Today's guest is Dominic Sale. He is the Managing Director at Code and Theory, which builds transformative digital experiences for federal agencies. Dominic is a previous federal employee where he worked at the General Services Administration, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Department of Transportation. We talk a bit about the all too formal way government interacts with industry and how better dialog needs to occur. Both Dominic and I interact and meet up at a variety of DC area networking groups and have gotten to know each other over the past 3-4 years.

You can engage Dominic here:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-sale/

The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu

List of past episodes: https://www.thegeekwithin.net/

Today's guest is Kate Livis. She is the President of Livis Consulting, which is a small woman owned business specializing in IT consulting, agile management, and IT staffing. Kate and I go back over 20 years when I hired her as a developer at a small DOD consulting firm. We take some time to talk about the state of training staff and how many organizations overlook it and lose out.

You can engage Kate here:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-gribovsky-livis-5638759/

Website - https://livisconsulting.com/

The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu

List of past episodes: https://www.thegeekwithin.net/

Today's guest is Arfa Syed. She is on the Growth and Strategy team at Leidos. Arfa graduated from the ACT-IAC Voyagers 2022; she sat on the Cybersecurity board at NOVA and was also a 2022 NOVA commencement speaker! On top of all of that, Arfa is also a freelance writer and speaker focused on IT, Cybersecurity, and digital media. And finally, Arfa was recently certified to teach yoga. I have known Arfa for a few years, and I am excited to finally get her on the podcast. We got a chance to talk a bit about the challenge of a company that graduates from small business and the severe impact it has on their opportunities

You can engage Arfa here:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/arfasyed/

The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu

List of past episodes: https://www.thegeekwithin.net/

Today's guest is Jonathan Hamlet. He is a Senior Procurement Executive at the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Jonathan has worked at six different federal agencies in his government career and did a stint at Booz Allen Hamilton. I met Jonathan when I worked at MCC and found him to be extremely knowledgeable in the acquisition space. Jonathan speaks to how important it is to get your customer's perspective and spend time with the company delivering products/services to ensure good communication and appropriate relationships.

You can engage Jonathan here:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-hamlet-5863b1148/

The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu

List of past episodes: https://www.thegeekwithin.net/

Today's guest is Beth A. Martin. She is a UX Design and CX Subject Matter Expert in Digital Services at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Beth is also a board member of Federal Innovators Salon. We talk about our shared passion of mentoring for those early in their career and encouraging others to consider a career in government. Beth and I run into each other at networking events here in the DC area and I find it incredibly important to connect with fellow Government employees.

You can engage Beth here:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethannmartin/

The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu

List of past episodes: https://www.thegeekwithin.net/

Today's guest is Jordan Ottaway. He is a Marketing Project Manager at Dallas-based Mortgage company. Jordan is a journalist turned marketer, which I am looking forward to hearing about. Jordan and I discuss how there is a general mindset of fear that keeps organizations and people from taking risks and trying new ideas and solutions.

You can engage Jordan here:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanottaway/

The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu

List of past episodes: https://www.thegeekwithin.net/

Today's guest is Aaron Pujanandez. He is the CEO of Delta Lima, a firm focused on data science and data analytics across the government. Aaron and I met through our shared love of networking within the GovCon space in Washington DC. We had a great conversation on organizations providing an allowance for experimentation and investing after showing successes. Aaron shares a bit about establishing an Employee Resource Group and how it positively impacted the organizational culture and then we deep dived into expanding how this can be a success generator.

You can engage Aaron here:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronpujanandez/

Website - https://collabolutions.com/

The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu

List of past episodes: https://www.thegeekwithin.net/

Today's guest is Alexa Tsui. She is the Chief Operating Officer for G2Xchange, growth tool suite for government and contractors. Alexa and I met through networking events in the Washington DC area. We had a great conversation on how we need to encourage math skills at a younger age. Alexa also shared how we need to better equip those early in their career by teaching them effective communications skills.

You can engage Alexa here:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexatsui/

Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmPskkWg2d_V6ofnc56KJQggh5Pk-vRZm

Charity - https://runwaytothecure.charityproud.org/Fundraising/P2P/Stephanie%20and%20Alexa

The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu

List of past episodes: https://www.thegeekwithin.net/

Today's guest is Tarrazzia Martin. She is the Senior Advisor for Enterprise Technology Planning and Change Management at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Executive Director of USNIA Global Law Enforcement and Investigation Services. Tarrazzia and I discussed how organizations should consider programs to help amazing contributors become good managers and how to better collaborate in a new hybrid world.

You can engage Tarrazzia here:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarrazzia/

Website - https://www.usnia.com/

Charity - https://newutopia-int.org/

The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu

List of past episodes: https://www.thegeekwithin.net/

Today's guest is Doug Yates. He is a Consultant and Advisor for Intelligent Information Management at Konica Minolta Business Solutions focused on DocPoint Solutions. DocPoint is a well-known brand name within the Microsoft space, which is how Doug and I recently ran into each other at a Microsoft conference. We also talked about the lack of knowledge shared with students about all the interesting jobs available and how it could help them get excited about something unique and important. Doug also raised some challenges with how the government buys products and services.

You can engage Doug here:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougeyates/

The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu

List of past episodes: https://www.thegeekwithin.net/