The Buzz with ACT-IAC

Fellows Speaker Series: Small Business Sep 11, 2025

Fellows-only panel focused on small business success in the GovCon space. Whether you're looking to grow, partner, or simply gain deeper insight into the current landscape, this episode is your chance to learn from leaders who have built, scaled, and sold small businesses in today’s evolving environment.

Featured Speakers:
Kim Hayes, KBR (Former Owner, The Ambit Group)
Pawla Ghaleb, CEO, PBG
Raza S. Latif, CEO, NuAxis
Janis Garcia Keating, CEO/President, Wilco Group

Moderated by: Mitzi Mead, CEO/President, Anakim Consulting

The conversation highlighted the importance of trusting one's intuition, building strong banking relationships, and the emotional toll of significant business decisions. Despite the hardships, every panelist affirmed they would choose to start their businesses again, pointing to the fulfilling aspects of entrepreneurship.

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Leadership and Collaboration Strategies in a Hybrid World Sep 04, 2025

In this episode of The Buzz podcast by ACT IAC, the focus is on our Voyagers program, a leadership development initiative aimed at emerging leaders across federal government and industry. We get to talk with Ankur Saini, CTO at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and Robert Turman, Director of Consulting and Delivery at CGI Federal. They discuss their paths to leadership, the vital role of creativity and adaptability, and how participation in ACT-IAC's programs has shaped their careers. The episode also highlights the importance of professional development programs and concludes with the game 'Acronym Wars.'

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ICYMI: Closing Keynote - AI Acquisition Forum 2025 Aug 28, 2025

In this final keynote, Jeff Sage, Director of Enterprise Service and Analysis Division at NASA's Office of Procurement, discusses the integration of AI in NASA's procurement processes. Introduced by Andrew McAllister, Jeff elaborates on NASA's historical and current use of AI, particularly focusing on its role in optimizing procurement operations amid workforce challenges. He shares practical AI applications like the statement of work generator that significantly enhances efficiency. Jeff also talks about the cultural and operational shifts needed for successful AI implementation, including training in prompt engineering and maintaining human oversight to mitigate biases. The session emphasizes that while AI is a powerful tool, it requires human expertise to fully leverage its potential.

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ICYMI: Enabling the Workforce to Capitalize on the AI Opportunity Aug 21, 2025

This episode features a panel discussion on the role of AI in workforce development within federal agencies at the AI Acquisition Forum 2025. Led by David Vennergrund, Vice President for AI at GDIT, the panel includes distinguished guests: Andrea Brandon from the US Department of the Interior, Florence Kasule from the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office, and Wole Moses, Chief AI Officer at Microsoft’s federal civilian division. The conversation delves into the evolving landscape of AI, focusing on training, innovation, and integrating AI across various federal roles. They also discuss practical strategies for implementing AI, such as sandbox environments and community-driven initiatives.

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Human-Centered Design in Government: COI's Journey from the former Soviet Union to Qualtrics Aug 14, 2025

In this episode of The Buzz, host Yohanna Baez speaks with Sydney Heimbrock, the Chief Industry Advisor for Public Sector at Qualtrics and co-chair of the ACT-IAC's COI (community of interest) on talent. She shares her extensive career journey, including her transformative experience in the former Soviet Union and her efforts to integrate human-centered design principles into governmental processes. She discusses the importance of collaboration between industry and government, explains human-centered design, and explores the potential impact of AI on federal talent pipelines. Heimbrock emphasizes the value of public service and encourages the next generation of innovators to consider careers in government.

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Exploring Digital Health Technologies in Federal Research Aug 07, 2025

In this episode of The Buzz, expert guests delve into a new white paper by the ACT-IAC Health Community of Interest titled 'Digital Health Technologies in the Federal Health Research'. The discussion covers the intersection of technology, health, and research, particularly focusing on the use of wearables, mobile apps, and in-home monitors to enhance clinical and analytic research. Key speakers include leaders from academia, government, and industry who share insights on the collaborative efforts required to integrate digital health technologies into research, as well as the future applications and challenges in this evolving field. The episode also highlights the significant impact of digital health technologies on large-scale research programs like the National Institutes of Health's 'All of Us' research initiative.

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ICYMI: Health Innovation Keynote Fireside Chat Jul 31, 2025

In this keynote and fireside chat, Acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) discusses his vision and efforts for making America's children and families healthier. Gradison highlights the President's priorities on efficiency, reducing waste, and supporting low-income families. He discusses the importance of job opportunities and family stability as fundamental principles guiding ACF's initiatives. The conversation also extends to the critical role of partnerships, leveraging technology, utilizing AI, improving data sharing, and innovative practices across federal, state, and local levels to enhance human services delivery and outcomes. Gradison emphasizes practical solutions and successful models, like those in Allegheny County, emphasizing the tailored approach needed to address diverse community needs effectively.

