GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts

With a strong attention to agency mission, Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Randy Reeves and Veterans Affairs CIO Jim Gfrerer discuss the initiatives behind the agency's digital endeavors that led to the creation of a digital memorialization platform, the pivot during the pandemic, a new financial system and more. The leaders look ahead at what this means for future technical developments for the National Cemetery Administration and beyond.

The Department of Education is undergoing a modernization journey that ramped up when CIO Jason Gray joined in 2016. Gray discusses the progress since then, which resulted in FITARA score improvements, cloud development, pivots during the pandemic and an increasing focus on data security to protect student and financial aid information.

Joe Stenaka's background in cryptology helps him strategize modern-day cybersecurity issues that Veterans Affairs continues to face. Data privacy, securing electronic health record efforts and integrating emerging technology for safeguarding information continue to be top priorities at the agency. Stenaka discusses how the workforce places a crucial role in security toward serving the nation's veterans.

With a NASA career that began with an interest in robotics and prior role as CIO at Langley Research Center, Acting CIO Jeff Seaton has a deep understanding of what it means to support the agency's numerous research and mission programs. Seaton discusses the importance the cloud has as the agency faces exponential increases in data collection and how the agency impacts daily life aside from space exploration.

Rep. Michael Burgess, chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Health, discusses the pandemic's impact on various health technology initiatives like the 21st Century Cures Act and more. With telehealth likely to be a pivotal technology for American health care, Burgess explores the promise of health technologies on mental health, the economy and more.

As a microbiologist, Dr. Lloyd Hough from the Hazard Awareness & Characterization Technology Center at the Department of Homeland Security is leading research efforts during the pandemic to assist, inform and prepare the agency and public at large to best respond to the virus.

BARDA DRIVe Director Sandeep Patel brings health entrepreneurship to the agency, which is working to bring together leading experts to solve some of the nation's most pressing health and health security challenges. We discuss many of these efforts including having co-founded KidneyX and how ventures are helping tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

CIO Lytwaive Hutchinson discusses how she took the values from her 21-year military career and applied it to her roles in public service. As FEMA maintains an important position for the nation's disaster response efforts, Hutchinson is ensuring its IT capabilities are supporting the agency's data analytics, supply chain, infrastructure and security services during the pandemic and beyond.

In an ever-connected world, quick access to information is always expected. For the U.S. military, this means ensuring personnel are able to upload and analyze aircraft data, order parts, communicate with each other, among other functions, within maintenance hangars and airports even in the most remote and austere environments. ID Technologies' Jeff Panebiano and Commscope's John McDonald discuss the technology behind connecting the nation's defense services. This episode is sponsored by ID Technologies and Commscope.

A U.S. Navy veteran, USDA Chief Data Officer Ted Kaouk was recently appointed chair of the newly created Chief Data Officer Council. He got his start at the agency working loans and grants for rural housing, broadband, utilities, and community facilities. Today he leads USDA's overall vision for using data as a strategic asset. Kaouk explains data's important role in government and how he sees the council tackling crucial priorities.

Karen Evans was newly appointed CIO at Department of Homeland Security. Her prior leadership stems from a start at the National Park Service and spans across many cybersecurity areas at Department of Energy and beyond. She discusses how she will tackle the initiatives ahead at the agency, including its data center consolidation, workforce upskilling and modernizing its network.

A U.S. Army veteran with a previous interest in the medical field and having a few successful various initiatives throughout his career at DOD at large, Defense Health Agency CIO Pat Flanders has a personal approach to the systems he manages for the agency. Flanders provides a close look at how he's approaching IT oversight of the health care delivery systems that serve the 9.5 million beneficiaries around the world under the Military Health System. This episode is sponsored by Dell Technologies and CDW-Government.

USDA CIO Gary Washington's career began in the Air Force. He then served in IT roles at various agencies including the Department of the Treasury, HHS and FDA. Washington discusses USDA being the "lighthouse agency" for GSA's Centers of Excellence and how it's influencing government at large in data management modernization and in using emerging technologies across its oversight in rural areas. This episode is sponsored by Dell Technologies and Iron Bow Technologies.

Wanda Jones-Heath calls herself a "unicorn" at the Defense Department. That's because she sees her stature as chief information security officer at the Air Force, among her 30-year career in government, as rare for women. She discusses progress the agency is making with bug bounties and how the current pandemic has presented opportunities for further modernization. She discusses why thinking about the branch on an enterprise level will spur efficiency and innovation in cybersecurity across DOD, especially with organizations like Kessel Run.

