The Government Huddle with Brian Chidester

The One with the Wake County, NC CIO

Jonathan Feldman, the Chief Information Officer for Wake County, North Carolina joins the show to discuss what he has learned about the 1.1 million residents he now supports and some of the initiatives he is working on to connect and engage the community. We also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of working in the Raleigh Technology Triangle, what tech layoffs can mean to the public sector talent pool, and his thoughts on how to serve such a diverse population while trying to personalize services for each resident.

The One with the City of Kyiv Digital Chief

Oleg Polovynko, Chief Information Officer for the City of Kyiv, Ukraine joins the show to discuss his trip to the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos where he worked to get support for digital transformation programs in his homeland. We also talk about some of his key focus areas for the citizens of Kyiv prior to the war, how those plans have changed since the invasion, and what is giving his hope for the future of Ukraine.

The One with World Economic Forum Leader

Dr David Bray, PhD, a Leader at the World Economic Forum, Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center, and former Chief Information Officer at the Federal Communications Commission joins the show to the hardest part of operating as a CIO in government and how he has seen progress. We also discuss what technologies will have the biggest impact on our lives over the next three years, the biggest challenge the industry is facing today, and his predictions on what might shock the World next.

The One with the Government Ai Expert

James Bench, Vice President of Technology Consulting Services at Maximus joins the show to discuss the future of artificial intelligence and machine learning and where he thinks the biggest opportunity is for government organizations. We also dive into the re-skilling efforts happening in government and if they have proven effective, what the biggest challenge in AI/ML adoption is in defense and national security, and how the pandemic changed the trajectory of some of these technologies.

The One with the U.S. Army Special Forces Walk-On

Nate Boyer, former United States Army Green Beret, college and professional football player, philanthropist, veterans advocate, actor and director joins the show to discuss what he believes builds great teams and what you can be doing today to strengthen your own squad. We also talk about his new movie and foundation, his formula for healing up from challenging situations, and what he learned from playing under two hall of fame football coaches.

The One with the Bureaucracy Hacker

Nick Sinai, co-author of the book “Hack Your Bureaucracy”, former deputy Chief Technology Officer of the United States, and venture capitalist joins the show to talk about his recent book and explain the real-world experiences working in both the federal sector and the private sector that informed the 56 tactics shared in the book. We also discuss his role in driving open data usage during his time in government and what sparked is passion for innovation at all levels.

The One with the Maximus Cybersecurity Experts

Bruce Matthews and Kynan Carver, cybersecurity executives at Maximus and experts in threat intelligence and security technology join the show to discuss the progress that has been made since the release of the cybersecurity executive order. We also talk specifically about advances made at DHS and the DoD, how the CMMC program is evolving in support of the defense industrial base, and they make predictions for what 2023 will bring to this area of focus.

The One with the Former Commonwealth of Virginia CIO

Nelson Moe, Former Chief Information Officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia and Strategy Principal for Iron Bow Technologies joins the show to discuss some of the lessons he learned during his career as a technology leader in government. We also discuss how he went from being a submarine captain to a role in government technology, important considerations CIO’s should be thinking about regarding cybersecurity, and how the pandemic influenced his approach to partner and vendor relations.

The One with the DOL Emerging Technology Chief

Krista Kinnard, Chief of Emerging Technology at the United States Department of Labor joins the show to discuss some of the priorities she has in this position, and challenges that she faces, being the first person to occupy this job. We also discuss her thoughts on what emerging technologies can have the biggest impact on government, if she believes the metaverse will become a public sector focus, and best practices on driving adoption of digital technologies across an enterprise.

The One with the USAF Kessel Run Co-Founder

Bryon Kroger, Former Co-Founder and COO of the U.S. Air Force’s Kessel Run Program and the Founder and CEO of Rise8 joins the show to discuss why adopting a “think big, start small” strategy to software transformation is so important to success. We also discuss the story behind Project Kessel Run and how it has influenced other software factories across government, his thoughts on driving change at large bureaucracies, and what he believes needs to change for next-generation technologies to get into the warfighter’s hands faster.