Speakers

Erik Avakian, Chief Information Security Officer, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Erik Avakian was named Chief Information Security Officer for the commonwealth in 2010.

Erik joined the commonwealth in 2005 and became Deputy CISO in 2007. He has over 17 years experience in securing enterprise-level environments and is an expert in reducing risk and mapping security to the business. He has extensive experience in security governance, risk management, compliance and incident response and remediation. As CISO. Erik is responsible for establishing enterprise security strategy, standards, controls, and security policies and lead the Enterprise Information Security Office, which defends against cyber attacks, reduces the commonwealth's vulnerability to cyber attacks, and minimize the damage and recovery time from attacks if and when they occur.

Erik holds numerous industry certifications including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Certified Information Security Auditor (CISA), Certified Government Chief Information Officer (CGCIO) and ITIL v3. He is an active member of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) Security and Privacy Committee, the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2), the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), and the Pennsylvania Criminal Intelligence Center PaCIC).

Susan Kellogg

Chief Deputy State Chief Information Officer & Chief Services Officer

Susan Kellogg joined the N.C. Department of Information Technology as chief deputy state chief information officer and chief services officer in March 2020.

In this role, she leads the Service Delivery Division and focuses her efforts on providing enterprise application and infrastructure services to state agencies, local governments, and universities across North Carolina.

Kellogg has more than 30 years of IT experience in both the public and private sector. Most recently, she was with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she served since 2003 in various IT roles, including special consultant to the executive vice chancellor and provost as well as deputy CIO. She was also associate dean of information technology and CIO at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Kellogg has a diverse background in business intelligence, student information systems, learning management systems, customer relationship management, information security, cloud infrastructure and business continuity as well as strong leadership, governance, and customer service skills.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematical sciences and computer science from UNC-Chapel Hill and earned a Master of Science in computer science from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

In addition, she received the 2012 CIO of the Year Award from the Triangle Business Journal and 2011 Roy W. Holsten Award for Exceptional Service.

Kathy Cruz (kathycruz@kpmg.com)

Director, State and Local Technology Enablement

Kathy Cruz is a Director in KPMG’s Technology Enablement Practice advising government clients on building digital trust through cybersecurity strategies, risk mitigation practices, and strengthened operational controls. Focusing on integrating cybersecurity initiatives throughout the enterprise, she helps clients mature their cybersecurity programs and create the needed flexibility to address the changing cyber landscape. Kathy helps government clients focus on building cyber security resilience for their organizations, supporting business objectives and services to the public.

With more than 30 years of experience in information technology (IT) and cyber security, she has been an officer of two public companies and is five-time Chief Information Officer (CIO) with a background across all IT and business domains. Her strong track record of thought leadership, collaboration, and transformation has won industry recognition and she was named by CIO Magazine as one of the top 100 CIOs. 

George Jackson, Director of Events, GovExec Media

Chad Jones (chadjones@kpmg.com)

Managing Director, Federal Advisory

Chad has built a reputation for his Execution and Delivery expertise while also coupling his business development skills to this process as a leader in strategy, capture and sales. His ability to guide teams through this transformative set of stages has created a set of skills capable of achieving success. His skills have been honed by his Industrial Engineering degree, CPIM, MRO and MBB Certifications along with 25+ years of experience in both small and large scale projects – Operational Transformation of Space Shuttle External Tank fabrication and assembly, Infrastructure advancement of the US Army’s Acquisition Program, Enterprise Strategy and Transformation of a Large Federal Agencies Sales and Service System - along with the foundational elements of Strategy, Marketing, Sales and Employee coaching and mentoring. Chad’s drive and sense of accomplishment is the desire that has created his ability to generate Enterprise Value for his clients and deliver results meeting / exceeding expectations.

Department of Veterans Affairs Senior Executive Biography

Luwanda F. Jones, M.S.

Deputy Chief Information Officer Strategy Sourcing
Office of Information and Technology

Luwanda F. Jones currently serves as the Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) for the Office of Strategic Sourcing in the Office of Information and Technology (OIT). As the DCIO for Strategic Sourcing, she supports OIT and the Department by providing executive oversight and leadership for the development of plans and processes necessary to control, optimize, and leverage the volume of acquisition actions associated with IT/IT-related needs/requirements throughout the Department. She provides IT acquisition policy, plans, and guidelines for all IT acquisitions valued at over $4B annually. She works directly with the CIO to ensure that the accountability and responsibility documented in Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) for IT/IT-related acquisitions are implemented, monitored, and are following the FITARA legislation throughout the Department. OIT.

Prior to her current position, she served as Executive Director for IT Acquisition Strategic and IT Space/ Facilities Management in OIT. As the Executive Director, she served as the OIT representative to the VA Strategic Capital Investment Planning (SCIP) process, including major and minor construction projects needed to address IT infrastructure deficiencies across the VA enterprise. She provided oversight for 1 Million sq. ft. feet of space in 40 locations throughout the United States. She managed portfolio of facilities minor construction projects valued at approx. $68M. She also served nine months as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary ITRM and the IT Chief Financial Officer. In this role, she was the principal advisor on IT resource requirements,

Retired U.S. Army Colonel who served for 28 years in various senior acquisition and information technology positions. A 2007 graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level 3 certified in Program Management and Information Technology.

CAREER CHRONOLOGY:

August 2018 – Present:

Deputy Chief Information Officer for Strategic Sourcing, Office of Information and Technology (OIT), Department of Veterans Affairs

March 2011 – August 2018: Executive Director/SES for Information Technology (IT) Acquisition Strategy & Space and Facilities Management Office, IT Resource Management Office, OIT

2007 – 2010: Program Manager, Colonel; Defense Business Transformation Agency, OSD

EDUCATION:

2007: M.S. National Resource Strategy, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Washington, DC

1991: M.A. Computer Resources and Information Management, Webster University, Saint Louis, MO

1982: B.A. Psychology, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA