CompTIA Sharkbytes

A conversation with Paul Hopingardner, County Executive, Technology & Operations at Travis County, TX, and prior was its CIO. Prior to that Paul was with the City of Austin for nearly 18 years working his way up to deputy CIO and then Deputy Director. Working with his county commissioners, Harris County has embarked on a new study to explore telework and remote workforce to see what policies and procedures should be adopted or modified. The study includes the possibility of re-thinking office facilities. In this interview, Paul shares just how the study is progressing.

A conversation with Bill Greeves, who is currently with SAP as their State & Local Government and Education Industry Advisor. For the past 20+ years, Bill has been a public sector champion and thought-and action leader. Prior to joining SAP Bill was, Deputy County Manager/Chief Information & Innovation Officer, Wake County, NC for just over 8. 5 years. Bill was and continues to be a pioneer within the public sector and was one of the founders of MuniGov 2.0 that served as a virtual metaverse experimental meeting place – over a decade ago! Today the concept of virtual reality is just now experiencing a re-birth of interest with many exciting possibilities and applications. Learn what was behind Bill’s choice of a wolf as his avatar (you might be surprised) and then we look ahead to the near future as Bill shares his views as to what we might expect in public sector tech.

A conversation with Jennifer Chang, Head of U.S. State and Local Government, Zoom  Jennifer shares her views regarding how state and local governments have turned to video communications for internal and external communications. Zoom has become a household name that has become an essential tool for all levels of government, virtual family gatherings, as well as the cliche “Zoom Happy Hour”. Jennifer was named Most Powerful Salespeople 2019: who was then working for Cisco Systems by ColoradoBiz. And she was recognized years earlier when she received Most Influential Young Professionals award designation in 2010. At Cisco Jennifer served as Director of Sales, US Public Sector SLED West by Midwest and previously headed the Federal Civilian Scientific team at Cisco Systems.

A conversation with Rita Reynolds, CIO of the National Association of Counties (NACo)Rita Reynolds is viewed as a well-recognized thought and action leader. She was instrumental in the formation of PTI’s highly successful Certified Government CIO program and offered her CCAP group as a pilot. As a result, she is also a recognized CGCIO. Rita has been with NACo as its CIO for nearly three years, providing her with a national perspective in how counties are faring during the pandemic. Prior to coming to NACo, Rita served as CIO for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP) for nearly 21 years. Prior to CCAP she was a tech consultant serving the public sector for over 10 years.

A Conversation with Robert Ferdan, IT Director, Alameda County Mosquito District.Few realize that there are over 700 mosquito abatement districts (MADs) across the US – most with an critical IT component. These quasi-governmental organizations play a vital role in controlling the world’s most deadly disease-carrying insect. The Alameda County (CA) Mosquito Abatement District long ago secured the unique address www.mosquitoes.org (http://www.mosquitoes.org) which simply adds to the cleverness of this fascinating world we take for granted. Listen as IT Director Robert Ferdan talks about his stellar IT career and more about tech and MADs. Robert is a true IT pro with vision, tenacity, and just the right amount of curiosity to make a tremendous difference in his district.

A conversation with City of Dallas CIO, Bill Zielinski. Bill came to Dallas in June 2020 as the pandemic was spreading throughout the country. After some 30 years of federal government service, he decided to apply his leadership and knowledge skills in a city environment. He held some very senior positions at the federal levels including GSA – Assistant commissioner for IT category and before that Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Category Management; OMB -Branch Chief for Agency Oversight; Social Security Administration, CIO; and OPM, Associate for Retirement Services. Learn through this fascinating conversation what it is like to move from the federal side to local government – the opportunities and the downsides.

A conversation with Mark Wheeler, Chief Information Officer, City of Philadelphia. Mark has been CIO for nearly 4 years where he oversees and sets the vision for the City’s IT and innovation department, with annual budgets: $112M operating, $35M grants, $28M capital. He has been an outspoke champion for smart cities. Mark has been an urban planner and chief geographic officer.

A conversation with Laschelle McKay, Town Manager, Leonardtown, Md., and Joshua Justice, Founder, Owner & President, JustTech. Imagine an unfolding and beautiful 4th of July Weekend – until it becomes apparent there has been a crippling cyber-attack. Listen to this riveting conversation with the town manager and the Town’s faithful outside tech service provider. Will they succumb to paying the ransomware and what did it take to recover? Since this was recorded as part of our October 27th Cyber Leader Summit, the recording has been edited to contain only the “interview/conversation.

A conversation with book’s co-author Dan Lohrman, Chief Strategist & Chief Security Officer at Security Mentor, Inc. – former CISO, CTO, and CSO, State of Michigan. Dan discusses some of the key points of his must-read new book, where is served as co-author, Cyber Mayday and the Day After – Managing and Recovering From Inevitable Business Disruption. The book contains enormously instructive stories as well as invaluable resources and checklists. Dan continues to be one of the leading spokespersons on the topic of cyber security in the public sector.

A conversation with MJ Shoer, SVP, Executive Director, CompTIA ISAO. Before coming to CompTIA to head up the new feature-rich ISAO, MJ served as CompTIA’s Board Chairman, having served many years on the board. Prior to that he has been a successful small business leader in the IT field and starting his own companies along the way. Learn about CompTIA’s new and exciting cyber initiatives and how CompTIA is actively addressing the growing threats of cyber-attacks on both industry and public institutions.