Speakers

Jessica Barrett Simpson is the Program Manager for Digital and Customer Care, which takes a human-centered design approach to the delivery of products and services for students and borrowers. This modernization initiative included the consolidation of multiple websites into StudentAid.gov, the launch of an enhanced myStudentAid mobile app, a customer care platform and standardized training for FSA's contact centers, a marketing platform for email and text messaging, and a new Virtual Assistant that can answer hundreds of customer questions. Prior to working in Federal Student Aid, she worked in ED’s Office of Postsecondary Education overseeing and evaluating federal grant programs for colleges and universities.  Jessica joined the federal government as a Presidential Management Fellow after serving in the nonprofit sector.  Jessica has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from New York University.

Eric Markow is an Information Technology leader with over 23 years of IRS software development and system delivery experience. Eric has 14 years of IRS leadership experience including Executive roles leading software development personnel to deliver large-scale, highly visible systems and services focused on improving the taxpayer experience through online self-services, the advancement of fraud detection, and creating new digitalization opportunities for IRS. Eric currently serves as the Director of the Web Applications Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO) responsible for delivering digital services to improve the IRS taxpayer experience.

Eric has a proven track record of providing mission critical applications quickly and successfully to IRS employees, other federal agencies, as well as to the entire country.

Eric has received numerous IRS Commissioner Awards over the years and most recently received the 2020 Service to the Citizen Award for his efforts in leading an IRS team to implement a brand-new Tax Withholding Estimator on IRS.gov. In 2020, Eric led a team across the IRS to support taxpayers during the Covid-19 pandemic by creating the Get My Payment application that allowed taxpayers to check the status of their Economic Impact Payments and provide bank account information for quicker payments. The tool was created and deployed in only 3 weeks, was visited by 35 Million Americans in its first day and provided quicker payments to over 14 Million taxpayers.

Eric enjoys nature and is an accomplished woven glass artist with his husband Thom. Together, they have produced significant glass sculptures installed around the world as Markow & Norris.

Barbara C. Morton assumed her current duties in July 2016 when she joined the Veterans Experience Office (VEO) as Deputy Chief Veterans Experience Officer.  In this role Barbara is responsible for building a lasting customer experience capability at VA and sharing best practices across sister Federal Agencies.  She was a recipient for the Gears of Government President’s Award (2019) and the Service to the Citizen Award (2019) for her role in transforming VA’s capabilities to provide Veterans with an excellent customer experience.

Barbara joined the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2006 as a Staff Attorney at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board).  She served the Board in a variety of other capacities, to include Special Counsel to the Appellate Group, Special Assistant to the Vice Chairman, Executive Assistant to the Chairman, and Executive Director for the Office of Management, Planning & Analysis.  While at the Board, Barbara stood up and led the Board’s Appeals Modernization OIT efforts, which included securing industry technologists from United States Digital Service to develop and launch new appeals platforms. 

A native of Rockport, Massachusetts, Barbara attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, earning a degree in psychology and philosophy.  After receiving her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, Barbara completed two clerkships in the New England area and thereafter pursued an LL.M. in constitutional law at Georgetown Law.  She has published a variety of law review articles, including two pieces relating to posttraumatic stress disorder.  Barbara dabbles in the arts, to include painting, photography, ceramics, and stained glass, and she loves following professional tennis and basketball. She also enjoys volunteering for various Veteran-centered causes, to include events at Arlington National Cemetery and the annual Toys-for-Tots campaign.

Simchah Suveyke-Bogin joined USDA in May of 2020 as Chief Customer Experience Officer for the Office of Customer Experience. Armed with experience leading the Customer Experience Center of Excellence of the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Technology Transformation Services, Ms. Suveyke-Bogin previously helped implement user-centered practices and innovative solutions across the Government. More importantly, she helped spearhead changes that are still in place across USDA today.

Prior to leading the Customer Experience Center of Excellence, Ms. Suveyke-Bogin served as the customer experience specialist and program manager for USAgov's contact center services.

Before joining GSA, she worked in contact center optimization and supported the National Cancer Institute’s Office of Communications.

