Speakers

Alex Whitaker has served in the public policy and government relations world since graduating from American University in Washington, D.C. He currently serves as the Director of Government Affairs for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), where he advocates on behalf of states to Congress and federal agencies on cyber security and technology issues. Before joining NASCIO, Alex was Legislative Director at the National Governors Association, where he was responsible for directing the development and implementation of governors’ strategic priorities in the areas of agriculture, energy, the environment, and natural resources. He also served as a Senior Advisor to Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper for energy and environment issues. Alex worked as a Legislative Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives and as an analyst at the U.S. Department of Commerce in the Bureau of Industry and Security. He holds a master’s degree from the George Washington University in Security Policy Studies, with a focus on trans-Atlantic defense alliances and U.S.-Turkish relations.

Mike helps to guide several programs that are focused on Fortinet’s mission to “Secure Everywhere”, as well as provide thought leadership on best practices within the State, Local and Education space. As a former Chief Technology Architect across multiple State Agencies for the State of Iowa, Mike provided a long track record of uniting State Government and Education initiatives across multiple stakeholders and regions that ranged from Policy, Technical Leadership, and Strategic Planning.

Fernando Maymí is the Chief Information Security Officer at IronNet, Inc. As CISO, he leads cybersecurity operations, governance, risk management, and compliance for the company.

Prior to assuming his current position, Fernando headed training and professional services at IronNet, where he was responsible for developing cyber talent for the company, its partners, and customers. In addition, he led internal teams providing strategic consultancy, security assessments, red teaming, and cybersecurity exercises around the world. Before joining IronNet, he was the lead scientist of advanced research and development projects focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity at Soar Technologies.

George Jackson is VP of events at GovExec – the largest and most-influential media company in the public sector marketplace. He joined the company in 2020 to enhance the scale of their events and audience experiences. In 2021, George launched GovExec TV (streaming video content) and received the company’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, part of their first-annual Icon Awards.

George graduated from The Ohio State University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in English. In 2006, he earned his master’s in broadcast journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.

George spent the first five years of his journalism career at WJHL-TV in Johnson City Tenn. – beginning as an overnight producer for the station’s 6 a.m. broadcast. He advanced to lead on-air reporter for WJHL’s 11 p.m. newscast.

As a reporter, George examined the earnings of two non-profit hospital systems, felony charges filed against a local sheriff, predatory paving companies, a health benefits backlog for local veterans, and a series of cold-case murder investigations. He received an honorable mention for Best TV Reporter in the 2011 Tennessee AP Broadcast awards and won a Best Investigative Reporting award from Media General in 2010.

George joined DC’s ABC affiliate WJLA-TV in 2012 to produce Capital Insider, which won him an Emmy award. One year later, he developed and recorded the pilot episode of Government Matters – a program about the business of government. It debuted as a weekly show on Sunday, August 4th of 2013. George led Government Matters through September of 2020, expanded its reach to a daily worldwide audience, and produced its first feature-length documentary The Dawn of Generation AI.

George is from Toledo, Ohio. He lives with his wife, twin daughters, and a pair of rescue dogs in Northern Virginia.