After the Midterms: 2027 Government Market Outlook

Rep. James Walkinshaw represents Virginia's 11th Congressional District, covering most of Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax, and the towns of Vienna and Herndon. 

He serves on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which oversees the federal workforce, government operations, and federal IT management—areas that are critical to Northern Virginia’s economy—and on the Committee on Homeland Security,  covering areas like border/port security, cybersecurity, transportation security, counterterrorism, emergency management (FEMA), and customs. 

Congressman Walkinshaw is the founder and co-chair of the first-ever Congressional Federal Workforce Caucus, which works to protect federal employees and defend the merit-based civil service from political interference.

A member of the New Democrat Coalition, Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Walkinshaw prioritizes protecting Social Security and Medicare, expanding housing and infrastructure, combating the climate crisis, and defending reproductive freedom. 

Before Congress, Walkinshaw served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and spent over a decade as Chief of Staff to Rep. Gerry Connolly. He earned a B.A. in Politics from New York University and lives in Fairfax with his wife, Yvette, and their son, Mateo.

A former House of Representatives Republican Leadership chief of staff and committee staff director, Mike Hettinger is the president and founding principal of Hettinger Strategy Group LLC (HSG), a full-service government relations, federal marketing and public affairs firm headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.  HSG represents the interests of many of Silicon Valley’s most innovative companies in Washington. Hettinger founded the firm in 2014 after leaving TechAmerica, where he was senior vice president for both public sector and federal government affairs. Hettinger is a highly regarded expert in information technology policy and one of the leading technology lobbyists in Washington, having been named a "Top Hired Gun Lobbyist" for 7 years running (2018-2024) by The Hill.

Prior to joining TechAmerica, Hettinger was head of the Public Sector Innovation Group at the Software and Information Industry Association.  Before going to SIIA, Hettinger was Executive Director in charge of Strategic Planning, Government Relations and Market Development in Grant Thornton’s Global Public Sector Practice.  Mr. Hettinger joined Grant Thornton from the House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Government Management, Finance and Accountability, where he served as staff director. 

Hettinger has an extensive background in lobbying and public affairs, having served as a Public Policy Counselor at Patton Boggs LLP where he oversaw large-scale lobbying and public affairs campaigns.  Prior to joining Patton Boggs, Hettinger was Chief of Staff to former U.S. Representative Tom Davis of Virginia.

Mr. Hettinger has been a regular contributor to Government Matters TV, which airs in Washington, DC five nights a week on News Channel 8 / ABC 7 as well as a frequent contributor to the public dialogue in the trade press and related media.

Ira Entis is the Growth and Strategy Lead for Accenture Federal Services with responsibility for strategic corporate development, including growth-oriented investments and acquisitions.

He leads the go- tomarket strategy for high growth, differentiated offerings overseeing the AI, digital, cloud, and cyber programs along with emerging technology areas and the alliance ecosystem. He is a member of the Federal Leadership Team and Accenture’s Global Leadership Council.

Ira joined Accenture with the company’s acquisition of Agilex Technologies, which he cofounded in 2007. As Agilex’s Chief Growth Officer, he was responsible for strategic planning, market development and pipeline management. Agilex was recognized by the Washington Business Journal as one of the region’s fastest growing companies for five consecutive years under his leadership. Accenture’s acquisition of the company was also named a Top Deal for 2015 by Washington Technology. Previously, he served as Vice President for Global Marketing at BearingPoint, and held various leadership roles within Oracle’s federal business, where he began his career. Ira received his bachelor’s degree from The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business