Elaine Beeman leads Accenture's programs supporting federal civilian agencies and quasi-governmental enterprises to achieve their strategic, operational and technological goals for mission critical operations. Her diverse portfolio of clients includes the Departments of Agriculture, Health & Human Services, Interior and Treasury as well as Amtrak, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Office of Personal Management (OPM), Social Security Administration (SSA), U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and United States Postal Service (USPS).  As the portfolio lead, she oversees development and implementation of solutions that enable clients to collaborate across federal, state, local and commercial markets to better serve American citizens. 

Kathy Conrad is director of digital government at Accenture Federal Services, focusing on how Accenture can deliver digital services and emerging technologies that transform government to be more customer-centric, data-driven, and efficient. During the Obama Administration, she served as principal deputy associate administrator for the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies within the U.S. General Services Administration. In this position, she played a key role in developing the 2012 White House Digital Strategy and 18F and has been responsible for major government-wide initiatives, including the Federal Risk Authorization and Management Program (FedRAMP), data.gov, the Digital Analytics Program, and other innovative solutions including Challenge.gov. 

Martha is a Managing Director with Accenture and is the global co-lead for Fjord. She has over twenty years of consulting experience, working as an applied ethnographer across multiple industries and collaborating with a range of practitioners including designers, engineers, business analysts, marcomms, and brand strategists. Prior to joining Fjord, she was a partner at gravitytank and led the Design Research practice. She also served as gravitytank’s CMO for two years. Past experience also includes leadership roles at HLB, Hall & Partners and Sapient. Martha is on the faculty of Northwestern University’s MMM program–the Kellogg School of Management’s marquee Design Thinking degree–where she developed and now teaches the Design Research curriculum. A frequent writer and speaker on the intersection of anthropology and business, Martha’s article “The Shelf Life of Data” appears in “The Handbook of Anthropology in Business” (LeftCoast Press, 2014. Denny, Sunderland editors). She holds a BA in English from Indiana University and an MA in Performance Studies from Northwestern University. She is also the author of “Dinner Dates: A Cookbook for Couples Cooking Together” (Avon Books 1999).

Martha has spent her career studying how everyday people engage with products, services and brands, as well as helping her clients work differently and with a human-centered lens. She has conducted deep ethnographic research around the globe and across every industry you could imagine from Automotive to Zippers and everything in between. As she helps her clients succeed in with their innovation portfolios, much of her work also includes a focus on corporate culture change and helping organizations learn how to get out of their own way so they can be successful in their innovation goals.

Biniam Gebre has been managing director at Accenture Federal Services since August 2017. Mr. Gebre heads the management consulting group, which provides advisory services to government clients. He was a partner at Oliver Wyman serving customers in the company's financial services and public-sector practices.

Before that, he was Acting Assistant Secretary and Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, where he led the management of the agency. Earlier in his career, he was a partner with McKinsey & Co., which he joined in 2000. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Williams College and a master's degree in finance and economics from Northwestern University.

Tim Irvine leads the Accenture Federal Studio where a dedicated team of professionals work together with leaders across the U.S. federal government to design and deliver the digital solutions agencies need to advance their mission and serve customers differently. He previously served as Fjord’s head of design for North America. He joined the Fjord team after Accenture’s acquisition of Acquity Group in 2013, where he was the chief experience officer. Tim is also the host of the Federal Innovator podcast series.   

Terrianne Lord is the Salesforce practice lead for Accenture Federal Services, responsible for managing the delivery of Salesforce CRM engagements to major federal agencies. A seasoned and innovative executive with more than 20 years of experience, she has been instrumental in developing, managing and deploying technical solutions for clients, including guiding them through system design, change management, the reengineering of business processes, and third-party and legacy systems integration 

As Accenture Federal Services’ Revenue Practice Lead, Michael is known for creativity and an ability to problem-solve across a variety of agencies in Federal, state and local governments, as well as for commercial and financial private enterprises. Over his career, Michael worked across all aspects of the Accenture enterprise, delivering Strategy, Business Process Reengineering, Systems Integrations and Operations programs, including receiving two Intellectual Property patent awards.

Beyond Accenture, Michael is active in his community and has personally and professionally sat on multiple charitable and civic boards, including the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.

Bio Coming Soon