Serving at the Department of Homeland Security since its inception (and even before), Chief Procurement Officer Soraya Correa is innovating how the department buys solutions to enable its national security mission. Correa's contracting background at the department plus elsewhere led to initiatives like the Procurement Innovation Lab to innovate government's purchasing processes.

With a career that began with intelligence in the U.S. military, Rich Haley discusses the business and financial considerations of IT modernization and technology implications of the national security mission at the FBI. The Bureau has an important mission to collect, manage and analyze vast amounts of data to serve its workforce of investigators and technologists. Haley describes technology as being a "thread through that fabric" that allows the agency to collaborate and connect different threats proactively.

The Department of Veterans Affairs activated its "Fourth Mission" in response to the national emergency brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The department mobilized to support health care systems around the country and continued to support its veterans through increased technological capabilities including telehealth. Gfrerer discusses how the agency quickly pivoted its information and technology operations to respond to the crisis and how he sees recent advancements continuing to make impacts.

The importance of cloud-based solutions in human capital management functions like payroll and leave across government is an area many don't think about during times of crisis. Infor's Bragstad discusses one offering in use in government, GSA in particular, and how the solution enables government to streamline their digital modernization journeys especially during mass telework. This episode is sponsored by Infor.

The Centers of Excellence at General Services Administration aims to accelerate IT modernization by centralizing best practices across a number of focus areas. COE Director of Acquisitions Omid Ghaffari-Tabrizi and Director of Artificial Intelligence Krista Kinnard came to the agency with a mission to accelerate how government adopts AI. With backgrounds in both law and data analytics, the COE leaders are innovating around the technology and hoping other agencies harness its true potential.

Leveraging managed mobility services allows government agencies to implement technologies that help its workforce stay connected. For DMI, this function has landed them the top spot on a recent Gartner Magic Quadrant report. DMI Senior Vice President & Chief Digital Officer Michael Deittrick and President of Commercial Managed Mobility Services D.J. Oreb discuss this technology's importance in government to transform enterprises. This episode is sponsored by DMI.

With mass telework comes the need for better collaboration with teams. There has been an increased prevalence of collaboration and conferencing tools as a result. One tool from the private sector gaining momentum in government is Slack. Its head of customer trust and FedRAMP, Nick Hardy, explains how Slack is helping to bring government teams together and be more productive during this time.

Stuart McGuigan discusses the promises technologies like AI and machine learning bring to the State Department, whose tough job is to manage disparate systems around the world. Interest in such technologies are what shaped McGuigan's career in the private sector at various health companies. Plus, he discusses modernization efforts that started earlier and allowed the agency to easily transition to telework during the coronavirus pandemic. This episode is presented by Dell Technologies and Carahsoft.

Michelle Holko had made it a lifelong passion to explore innovations in health data analytics and bioinformatics. Currently detailed as a Presidential Innovation Fellow at the National Institutes of Health's All Of Us Research Program, Holko is working to better engage research participants and researchers. She discusses her background at DARPA plus emerging technologies, wearable devices, vaccine research and more — all incredibly important during pandemics like COVID-19's that government faces.

Raylene Yung co-leads a recent effort stood up by volunteer technologists to assist government in any work needed due to the coronavirus response. With a background at Stripe and Facebook, Yung believes a collaborative approach between government and the 2,000-plus volunteers that make up the U.S. Digital Response will ensure ongoing success to both continuing operations and fighting the virus.

Julie Dunne brings experience from Congress, the private sector and executive branch of federal government to her current role overseeing technologies and solutions that enable federal agencies to fulfill their missions. She discusses ongoing efforts with consolidating the Multiple Award Schedules, plus how her background in the legal field is contributing to her path in public service.

Greg Rivera, a lifelong technologist, discusses how software intelligence solutions like CAST's can help federal agencies in their IT modernization initiatives and help digital leaders make better decisions on their software assets. This episode is sponsored by CAST

Gerard Badorrek is leading the charge in a government-wide effort to implement robotic process automation to solve workforce challenges and empower employees to perform higher-value work.

David Bottom was newly appointed as CIO at the Securities and Exchange Commission. He discusses his vision for the agency's technology posture in the face of increasing sophistication with automation and data management needs.

Dominic Delmolino shares insights from "Lessons from Exploring AI in Government," a new report featuring best practices from a number of government leaders. The Accenture Federal Services CTO also discusses the state of cloud computing and prospects for quantum in the federal government. Plus, he explains why he recently went back to school and what he learned from the experience. This episode is sponsored by Accenture.

