Impact Point

In this episode of Impact Point, host Neelima Grover and co-host Calin Brierley (CTO at Elessar Technology) are joined by former Secretary of the Interior and current Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke. Together, they discuss the evolving threat landscape of counter-drone warfare, the legislative push to streamline defense technology exports to allies, and why overcoming acquisition bureaucracy and accepting operational risk are critical to maintaining U.S. national security.

MAIN TAKEAWAYS

00:00 – Host Neelima Grover introduces co-host Calin Brierley and guest Congressman Ryan Zinke.

01:27 – Rep. Zinke explains the LEED Act, the Allied Defense Sales Act, and rapid battlefield technological changes.

03:52 – Addressing the bureaucratic friction between the State Department, Pentagon, and Congress.

06:06 – The essential role of human training and readiness across active duty and National Guard units.

08:17 – Balancing equipment, leadership, interagency coordination (JSOC), and NGO insights.

11:36 – Maximizing unit-level training and addressing top-down vs. bottom-up technology acquisitions.

15:18 – Drone swarms, AI integration, cheap mass production, and lessons from global conflicts.

20:04 – Moving away from rigid 5-year acquisition plans to field non-program-of-record technologies.

25:23 – Removing contracting middle-man barriers to allow direct operator-vendor dialogue.

29:24 – Pushing the FAA on Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) rules for agriculture and infrastructure.

38:02 – Debunking drone disinformation and establishing constitutional safeguards on data collection.

42:54 – Homeland defense, Fourth Amendment protections, and preparing for asymmetric threats.

46:25 – Moving legislation through the Senate and focusing on capability over hardware acquisition.

48:25 – Final thoughts on leadership, training, and American innovation.

Resources & Links Mentioned

Learn more about Elessar Technology and Impact Point: (https://elessar.us) (https://q2impact.com)

Relevant Legislation: LEED Act, Allied Defense Sales Act, Safer Skies Act

#NationalSecurity #DefenseTech #CounterUAS #Drones #DefenseAcquisitions #Leadership #ImpactPoint #PublicPolicy #Innovation

Counter-drone defense has rapidly shifted from a niche concern to an urgent national security priority across military bases, airports, federal prisons, and major public venues. But while detection and takeover technology are advancing rapidly, is human preparedness and policy keeping pace with the threat?

In this episode of Impact Point, co-hosts Neelima Grover (CEO and Founder of Q2 Impact) and Marsha Slocum sit down with Brett Feddersen, Vice President of Strategy and Government Affairs at D-fend Solutions and Chair of the Security Industry Association’s Counter-UAS Working Group. Drawing on his extensive background spanning the FAA, National Security Council, Joint Chiefs, and Defense Intelligence Agency, Brett breaks down how modern RF cyber takeover technology works, the realities of interagency coordination during major events like the World Cup, and why training pipelines must expand to empower local law enforcement and critical infrastructure operators.

Key takeaways:

00:00 Introduction

01:36 Brett traces his C-UAS path to 2014 White House drone incidents and explains D-Fend's RF cyber technology, which safely takes over and lands rogue drones (e.g., 2,000+ detected at the World Cup)

04:28 Explores D-Fend’s EnforceAir 2 system for swarm/single threat tracking, alongside operator training models via the FBI's Huntsville center and D-Fend's support academies.

11:50 Highlights the massive training backlog across ~18,000 U.S. police departments and stresses that drone tech and threats are evolving faster than government policies.

16:21 Emphasizes that no single device stops every threat—requiring a layered approach (radar, cameras, RF) and better interagency communication to prevent operational silos.

24:41 Discusses using wargaming, tabletop exercises, and simulation tools (like Q2 Holodeck) to build hands-on operator muscle memory for real-world incidents.

31:18 Addresses how agency rivalries and culture can hinder response efforts, pointing to Incident Command System (ICS) frameworks and continuous training as the solution.

40:07 Looks ahead to integrating C-UAS into Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) and urges Congress to grant drone mitigation authorities to private critical infrastructure (power plants, transport hubs).

Thanks for listening to the Impact Point podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star review and subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any future episodes.

The Impact Point podcast is brought to you by Q2IMPACT.

#LeadershipDevelopment #ChangeManagement #DigitalTransformation

As counter-UAS threats grow more sophisticated, the biggest failure point facing modern defense isn't the technology—it’s the human cognitive burden.

