Speakers

Dr. Keith Hardiman, is a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Director of Enterprise Information Technology within the Office of the Chief Information Officer for the Department of the Air Force, comprised of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. As the Director of Enterprise Information Technology, he leads management, planning, governance, and resourcing for Enterprise IT for the department’s nearly $7 billion information and cybersecurity enterprise.

Prior to his current position, Dr. Hardiman served as the Director for Headquarters Air Force Information Management, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, Arlington, Virginia, and the Headquarters U.S. Air Force Chief Information Officer and Liaison to the Pentagon Area Customer Council. He also managed the Air Force Declassification Office, Air Force Publications Distribution Office, and HAF Multimedia Services. In this capacity, his leadership responsibilities included HAF’s records management, Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act programs and information technology policy and portfolio compliance.

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

• 2006 Civilian “Rookie of the Year Award” for Staff Offices at Tinker Air Force Base
• 2007 Employee of the Month, Quarter and Year for the OC-ALC/Information Technology Directorate
• 2009 Employee Enhancement Program Graduate
• 2012 Tinker Air Force Base Supervisory Development Program Graduate
• 2015 72nd Air Base Wing Wiley Post Supervisor of the Year
• 2017 Employee of the Year, Oklahoma Federal Executive Board
• 2019 Award for Meritorious Civilian Service
• 2021 Award for Meritorious Civilian Service

Is the Air Force Acting Chief Technical Officer, and leads several enterprise efforts across the DAF: Shrink the AFNET initiative - laying the foundation for Zero-Trust, Enterprise deployment of Microsoft Defender Suite, and the Innovation Landing Zone (ILZ) – delivering first-of-a-kind micro-services to the DAF.  He has built coalitions across the cyber community to design, pilot and field Cloud Device Management, Device Direct-Patching, and Cloud VoIP/UC.  His Direct-Patching initiative saved the Air Force 220k Man-Days and $20M in annually contract costs.  Additionally, he led the effort to migrate over 500k NIPR systems to modern M365 office in 10 days – the fastest M365 deployment in the world.  Lastly, during the initial days of COVID-19, Mr. Heitmann developed ACC’s Communication Capability Response Plan; integrating multiple cross-organizational teams, he coordinated efforts to rapidly expand remote work capabilities 400%.

Mr. Heitmann began his civil service career with the 38 Engineering Installation Wing (EIW), Tinker AFB OK, in 1996.  He has worked as a network administrator, Information System Security Officer, Systems Telecommunications Engineering Manager, network systems engineer, and Special Missions Team Commander.  He also had the privilege to assist the AETC’s Crisis Action Team in the assessment, troubleshooting and rebuilding of Keesler AFB after Hurricane Katrina.   Mr. Heitmann has supported multiple Air Force level initiatives: AFNETOPS’s re-architecture of Air Force’s NIPRNet and SIPRNet C2 structure, Map the AFNET to deliver a situational awareness to 24AF, and Commercial Mobile Technologies to connect iPhones & iPads to the AFNET. From 2015 - 2017, Mr. Heitmann was handpicked to lead the five largest & politically complex Operation Sentient Armor missions: Wright-Patterson, Randolph, Scott, Hurlburt, and Creech AFB; he compared network configurations to Functional Specification standards, and developed plans to remediate inefficiencies, and Security Technical Implementation Guide violations.  From 2017 – July 2019, Mr. Heitmann was the Technical Director for the 375th Communications Group at Scott AFB, IL.  He realigned the Communications Support Squadron to support agile DEVSECOPS and helped stand up the 375th CS Mission Defense Team.  Additionally, he gained AFSPC and AMC support to reengineer the Scott AFB boundary, increasing bandwidth 10x and reducing latency by 200%, guaranteeing AOC worldwide missions.  Then in 2020, Mr. Heitmann joined the Cyberspace Capabilities Center as their Chief Technology Officer.

