This week, the GovNavigators welcome Love Rutledge, host of the Fed Upward Podcast and recently retired Senior Executive from the Department of Defense. From her start as a GS-7 working two jobs to leading readiness and talent initiatives at the Pentagon, Love shares lessons from 25 years in federal service—and why she’s optimistic about what comes next.

The conversation covers the latest DOD acquisition reforms, the perennial push for a clean audit, and the need for smarter, more flexible civilian personnel systems that make it easier to bring great people in (and back) to government. Plus, Love talks about how the challenges of paid parental leave inspired her to start Fed Upward and why so many feds are now seeking community through peer-to-peer networks.

Also this week: the government reopens after 43 days, a new Center for U.S. Lending launches under Doug Criscitello, and the White House issues an executive order to improve benefits delivery for American families.

Show Notes:

SOW (née Secretary of Defense): Acquisition demo

Center for U.S. Lending: Launch

What's on the GovNavigators Radar:

Nov 18: DefenseOne’s State of Defense Business Acquisition Summit 

Dec 4-5: ACT-IAC's ELC in DC!  

Welcome back to The Lending Brief, brought to you by the GovNavigators and sponsored by Allocore. The Lending Brief shares stories of innovation, challenge, and impact in federal lending.

In this episode, Allocore Managing Director Ben Wallace joins to discuss how government lending programs can finally catch up to the scale and speed of modern finance. Throughout our conversation, Ben breaks down what it really takes to modernize loan origination and servicing across agencies like SBA, USDA, DOE, and VA. He shares insights from decades of federal financial-system reform, lessons from recent platform integrations, and the steps needed to make lending both efficient and equitable.

Want more from The Lending Brief? Check out The Lending Brief Newsletter

This week on the GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam welcome Ted Kaouk, former Federal Chief Data Officer and (as Adam puts it) the godfather of the federal CDO community. Now founder of Generative Work AI, Ted joins the hosts to discuss how generative AI is transforming the way organizations think, learn, and lead.

From his “30 AI apps in 30 days” challenge to lessons from building the CDO Council after the Evidence Act, Ted shares insights on how agencies can move from compliance to true data-driven value, the emerging art of “vibe coding,” and why behavioral feedback may be the new superpower in managing AI systems.

Show Notes:

OPM: Hiring Guidance Memo

Veterans Day: VA Resources for Honoring the Day

Events on the GovNavigators' Radar:

Nov 10: ACT-IAC GovTechNext Emerging Tech Demo Day

Nov 12: ACT-IAC CX Summit

Nov 18: DefenseOne’s State of Defense Business Acquisition Summit 

Dec 4-5: ACT-IAC's ELC in DC!  

This week on the GovNavigators Show, ACT-IAC CEO Dave Wennergren sits down with Robert and Adam to talk about how ACT-IAC and similar organizations are staying the course through the recent big shifts in the federal management and technology. 

Throughout sweeping cost-cuts, shifting priorities, and the AI wave, Dave and everyone on his team have been helping government and industry chart a path forward. Join us while we muse about where we've been, and where we might be heading. It's day 33 of the government shutdown- is there light at the end of the tunnel?

Show Notes:

Keep up with upcoming ACT-IAC events

District Court Judge Blocks RIFs

New DOT and Google Major Contract

NVIDIA GTC Conference Recap

New Citizenship Test

Robert Revieves the George Graham Award from NAPA

Events on the GovNavigators' Radar:

Nov 2-4: National Academy of Public Administration’s National Conference 

Nov 4: Data Foundation’s Datum Awards 

Dec 4-5: ACT-IAC's ELC in DC!  

Welcome to The Lending Brief, a brand new show brought to you by the GovNavigators and sponsored by Allocore. The Lending Brief shares stories of innovation, challenge, and impact in federal lending.

Our first guest is Doug Criscitello, former CFO at HUD and SBA, and now a fellow at Arnold Ventures. Doug unpacks how the federal government quietly became one of the world’s largest lenders, and why the volume of loans has exploded since the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program.

