4 Days Away! Cyber, IT, and AI! Celebrating the Distinguished Career of Diane Frasier, Former NIH Contracting Leader.

Innovation Beyond Limits

Cyber, IT, and AI Symposium: Celebrating the Distinguished Career of Diane Frasier, Former NIH Contracting Leader

NCMA Bethesda in partnership with Fed GovCon Connect, invites you to participate in a Cyber, IT, and AI Symposium. As well as celebrate the impact of Diane Frasier, Former National Institutes of Health Contracting Innovator. At this event government leaders will discuss different paths to acquisitions and driving the use of data by investing in novel AI solutions, cyber security, and professional services support.

Acquisition leaders will discuss lessons learned by partnering with technology executives they support and industry partners that are providing this kind of modernization. As well as acquisition opportunities and unleashing the power of data, cyber security and artificial intelligence.

Many guests from government, industry, and academia will be attending. Including: EPA, USAID, Dept of State, HHS, ARMY, VA, Missile Defense, AirForce, University of MD, GW, Bowie State, Microsoft, AWS, Deloitte, and others.

This event will include match making, two panel discussions and a networking reception to celebrate Diane Frasier.

An event not to be missed!!

(Special Guest) Diane Frasier is the Former Director, for the Office of Acquisition and Logistics Management and the Head of the Contracting Activity at the National Institutes of Health. Ms. Frasier oversaw all of the NIH’s acquisition, property, supply and transportation programs. During her tenure at the NIH, Ms. Frasier initiated the design, development and implementation of the NIH Contractor Performance System – one of the first systems to collect and retrieve contractor past performance information. Ms. Frasier also chaired the joint agency committee which established the Federal Past Performance Retrieval System, PPIRs. Working closely with the NIH’s 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs), Ms. Frasier oversaw the restructuring of the NIH’s 18 contracting offices to 10 offices while ensuring continued acquisition service to the ICs. Ms. Frasier also played a critical role in the transition from a legacy management system to the NIH’s New Business System and its reporting system, nVision. Ms. Frasier continues to be an avid supporter of acquisition streamlining as evidenced by the management of the NIH’s Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC), a Government-wide Acquisition Contract. Prior to joining NIH, Ms. Frasier had a long career with the Department of Defense.

Ms. Frasier began her federal career as a Presidential Management Intern. Ms. Frasier holds a BA from the University of Virginia and MPA from the C.W. Post Center of Long Island University. Ms. Frasier is a 1993 graduate of the Industrial College of Armed Forces and a 1994 graduate of Harvard University’s Senior Officials in National Security. Ms. Frasier is a CPCM, NCMA fellow and also served as a member of NCMA’s Board of Advisors. Ms. Frasier is the recipient of numerous awards including the Presidential Rank Meritorious Executive Award and the DHHS Secretary’s Award.

(MC) Wayne Berry is a Small Business Specialist with the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), currently assigned to Health Resources Services Administration and National Institutes of Health.

Mr. Berry’s career in civil service began in Cleveland, Ohio at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center where he served in Contracting. He was later recruited to DC, working as a Program Analyst in the Department of Veteran Affairs’ OSDBU. Mr. Berry accepted a position with HHS OSDBU in April 2011.

Mr. Berry earned a degree in Journalism from Kent State University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Cleveland State University. Wayne earned the following Federal Acquisition Certifications: Contracting Level III and Program/Project Management Level II.

(Moderator) Jose Arrieta is the former Chief Information Officer and Chief Data Officer of HHS. He brings over 17 years expertise in technology management, innovation, policy, small business and acquisition/ procurement solutions. He has deep experience in all phases of the acquisition life cycle and has served in a broad range of executive roles within the Federal Government and private industry. He is a respected leader in applying emerging technologies, especially blockchain, artificial intelligence/machine learning and robotic process automation, to Federal business processes and mission critical program challenges. Jose has published several articles on the importance of communicating with the industrial base to ensure successful procurement outcomes. He has also written articles on valuing disruptive technologies from a private sector investor perspective. He is actively engaged in the academic community, and currently serves at the University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University as an Adjunct Professor focused on Artificial intelligence, Blockchain, Business Management, and Public Procurement. He is also an advisor to the Dean of the Kogod Business School at American University and provides guidance on the creation of a data science lab that is exploring the use of blockchain and artificial intelligence. He has pushed for a broader policy view in the USG of artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and created government-wide communities (e.g. ACT IAC Blockchain Working Group) focused on identifying blockchain use cases and best practices. Jose led the creation of HHS PROTECT the largest public health surveillance capability in the history of the United States. He also led the creation of the first enterprise grade supervised machine learning capability (HHS VISION) to help more accurately distribute lab supplies and predict hot spots across the United States. Finally, Jose established HHS Transform which uses distributed ledger technology to establish identities for commercial, federal, state, individual and machine end points to aide the COVID 19 vaccination efforts in the Untied States. Jose has two young kids and currently lives in Virginia. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Imagineeer.

