Speakers

Mr. Chris Crist is Chief of DevSecOps & Enterprise Transformation at USTRANSCOM,
J6, Scott AFB, IL.

As Chief of DevSecOps and Enterprise Transformation, Chris is the primary lead for
modernization of all programs of record (PoR) across the component commands. This
involves DevSecOps methodologies incorporating baked-in security into development
processes and the ability to deliver software capability and an expedited rate. Further,
Chris is also the primary lead in cloud migration activities for these programs, and is
responsible for planning refactoring efforts, modernizing the RMF process, and
educating the component commands on IT standards of the destination cloud
environments.

Chris entered federal service as in 2019 after spending most of his career in the private sector as a Chief Information Officer (CIO) of multiple regional hospitals. He is also a commissioned officer in the Air Force Reserve as a Medical Service Corps (MSC) officer and deployed to New York City at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 to assist with a joint military effort against the novel coronavirus disease.

Nick is the Lead Engineer at DDS.

Tony Stafford is a technical leader with over 20 years of experience, focusing on emerging technologies such as cloud computing, microservice architectures, DevOps, containers, and 5G cellular. Mr. Stafford is currently the Deputy Technical Director for the Naval Information Warfare Center, Atlantic (NIWC LANT), the Navy’s Technical Authority. Before serving in this position, he was Vice President of Technical Solutions at an open source-focused tech company that serviced over 1,200 clients a year. He is also a veteran of the US Air Force’s Intelligence Community (IC), and served as a technical expert to DoD programs for nine years following his military service. Mr. Stafford is the inventor of SecurePaaS, a multi-tenant, multi-access control cloud security solution and patent holder of Auto-injection of Security Protocols. He is also the co-creator of a handheld Information Warfare platform and patent holder of Low-Power Platform with Modular Sensors.  During his career Mr. Stafford has had the pleasure to work with warfighters, government executives, and many of the top tech companies in the country.

Keith Nakasone joined VMware in June 2021 as Senior Federal Strategist, supporting VMware's
Government, Education and Healthcare sector. In his role, Nakasone is focused on delivering IT and acquisition solutions with agility, flexibility, scalability, and security as a priority.

Nakasone joined VMware from the US. General Services Administration, where he was the Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Acquisition Management and focused on delivering IT acquisition solutions for the present and beyond. Prior to GSA, he served as Senior Procurement Executive at the FCC overseeing the Acquisitions and Procurements, Contracting Officer’s and Contracting Officer’s Representative Certification programs, and was responsible for the agency’s small business goals. Nakasone also spent 20 years working for the US Department of Defense, where he worked with the US Army, Navy, and DISA on advancing their IT and telecommunications infrastructure.

Nakasone holds a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University in Ft. McNair, Washington D.C and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu, HI. He currently resides in Arlington, VA and enjoys spending time traveling back and forth between Hawaii, Las Vegas, and other resort locations.

Jeremiah Sanders is a Navy and Air Force veteran, DoD-certified Executive Program Manager (PMP/PgMP-equivalent) with Top Secret/SCI clearance, and joined VMware after co-founding the DoD’s premiere software startup, Kessel Run, and growing it to 1,300 members while serving as the Deputy Commander, AFLCMC Detachment 12. His diverse background includes Joint, operational, and Navy nuclear power plant engineering, maintenance and operations coupled with PM experience in all acquisition phases; particularly IT, software intensive systems, C4ISR, and satellite development and sustainment.

Jeremiah’s passion, and what drew him to the VMware team, is driving customer value through entrepreneurial management, agile development methodologies and innovation. He drives digital transformation throughout the Government, and the industrial base that supports it, through engendering acquisition management reform, modern engineering practices and technologies, and a generative culture.

Previously, he was a Materiel Leader assigned as Air Operations Center (AOC) Weapon System Program Manager after serving as the Operational Command and Control Branch Chief at the Undersecretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Information Dominance Directorate.

He served as a Navy nuclear power operator and instructor, culminating as Electrician’s Mate 1st Class (E-6). Jeremiah attended Air Force Officer Training School and his myriad assignments include the Combat Information Transport System, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Office of Resource and Mission Management, Mission Director in the National Reconnaissance Operations Center (NROC), and as DoD’s Executive Agent Rep for Common Data Link in SAF/AQI.

Jeremiah hails from Nikiski, Alaska where he graduated class valedictorian, basketball team captain, National Honor Society member, jazz band drummer and honors choir member at Nikiski High School. Jeremiah loves the outdoors and splits time between Alaska and Minnesota with his wife, Joy, and kids, Madeline and Liam.

Lauren’s mission is to help the government leverage technology to deliver better value
to their constituents. As Director of Tanzu Labs for civilian, state, and local
government, she helps government organizations transform the way they build
software, so they can deliver mission outcomes easily, securely, equitably, and
transparently. Recent clients include USCIS, IRS, Department of Homeland Security,
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and New York City
Department of Education.

Previously, Lauren was Director of Pivotal Labs in Washington DC, where she built
the organization's federal practice, and instilled a deep focus of product thinking,
accessibility, security, and a repeatable path to production. Her early clients included
Kessel Run and the US Space Force.

Lauren was a founding member of Pivotal Labs’ product management team, where
she instilled lean practices and coached clients to think like scientists, rather than
experts, by objectively validating their assumptions. Prior to Pivotal, Lauren was a
product manager at a variety of New York startups, including MamasLatinas, Yipit,
and Urgent Career. She believes that diverse teams build better products, and co-
founded Hack’n Jill, which organized hackathons with balanced gender ratios and
inclusive professional development workshops.

Lauren’s hands-on experience working on numerous products, leading multiple
diverse teams, and consulting with countless clients makes her a sought-after
speaker, mentor, and advisor. She feels most rewarded when she has the opportunity
to help government organizations improve how they deliver value to their constituents.

Lauren lives in Washington DC with her husband and twin daughters. She loves to
hike and bike with her family.

You can find Lauren on Twitter at @lgilchrist.

Contact info:
lgilchrist@vmware.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenrosegilchrist
https://twitter.com/lgilchrist

George Jackson is director 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 4 th 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.