2022 Government IT Sales Summit Speakers

Welcome and Opening Panel | 8:15 – 9:45

Mission Control: The State of the Industry 

 Kevin Giles, Master of Ceremonies

Mr. Giles has leadership and sales expertise with federal system integrators, value-added resellers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). With more than 20 years of supporting organizations in the public sector, he’s provided mission-driven solutions and outcomes for customer success. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University and a master’s degree in engineering from George Washington University.

Tamara Ells, Vice President and General Manager, immixGroup

Ms. Ells has led successful growth initiatives throughout her 25-year career. Before joining immixGroup, Ms. Ells served in various leadership positions within Arrow Electronics, formulating revenue generation strategies for legacy and alternative consumption models through channel partners. She has a proven track record of developing strategic alliances and partnerships with key IT manufacturers. Ells has received several awards, including CRN Channel Chief 2020; 2020 Women Worth Watching in Leadership, Diversity Journal Award; and CRN Power 100 Women of the Channel 2019. She graduated from Northwestern University, where she earned a B.A. in economics.

 Katharyn M White, Vice President, Federal Ecosystem, IBM

Ms. White's global career has included positions at HP, DuPont, MITRE, T-Systems and IBM. In her current role, she highlights issues of national importance, connecting federal system integrators and small businesses through open technology and collaboration. Ms. White is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Duke University and holds a master's degree from The Georgia Institute of Technology. She's a marketing society fellow who teaches at George Mason University and serves on the business school board of advisors.

Bill Burnham, Chief Technology Officer, U.S. Public Sector, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Mr. Burnham provides expert technical guidance and direction to key customers in the U.S. federal and state and local government and education (SLED) sectors.

Joshua Chessman, Vice President of Innovation and Strategy, Netreo

Mr. Chessman has worked in technology for more than 30 years across numerous industries, including K-12 education, the Department of Defense and various private sector areas. For the past 15 years, he’s focused on network and infrastructure monitoring with forays into artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps), application performance management (APM,) digital experience monitoring (DEM) and network security.

Morning Breakout 1 Sessions | 10:05 – 10:50 a.m.

Market Intelligence Briefing: The Department of Defense FY23 Budget

Ryan Nelson, Market Intelligence and Analytics Manager, immixGroup

Ryan Nelson has more than ten years of experience working in the government, serving in the military and leading immixGroup. He holds a B.A. from Bethel University, an M.S.S.I. from the National Intelligence University, and an M.B.A. from EBS University in Germany.

Mr. Dean is an experienced sales and business development expert who has worked for a critical infrastructure provider in the federal space. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where he majored in business administration and played for the men’s soccer team.

Fundamentals of Selling IT to the Federal Government 

 

Tara Franzonello, Program Development Manager, immixGroup

 Selling to SLED: The Evolving Landscape of Security Requirements and Contracts

 

   

Mr. Harris manages market intelligence in the state, local and education (SLED) marketplace. He’s researched the public sector for six years and has the knowledge and experience that help businesses grow their SLED information technology practice.

Jimmy Baker, Marketing Strategist SLED, Arrow/immixGroup

Mr. Baker is a speaker, author and marketing strategist in the public sector technology marketplace. He’s a graduate of the University of Maryland and a co-chair for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) for the Promote Career Discovery Working Group committee supporting cybersecurity pathways for youth.

 

Leah McGrath, Executive Director, StateRAMP

Ms. McGrath's 20-year career has focused on improving government outcomes at the state and local levels, helping shepherd government into the digital age. In her current role, Ms. McGrath has worked with peers to develop a governance and policy framework for StateRAMP, a national non-profit advancing state and local government cyber security. Prior, she held leadership positions in both the public and private sectors, including serving as the first deputy mayor of the City of Fishers, Indiana. She's a graduate of Purdue University. 

Market Intelligence Briefing: The Federal Civilian FY23 Budget

 

 

Including 15 years as an adjunct professor, Kevin Young has a long and successful career in the federal government, including key roles with IBM, SAIC and Unisys. His IBM honors include the Outstanding Achievement in Marketing Award, Award of Excellence and Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Ryan Nelson, Market Intelligence and Analytics Manager, immixGroup

Ryan Nelson has more than ten years of experience working in the government, serving in the military and leading immixGroup. He holds a B.A. from Bethel University, an M.S.S.I. from the National Intelligence University, and an M.B.A. from EBS University in Germany.

 

Public Sector IT Contracting and Compliance Update

 

Mr. Canizares represents government organizations in litigation, investigations and regulatory matters. He’s a former trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and draws on his experience serving as lead counsel in complex cases involving the federal government to strategically advise companies across industries to maneuver every phase of the federal procurement process.

