Vice Adm. Mike Vernazza is a native of New Jersey and a 1990 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. He earned a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Troy State University, a Certificate in Legislative Studies from Georgetown University, and is a graduate of the Naval War College and the Joint Forces Staff College. Additionally, he is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI Fellow and a Harvard Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Fellow.

His initial assignments in the Surface Warfare Community included serving as an electrical officer aboard USS Aylwin (FF 1081), main propulsion assistant aboard USS Capodanno (FF 1093), and officer-in-charge of Engineering Training Group, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 

As an intelligence officer, Vice Admiral Vernazza’s assignments included Asian tactical officer and Northeast Asia naval branch chief at Joint Intelligence Center Pacific; fleet intelligence support officer at U.S. Commander, 3rd Fleet (C3F) aboard USS Coronado (AGF 11); and intelligence requirements and readiness officer at U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

His senior leadership assignments included command operations officer, Joint Forces Command Intelligence Command; deputy branch head for Battlespace Awareness Programs, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV); team lead for intelligence and irregular warfare, 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, OPNAV; director for intelligence, Carrier Strike Group 11 aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68); director for intelligence, C3F; division director, Information Warfare and Foreign Area Officer Assignments/Senior Intelligence Officer Detailer (PERS-47); and chief of staff, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet; Deputy Commander, U.S. 10th Fleet, and Commander, Task Force Pacific; and Director, Maritime Information Warfare, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Vice Admiral Vernazza commanded Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) Georgia, Commander, Task Force 1050, Ft. Gordon, Georgia; Naval Information Warfighting Development Center, Norfolk, Virginia; and most recently Fleet Information Warfare Command – Pacific/Information Warfare Task Force 501, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Mark is a proven national security executive from both the Intelligence  Community and Department of Defense.  

His last assignment in federal government was as the CIO of the National  Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Mark and his team at NGA integrated the  world’s most advanced space and airborne sensors to support imagery analysts,  data scientists, and cartographers at over 200 global locations. 

Prior to NGA, Mark reported directly to the Chief of Naval Operations in the  Pentagon leading the Navy’s $16 billion per year investment portfolio of  unmanned systems, intelligence, space, IT, cyber, communications, and  electronic warfare.  

Mark holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M  University and Master of Engineering Management from George Washington  University.
 

Courtney O’Neal Allen is the Director of Events Content and a Producer/Host for GovExec, where she shapes the conversations that drive the business of government. With over 15 years of experience in top-tier broadcast media, Courtney has led productions reaching millions in markets like NYC and D.C. She now applies that broadcast precision to the federal sector, blending multimedia storytelling, strategic communications, and market intelligence to produce GovExec’s industry-leading events and digital programming. Courtney is a proud alumna of Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, and Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C.