Calvin J. Mitchell Jr. serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Grants and Risk Management (OAGRM), Senior Procurement Executive (SPE) and Suspension and Debarment Official. He is the senior executive responsible for leading the administration of $50 billion annual grant and contract portfolio. As the SPE he is responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and overseeing the procurement programs of the Department of Education. Previously, he served as the Director, Department of Education, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU). Mr. Mitchell is responsible for implementing the Department’s small business procurement programs across the $2.8 billion procurement operation. As Director, he is responsible for implementing policies and initiatives throughout the Department to ensure that all socioeconomic categories of small business are afforded opportunities to compete for contracts. Prior to the OSDBU, Mr. Mitchell was the Deputy Director of Contracts and Acquisitions Management (CAM). As CAM Deputy Director, in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, he was responsible for overseeing the work of four contracting divisions that provide operational procurement services to the Department of Education. Prior to joining the Department, Mitchell served as the Branch Chief of the Accounts Management Division at the General Services Administration. Mitchell led the organization toward meeting the Government-wide strategic goals to support all 24 CFO Act agency vision, mission, and strategic goals. Separately, Mr. Mitchell served as a Congressional Fellow for the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee reporting to Chairman Bennie Thompson. In this position he served as the Principal Procurement Advisor to Committee leadership and provided guidance and oversight to Members and Committee staff on procurement, small business programs, and related acquisition issues within the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Mitchell has also held leadership positions at the U.S Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Mitchell began his acquisition career with the U.S. Army Picatinny Arsenal New Jersey successfully completing the Department of Defense contract specialist intern program. He is a Certified Federal Contract Manager (CFCM) with the National Contract Management Association (NCMA). He has an undergraduate degree in Business and a Master’s in Business Administration from Centenary University of New Jersey.

Andrea Brandon is currently the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Budget, Finance, Grants and Acquisition within the Department of Interior (DOI). Andrea has broad experience in risk management, audits, internal controls, information technology innovation, acquisition management, grants, and financial operations in her federal career of 31 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral and Social Sciences from the University of Maryland, a Master’s in Public Administration from American University and a member of the Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society; and a Master’s in Legal Studies from Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law.

Lester L. Ingol is the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistant Administrator for the Resilience Office of Business Management (OBM). He entered this position in August 2023. In this position, Mr. Ingol leads the Resilience-wide portfolio on budget operations, human resources, procurement and asset management, workforce/employee development, and Resilience employee readiness. Mr. Ingol ensures Resilience accountability for an approximately $10 billion annual budget and guides Resilience through the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process that includes annual resource allocation planning development, the President’s Budget Request, and Congressional appropriations matters. He also provides enterprise-wide direction on major mission support initiatives across Resilience.

Prior to this position, Mr. Ingol served as the Acting Chief Security Officer from January 2023 to August 2023. He was responsible for directing the development and execution of FEMA’s security programs, including the security of classified information and programs, the protection of FEMA facilities including regional, field and outlying installations/offices, investigations of security concerns, enforcement of security requirements, development of security policies, identification of security initiatives, and establishing and ensuring compliance with security standards for the Agency.

Previously, Mr. Ingol served as FEMA’s Deputy Head of the Contracting Activity within the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer. He was responsible for the management and oversight of acquisition operations, policy, and programs totaling approximately $3.76B and 9,800 transactions, annually.

