Speakers

Imran Umar is a senior cyber solution architect spearheading zero trust initiatives across Booz Allen in support of the Department of Defense (DOD), federal civilian agencies, and the intelligence community. 

Imran provides technical solutions that enable organizations to move towards a resilient zero trust architecture by applying unique tradecraft to determine their current zero trust maturity status, identifying key gaps in their architecture, and developing tailored solutions to transition them towards a data-centric security model that enforces least privileged access. Imran works to advance the adoption and fusion of concepts such as zero trust, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to improve cyber resiliency at an enterprise scale. He specializes in advanced zero trust concepts such as  ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access) & ZTAA (Zero Trust Application Access that enable conditional access and incorporate data-centric zero trust design principles.  

He leads a team of cybersecurity analysts, conducting zero trust maturity assessments for large enterprises. He also is the Booz Allen technical lead overseeing the DOD transition toward a zero trust architecture.

Imran earned a master’s in information and telecommunication systems, with a focus on cybersecurity, from Johns Hopkins University, and a bachelor’s from George Mason University.

Drew Epperson is the Sr. Director, Federal Engineering and Chief Architect for Palo Alto  Networks Federal. In this role, Drew leads a team of technical leaders who support a wide  range of Federal customers and policy makers. Drew has over 10 years of experience in  designing and implementing enterprise cyber solutions for the Federal government. Drew also  leads Palo Alto Networks Federal innovation initiatives with a focus on solving the hard  problems our customers face in meeting their mission. Before joining Palo Alto Networks, Drew  served as the Chief Technical Strategist at McAfee Federal. 

Drew is a member of two NSTAC subcommittees: Software Defined Networking and  Communications Resiliency. He holds a B.S in IT Operations from Bellevue University and a Master of Information Assurance and Cybersecurity with an emphasis in Cyber Analytics from  Penn State University.

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.