He explains how shrinking workforces and rising demand are forcing agencies to modernize through automation, analytics, and AI, not just to process loans faster, but to strengthen risk controls and inform policy decisions in real time. Doug also makes the case for a “Federal Credit Intelligence Hub,” a centralized data platform that could track performance, detect fraud, and guide smarter policy across agencies.

Want more from The Lending Brief? Check out The Lending Brief Newsletter

This week on the GovNavigators podcast, Robert and Adam sit down with the newest member of the GovNavigators team, Chief Strategy Officer Hilery Sirpis! Hilery shares her insight gained from her 27 years helping government contractors connect with public-sector audiences.

She shares with the navigators about her love for the state and local market, lessons from launching Route Fifty, and how successful organizations pivot during political transitions. It’s a smart, funny, and candid conversation about storytelling, strategy, and what it takes to thrive in the government market. 

Show Notes:

• There are 3,244 counties and over 19,000 incorporated cities, towns, and villages in the United States

Events on the GovNavigators' Radar:

Check out GovExec’s new events calendar 

Oct 27-29: Nvidia’s GTC Annual AI Conference  

Nov 2-4: National Academy of Public Administration’s National Conference 

Nov 4: Data Foundation’s Datum Awards 

Dec 4-5: ACT-IAC's ELC in DC!  

This week, the GovNavigators welcome Gordon Gillerman, former Director of the Standards Coordination Office at NIST, to talk about how standards and testing programs quietly keep the federal government and the products it relies on running safely and efficiently. Gordon shares how collaboration between government and industry helps ensure innovation, interoperability, and public trust.

Show Notes

OMB: Circular A-119

Data Foundation: 2025 Shutdown RIF Impacts Tracker

NSPM-8: Military pay during the shutdown 

Events on the GovNavigators' Radar

Check out GovExec’s new events calendar 

Oct 27-29: Nvidia’s GTC Annual AI Conference  

Nov 2-4: National Academy of Public Administration’s National Conference 

This week on the GovNavigators, we bring you a special episode from Celonis’s Process Intelligence Day. we’re taking you inside Celonis Process Intelligence Day—where government and industry leaders shared how data-driven insights are reshaping public sector operations. 

Robert and Adam talk with Colin Wardlaw, Gary Wang, Aubrey Vaughn, and Sairah Ijaz about what it takes to modernize legacy systems, foster cultural change, and measure success through clear KPIs and real results. 

It’s a look at how process intelligence is helping agencies do more with less—and deliver better outcomes for the public.

Events on the GovNavigators' Radar
Oct. 13-15, 2025: AUSA’s Annual Meeting 

Oct. 14, 2025: BENS’ Arsenal of Democracy 2.0  

Oct. 26-28, 2025: ACT-IAC Imagine Nation ELC 

This week, the GovNavigators welcome Oliver Wise, former Chief Data Officer at the Department of Commerce and now Executive Director of the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University. Oliver discusses his experience leading data initiatives across Commerce, including efforts to make federal data usable in an AI-driven world, and explains how local governments can harness data to improve lives through programs like the City Data Alliance.

From federal policy to city hall, Oliver shares how better data governance—and a new model of collaboration between levels of government—can help public servants everywhere deliver smarter, more trustworthy results.

Show Notes:

For our furloughed friends: Shutdown deals around town

Events on the GovNavigator’s Radar:

Check out GovExec’s new events calendar 

October 9, 2025: Federal News Network’s 25th Anniversary Gala

October 9, 2025: FedInsider / Carahsoft Innovation Summit 

This week, the GovNavigators sit down with John Marshall and Steve Goodrich of the Shared Services Leadership Coalition to chart the past, present, and what’s next in federal shared services, from payroll consolidation and NASA’s model to today’s QSMOs and a legislative plan to turn modernization from pilots into standard practice.

Show Notes
SSLC: Shared Services Leadership Coalition
NSSC: NASA Shared Services Center

Events on the GovNavigators' Radar
Oct. 9, 2025: FedInsider / Carahsoft Innovation Summit
Oct. 26-28, 2025: ACT-IAC Imagine Nation ELC