Throughout his tenure with FEMA, Mr. Ingol has served in multiple leadership positions that included Director, Acquisition Operations Division; Deputy Director, Preparedness and Internal Operations; and Branch Chief for Recovery, Information Technology, and Mission Support. Mr. Ingol, also served in major disaster operational leadership positions within the Agency, such as serving as the Resource Support Section Chief in the FEMA National Response Coordination Center where he was responsible for the oversight of Mission Assignments, Finance, Acquisitions, and numerous emergency support functions in 2017 during Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. He also led acquisitions for response and recovery in support of numerous presidentially declared emergencies and disasters, including the COVID-19 response, Hurricanes Sandy, Michael, Matthew, Laura and Ida.

Darnese M. Wilkerson is the Director of the Office of Acquisitions (OA), within the Office of Logistics and Acquisition Operations (OLAO), for the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health.

Ms. Wilkerson brings more than 25 years of federal contracting and management experience, working for small and large private industry firms. She began her career with Booz, Allen and Hamilton, supporting various federal agencies in government contract administration. While working in industry, Ms. Wilkerson served as the Lockheed Martin Contract Management Representative to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-Goddard Space Flight Center in support of the Consolidated Space Operations Contract (CSOC) multi-Billion-dollar program, which supported all of NASA’s Space Operation Centers and Satellite Installations around the world.

Ms. Wilkerson began her federal government career in 2002, and has worked for several federal agencies, including the Department of Treasury, Department of State, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. At the Kennedy Center, Ms. Wilkerson served as the Head of Contracting Activity (HCA), managing a multi-Million-dollar portfolio for capital improvement initiatives as well as the center’s operational support.

In 2012, Ms. Wilkerson joined the Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center, where she managed the cradle to grave contracting activity for several HHS Operating Divisions, and several Staff Divisions in support of the Office of the Secretary. In late 2014, Ms. Wilkerson was hired as the Procurement Advisor for HHS, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) where she managed a $1Billion acquisition portfolio. She was responsible for building the contracting knowledge and capacity of the ACF Acquisition Workforce, in support of numerous humanitarian initiatives, such as the Unidentified Alien Children (UAC) programs.

(Moderator) Darrly Peek is the Senior Director of Public Sector Channels and Alliances (FED & SLED) at Elastic. As the Senior Director of Public Sector Channels and Alliances (FED & SLED) at Elastic, Darryl Peek leads a dedicated team of professionals who collaborate with Systems Integrators to deliver cutting-edge enterprise search, observability, and security solutions to Federal, State, Local, and Education organizations. With many years of executive leadership in government and technology sectors, Darryl has a proven track record in driving digital transformation, enhancing customer experiences, and fostering innovation across public sector domains.

Before joining Elastic, Darryl held key executive positions at Salesforce and Google, where he supported the public sector. He also worked for the Department of Homeland Security in the HQ OCIO Chief Technology Office, where he left as the Director for Digital Innovation. In this role, he spearheaded efforts in agile methodologies, DevOps practices, cloud technologies, and open-source solutions.

Darryl’s passion lies in leveraging his deep expertise in legislation, policy, and emerging technologies to guide and recommend strategic priorities and enterprise technology investments for public sector agencies. Beyond his role at Elastic, Darryl actively contributes to the broader technology community. He serves as a board member, advisor, and author of several publications on key topics such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, and agile development.

His mission is to empower public sector leaders and partners with the tools and insights they need to achieve their goals and deliver remarkable outcomes. Through collaboration, innovation, and strategic guidance, Darryl strives to help public sector entities navigate the complexities of digital transformation and technological advancement.

Bill Pratt is the Executive Director of Customer Relations at the RELI Group Inc., a management consulting firm supporting the National Security and Health Care sectors. He brings a wealth of over 40 years of experience from both the private sector and federal government roles, including significant positions within the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. Pratt’s career has been marked by his ability as a strategic leader, notably in spearheading change management initiatives, enhancing communication on complex technical topics, and mentoring staff. Pratt's diverse expertise spans IT acquisition, systems engineering, infrastructure and operations management, procurement, contract management, and more. Before joining RELI Group, Pratt was the Director of Enterprise Technology Governance in the Chief Technology Officer Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, where he served for over two decades.

Dr. Torreon Creekmore is the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s (NGA) Senior Cybersecurity Engineer. In this role, he leads the development of NGA’s High-Performance Computing (HPC) Enterprise strategy to address current and future customer needs associated with the explosion of “Big Data” and “data-intensive geospatial intelligence.”