In this episode of Impact Point, co-hosts Marsha Slocum and Neelima Grover (Founder & CEO of Q2 Impact) sit down with Ben Rohrbaugh, co-founder of Lantern UAS and former Director for Enforcement and Border Security at the National Security Council. Drawing from his extensive background inside the Department of Homeland Security and the White House, Ben cuts through the noise of national security acquisition.

Discover why data fusion and human-centered design are critical for modern warfighters, how artificial intelligence must be leveraged to ease operator decision-making, and what it truly takes for government systems to adapt before defense windows close.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

00:00 – Introduction

02:15 – Moving From Policy to Entrepreneurship

08:30 – The Reality of the Modern Drone Threat

15:45 – Why the "best technology" fails if operators are overwhelmed.

24:10 – The messy, fragmented reality of software interoperability.

33:20 – Government Procurement and why the acquisition window is closing on outdated hardware.

42:05 – Humans in the Loop and designing interfaces for users operating under extreme pressure.

51:15 – The Q2 Impact 28 years of human-centered design applied to national security.

54:14 – Outro

Thanks for listening to the Impact Point podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star review and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss any future episodes.

The Impact Point podcast is brought to you by Q2IMPACT.

#LeadershipDevelopment #ChangeManagement #AIGovernance

The federal contracting market is generating more signals than most contractors know how to read. Ross Wilkers, Senior Staff Reporter of “Washington Technology,” covers government contracting for GovExec. In this episode, he separates noise from signal, explains why the innovation pyramid has flipped, and maps where federal AI adoption is real versus aspirational. He unpacks the Anthropic-DoD guardrail dispute and closes with three priorities for contractors right now.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

00:00 Introduction.

03:00 Budget top-line drama is noise. Programmatic outlays are the signal.

05:10 Agencies decide slowly but move fast once committed. Miss the window, miss the contract.

07:30 OTA and iterative contracts are becoming mainstream, not alternative.

15:15 The innovation pyramid has flipped. Commercial R&D leads; government is climbing toward it.

18:30 Teaming is not optional for small businesses. Integrators are looking for partners.

28:15 Show proof of outcomes, timeline, and a scaling pathway.

30:15 No agency weights speed, proof, and scale equally. Know your customer first.

46:30 Anthropic-DoD is a guardrail dispute with market consequences.

57:45 Outcomes, customer knowledge, workforce investment. All three, all the time.

Thanks for listening to the Impact Point podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star review and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss any future episodes.

The Impact Point podcast is brought to you by Q2IMPACT.

#LeadershipDevelopment #ChangeManagement #AIGovernance

How do we turn cutting-edge military technology into an actual capability on the battlefield? In this episode of Impact Point, hosts Neelima Grover and Marsha Grodnicki sit down with Chris Sargent and Henry Sullivan, the co-founders of Strongpoint Labs.

From the pitfalls of "cookie-cutter" vendor training to the urgent realities of the Counter-UAS (C-UAS) threat, Chris and Henry explain why true readiness isn't about what gear you buy—it's about how you train the humans operating it. They dive deep into the Drone Dominance Program (DDP), the lessons we must carry over from the counter-IED fight, and why the military must learn to embrace failure in training before heading down range.

Whether you are a tech vendor, defense acquisition professional, or military leader, this episode cuts through the noise to deliver actionable insights on modern drone warfare.

00:00 – 01:42 | Intro & Guest Backgrounds

02:12 – 08:00 | The Tech-to-Warfighter Gap & Basic Training Traps

09:35 – 23:33 | Mission-Centered Training, Failure, & Real Readiness

24:47 – 36:20 | Counter-UAS (C-UAS), Decision Latency, & Interagency Challenges

42:35 – 50:54 | Future Tech Trends & Integration

1. Acquisition and Operationalization: Buying gear doesn't make a unit ready. Real capability requires hands-on, realistic, and continuous home-station training.
2. Avoid Single-Point Failure: Don't rely on individual "tech champions" who leave after 3–5 years. Institutionalize peer-to-peer knowledge transfer.
3. Counter-UAS Requires a System-of-Systems: Much like C-IED efforts, defeating drone threats demands combined EW, kinetic solutions, dynamic doctrine, and streamlined institutional responses.

• Strongpoint Labs: Follow Chris Sargent & Henry Sullivan.
• Q2 Impact: Visit q2impact.com or connect on LinkedIn.

