Speakers

Ms. Katherine “Katie” Arrington is Performing the Duties of the Department of Defense Chief Information Officer.  In this capacity, she serves as the primary advisor to the Secretary of Defense for information management/Information Technology (IT); information assurance, as well as non-intelligence space systems; critical satellite communications, navigation, and timing programs; spectrum; and telecommunications.

Prior to assuming this role, she served as the Deputy CIO for Cybersecurity. In this role she provided expert policy, technical, program, and defense-wide oversight support to the DoD CIO on all cybersecurity matters. She was responsible for leading the DoD-wide cybersecurity program, partnering with industry to improve cybersecurity and information sharing and represented the Secretary of Defense and DoD CIO in international discussions and negotiates on cybersecurity topics in both bilateral and multi-lateral (alliance and coalition) channels.

Before assuming her position as DoD DCIO(CS), Ms. Arrington was the Senior Vice President of External Affairs at Exiger, where she mobilized issues of universal consensus, including supply chain visibility, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and national security. She also ran for election to the U.S. House of Representatives for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District in 2022.

A leading expert in policy and technology with extensive experience building relationships and coalitions across the public, private and nonprofit sectors, Ms. Arrington was the first DoD CISO for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD(A&S)). She served as the central hub and integrator within OUSD(A&S) to align acquisition and sustainment cyber strategy and efforts to enhance cyber security within the Defense Industrial Base. She led the White House COVID-19 Supply Chain Task Force for Acceleration as well as the team that created the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).

Prior to her role as CISO for OUSD(A&S), Ms. Arrington had an extensive career as a legislator and senior cyber executive in private industry. She was a 2018 candidate for the US House of Representatives for South Carolina and served for two terms as a South Carolina State Representative. She has extensive experience in cyber strategy, policy, enablement, and implementation across a wide range of business sectors and governmental levels. She has over 15 years of cyber experience acquired through positions at Booz Allen Hamilton, Centuria Corporation, and Dispersive Networks. These positions have given her a unique experience of supporting and working with the government at large, small, and non-traditional contracting firms.

Skip Jentsch is the government lead for the GSA Schedule Cloud Special Item Number (SIN) 518210C, the subset of the Schedule that lists only cloud offerings. His position is within the IT Products Category under GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS).

The Federal Acquisition Service provides buying platforms and acquisition services to Federal, State, Local and Tribal governments for a broad range of IT products and services.

A former federal CIO for an independent small agency within the Department of Interior, Skip Jentsch has over 30 years of experience in managing IT enterprises in the public, private and non-profit sectors. His IT career has always been focused on internal and external customer outreach, bridging any communications gaps between technical and non-technical stakeholders.

He joined the GSA in 2013 as an IT Specialist/Enterprise Architect responsible for managing the Governmentwide cloud-focused acquisition vehicles such as the Cloud SIN 518210C.

In this capacity, he is responsible for promoting the adoption of cloud services across government, assisting agencies in realizing cost savings and efficiencies while modernizing and expanding their IT capabilities through the adoption of cloud and other innovative technology.

Skip engages with government customer agencies, educates them about GSA cloud offerings and services, provides strategic guidance, technical insight and acquisition aid as requested, thereby helping agencies acquire cloud technology by leveraging GSA cloud acquisition vehicles and other vehicles across government. He also engages with cloud vendors, educating them on how to get their offerings listed on the GSA Schedule Cloud SIN 518210C.

Additionally, he is involved in market research, feasibility studies and development of next generation GSA cloud initiatives.

Theresa Kinney is the Deputy Program Manager/Director for Operations and Communications of the NASA SEWP Program Office. In this capacity, she oversees the SEWP Program’s daily operations, works NASA Headquarters on Policies and SEWP Trainings, and assists with SEWP’s outreach efforts.

Ms. Kinney joined SEWP in October 2001 and was the lead for implementation of a full-cost accounting and the establishment of the SEWP Program as NASA’s first Working Capital Fund. She took on the role of Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for half of the SEWP Contracts in September 2012. In January 2016, Ms. Kinney took on additional COR responsibilities overseeing one of Goddard Space Flight Center’s large Administration contracts (GITISS).

A native of Montana, Ms. Kinney graduated with honors from Strayer University in Maryland. Following graduation, she continued her education at George Washington University and receive her Master’s Certificate in Federal Contracts.

Serving as the Executive Director, Leah McGrath has been involved with StateRAMP since its formation. In 2020, she spent countless hours working alongside Steering Committee members to develop StateRAMP’s governance and policy framework.

Prior to her work with StateRAMP, McGrath held leadership positions in both the public and private sector, including serving as the first deputy mayor of the City of Fishers, Indiana. During her tenure, Fishers transformed from a town into a smart, vibrant, entrepreneurial city and was named the #1 Best Place to Live in America in 2017 by Money magazine. As deputy mayor, she helped lead modernization efforts and spearheaded city-wide efforts to develop the city’s first long-range, comprehensive plan.

McGrath’s 20-year career has been focused on working to improve government outcomes at the state and local level, helping shepherd government into the digital age securely and effectively for the citizens it serves. 

Drew Myklegard is the Deputy Federal CIO of the White House tech policy office. He is responsible for driving technology modernization and improving mission delivery by ensuring over $87B+ in Federal IT spending is well managed.

Prior to joining the White House, Drew served as the Executive Director of Product Engineering at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Drew led the implementation of VA’s Lighthouse Application Programming Interface (API) Platform which enabled over 6 million veterans to securely share their health and benefits data with approved third parties -- revolutionizing how veterans manage their health care.

In addition to his public service, Drew is an active member of the Army Reserves and completed one tour in Iraq

Pete brings decades of experience in the development and adoption of technology services in both the private and public sector. He joined federal service in 2019 with the US Digital Service where he became deeply familiar with the complex web of laws, regulations, policies and standards that make deploying technology in government entirely different from the private sector. Prior to public service, he led engineering teams that delivered internet based services at various size software companies.

Outside of work, Pete likes to explore and has traveled across much of the world by motorcycle or other vehicles - he once turned down a reality tv show because it would limit his ability to just go where the road takes him.

Jessica Van Eerde is StateRAMP’s Chief of Operations, where she passionately represents and supports StateRAMP’s mission and its members. A seasoned leader with over a decade of experience working with State and Local Governments, as well as in the realm of Higher Education, Jessica brings a wealth of knowledge to her role.

Her expertise spans various domains, including law, procurement, and professional development. Notably, Jessica plays a pivotal role in the leadership of the TX-RAMP StateRAMP partnership, driving initiatives that optimize cybersecurity tools and resources for State, Local, and Education (SLED) organizations nationwide. Her dedication to advancing cybersecurity excellence is reflected in her strategic leadership and commitment to forging impactful collaborations.