Speakers

David has over 20+ years of experience selling security, data analytics, and IT Operations solutions.  He spent most of his career helping nearly every Federal Civilian Agency worry less about securing their environments and more on achieving the mission in efficient and innovative ways.  David most recently worked Splunk where he spend 3 years covering the Department of Homeland Security.  He holds a CISSP and Splunk Architect level 2 certifications and many CSP certifications.

Brian Conrad joined the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) team within the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) in December 2018, bringing with him a wealth of technical knowledge and leadership experience. Brian acquired his foundational leadership, technical, and project management skills while serving in the United States Marine Corps. Upon his transition from active duty, Brian joined Booz Allen Hamilton where he spent over seven years leveraging and growing his IT, cybersecurity, and project management skills supporting various clients across the Department of Defense (DOD),  including the U.S. Marine Corps, United States Navy, and the Chief Information Officer for the  DOD. During this time, Brian became recognized as a cloud computing/cybersecurity Subject  Matter Expert within the federal government. 

At GSA, Brian continues his service as the Acting FedRAMP Director since January 2021. In  addition to his role as Acting Director, as the Cybersecurity Program Manager he leads multiple  efforts associated with Joint Authorization Board (JAB) assessment and authorization activities  that facilitate the authorization and adoption of commercial cloud services across the federal  government.  

Brian’s education includes a Senior Executive Fellowship at the Harvard John F. Kennedy  School of Government, an M.S. in Information Technology Management from the U.S. Naval  Postgraduate School, and a B.A. in History with a minor in Economics from the University of  Memphis

George Jackson is Vice President of events at GovExec – the largest and most-influential media company in the public sector marketplace. George joined GovExec in October of 2020 to enhance the scale of their events and audience experiences.

He 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