As a technology business lawyer, Mr. Jo focuses his practice on complex commercial and licensing agreements and commercial technology product/platform development, integration, launch and counseling, with an emphasis on emerging technologies and platforms. He’s a former electrical engineer with knowledge clients find valuable when developing technically-oriented legal solutions. Mr. Jo has represented startups and emerging growth entities, high-profile technology enterprises and Fortune 500 companies in many sectors, such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices, healthcare, transportation, consumer goods and electronics, financial services, technology and energy.

Craig Stetson has over 25 years of direct practice in government contract accounting, pricing, subcontract management, regulatory and federal contract compliance, business system implementation and internal control oversight. His industry experience includes aerospace and defense, manufacturing, construction, architecture and engineering, information and communications, higher education and not-for-profits.

Marketing: Breaking Through to the SLED Marketplace 

 

 Aaron Heffron, EVP, Market Connections, GovExec

Aaron Heffron has over 20 years of experience researching and analyzing various industries and sectors, including the federal government, trade associations, technology, television and radio, and telecommunications. Prior to his current role, Mr. Heffron worked with The NPD Group, Inc., connecting NPD’s syndicated consumer data with federal, state and local government agencies. He founded some of the first public/private partnerships with the U.S. Department of Commerce to improve economic indicators and data-gathering practices.

Ms. Battaglia is an experienced federal marketer with over ten years of technical and digital knowledge. She’s responsible for planning and executing an overall marketing strategy and tactics for ThunderCat Technology and its entire portfolio of partners. Based in Reston, Virginia, ThunderCat is service-disabled, veteran-owned small business and leading solutions provider to the U.S. Government, educational institutions and commercial companies.

Christina Brown, Senior Marketing Manager - SLED, NetApp

Christina Brown has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, project management and sales. Ms. Brown brings a holistic approach to her position and aligns marketing goals with business priorities and sales objectives to create compelling integrated marketing plans across traditional and digital communications channels.

 A Look to the Future in Government IT

 

 

Before joining IBM, Mr. Halvorsen spent over three decades with the federal government in senior and influential roles, including chief information officer (CIO) for the Department of Defense (DOD), CIO for the Navy and CIO and executive vice president for IT and mobile for Samsung Electronics. In addition to his civilian government career, he's also served as an Army intelligence officer during Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait and Iraq.

Mr. Halvorsen's work in the government has been recognized twice with a Federal Computer Week Federal 100 award, in 2010 as the senior civilian at the Naval Network Warfare Command on its Cyber Asset Reduction and Security initiative and in 2016 as DOD CIO on cloud computing and the Joint Regional Security Stacks. He's received the Meritorious and the Distinguished Presidential Rank awards for Civilian Executive Service. Mr. Halvorsen holds a bachelor's degree in history from Widener University and a master's degree in educational technology from the University of West Florida. He is a Rotary International Paul Harris fellow and an Excellence in Government Leadership fellow.

Afternoon Breakout 1 Sessions | 2:00 – 2:45 p.m.

 Managing “as-a-Service” for Your Solution Stack

 

 

Matthew Millar, PhD, Technical Project Manager at the Office of Business Transformation / Adjunct Professor in Computer Science

Mr. Millar’s career has taken him worldwide and to the Pentagon, from game developer to airborne infantryman to a university professor. He’s managed an Army-wide initiative to build the first Business Health Metrics across siloed systems. The result was a single point of data-driven information for C-Level leadership. As an expert technical manager, Dr. Millar drives processes and projects to completion through teamwork, strategic thinking and tactical planning. 

Brian Merrick, Deputy Director, Solutions Delivery Staff, U.S. DOJ

Mr. Merrick has held leadership positions as deputy executive director for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and as director of the Office of Digital in the Bureau of International Information Programs. Additionally, he was Senior Advisor to the Deputy Chief Information Officer for Foreign Operations in the Bureau of Information Resource Management, supporting global IT infrastructure operations. He subsequently became the director of the Office of Innovative Infrastructure.

Mr. Merrick holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Wright State University and a leadership master’s degree from Olin Business School, Washington University. He is certified as a project management professional, information systems auditor, information security manager, and several others.

Mark Bubb has over 38 years of experience in the IT industry and has spent the last 22 years focusing on data management. His strong management, leadership and technical skills empower Mr. Bubb to set objectives and develop strategies that ensure customer success. He works with a broad internal team at NetApp and is a trusted advisor to NetApp Partners and Alliance Partners in developing solid data management strategies.

Prior to his role at NetApp, Mr. Bubb was a regional product support specialist and technical manager at EMC Corp. He’s focused on several major Department of Defense (DoD) accounts. After 9/11, Mr. Bubb played a pivotal role in Pentagon Renovation Program (PENREN). He’s also held various technical, engineering and managerial positions at Sequent Computer Systems Inc. and Prime Computer Inc.

