healthcare management, and customer experience. Her mission is to enable our nation to meet the evolving health challenges of citizens, soldiers, and Veterans by enabling a whole health view that provides equitable, positive, connected outcomes in all areas of life.

Previously, Monica served as Chief Growth Officer at Tria Federal and was the first female Chief Growth Officer at Favor Tech Consulting, achieving a remarkable 27% year-over-year revenue acceleration and contributing to a cumulative career impact of $4 billion. Prior to these positions, Monica served in high-impact roles at SBG Technology Solutions, Deloitte, and Booz Allen Hamilton. Monica earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and international studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her law degree from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, and master’s certificate in Health Information Security and Privacy from George Washington University.

Karla Smith Jackson is the Senior Procurement Executive, Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer, and Assistant Administrator for the Office of Procurement at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In this role, she provides senior executive leadership and oversight of NASA’s procurement functions, policy, and initiatives to an acquisition workforce of over 4,000 personnel.

Ms. Smith Jackson serves on the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) Board of Directors, the Federal Acquisition Institute Board of Directors, and on the

Federal Acquisition Regulation Council. She is one of only three signatory authorities that can execute procurement policies and procedures on behalf of the United States Federal Government. Ms. Smith Jackson has over 30 years of extensive federal service experience and is Level III–certified in the Contracting (Acquisition) Career Field.

Ms. Smith Jackson is known as a global speaker, panelist, and is the recipient of numerous awards, such as the Presidential Rank Award, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service, and the OSD Medal for Humanitarian Civilian Service. She was also recognized as one of WashingtonExec’s Top Contract Execs to Watch in 2023.

Deborah Stephens is the Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). She is the principal advisor to the Chief Information Officer (CIO), manages day-to-day OCIO operations, ensures value delivery across four product lines, and leads over 600 federal employees in their IT modernization efforts, guiding continual improvements to transform IT for maximum stakeholder value.

Ms. Stephens has served the USPTO for over 25 years in multiple key leadership roles. Prior to the OCIO, she was the Associate Commissioner for the Office of Patent Information Management, providing strategic direction and leading the improvement of information systems for patent applications. She has acted as Associate Commissioner for Patents and worked in the Office of the Under Secretary and Director of the USPTO.

A visionary leader, she is passionate about technology and driving change as the OCIO builds and delivers IT products and services for the mission with improved speed, efficiency and reliability. As DCIO, she has led an IT transformation and a strategic pivot to a new way of working and product-driven approach to scale enterprise value delivery and foster innovation for the mission. She is a transformative servant leader that understands that to deliver any change it has to happen one employee at a time. With this in mind, Ms. Stephens leads with empathy, and values her opportunity to work with each faithful public servant in OCIO to deliver innovative solutions for continuous mission support.

She earned a BA degree from George Mason University and a Master’s in Human Resource Management from George Washington University. She has served as a national voice for women in technology and is a featured speaker at conferences nationwide. In 2023, she received the highly regarded Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership from the School of Public Affairs at American University. Ms. Stephens has volunteered her time for 18 years for the Girl Scouts of the USA.

Melissa S. Vice is the director of the Vulnerability Disclosure Program (VDP) at the Department of Defense (DOD) Cyber Crime Center (DC3), Linthicum, MD.

The DOD VDP was established by the Secretary of Defense and its mission is to function as the single focal point for receiving vulnerability reports and interacting with crowd-sourced cybersecurity researchers supporting the DOD Information Network (DODIN).

Prior to her position as the DOD VDP Director, Ms. Vice was the Chief Technology Officer of the Business Mission Area (BMA) for The Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, Management (SAF/MG) / Deputy Chief Management Office (DCMO) in charge of road-mapping 400+ information systems to the cloud with a portfolio value of $938M. Prior to 11 years with the DOD, Ms. Vice worked in the private sector at General Electric (GE) Aviation Division, as a global database developer and administrator (Oracle DBDA) for all commercial and military aircraft engine repairs worldwide. While at GE among the world’s most talented aeronautical engineers, Ms. Vice had the thrill of a lifetime piloting her first 360 in a coworker’s restored 1957 Stearman (open cockpit bi-plane).

