Speakers

Dr. Deborah Duran is the Senior Advisor to the Director for data science, data analytics and data systems. She advises the NIMHD director on the state of the field and efforts at the levels of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Health and Human Services. She also assists in coordinating NIMHD efforts to obtain better representation of minorities and social determinants of health in large datasets, address biases in emerging technologies, and enable NIMHD to have a voice in NIH efforts regarding data harmonization and management. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Duran has been a key contributor on the increased emphasis on data science and common data elements at NIH in response to the pandemic.

In 2012, Dr. Duran was appointed Director of NIMHD’s Office of Science Policy, Strategic Planning, Analysis, Reporting, and Data. In this role, Dr. Duran strived to help NIMHD become the centralized resource of minority health and health disparities biomedical data, policies and scientific advances. Prior to coming to NIMHD, Dr. Duran was Deputy Director of the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities at the National Cancer Institute, and previously she served in the NIH Office of the Director.

Dr. Duran has a Ph.D. in social psychology with a minor in research methodologies and statistics from the University of Denver, and previously obtained an M.S. in computer science from Nova Southeastern University. In 2000 and 2004, Dr. Duran earned the HHS Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service.

Dr. Mike is the acting Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer for the Department of Transportation (DOT) where he is primarily responsible for accelerating AI use and research by coordinating the use of AI, strengthening AI governance, advancing responsible AI innovation, and managing risks from the use of AI.

He is also the Department’s Deputy Chief Data Officer responsible for supervising all non-geospatial divisions that provide enterprise data analytics, governance, and shared services in support the Agency’s evidence-based decision-making ecosystem and for assisting in development of the processes and IT infrastructure required to accelerate AI use case exploration, development, and risk management in research and operations.

He has been in Federal civilian service for the last 10 years following 30-years in the private sector and as an infantry officer and AH-1 Cobra helicopter pilot in the US Army back in the late 80s.

Mike is also an adjunct professor at Northeastern and George Mason Universities where he teaches graduate-level courses in analytics, advanced statistics, databases, high-performance computing, and applied artificial intelligence and machine learning for business intelligence.

Dr. Mike holds a doctorate in business administration from Drexel University, a masters in business intelligence and analytics from St Joseph’s University, a bachelors in computer science from West Point, and is completing an additional masters in artificial intelligence and machine learning also at Drexel.

Manuel "Manny" Medrano has over 20 years of experience, 13 years with Department of State. He has contributed to many technology modernization efforts in the Secretary of State’s office. He now leads State’s Office of Cyber Monitoring and Operations. Manny has served in this role since 2022, defending State’s networks and systems against advanced and persistent cyber threats. His duties include overseeing cyber monitoring, incident response, penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and designing, engineering, and operating State's cybersecurity defense systems.

Previously, as Deputy Division Chief for Cyber Threat Intelligence, Manny was integral to the pursuit of actionable, outcome-based intelligence and partnering with private industry.

Davon Tyler is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Director of Enterprise Cybersecurity Group for the U.S. Department of Education Technology Directorate, office of Federal Student Aid (FSA).

Under Mr. Tyler’s leadership, FSA’s Enterprise Cybersecurity group is responsible for implementing FSA’s portion of the Department’s Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) and cybersecurity requirements. Such requirements include ensuring safeguards are in place to protect the critical data that FSA has been entrusted with and rapidly responding to cyber threats to quickly mitigate FSA’s exposure. Mr. Tyler has spearheaded FSA’s efforts to enable a zero trust architecture.

Mr. Tyler joined FSA from GSA’s Technology Modernization Fund Program Management Office, where he served as the Cyber Investment Manager responsible for advising GSA and OMB leadership on cyber proposals across the federal government. Prior to assuming this role, Mr. Tyler was the CISO for the United States Mint, where he was responsible for overseeing the Mint’s Authorization and Assessment implementation, as well as the Security Operations Center. Prior to that, he served in senior positions at the Defense Information Systems Agency and was an active-duty member of the U.S. Navy.

With more than 19 years of combined public and private sector experience, Mr. Tyler is recognized as an expert in cybersecurity with such skills as network and system engineering, program management, and financial and acquisition management.

Mr. Tyler earned an Associates of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Information Technology from the State of New York University Empire State College while on active duty. In addition, he holds several undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Cybersecurity and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), from University of Maryland Global Campus.