 Joshua Chessman, Vice President of Innovation and Strategy, Netreo

Mr. Chessman has worked in technology for more than 30 years across numerous industries, including K-12 education, the Department of Defense and various private sector areas. For the past 15 years, he’s focused on network and infrastructure monitoring with forays into artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps), application performance management (APM,) digital experience monitoring (DEM) and network security.

Creating Cooperatives for Zero Trust 

 

Leah McGrath, Executive Director, StateRAMP

Ms. McGrath's 20-year career has focused on improving government outcomes at the state and local levels, helping shepherd government into the digital age. In her current role, Ms. McGrath has worked with peers to develop a governance and policy framework for StateRAMP, a national non-profit advancing state and local government cyber security. Prior, she held leadership positions in both the public and private sectors, including serving as the first deputy mayor of the City of Fishers, Indiana. She's a graduate of Purdue University.

Dr. Amy Hamilton has held many roles throughout her career, including senior cyber security policy analyst at the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President. She’s also a former U.S. military service member, certified project management professional and experienced communications strategist. As an award-winning public speaker, Dr. Hamilton presents on overcoming adversity, cyber security, project management and more.

Chip Wagner is a 20-year cyber practitioner and global subject matter expert for IBM security. Today, he leads the Threat Detection and Response team from a sales and go-to-market perspective. Mr. Wagner remains highly technical and uses his industry and business expertise to solve client/industry challenges, acting as the liaison and client to IBM's product strategy.

Kevin Hansen, Public Sector CTO, Micro Focus Government Solutions

With 20+ years of experience in the public sector, Kevin Hansen helps secure and modernize core mission systems for federal, state and local government organizations by developing and executing digital transformation strategies. He's an expert in legacy systems and enterprise IT for DevSecOps, hybrid IT architectures, cybersecurity and predictive analytics. Mr. Hansen is a passionate technology leader who continues to collaborate directly with government agencies on modernization initiatives, enhancing cybersecurity operations and, ultimately, achieving better outcomes.

 Making Your Case for AI and ML 

 

  

Tom Sasala, Chief Data Officer, Dept. of the Navy

Mr. Sasala leads the Department’s efforts in data management, information resources management, data governance and naval data policies. He’s responsible for implementing the OPEN Government Data Act, training the naval workforce on data and data analytics, and making high-quality and timely data available to decision-makers and wartime fighters.

Jane Zentmyer, Enterprise Architect, OIG, Health and Human Services

As OIG director, Jane Zentmyer leads her team in their mission, providing objective oversight to promote the economy, efficiency, effectiveness and integrity of HHS programs. She’s been recognized with a FedHealthIT100 honor, a peer award recognizing individuals for driving change and advancement in the federal health information technology and consulting market. Ms. Zentmyer holds several certifications, including her Zero Trust Strategy Certification from Forrester.

John Greenstein, General Manager, Bluescape Global and Public Sector

John Greenstein has over 20 years of software experience and has held leadership positions at Oracle, IBM and several venture capital-backed startups. He currently works closely with customers in the Department of Defense, the intelligence community and federal civilian agencies to enable digital transformation. 

 Ransomware and Risk Management

 

 

George Jackson, VP of Events, GovExec

Randy Jouben, Risk Manager, County of Fairfax, VA

Mr. Jouben is responsible for leading the mission of protecting the organization's tangible and intangible assets, including risk management, safety, business continuity and compliance. He has a diverse risk management background with over 30 years of experience spanning from working for insurance companies such as Prudential and American International Group to consulting and risk management positions in prominent organizations such as the American Red Cross, the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Virginia and Five Guys Enterprises, LLC.

Diving Deeper into SLED: Cyber Security, AI, RPA and Chat Bots

 

Jim Walker, Senior Vice President, Public Sector, Roboyo

Jim Walker works at every level of government to help agencies understand the value of moving to a fully automated enterprise. He applies 32 years of leadership experience in government (NASA, MDA, DISA and as an Army Major) to robotic process automation (RPA). Previously, Mr. Walker was the public sector evangelist and chief technology officer for Americas at UiPath. He also led NASA's "first in government" deployment of the Washington bot. He led the technical team in designing and developing the Bureau of Fiscal Services’ first bots at Treasury. Mr. Walker is a Fed100 recipient, earned a chief information officer certificate from the National Defense University and holds technology degrees from Cameron University and Capital College.

Chris LaPage, Chief Services Officer, Worldwide, Grants Office, LLC

John Austin, Product Management Director, Arrow