EDUCATION 

• 1995 Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering (Major and Minor), Oklahoma Christian University, Oklahoma City, OK
• 2006 Master of Arts, Business Administration, Oklahoma Christian University, Oklahoma City, OK

MILITARY EDUCATION 

• Air Command and Staff College (May 2019)
• Air War College (ECD: 2025)

CIVILIAN CAREER CHRONOLOGY

• 1. 1996 – 2004, Systems Telecommunications Engineer Manager, 38 EIW, Tinker AFB, OK
• 2. 2004 – 2011, Lead Engineer, 38 EIG, Tinker AFB, OK
• 5. 2011 – 2015, Commercial Mobile Technologies Lead, 38 ES, Tinker AFB, OK
• 6. 2015 – 2017, Operation Sentient Armor Mission Director, 38 ES, Tinker AFB, OK
• 7. 2017 – 2019, Technical Director, 375 CG, Scott AFB, IL
• 8. 2019 – 2020, Technical Advisor, HQ Cyberspace Capabilities Center, Scott AFB, IL
• 9. 2020 – 2024, Chief Technology Officer & OL-B Executive Director, HQ Cyberspace Capabilities Center, Scott AFB, IL
• 10. 2024 – Present, AF Acting Chief Technology Officer, SAF/CN, Pentagon

AWARDS

• Federal 100 Winner – Apr 2023
• QSI – 2021 & 2023
• Achievement Award – HQ CCC Aug 2021
• Civilian Achievement Award; Coined by Vice Chief of Staff – HQ CCC Oct 2020
• Achievement Award – 375CG Sept 2018
• Meritorious Civilian Service Award; Sentient Armor leadership – 38CEIG Sept 2017
• 688th Cyber Operations Wing Civilian CAT III, 1st Quarter FY11
• 38th Engineering Installation Group Quarterly Team Outstanding Performer Award, 3rd Qtr FY07
• Gen. Edwin W. Rawlings Team Award – 38EIG Hurricane Katrina Recovery Efforts, 2006
• Coined by Col Maher, 375 AMW/CC, for MDT and DIUx leadership, 2018
• Coined by BG Wooten, AFSPC/A6, for CMT project leadership, 2015
• Coined by Col Poirier, 67 CWW/CC, for AFNETOPS leadership, 2014
• HQ CCC - ACC Verne Orr Award 2022 & 2023

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS

• ICS2 Certified Information Systems Security Professional #404322 – 2003 to Present

Tommy Gardner is HP’s Chief Technology Officer for HP Federal, spanning the US Federal Agencies, Higher Education, K-12 Education, State and Local government customer segments, as well as Federal Systems Integrators. His current responsibilities include technology leadership, strategic technology plans, product and technology strategies, sales force technical support, and customer and partner relationships.

Previously, Tommy has served as the Chief Technology Officer for Jacobs Engineering, Scitor, and ManTech. Earlier in his career he was a senior technical executive at Raytheon. In the U.S. Navy he served as the Deputy for Science and Technology for the Chief of Naval Research. He oversaw the Navy’s Deep Submergence Program as well as its Advanced Technology Program. He also commanded the nuclear submarine, USS San Juan (SSN 751).

Tommy’s educational background covers multiple disciplines and fields of interest including: cybersecurity, data science, blockchain technologies, artificial intelligence, high performance computing and systems integration in government markets.

Tommy holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, an M.S. in Management of Technology from MIT and a Ph. D. in Energy Economics from George Washington University. He is a Professional Engineer and serves as Chair of the ASME Industry Advisory Board. He is an ASME Fellow and serves as faculty on the Blockchain Research Institute.

With two decades of experience, she has led both on- and off-camera daily broadcast media productions, reaching more than 2.6 million live viewers in top DMAs, including Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Beyond broadcast, Courtney brings expertise in public relations, multimedia storytelling, speechwriting, crisis communications, and strategic marketing.

A trusted advisor to C-suite executives, government officials, and nonprofit leaders, she has built a reputation for shaping narratives that inform, engage, and inspire. Through high-impact multimedia and strategic storytelling, she helps organizations and individuals craft compelling messages that resonate with their audiences and drive revenue goals.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Spelman College in Atlanta, GA. In Washington, DC, she graduated with honors from Trinity Washington University, where she earned her Master of Arts degree in Communications.