Stacie discusses her path within government and the importance women mentors played in her success within IT at NIH. She remarks on her "hero" Jeannette Rankin who inspired her during her time as a new working mom at the agency. Plus, Stacie discusses the importance of IT in public research to advance innovation.

Bruce Tromberg discusses the importance his department's research in biophontics and biomedical imaging plays in technologies that serve the greater health care space.

The National Institute of Mental Health's machine learning team is guiding researchers with the best practices for using the technology, particularly within the section on functional imaging methods. We learn about the lead behind this team, Francisco Pereira, his passions for health care and for helping health researchers.

Ryan Vega discusses the innovation underway at the Veterans Health Administration with an overview of the exciting technologies underway such as 3D and bio-printing, artificial intelligence, telehealth and more, plus how the agency is changing the way health providers are interacting with patients and delivering better care.

Stephanie Shutt approaches her role in consolidating the multiple award schedule at the agency with an analytical and team-oriented mind. With initiatives to educate both the workforce and contracting community, she discusses that progress and what lies ahead.

With a passion for helping people and roots in creative arts, Alycia Yozzi discusses her current initiatives at the CIO Council to transform government IT in areas including workforce, acquisition, design, development and more. For more podcasts: https://www.governmentciomedia.com/podcasts

The cancer institute's director of small business research sees the importance small business bring to cancer innovation at the agency. He discusses how his path from NASA brought him to his role in bringing the next generation of technology to cancer research. For more podcasts: https://www.governmentciomedia.com/govcast *The businesses and technologies mentioned during this episode received SBIR funding from the National Cancer Institute and are not endorsements or advertisements.

The Department of Health and Human Services' Buy Smarter program aims to use emerging technologies to transform how the agency purchases goods. Its program lead discusses how this effort will also provide real-time data to decision-makers to achieve efficiencies and reduce costs on goods and services.

With a background in law, Ed Simcox has a unique position at the intersection of health and technology as CTO of the Department of Health and Human Services. He discusses efforts around the agency's KidneyX program to advance research in kidney disease and the importance of emerging tech like AI toward protecting data and improving patient care. More podcasts: https://www.governmentciomedia.com/podcasts

Dr. Don Rucker discusses his office's efforts in the nationwide implementation of the most advanced health information technology and the electronic exchange of health information. He discusses the impact of emerging technology and initiatives including interoperability.

Jothi Dugar discusses the importance of bringing a well-rounded and holistic approach to leadership positions despite the technical nature of working in IT.

In this episode, host Amy Kluber talks with Greg Gershman, the CEO of Ad Hoc, and a member of the team that assisted in the reworking of Healthcare.gov during its extended launch phase.

The NIH agency's CIO discusses the importance of technology and big data to manage research. He brings to the agency a creative background in the animation industry and is now working on various health initiatives, including those researching sickle cell anemia.

Gordon Bitko discusses FBI's focus of improving IT management, infrastructure, networks, applications and services to improve performance capabilities in support of national security.

GSA's assistant commissioner of the Office of Systems Management under the Federal Acquisition Service discusses improvements to the federal government's acquisition systems. Her office includes two programs, the Integrated Award Environment and the Common Acquisition Platform, both of which use modernized technologies to improve systems and processes.

Jeff Shilling discusses data and technology efforts behind the nation's largest funder of cancer research. He shares optimism toward technology's future role in processing cancer data for the research community and furthering research and discovery in the mission to treat cancer.

As director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, Mitch Zeller has an important public health mission to reduce disease from tobacco use. With a background in law as an attorney, Zeller discusses the importance policy and technology play in the center's mission.

A leader from GSA's newest initiative with its Centers of Excellence toward collaborative IT modernization talks the importance of partnerships and agile methodologies to solve some of government's toughest technological challenges.

As new CIO of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and veteran private sector technologist, Jamie Holcombe discusses the agency's efforts with data management and technology modernization within the nation's intellectual property community.

Kelly O'Connor was motivated to join public service to serve veterans. She explains the importance of user-centered design in product management and what it means for Veterans Affairs' overall modernization efforts.

Michael Akinyele leads the Department of Veterans Affairs' newly formed VA Innovation Center. Part of his focus at the center is implementing care and payment innovation as dictated by Section 152 of the MISSION Act. Akinyele discusses his journey to the VA and where he sees the department's efforts toward IT modernization and the future of delivering care to veterans.