Speakers

Anthony (Tony) Brannum serves as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Previously, Mr. Brannum was the Associate Chief Information Officer (ACIO) for the Client Experience Center (CEC), responsible for delivering services and capabilities that support USDA personnel across the country and around the globe with the tools they need to deliver the mission. Mr. Brannum previously served as the Rural Development Assistant Chief Information Officer (ACIO). In this role, Mr. Brannum provided executive leadership to facilitate, modernize, and develop information technology resources to effectively support the RD Mission Area. Prior to his appointment as the RD ACIO, Mr. Brannum served as the Deputy Assistant CIO at USDA, Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP) Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS). In this role, he provided senior leadership for IT service delivery and partners with Marketing and Regulatory Programs to enhance the customer experience.

Prior to his appointment as the Deputy Assistant CIO, Mr. Brannum was the Director for Information Technology for Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) Veterinary Services (VS) where he led major projects for data integration, animal health surveillance and disease traceability, and electronic certificates of veterinarian inspection certificates. Prior to joining VS, he worked at the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

Mr. Brannum holds a Master of Science in Information Technology and Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus in Adelphi, MD.

Matt Turek, PhD is the deputy office director for the Defense Advanced Research Agency’s (DARPA) Information Innovation Office (I2O), where he provides technical leadership and works with program managers to envision, create, and transition capabilities that ensure enduring information advantage for the United States and its allies. Previously, Turek served as I2O’s acting deputy director and as a program manager for AI-related programs, including Explainable AI, Machine Common Sense, Media Forensics, and Semantic Forensics. He joined DARPA from Kitware, Inc., where he led a team developing computer vision technologies. Prior to that role, he was at GE Global Research conducting research in medical imaging and industrial inspection.