Most recently he became the third Director for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Space Threat Assessment Cell (STAC) from 2020 to 2021. As the STAC Director, he assised ODNI Senior Leadership in leading the Intelligence Community (IC) to inform on U.S. space protection decisions, while managing DoD and IC partnerships to frame the future space environment.

From 2016 to 2020, he served as an Intelligence Advanced Project’s Activity Program Manager at ODNI. As a program manager with IARPA, he led several high-risk/high-pay-off R&D initiatives that include: the High Frequency Geolocation (HFGeo), the Innovation Small Satellite Technology Seedling, the Space–Based Machine Automated Recognition Technique program and the Passive Ionospheric Non–characterized Sounding Prize Challenge. Before joining IARPA, Dr. Creekmore served as the Senior Staff Scientist of National Geospatial–Intelligence Agency Research Directorate Predictive Analytics Pod, where he oversaw advanced geospatial intelligence Research and Development (R&D) at high school, collegiate, and government levels.

Dr. Creekmore has led a portfolio of several high-risk/high-payoff R&D programs worth more than $250 million that have national scope in areas such as surveillance, signal processing, small satellites, image processing, computer vision, artificial intelligence, and other advanced technologies of interest to Congressional, DoD, IC, civil, private, and international partners. In 2020, he developed, managed, and transitioned two state-of-the-art multi-million-dollar scientific user facilities operating both in and outside the continental U.S. His facilities developed technology modernized DoD and IC national intelligence capabilities to respond to the growing threat of adversaries utilizing HF transmissions.

Dr. Creekmore holds a Doctorate Degree in Atmospheric Science from Howard University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Elizabeth City State University. He is the winner of the 2019 ODNI Science and Technology Professional Individual Award, which recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contribution in research or advanced technology development across the Intelligence Community. Dr. Creekmore is a native of Elizabeth City, North Carolina and current reside in Manassas, Virginia with his wife, daughter, and son.

Caroline Carusone, (Invited) is the Deputy CIO for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) plans, directs, and oversees the resources to ensure the delivery of information technology (IT) and information management (IM) services that are critical to support the mission, goals, and priorities of the agency. The OCIO coordinates activities associated with NRC's participation in the Federal Chief Information Officer Council. In addition, the OCIO coordinates and oversees the development of agency wide information resources management policy and consolidates office responses to the Commission, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and congressional inquiries.

The Deputy CIO, as NRC’s Senior Agency Official for Privacy, has overall responsibility and accountability for ensuring NRC’s implementation of information privacy protections. The Deputy CIO also oversees the OCIO Customer eXperience (CX) Program and FinOps Program.

Theresa Terry (Pending Approval), Chief, DAF Category Management and HAF Services Division, Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, Management (Invited). She serves as the Business advisor for the Secretary of the Air Force’s Secretariat and Air Staff. Briefs and advises senior leaders on procurement actions, status, and source selections. Manages a portfolio valued at over $25 billion.

Program Manager for Air Force Strategic Transformation Support IDIQ.

Dr. Alex Carlisle holds a Doctorate in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from Howard University and received his post-doctoral training at the NIH. His work has focused on developing and applying innovative data analytic approaches to understanding disease progression and how to prevent it. While at the NIH, he developed bioinformatic tools for analyzing gene expression data in prostate cancer and Parkinson’s Disease; later, while at Northrop Grumman Health, he helped develop a prototype for near real-time analysis of integrated genomic and electronic health record data in the cloud, and later led the development of a prototype Precision Oncology Analytics Platform for predicting tumor stage and health outcome in neuroblastoma patients. Dr. Carlisle is the CEO of NADPH, a National nonprofit that leverages advance computational and data science technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning in support of its mission to eliminate health disparities and improve health equity in marginalized and underresourced communities.

DATE: Tuesday, August 27, 2024

TIME: 3:30 pm - 9:00pm,

Match Making: 3:30pm-4:30pm

Panel 1: 4:40pm-5:50pm

Panel 2: 5:50pm-6:50pm

Networking Reception: 7:00pm-9:00pm

VENUE:

Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza

1 Veterans Place,

Silver Spring, MD, 20910

PARKING: Parking Lot and Garage

METRO: Silver Spring

INVESTMENT: $125 Entire Event | $75 Match Making and Panels

$75 Panels and Reception | $25 Government