Brooke Lierman is the 34th Comptroller of the state of Maryland and the first woman to be independently elected to one of our state’s constitutional offices. After running a strong, policy-focused and grassroots-led campaign, she was elected with over 60% of the vote in November 2022. She is an attorney by training, practicing as a civil rights and disability rights lawyer for many years, and prior to her election as Comptroller, she served for 8 years a member of the House of Delegates representing part of Baltimore City. While in the House, she spent time in leadership roles on both the Appropriations Committee and the Environment and Transportation Committee. She chaired the Oversight Committee on Pensions. 

As Comptroller, she is leading an agency of 1,200 dedicated Maryland public servants in 12 offices around the state. She has focused on making government work better by modernizing the agency’s aging IT infrastructure and staff structure, and she has created an office of public engagement and taxpayer advocate to ensure that the resources of the agency are shared with Maryland businesses and residents. The office has published new and important research reports on Maryland’s economy, and Brooke’s acts as a fiscal watchdog on the Board of Public Works, focused on achieving best value for the state and meeting our MBE goals. Under her leadership, the office of the Comptroller is working to create a Maryland that is more equitable, more resilient, and more prosperous so that all Marylanders can reach their full potential.  

Brooke grew up in Montgomery County and now lives in Baltimore City with her husband two school-age children. 

Asma Mirza currently serves as the Chief Performance Officer for Governor Wes Moore. In that role, Asma leads implementation of the Governor’s priorities in the State Plan, the Administration’s response to support Federal workers in the face of layoffs and the Federal shutdown, and the modernization of state government to save taxpayer money. She also helped lead the economic response to the Key Bridge collapse. Before this role, Asma served as the Deputy for Implementation Management and Special Assistant to the President, where she helped oversee the implementation of the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law at the White House. Asma also spent seven years shaping the Federal Government’s approach to performance management at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), co-leading implementation of the GPRA Modernization Act. She helped create Performance.gov, the Cross-Agency Priority Goal fund, the IT Modernization Fund,  the Federal Program Inventory, and the White House Leadership Development Program.

Stephanie Kostro became President of the Professional Services Council (PSC) on June 11, 2025, where she will guide PSC’s strategic direction, advocacy, and member engagement efforts across growing federal industry priorities. Previously, she served as Executive Vice President for Policy, leading PSC's policy team in its commitment to advocating for and supporting productive collaboration between the federal government and services industry. As a recognized executive, on-air commentator, and policy expert with more than 20 years of experience in the U.S. Government and industry, she brings a wealth of knowledge in federal procurement policy and acquisition regulations, government processes and programs, and public-private partnerships.

Prior to joining PSC in 2021, Kostro was a principal at a government relations and consulting firm where she developed and implemented policy, funding, and business development strategies for a global client base. She worked extensively with civilian, defense, diplomatic, and intelligence officials, as well as with federal departments’ oversight committees in Congress. From 2010-2015, she was a senior fellow and director of the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a prominent national security think tank. Kostro served as a State Department contractor at U.S. Embassy Baghdad for one year. From 2005-2008, she was a senior professional staff member and policy director on the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee. Between 1998-2005, she held various positions at the Pentagon within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, on the Joint Staff, and at embassies and missions overseas. 

Kostro holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree in communication from Cornell University. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband, Rich, and their two daughters. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, gardening, and—when conditions allow—traveling.

Anirudh Kulkarni is the founder and CEO of CVP, a healthcare, security, and technology firm serving the U.S. public sector. CVP operates at the intersection of domain expertise, data, and digital transformation, bridging the gap between Silicon Valley innovation and government impact by translating AI and emerging technologies into practical, mission-driven solutions for federal clients. With more than 30 years in business and technology consulting, Kulkarni has guided the 11-time Inc. 500/5000 company through the full arc of federal market evolution: from small business beginnings, through a major acquisition, to mid-tier leader in unrestricted competition. A member of The George Washington University Engineering Hall of Fame, he is a seasoned entrepreneur with experience taking firms public and an active investor who enjoys helping scalable startups operationalize their vision. He brings a practitioner's perspective to the complex forces reshaping how industry engages with the federal government in a time of significant market disruption and procurement transformation.

Melissa Maynard oversees Pew’s Fiscal 50 interactive platform. The resource helps policymakers understand fiscal, economic, and demographic trends affecting their states by tracking tax revenue, reserves, employment rates, Medicaid spending, and other issues important to long-term fiscal health. Maynard previously contributed to Pew’s research and technical assistance across a wide range of state issues, including economic development, broadband, and election administration, and served as a staff writer at Stateline, a Pew initiative that provided daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy.

Before joining Pew, Maynard covered state and local government for Governing magazine.

Maynard holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from the University of Missouri and a master’s degree in government analytics from Johns Hopkins University.

(https://www.pew.org/en/about/experts/melissa-maynard)

Rocky Thurston is Chief Executive Officer of DMI. As CEO, Rocky is responsible for DMI’s strategy, growth, operational execution, emerging technology direction, and offerings development. His leadership spans the company’s work across public sector and commercial markets, with a focus on helping organizations modernize complex IT environments, reduce operational friction, and apply practical innovation at scale.

Prior to DMI, Rocky served as president of Peraton’s $1.3B Citizen Security and Public Services business sector, where he led initiatives focused on improving IT performance and operational delivery across multiple federal sectors. He also held leadership roles of increasing responsibility across Defense, National Security, and Federal Civilian markets at Perspecta, AT&T, Accenture, and Lockheed Martin.

Rocky is a proud veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and an MBA with a concentration in finance.