Speakers

Jack Albright joined OCIO as the Associate Chief Information Officer (ACIO) for IT Shared Services (ITSS) in March 2016. He leads a team of highly skilled and energetic IT professionals that provide and maintain technology innovations and solutions to effectively, efficiently, and economically enable the Department's lines of business. Jack also serves as a senior advisor to the CIO and Deputy CIO by providing policy support and strategies to both secure and enable the safety mission of the organization. Jack is passionate about customer service excellence which is clearly evident in his character and attitude. He is committed to applying an enterprise approach to all business challenges to ensure technology solutions meet expectations, provide maximum business value and reduce redundancies and costs.

Prior to his position as ACIO ITSS, Jack served as the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Chief Information Officer for more than 10 years. Previously Jack served as the Information Resources Manager for PHMSA's predecessor agency, the Research and Special Program Administration (RSPA) where he became the first non FAA DOT federal employee to obtain a SANS Institute Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC).

Jack has more than 24 years of experience in information technology, including strategic planning, policy, alignment of technology with business, Capital Planning, Enterprise Architecture, application and systems development, mobile computing, project management, cybersecurity, IT and data center operations, and cloud services.

Dr. Thomas Littleton is the U.S. Department of Transportation Associate Chief Information Officer (Acting) for Sector Cyber Coordination. In this capacity Dr. Littleton leads a team of cyber risk management professionals dedicated to ensuring America’s transportation infrastructure is secure and resilient by design. Dr. Littleton joins the Office of the Chief Information Officer from the Federal Aviation Administration, where his duties included airport cybersecurity and the integration od commercial space launch operations at airports. Previously, Dr. Littleton served as a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Transportation, the Associate Administrator for Transit Safety and Oversight at the Federal Transit Administration, and the Accident Investigation and Prevention Division Manager at the Federal Aviation Administration.

Previous to these assignments, Dr. Littleton was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, serving more than 20 years with command assignments at all levels. While in the Air Force he flew the F-16 for most of his career, and was a development pilot for the F-35 program. Dr. Littleton flew 172 combat missions and logged more than 850 hours of flight time in combat, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and six Air Medals. Dr. Littleton also worked as a test pilot for a major aerospace manufacturer, and as a private military contractor flying high-risk security missions around the globe. Dr. Littleton earned a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Northcentral University, with a specialization on Homeland Security Leadership and Policy. Most recently Dr. Littleton earned a Premier Certificate in “Cybersecurity: Managing Risk in the Information Age” from Harvard University. He also holds Masters’ degrees from the U.S. Air Force Air University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and a Bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon College. Dr. Littleton is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Air War College, the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College, the U.S. Air Force Squadron Officer’s School, and is a best-selling author. Additionally, Dr. Littleton has over 4,500 hours of military and civilian flight time, holds an Airline Transport Pilot license, an unrestricted B-737 type rating, is a Certified Flight Instructor and Certified Instrument Flight Instructor, and is an experienced test pilot and check pilot.

Matt Ashton is a Google Cloud Partner Evangelist and Engineer with over 10 years of experience supporting Public Sector networking, security, and hybrid cloud projects. Matt is passionate about helping organizations strengthen their network security posture and modernize their IT/OT infrastructure. Matt has a deep understanding of Federal best practices in network observability, hybrid- and multi-cloud, Zero Trust security, and big data analytics. Matt is a frequent speaker at industry events and has published several blogs and virtual webinars on cloud computing and security

Zach has over two decades of national intelligence, cybersecurity, and cyberwarfare experience with service in the country's foremost intelligence and defense agencies, including the National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, and at the Pentagon.  He co-founded ATX Defense to help national security organizations integrate revolutionary technology, scalable processes, and long-term viability into their operations. Zach also serves as the Chief Innovation Officer of the Texas Air National Guard and has served in the Reserve Component of the Army and Air Force since 2001. 

Previously, Zach led the Defense Innovation Unit’s Texas office, where he deployed nearly $1 billion to emerging technology companies to solve national security challenges.  He was named to the Federal 100 in 2019 for his work at the intersection of commercial technology and artificially intelligent cybersecurity. He received his MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master of Public Affairs degree from The University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. degree from The University of Texas at Arlington

George Jackson is VP of events at GovExec – the largest and most-influential media company in the public sector marketplace. He joined the company in 2020 to enhance the scale of their events and audience experiences. In 2021, George launched GovExec TV (streaming video content) and received the company’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, part of their first-annual Icon Awards.

George graduated from The Ohio State University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in English. In 2006, he earned his master’s in broadcast journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.

George spent the first five years of his journalism career at WJHL-TV in Johnson City Tenn. – beginning as an overnight producer for the station’s 6 a.m. broadcast. He advanced to lead on-air reporter for WJHL’s 11 p.m. newscast.

As a reporter, George examined the earnings of two non-profit hospital systems, felony charges filed against a local sheriff, predatory paving companies, a health benefits backlog for local veterans, and a series of cold-case murder investigations. He received an honorable mention for Best TV Reporter in the 2011 Tennessee AP Broadcast awards and won a Best Investigative Reporting award from Media General in 2010.

George joined DC’s ABC affiliate WJLA-TV in 2012 to produce Capital Insider, which won him an Emmy award. One year later, he developed and recorded the pilot episode of Government Matters – a program about the business of government. It debuted as a weekly show on Sunday, August 4th of 2013. George led Government Matters through September of 2020, expanded its reach to a daily worldwide audience, and produced its first feature-length documentary The Dawn of Generation AI.

George is from Toledo, Ohio. He lives with his wife, twin daughters, and a pair of rescue dogs in Northern Virginia