The Government Huddle with Brian Chidester

128: The One with the Department of Justice CIO

Melinda Rogers, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Information Resource Management & Chief Information Officer at the US Department of Justice joins the show to shed some light on what is it like being a digital leader in such a high-profile organization. We also talk about her approach to implementing a zero trust framework at her department, how she has seen the cybersecurity landscape over the past ten years, and she shares some advice for women leaders in the government technology space. 

127: The One with the CX Innovation Strategist

Charlotte S. Lee, the Industry Advisory Chair for Customer Experience at ACT-IAC and Strategic Lead for CX & Innovation at Granicus joins the show to discuss what type of mindshare she believes there is in government around CX and the growth that was catalyzed by the executive order around experience. We also talk about where the CX executive order fell short, some predictions for 2024 around experiences in government and tips for government leaders on how they can improve the service delivery today.

126: The One with the Former US Navy Rear Admiral

Danelle Barrett, Former US Navy Rear Admiral & Director of Current Operations at U.S. Cyber Command joins the show to discuss her book “Rock the Boat” and the lessons she has learned across her life and career. We also talk about traits that she believes good leaders must possess, what she felt like she learned from her mentors, and why her current battle with brain cancer has changed her perspective on life.

125: The One with the ”Bridgebuilders” Co-Authors

William D. Eggers, Executive Director of the Deloitte Center for Government Insights & Donald F. Kettl, Professor Emeritus & former dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, and the co-authors of the book “Bridgebuilders: How Government Can Transcend Boundaries to Solve Big Problems” joins the show to discuss their new model for a modern government that they introduce in the book and why the current model no longer works. We also talk about how incentive structures need to change to drive change in the public sector and they elaborate on the key tenets needed to become a “bridge-builder” in their opinion.

124: The One with the Former State of Florida CIO

Jamie Grant, CEO and Co-Founder of RedLeif and Former State of Florida Chief Information Officer joins the show to unpack his time at the Florida Digital Service and what the priorities of state IT leaders look like in 2023. We also talk about his time in the Florida State Legislature and how that helped him during his tenure as CIO, his thoughts on collaboration across state leadership, and the best advice he has received across his career.

123: The One with the Digital Identity Experts

Jeremy Grant, Managing Director at Venable LLP and Jordan Burris, Vice President of Public Sector Strategy at Socure contribute to a conversation about digital identity in government including the type of measures and policies they are hoping will be put into any type of guidance around identity that comes down from the White House. They also talk about generative AI and how that technology is impacting identity, how IDv technology can bolster equitable access to services and what their hopes are for the future of government digital services.

122: The One with the GovNavigators

Robert Shea and Adam Hughes, the Co-Founders of GovNavigators, join the show to provide insights and advice for those out there trying to navigate the impending government shutdown and current continuing resolution. We also have a talk about things in the Federal market that have surprised them lately, predictions on what might shock us next, and how committees like the CIO Council and others really helped and ways the private sector can (or shouldn’t) engage with them.

121: The One with the Former Deputy Federal CIO

Maria Roat, former U.S. Deputy Federal CIO and CIO for the Small Business Administration, joins the show to dive into her military and civilian career in government and some of the lessons she has learned about people and transformation. We also discuss the evolution of the FedRAMP program, her role in creating government wide collaboration across agency C-suite leaders, and why collaboration is so important between CIOs and CTOs.

120: The One with the Socure Public Sector SVP

Matthew Thompson, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Public Sector at Socure and Former U.S. Army Ranger joins the show to discuss why he believes that America needs a new approach to digital identity verification in government. He also shares his unique September 11th story on the 22nd anniversary of the attacks and the leadership lessons he learned from serving under Gen. Stan McChrystal as a US Army Ranger.

119: The One with the GSA ITC Acquisition Chief

Laura Stanton, the Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Information Technology Category (ITC), in GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) joins the show to discuss lessons learned around acquisition and procurement from the pandemic that have been carried into today. We also talk about what parts of the process she wants to change and how the IT Professional Services SIN can help accelerate procurements for the private sector partners working with government.