David Lillie, Executive Director of the Syrian American Medical Society, has spent 25 years delivering humanitarian assistance in conflict zones, including Syria, Sudan, and Rwanda. In this episode, he makes the case that humanitarian aid is not charity. It is crisis prevention, and the cost of cutting it is measured in instability, disease, and displacement, not budget savings.

With over 320 million people globally in need of aid and US funding declining sharply, David lays out what breaks first when the money stops, why Syria demands sustained attention after liberation, and how AI and better data practices can help the sector do more with less.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

00:00 Introduction. 

00:42 After funding was cut, agencies faced immediate life-or-death decisions about continuing services in the field.

04:18 Humanitarian crises and big gaps do not disappear when attention and funding dry up; they become more dangerous.

06:00 Syria's displacement crisis shows how sustained investment prevents regional instability and disease spread.

18:27 Return on humanitarian investment shows up in population movement, crises that emerge,t and private sector growth, not government reports.

21:29 When funding stops, local partners collapse first, and there is a huge cost to rebuilding.

30:34 70% of humanitarians use AI, but only 3% use it for anything beyond basic summaries and translation.

38:46 AI will not replace humanitarian workers, but it can help them see risks faster and catch fraud earlier.

45:26 Humanitarian assistance is not compassion. It is a smart investment. It has a framing issue and we need to let the data speak about why HA is an investment and why it matters.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

David Lillie

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-lillie-60158196/?isSelfProfile=false

Syrian American Medical Society | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/syrian-american-medical-society/

Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) | Website

https://sams-usa.net/ 

Humanitarian Data Exchange:

https://data.humdata.org/

GeoWrangler:

https://geowrangler.thinkingmachin.es/ 

Thanks for listening to the "Impact Point" podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star review and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss any future episodes. 

The Impact Point podcast is brought to you by Q2IMPACT.

#LeadershipDevelopment #ChangeManagement #AIGovernance

The drone threat is no longer a future problem. Recent incidents at El Paso and Fort Hancock have exposed a critical vulnerability — not in technology, but in how organizations coordinate decisions under pressure. The biggest counter-UAS readiness gap is a practice problem, not a hardware one.

In this episode of “Impact Point,” we sit down with Brad Halsey, Founder of Building Momentum and former Navy Surface Warfare Officer. Brad draws on two decades of defense innovation and experiential learning to explain why adaptation speed now trumps technology sophistication, how government access restrictions are stalling domestic innovation, and why the organizations that will hold the line are built on continuous iteration — not advanced hardware.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

06:15 There is no DARPA Hard anymore, only DARPA Fast. The drone threat moves faster than two-year development cycles.

10:08 Counter-UAS agility requires rethinking the business model, not just the technology stack.

13:00 Government access restrictions have prevented war fighters from building the reps that matter most.

14:00 Risk tolerance in garrison should be higher than in combat, not lower. That cultural inversion is slowing adaptation.

16:21 Drone incidents aren't surprising because the threat is new. They're surprising because we've never practiced responding to them in the environments where they occur.

35:00 World Cup preparation should focus on the asymmetric scenarios, not the ones every security team already has an SOP for.

38:00 Fluid multi-authority communications must be practiced, not assumed. Coordination failures in low-stakes drills become casualties in real events.

44:19 The speed of adaptation is the shield. For government leaders, industry, and venture capital alike, that's the only durable competitive position.

Resources Mentioned:

Brad Halsey

http://linkedin.com/in/brad-halsey-74109933

Building Momentum | LinkedIn

http://linkedin.com/company/building-momentum-llc

Building Momentum | Website

http://buildmo.com

Defense Acquisition University (DAU)

http://dau.edu

Q2IMPACT

http://q2impact.com

Thanks for listening to the “Impact Point” podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star review and subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any future episodes. 

The “Impact Point” podcast is brought to you by Q2IMPACT.

#LeadershipDevelopment #ChangeManagement #AIGovernance

Billions are spent on US security cooperation every year. Mick Crnkovich, one of the most candid practitioners in the field, joins us to make the case for treating assessment, monitoring, and evaluation (AM&E) not as compliance overhead, but as the decision infrastructure that protects taxpayer investment and keeps security cooperation honest.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

01:16 AM&E was built to be a decision infrastructure, not paperwork.

09:06 AM&E expertise does not exist inside the Department of Defense.

12:17 A single vendor created consistency. Fragmentation broke it.

16:55 DoD culture is the biggest obstacle to lasting AM&E progress.

20:31 Effective AM&E integrates data, people, and culture as one system.

