Federal agencies are navigating a period of rapid transformation as artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity demands, workforce changes, and evolving mission priorities reshape government operations.
To explore how agencies are adapting to those shifts, MeriTalk will host Shift Happens on July 14 at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. The event will bring together federal and industry leaders to candidly discuss how agencies can accelerate innovation and lead through change.
Federal speakers scheduled to join the program include:
- Bill English, chief information officer and chief AI officer, General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Inspector General
- Chris Butera, acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
- Matheus Passos, acting chief technology officer and deputy chief information officer, Department of Commerce
- Christopher Clark, artificial intelligence Lead, U.S. Marine Corps
- Nick Polk, branch director for federal cybersecurity, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), The White House
- Jessie Posilkin, executive director of the Technology Modernization Fund, General Services Administration
The program will also feature industry experts, including Anish Patel, head of federal at Cloudflare; Egon Rinderer, senior vice president of federal and enterprise growth at NinjaOne; Bart Larango, federal industry advisor for public sector at Splunk; Christina Dance, industry advisor for defense and intelligence at Workday; Felipe Fernandez, chief technology officer at Fortinet Federal; Nina D’Amato, chief technology strategist for public sector at Lenovo; and Alexis Bonnell, head of AI adoption and deployment, OpenAI for Government.
Sessions will explore how agencies are adapting to rapid technology and policy shifts. English and Patel will discuss how agencies can build trust, resilience, and operational readiness into AI adoption from the outset.
Passos and Rinderer will explore how leaders are rethinking roles, skills, team structures, and day-to-day operations to prepare for a more dynamic, technology-enabled environment.
Larango and Posilkin will examine how leaders are sharpening modernization strategies, focusing investments, and improving visibility into progress and outcomes during this period of rapid change.
Clark and Dance will explore future-ready leadership and how agencies can build adaptable, resilient organizations amid changing technologies, policies, and expectations.
Cybersecurity will take center stage as Butera, Fernandez, and Polk discuss cyber accountability. They will explore how cyber leaders are sharpening strategy and improving enterprise-wide visibility as demands for speed, resilience, and accountability grow.
The event will also include a discussion with D’Amato on GSA’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS) and the future of how government builds technology.
Shift Happens will take place July 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. Register now to hear directly from the government and industry leaders helping agencies navigate what comes next.