Kevin Walsh is a Director in GAO’s Information Technology and Cybersecurity team. He oversees work related to AI, Census, CIO authorities, legacy modernizations, and satellite and space systems. He has led reviews covering topics related to the authorities of federal Chief Information Officers, management of legacy IT systems, coordination of IT contracts, and assessments of IT-related risk.

Kevin joined GAO in June 2006, and led projects related to FITARA and GAO’s High Risk area on Improving the Management of IT Acquisitions and Operations.

Kevin earned a master’s degree in business administration from Virginia Tech. Kevin earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland, College Park.

As Director of the Solution Engineering team, James helps lead a dedicated group of Oracle engineers as they help guide government and education organizations toward successful implementations.

Team members are experts in key domains including enterprise data management, business analytics, hybrid cloud strategy and cyber security. James has been with Oracle since 1997 working in a variety of individual and leadership roles, primarily in Government and Education. 

He hold a Master's degree from the Johns Hopkins University in Information and Telecommunications Systems and JD from Concord Law School. Key areas of interest include: Data Governance, Data Privacy, Ethical uses of AI and Machine Learning, and practical approaches to multicloud data sharing.

Tamara Ells is vice president and general manager of Arrow’s public sector practice, immixGroup. Before joining immixGroup, she served in a variety of sales leadership positions within Arrow Electronics, formulating revenue generation strategies for legacy and alternative consumption models through channel partners.

Ells has a proven track record of developing strategic alliances and partnerships with key IT manufacturers, and leading successful growth initiatives throughout her 25-year career. She is recognized for developing winning teams and creating success-oriented cultures.

Ells has received several awards, including CRN Channel Chief 2020; 2020 Women Worth Watching in Leadership, Diversity Journal Award; and CRN Power 100 Women of the Channel 2019. She is a graduate of Northwestern University where she earned a BA in economics.

As the Senior Director of Public Sector Channels and Alliances (FED & SLED) at Elastic, Darryl Peek leads a dedicated team of professionals who collaborate with Systems Integrators to deliver cutting-edge enterprise search, observability, and security solutions to Federal, State, Local, and Education organizations. With over 15 years of executive leadership in government and technology sectors, Darryl has a proven track record in driving digital transformation, enhancing customer experiences, and fostering innovation across public sector domains.

Before joining Elastic, Darryl held key positions at Salesforce and Google, where he supported the public sector. He also worked for the Department of Homeland Security in the HQ OCIO Chief Technology Office, where he left as the Director for Digital Innovation. In this role, he spearheaded efforts in agile methodologies, DevOps practices, cloud technologies, and open-source solutions.

Darryl’s passion lies in leveraging his deep expertise in legislation, policy, and emerging technologies to guide and recommend strategic priorities and enterprise technology investments for public sector agencies. Beyond his role at Elastic, Darryl actively contributes to the broader technology community. He serves as a board member, advisor, and author of several publications on key topics such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, and agile development.

His mission is to empower public sector leaders and partners with the tools and insights they need to achieve their goals and deliver remarkable outcomes. Through collaboration, innovation, and strategic guidance, Darryl strives to help public sector entities navigate the complexities of digital transformation and technological advancement.

Olivia is a distinguished industry leader with 25 years of experience leading innovation in financial services. As Director of AWS Federal Financial Services, Olivia is responsible for enabling financial regulators, monetary agency, and housing and mortgage customers to deliver mission value and innovate with AWS. Olivia leads a cross-functional organization of specialists who guide customers in building a secure and scalable AWS foundation, harnessing the power of their data, and mitigating risk through automation. She partners with Global System Integrators as well as small businesses to support their execution and delivery of these customers’ cloud strategy.

Olivia also provides thought leadership on cloud strategy and trends across financial services as a speaker at DC Fintech Week, Mortgage Bankers Association, and the AWS Worldwide Public Sector Summit.

Katharyn White leads Google Public Sector marketing. She is a technology expert who inspires digital transformation across organizations, ecosystems and teams to change customer and citizen experience. Katharyn is focused on Google's differentiated approach to the intersection of Security and AI, while creating an AI inspired marketing organization.

She is on the Board of George Mason Business School where is also an Exec Ed chair and Marketing professor. Katharyn serves on the Astroscale Board of Advisors and advises several tech start-ups.