25:18 Choosing the cheapest vendor produces garbage in, garbage out.

28:33 Big primes are a mile wide and an inch deep. AM&E needs specialists.

39:18 Rigorous AM&E aligns directly with this administration's efficiency priorities.

48:25 No one inside the combatant commands was held accountable for AM&E outcomes.

50:16 AI and ML must be integrated into SSCI proposals. The talent exists.

53:21 AM&E professionals speak a language most DoD stakeholders do not understand.

55:00 The best teams combine AM&E expertise with former security cooperation officers.

01:09:48 The enterprise is at a restart point. Not from scratch, but a deliberate reset.

Resources Mentioned:

Mick Crnkovich

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mick-crnkovich/

Q2IMPACT

https://www.q2impact.com

Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)

https://www.dsca.mil/

Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU)

https://dscu.edu/

U.S. Code § 383 — NDAA 2017 AM&E of Programs and Activieties

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/383

SCIP — Security Cooperation Information Portal

https://scip.dsca.mil/welcome/

The Good American: The Epic Life of Bob Gersony

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/588768/the-good-american-by-robert-d-kaplan/

Thanks for listening to the “Impact Point” podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star review and subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any future episodes. 

The Impact Point podcast is brought to you by Q2IMPACT.

#LeadershipDevelopment #ChangeManagement #AIGovernance

Building resilient supply chains, translating talent across sectors, and aligning public and private incentives are becoming defining challenges for US competitiveness. Sreenivas Ramaswamy, Chief Innovation Officer of NobleReach™,️ joins us to explore how innovation policy, procurement reform, and workforce development must evolve to meet today’s national security and economic realities. Drawing from his varied career, including his role in shaping the CHIPS and Science Act, Sree explains why government, industry, and academia often struggle to work in sync. 

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

01:10 Sreenivas moves from space engineering to economics and McKinsey.

05:51 NobleReach™ is built to bridge language gaps between government, industry, and academia.

07:42 Moving innovation from lab to market requires addressing systemic gaps.

12:57 Capital is available, but ecosystem gaps and misaligned talent slow investment.

17:22 Solving talent gaps requires bringing capital allocators and operators into government.

18:34 Effective change management starts with clearly defining the real problem.

19:01 US–China competition requires public and private sectors to align and break down silos.

21:43 Fragmented workforce programs drive ongoing skill gaps.

Resources Mentioned:

Sreenivas Ramaswamy

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreeramaswamy/

NobleReach™ | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/noblereach/

NobleReach™️ | Website

https://noblereach.org/

CHIPS and Science Act

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4346

Thanks for listening to the “Impact Point” podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star review and subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any future episodes. 

The Impact Point podcast is brought to you by Q2IMPACT.

#LeadershipDevelopment #ChangeManagement #DigitalTransformation

The GovCon landscape is undergoing seismic change, and navigating it requires a new kind of leadership, talent strategy, and organizational mindset. In this episode, we sit down with Jake Frazer, President and Co-Founder of Precision Talent Solutions, to explore how CEOs, executives, and transitioning professionals can adapt, upskill, and thrive in a rapidly shifting market. Jake shares insights from decades in the industry, highlighting what today’s GovCon leaders must understand about procurement reform, AI-driven shifts, and the changing nature of business development. He also discusses career pivots, organizational mapping, and how empathy and human connection remain irreplaceable in a world increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

01:20 CEOs face the most turbulent GovCon talent landscape since 9/11.

05:14 AI now handles major BD tasks that once required full teams.

08:12 CEOs should use assessment tools to see who can adapt to rapid change.

10:32 Assess team personalities to identify who can adapt.

14:59 Career Concierge launches to provide structured career guidance.

22:01 Hire for future behavior, not past experience.

24:23 AI frees recruiters to focus on a deeper understanding of customers and candidates.

26:23 Critical hires deserve support from expert search partners.

Resources Mentioned:

Jake Frazer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakefrazer/

Precision Talent Solutions | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/precision-talent-solutions/

Precision Talent Solutions | Website

https://pts.careers/

The Future of GovCon Podcast

https://pts.careers/podcast

GovWin Intelligence Platform

https://iq.govwin.com/neo/home

Thanks for listening to the “Impact Point” podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star review and subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any future episodes. 

The Impact Point podcast is brought to you by Q2IMPACT.

#LeadershipDevelopment #ChangeManagement #DigitalTransformation