Paul Blahusch has over 20 years of cyber and IT security experience with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). He serves as the Director of Cybersecurity and the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for DOL in the Office of the Chief Information Officer. In this role, Mr. Blahusch supports the Department’s overall mission by promoting and bolstering enterprise-wide cybersecurity efforts.

He previously served as the Information Technology Security Officer for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As CISO, he is responsible for security initiatives within the Department of Labor, including but not limited to regulatory compliance and oversight, Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) implementation and planning, computer awareness and training, and computer security incident response. His role in the Department also involves collaborating with senior leadership to integrate information security with capital planning, enterprise architecture, and information collection initiatives.

Paul Blahusch holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. He is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Rachel Allen is an engineering manager for Cybersecurity AI at NVIDIA. Her team’s focus is the research and development of GPU-accelerated machine learning, deep learning, and GenAI applications to solve cybersecurity challenges.

Prior to NVIDIA, Rachel was a lead data scientist at Booz Allen Hamilton where she designed a variety of capabilities for advanced threat hunting and network defense.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in cognitive science and a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Virginia.

Dirk Wiker is the Cyber Security Solutions Architect within Federal Strategic Programs at Dell Technologies. He recently joined Dell Technologies after 20 years of federal government service. Over the last several years in the government, Dirk managed the Cybersecurity Operations and Engineering divisions at two federal civilian agencies. His focus since coming to Dell has been assisting federal customers with their zero trust journeys.

George Jackson is the Executive Producer & Host of GovExec TV. 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.