CompTIA Sharkbytes

A conversation with former Texas State CIO Karen Robinson and Arkansas State CTO Claire BaileyJoin us for Part 2 where the conversation continues with Karen Robinson and Claire Bailey. Both Karen and Claire have enjoyed a remarkable career in many significant ways. First, they defied the average tenure for the top tech leader where the normal tenure is 18 to 24 months. Karen Robinson was State CIO for 5+ years (10 years in the Governor’s Office prior) and Claire Bailey for some 23 years. Second, the excelled in a largely male-dominated environment. And third, they continue to lead, inspire and innovate. Today Karen serves as CEO and Founder of KWR Acuity Strategies, who has teamed up with Claire as Vice President of Business Development.

A conversation with former Texas State CIO Karen Robinson and Arkansas State CTO Claire BaileyBoth Karen and Claire have enjoyed remarkable careers in many significant ways. First, they defied the average tenure for the top tech leader where the normal tenure is 18 to 24 months. Karen Robenson was State CIO for 5+ years (10 years in the Governor’s Office prior) and Claire Baily for some 23 years. Second, they excelled in a largely male-dominated environment. And third, they continue to lead, inspire and innovate. Today Karen serves as CEO and Founder of KWR Acuity Strategies, who has teamed up with Claire as Vice President of Business Development.

A conversation Emily Yates, Smart City Director, Innovation Management, Office of Innovation & Technology, City of Philadelphia    A Fascinating discussion with practical real-life examples of innovation at work in the City/County of Philadelphia. This year the Philly won a coveted PTI Solutions Award which will be explained in this podcast. Emily Yates is a highly skilled urban policy professional with over fifteen years of project management, economic development, sustainable planning, and design experience. She has advanced knowledge in the transatlantic urban agenda with a focus on resiliency and revitalization policy, facilitating cross-sector collaboration and partnerships, and implementing civic engagement strategies which have brought vibrancy to local communities.

A conversation Amanda Renteria, CEO Code for America

Amanda has spent the majority of her career in public service, as a small-town teacher, Chief of Operations at the California Department of Justice, National Political Director for Secretary Clinton managing the political and outreach strategy for the 2016 Presidential Campaign, and as a Chief of Staff in the United States Senate. As CEO Amanda focuses on Code for America to work with community organizations and government to build digital tools and services, change policies, and improve programs.

 

She was named one of the most influential staffers by Roll Call and received a number of awards as the first Latina chief of staff in the history of the U.S. Senate. She has degrees from Stanford University and the Harvard Business School.

A conversation with Dan Lohrmann, Chief Strategist & Chief Security Officer at Security Mentor, Inc. – former CISO, CTO and CSO, State of Michigan.

Dan Lohrmann is one of the brightest thought leaders when it comes to cybersecurity and government. Dan led Michigan government’s cybersecurity and technology infrastructure teams from May 2002 to August 2014, including enterprise-wide Chief Security Officer (CSO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) roles in Michigan. During his distinguished career, he has served global organizations in the public and private sectors in a variety of executive leadership capacities, receiving numerous national awards including: CSO of the Year, Public Official of the Year and Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leader.

A Conversation with Mayor Jake Woodford, City of Appleton, WI.

 

Mayor Woodford succeeded a retiring mayor who had the position for some 24 years. Mayor Woodford took office just as the pandemic was taking off leaving no time to enjoy the traditional “honeymoon” period that most newly elected leaders enjoy. He wasted no time in summoning the forces he could control and pivoted to a hybrid work environment. Most importantly he recognized at once the importance of technology and is a firm believer in investing in it. This interview will leave many saying, “why can’t my mayor think and act like that!”.

A Conversation with Adam Lesh, Founder and CTO, The Maker Foundry, and Co-Chair, of CompTIA’s Blockchain Advisory Council.

For anyone seeking a better explanation of what blockchain can do along with a practical and well thought out application, this podcast is for you! Adam Lesh dispels some common myths about blockchain and shares a practical blockchain framework for entitlements to citizens and customers alike. They are: 1. Tokenization, 2. Smart Contracts, 3. Proof of Identity, 4. Identity Protection, 5. Instant Redemption, and 6. Immutable Record. Taken together this framework holds the promise of a far greater system of entitlements to citizens and customers alike that is highly efficient, immediate, easily auditable, and secure.

Join CompTIA's Blockchain Technology Interest Group here to learn more from Adam and our Blockchain Industry Advisory Council members:  https://connect.comptia.org/connect/technology-interest-groups/blockchain-technology-interest-group (https://connect.comptia.org/connect/technology-interest-groups/blockchain-technology-interest-group)

A Conversation with Dr. Costis Toregas, is the Director of the Cyber Security and Privacy Research Institute at George Washington University and is Montgomery County’s IT Advisor, and if his name looks familiar he was with PTI for some 28 years mostly as its President and CEO.

Dr. Toregas is regarded as one of the finest thought leaders in the US when it comes to technology and government. Costis speaks to the continued need for innovation in government, sheltered adoption and the reality of dissonance between policy and the speed of technological advances. The discussion looks at the current state of cyber security and how the issue of privacy fits in. Ultimately it’s all about the citizen and how local governments relates to them both in form and substance.

A Conversation with Chris Cruz, Chief Information Officer (State, Local, Education) at Tanium, and former Director and CIO San Joaquin County, California.

Listening to Chris Cruz, security it is all about protecting the endpoints. While CIO San Joaquin County, the county was named as a leader in the prestigious 2020 Digital Counties Survey due in large part the Chris Cruz’s leadership. San Joaquin County runs a demanding IT infrastructure connecting thousands of endpoint devices and supporting everything from local education services and law enforcement to the court system and healthcare facilities. Such complexity can be the enemy of effective IT security and operations. Chris actually spent most of his career in State government as California’s Deputy CIO, Department of Technology; Deputy Director and CIO for the California Department of Health Care Services; and Agency CIO, California Department of Food and Agriculture.

A Conversation with Katherine Escobar, Managing Director of the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), and Deputy Division Chief Data and Standards Division, U.S. Department of Defense, Joint Staff J6, and Paul Wormeli and Mike Phillips who are both part of a NIEM Tiger Team to reach out to local, territorial and tribal authorities (SLTT).  

This session continues the discussion on NIEM as the conversations digs deeper into NIEM and information sharing. NIEM was formed in part as a response to 9-11’s failures to gather and share data in a meaningful way. After freeing itself from early growing pains and cumbersome procedures – NIEM has become agile, streamlined and now supports 15 critical domains – many directly impacting state and local governments. In a world where is data is “pure gold” We need to be able to share and digest it in a AI-ready environment. This discussion is an eye-opener.