In December 2020, Dr. Matthew Graviss became the Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer of the Department of State. In this role, Dr. Graviss is responsible for making data accessible, interoperable, and actionable across the Department of State. He also serves as the Managing Director for the Office of Management Strategy and Solution’s Center for Analytics (CfA), which aims to imbue the Department with a data focused culture and corresponding talent, advance data governance, expand analytics capability, and modernize data technology solutions. Prior to joining the State Department, Dr. Graviss spent 13 years in leadership positions at the Department of Homeland Security, as well as time in the private sector. Most recently, Dr. Graviss spent two and a half years as the first Chief Data Officer at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services within DHS, where he led data management and analytics services for USCIS’ 20,000 person workforce. Graviss holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University, and a doctorate in systems engineering from George Washington University. He is a Level 3 certified acquisition professional in program management, systems engineering, and test and evaluation. He is also a graduate of American University’s Key Executive Leadership program.

Dave Erickson is the Public Sector Distinguished Architect at Elastic, a leading technology company. With a wealth of experience in spearheading large-scale data projects across various critical sectors, including civilian, healthcare, defense, and national security, Dave is a seasoned expert in emerging technologies. His expertise shines in designing and implementing petabyte-scale data architectures, tackling complex challenges head-on. Dave's extensive cross-agency exposure in the world of Big Data architecture empowers him to anticipate emerging trends and apply them to the government space.