Google Leaders Connect 2026 Chicago - Speakers
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Speakers

Janee Harvey

Director, Division of Family Well-Being & Protection
Iowa Department of Health and Human Services
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Janee Harvey

Director, Division of Family Well-Being & Protection

Iowa Department of Health and Human Services

Janée C. Harvey serves as the Division Director of Family Well-Being and Protection for Iowa.

She worked as a social worker in New York, NY, for more fifteen (15) years before transplanting to Des Moines, IA, in 2015 with her wife and two kids. While in NYC, she began her career working with youth in residential care who were homeless and HIV+, eventually becoming the clinical director for a group home for youth in foster care. Seeing the consequences of long-term foster care on the lives of youth, brought her to a leadership role in a foster care prevention program. Under her leadership, the program expanded into multiple locations in central Brooklyn and involved the implementation of an evidence-based abuse prevention program.   She is a graduate of Hunter College with a Master of Social Work (MSW).

As the Division Director for Family Well-Being and Protection for the state of Iowa, her responsibilities include the administration of the state’s child welfare system, child care assistance and licensing, and family strengthening services.  Her team includes statewide coverage of social work case managers, 24/7 abuse intake, child protection workers and adoption specialists.  She is an executive sponsor on the IT development and implementation project, VISION, which will be Iowa’s Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS).

She has worked with runaway and homeless teens, LGBTQ youth, and families, children and youth involved with the child welfare system for over 20 years. Most recently, she served for four (4) years as the Child Welfare and Community Services Bureau Chief for DHS and as the Division Administrator over Adult, Children and Family Services (ACFS) beginning in 2020.   In addition to her professional roles within Child Welfare, she was a foster parent for seven (7) years and is an adoptive parent.

Gabby Burke

Cloud AI Customer Engineer
Google Public Sector
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Gabby Burke

Cloud AI Customer Engineer

Google Public Sector

Gabby Burke serves on Google Public Sector’s Cloud AI Specialist Engineering team, leading technical initiatives with state and local governments and higher educational institutions across the US. She is passionate about leveraging technology to create more effective, equitable, responsive, and proactive public systems. In her role, Gabby partners directly with public sector agencies nationwide, empowering them to harness cloud solutions, data-driven strategies, and generative AI to overcome critical challenges.

 

Previously, Gabby managed statewide public health and Medicaid interoperability initiatives, including Colorado's Social Health Information Exchange program (the first of its kind in the nation). She has also directly served clients experiencing homelessness. She holds a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Previously, Gabby managed statewide public health and Medicaid interoperability initiatives, including Colorado's Social Health Information Exchange program (the first of its kind in the nation). She has also directly served clients experiencing homelessness. She holds a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Charles Elliott

Senior Research Engineering Lead
Google Public Sector
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Charles Elliott

Senior Research Engineering Lead

Google Public Sector

Charles Elliott is a Senior Research Engineering Lead, Google Public Sector  leading initiatives that transform education through the power of technology, particularly generative AI. Building on a successful consulting career focused on Big Data, Analytics, and AI, Charles now leverages his extensive expertise to guide educational institutions and ed-tech companies in realizing the potential of personalized learning at scale. With over 15 years of experience, he specializes in bridging cutting-edge cloud solutions with the specific needs of the education and research sectors. As a trusted advisor, he empowers organizations to enhance learning experiences, improve accessibility, and drive measurable educational outcomes. His work spans early childhood education, machine learning applications, and strategic cloud implementation, with a focus on leveraging generative AI to unlock new possibilities in transforming public sector organizations.

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