Lucinda is a seasoned executive who excels in implementing and enhancing information technology initiatives, with a primary focus on governance, financial management, acquisitions, and human capital programs, particularly within Chief Information Officer (CIO) organizations.

During her tenure as a Division Chief at the Department of State, she significantly improved IT investment decisions by establishing a transparent and robust IT financial management program. Lucinda worked closely with agency stakeholders to develop tools, enhance governance processes, and standardize data. She also achieved a significant milestone by successfully implementing the Technology Business Management Framework across the organization.

In her most recent role as a Product Manager at the Digital Service at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Lucinda improved interoperability, ensured financial sustainability, and provided open access to critical public health data for over 150 million beneficiaries.

Lucinda is deeply committed to developing the next generation of government leaders and actively supports the continuous growth and development of public servants. She played a key role in establishing a program focused on mentoring Chief Executive Officer (CXO) Fellows. Throughout her career, she has been a proactive advocate for programs like the Pathways Program, Coding It Forward, US Digital Corp, and other internship and fellowship initiatives, aimed at bringing tech talent into government. Her efforts have made a significant contribution to building a diverse, talented, and skilled workforce within the government.

Lucinda is excited to join the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Chief Information Officer and work closely with the OCIO team and stakeholders to implement DOT’s mission and key priorities.

Kathryn (Kate) Wetherby joined CMS in 2016 and is the Deputy Director for the Marketplace Innovation and Technology Group (MITG) in the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO). Kate has spent her federal career within the Department of Health and Human Services with a specialization in health information technology and a focus on cloud native solutions, AI-infused data analytics and the development and operations of highly scalable public facing systems. Prior to her tenure at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) she held positions at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) where she spearheaded the implementation of HITECH, interoperability and standards development, and Privacy and Consent standards.

Before transitioning to the federal government, Kate’s professional focus centered on startups and small businesses within the healthcare sector where she crafted and executed strategic initiatives aimed at driving growth and innovation and was instrumental in leading multifaceted product development overseeing the conception, design, and launch of solutions tailored to meet evolving market demands. Kate acts as a catalyst for change, playing a pivotal role in transforming corporate cultures. Drawing on her expertise in organizational psychology and leadership, she has implemented initiatives to foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity.

Natasha D. White, Ph.D. is a program manager with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Education, Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI). She is responsible for the management and oversight of the EPP/MSI Undergraduate Scholarship Program and supports the management of the NOAA Cooperative Science Centers. Dr. White is passionate about the goals and objectives of the EPP/MSI program to ensure candidates from historically excluded communities gain access to education and training in STEM disciplines relevant to NOAA’s mission. She was selected to represent NOAA in interagency activities, including NSF INCLUDES, the federally mandated Interagency Working Group for Inclusion in STEM, and the White House Initiative on HBCUs.

Prior to her current role, Dr. White worked as an Environmental Scientist with the NOAA National Ocean Service where she studied the impacts of environmental contaminants of emerging concern on the health of marine mammals, fish, and other marine species. Publications from her research on contaminant body burden and impacts to marine mammals and sediment contaminant levels in South Carolina have been used by congressmen in congressional inquiries and are currently being used as justification in support of updates to policies that relate to perfluorinated compounds in the environment.

Dr. White earned her BS degree in biology from Florida A&M University and her MS and Ph.D. degrees in environmental sciences from Florida A&M University. She has been recognized for her achievements, including receiving a 2023 Women of Color in STEM Award for Professional Achievement in Government, 2022 NOAA Administrator’s Award, Co-Principal Investigator of Full STEAM Ahead: Powering the Next Generation of Geoscience Leaders, NSF Hearts of G.O.L.D. Diversity Leadership award and the National Ocean Service EEO and Diversity Awards.