Speakers

Mr. Hankinson has over 25 years’ experience in the cybersecurity and IT field. Currently a Cybersecurity Architect leading Zero Trust efforts at numerous agencies, most of his experience is as a federal employee for the U.S. Department of State. At the Department of State, Mr. Hankinson was the Director for a large, IT office consisting of over 15 global IT programs such as the Enterprise ICAM, PKI, HSPD-12/PIV, Global IT Modernization, and AV/End Point Protection Programs. While at the Department of State, Mr. Hankinson also lead the agency’s FITARA Working Group under the direct leadership of the CIO.

Mr. Hankinson also served in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Federal CIO. In this capacity he helped develop a number of federal policies impacting agencies today.

Fadi Fadhil, Palo Alto Networks' field CTO, is a seasoned IT executive with 20+ years track record of digital transformation, business strategy, and partnership building both in Government and K-12 education. Fadi served as the CIO of the City of Minneapolis as well as the CIO of Minneapolis Public Schools. Fadi was also the Lead Technology Architect and Liaison between the US Army and the new Iraqi government in Baghdad, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom II 2003-2005. With a deep understanding of government and education, Fadi offers a unique combination of strategic vision, field experience, and wealth of knowledge and experience in cybersecurity and IT operations.

Carlos Valarezo is the SASE Sales Specialist leader for Palo Alto Networks North America Public Sector organization. Carlos has been in the Cybersecurity industry for 17+ years and has been closely aligned with Public Sector customers for 14+ years. Carlos specializes in solving complex business problems with Cloud and SaaS adoption, in the areas of Threat Protection, Data Security and Application Governance, that impact Public Service, Government and Education Constituents.

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.