Speakers

Guy Cavallo is the CIO for the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM). There he directs the
agency’s enterprise IT services, managing day-to-day activities and developing the agency’s IT strategic plans and modernization efforts.

Guy previously served as Deputy CIO at the US Small Business Administration (SBA). There he created a cloud-based solution to automate the distribution of over $450B to small businesses and employees under the CARES Act and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs. His SBA efforts earned him a Federal 100 Award and FedScoop 50 Award (twice) for Federal IT Leadership.

Prior to returning to the federal government Guy served as Senior Government Advisor at Microsoft. There he assisted public sector entities in modernizing the delivery of citizen services. In his largest project he was National Co-Lead of Microsoft’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act solution for managing the new grant program.

Guy earned a BA degree from the University of Michigan.

Leah McGrath serves as Executive Director for StateRAMP, a national non-profit advancing cyber security for State & Local Government. McGrath dedicated more than 1,000 hours in 2020 working alongside Steering Committee members to develop StateRAMP’s governance and policy framework. 

Prior to her work with StateRAMP, McGrath held leadership positions in both the public and private sector, including serving as the first deputy mayor of the City of Fishers, Indiana from 2015 - 2019. During her tenure, Fishers transformed from a town into a smart, vibrant, entrepreneurial city and was named in 2017 the #1 Best Place to Live in America by Money Magazine. In her role, she helped lead modernization efforts and spearheaded city-wide efforts to develop its first long-range comprehensive plan. McGrath’s 20-year career has been focused on working to improve government outcomes at the state and local level, helping shepherd government into the digital age, securely and effectively, for the citizens it serves. 

McGrath is a graduate of Purdue University and resides in Fishers, Indiana with her husband and three sons.

Brian Merrick started his career as a commissioned officer in the US Army in 1996.  In 2005, he left the Army and worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers as a financial management consultant and an IT project manager working with private industry and the Federal government.  

In 2008, Brian joined the Department of State working in numerous financial management and IT leadership positions across the agency.  He oversaw several business transformation initiatives involving budget, procurement, and HR efforts.  Brian also led programs to modernize IT delivery in the public diplomacy space including, early cloud adoption, enterprise web platforms, mobility and wi-fi implementations.  Most recently, Brian led enterprise IT modernization efforts as the Director for Cloud Programs, providing cloud-based application and multi-cloud platform solutions at the Department level.    

In 2022, Brian joined the Senior Executive Service, serving in the Department of Justice as the Deputy Director for Service Delivery Staff, providing enterprise IT services and leading several key IT initiatives.  

Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Wright State University and a Master of Science in Leadership from Olin Business School, Washington University.  In addition, he holds several IT and financial management certifications.

Robert “Bob” Osmond was appointed as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Commonwealth by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin in April 2022. As CIO, Osmond leads the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA).

As CIO, Osmond leads the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA). He brings vast experience in public and private sector technology to the role, having most recently led information technology, process improvement, and strategic innovation as the Chief of Technology and Business Strategy at the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). Prior to his role as Chief, he served as the division administrator of VDOT’s information technology division.

Before joining VDOT, Bob was an executive partner with IBM where he led national practices responsible for application development, organizational change management and human capital management. Earlier in his career, Bob supported strategic planning, business transformation and global process improvement for several Fortune 500 organizations and federal cabinet-level agencies.

Bob earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial and systems engineering from Virginia Tech. Bob is a graduate of the Virginia Executive Institute and has taught at the George Washington School of Business.

David Updike currently serves as EPA Deputy Chief Information Officer and Director of the Office of Information Technology Operations.

David has over 30 years of experience implementing complex information systems and providing IT solution consultation to a broad range of federal program managers. He began his EPA career in 1991 leading software development for EPA’s national hazardous waste management programs. He has held progressively challenging positions in information systems and IT operations management including service as Director of EPA's National Computing Center, Deputy Director of EPA’s Office of Science Information Management, and served four years as an active member of the Federal Data Center Consolidation Task Force chartered by the Federal CIO Council.

James "Jim" Weaver joined the N.C. Department of Information Technology in March 2021, with more than 30 years of leadership and management in the IT industry. 

As secretary and state chief information officer, he leads the agency responsible for strategic IT planning and the procurement and delivery of IT services and solutions as well as cybersecurity and efforts to expand broadband access and affordability across North Carolina. 

Prior to NCDIT, Weaver served as director and state CIO at Washington Technology Solutions. In that role, he strengthened the department and the state enterprise by focusing on efficiency, consistency and continuous improvement; driving business alignment; balancing operations and policy; and seeking quicker adoption of newer technology. 

Weaver was also chief technology officer for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where he held chief technology officer and deputy CIO roles in Pennsylvania’s departments of human services, aging and insurance.

His expertise with large-scale modernization efforts have been nationally recognized three times by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and twice by Computerworld Honors. 

Weaver holds numerous ITIL certifications and earned his Certified Government Chief Information Officer qualification from Harrisburg University. He is also an active member of the U.S. Armed Forces, previously serving in the Army National Guard in Washington and Pennsylvania and currently serving in North Carolina.  

As secretary, Weaver chairs the N.C. Information Technology Strategy Board and N.C. 911 Board. He also serves as secretary and treasurer for NASCIO, co-chairs the awards committee and is a member of broadband advisory group. He also co-chairs the Enterprise Architecture Committee and is a member of the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Bob Burwell is the CTO for U.S. Public Sector State, Local Government, Education and Healthcare (SLED-H) at NetApp.  His responsibilities include setting future technology and product directions for the U.S. Public Sector group and managing key customer relationships.

I am an experienced CTO and have been in the IT industry for the last 30 years. I have worked primarily on the Government side of the house with the DoD, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Intelligence Agencies. I now focus on State, Local Government, Education and Healthcare - affectionately known as SLED-H.

You may have seen me at conferences like NASCIO and EDUCAUSE, in interviews or read an industry article or two.

I live in San Diego, probably smile and joke more than I should and have a wonderful family and life. 

For those that have gone to my LinkedIn page the picture is through a porthole from the Midway in San Diego Harbor looking out toward the Coronado Bridge. It's a humbling tour with great views of San Diego.

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Alisha Powell Gillis is the senior director of event content and executive host at GovExec. In her role, she is responsible for overseeing programming for live and virtual events and regularly serves as a moderator. Prior to this, Alisha was the senior editor at Route Fifty, GovExec's state and local digital publication. Alisha's other previous positions include serving as the director for community impact at the Urban Libraries Council and as the program director at the National Governors Association where she specialized in homeland security, emergency management and cybersecurity. Alisha holds a master's degree in global security studies from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor's degree in political science from Hofstra University.

Amear Mitchell, a native Philadelphian, has worked to foster and nurture client relationships at GovExec since November 2021. A recent college graduate from Temple University with a BA in Political Science, he has a passion for government and persuasion. Amear is an attentive and empathic account representative. These qualities are at the forefront of his commitment and effort. Amear can be found running on the Schuylkill River Trail or with his friends grilling on the back patio in his free time.

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