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ICYMI: Health Innovation Summit Closing Keynote Jul 24, 2025

In this episode, Angela Wilson from Alpha Omega introduces the keynote speaker, Colonel Kris Saling, a US Army officer and talent strategist. Colonel Saling shares insights into her work modernizing workforce strategy, integrating AI into talent systems, and building human-centered solutions for the future of defense. The conversation covers the role of AI in reshaping the workforce, the importance of data literacy, and the Department of Defense's initiatives in health and wellness. The talk also delves into the challenges of fostering innovation within hierarchical organizations and the need for adaptive business processes when implementing new technologies.

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From Engineering to Federal Contracting: A Mid-Career Voyage Jul 17, 2025

In this episode of 'The Buzz from ACT-IAC,' host Yohanna Baez delves into the professional journey of Eric Ritz, a mid-career professional working with Accenture Federal Services for 15 years. Eric shares his experiences before, during, and after participating in the ACT-IAC Professional Development Voyagers Program. The discussion covers the program's impact on his career, including the valuable lessons learned, skills acquired, and the supportive network of mentors and peers he engaged with. Eric emphasizes the significance of understanding perspectives from both industry and government sides and highlights the pivotal experiences that enriched his professional growth. Listeners are encouraged to consider taking part in ACT-IAC's programs to benefit from similar transformative experiences.

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Live at Emerging Tech Demo Day: Insights from Next Phase Solutions Jul 10, 2025

Insights from the Emerging Tech Demo Day at the Carahsoft Conference and Collaboration Center in Reston, Virginia. Joined by Warren Miller, Corporate Chief Architect at Next Phase Solutions, and Lisa Wolff, the President and CEO, the episode delves into the innovative technologies showcased and their applications in government and commercial sectors. Key topics include data fragmentation solutions with Foresight 360 and the impact of artificial intelligence on future tech landscapes. Hear about their experiences at Demo Day, their leadership journeys, and the challenges they tackle to provide holistic IT and cyber solutions.

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Exploring the Integrated Value Network Jul 03, 2025

The Integrated Value Network (IVN), a transformative tool for effective governance. Joined by guests Basil White, a senior informaticist, and Beth Martin, a user experience and digital services expert, the discussion highlights the significance of IVN in mapping complex government interactions. The conversation covers their experiences, the practical applications of IVN, and the innovative mindset required for future tech leaders. This episode offers a rich exploration of how IVN aims to revolutionize federal governance by enhancing collaboration and systemic understanding of value.

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Innovators Unite: ET&I Conference Highlights Part 2 Jun 26, 2025

We are still live at the Emerging Tech and Innovation Conference, talking with amazing folks, like, Elizabeth McNamara, Health IT Innovation Officer at Next Phase Solutions Services, Virginia Huth a 30-year civil servant who is now CEO of Vanalytix, and Basil White, Senior Informaticist. Discussions revolve around the importance of innovation in public health, the application of AI in healthcare, and efforts to streamline federal policies and grant opportunities. The episode also explores career journeys and personal experiences, culminating in practical advice for those transitioning between public service and private sectors.

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Innovators Unite: ET&I Conference Highlights Part 1 Jun 19, 2025

In this episode of The Buzz, we broadcast live from the 2025 Emerging Tech and Innovation Conference, featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders like Destinie Harris from Maximus, Jeff Mercurio from OnPoint Consulting, and Ratima Katari from ICF. Destinie discusses Maximus' Total Experience Management (TXM) solution and her journey in tech, while Jeff shares insights on OnPoint’s contributions to cybersecurity and cloud infrastructure. Ratima talks about her extensive experience in federal health and her upcoming role on the ACT-IAC board. The episode highlights the synergy between government and industry, the importance of technology in solving complex challenges, and fostering connections at conferences like this.

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ICYMI: Top Strategies from Leading Private Sector Contact Centers Jun 12, 2025

*NEW EDIT* In this episode, panelists from industry share their strategies and experiences for improving contact center operations. The session is moderated by Crystal Philcox, a former federal executive at GSA and IRS. Topics discussed include the importance of customer feedback, leveraging AI and analytics for better customer interactions, proactive support strategies, and empowering employees for better performance.

Facilitator: Martha Dorris, Dorris Consulting International
Moderator: Crystal Philcox, Former Federal Executive
Panelists: Michael Lassiter, Senior Process Manager, Consumer Intelligence, Capital One
Tara O'Brien, Senior Director, Johnson & Johnson
Brian Pancia, Senior Client Partner-Solutions, Verizon

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ICYMI: Contact Center Case Studies - Governments Learn Best from Other Governments Jun 05, 2025

In this episode, panelists from various government sectors discuss the critical importance of contact centers and share their experiences, challenges, and strategies for improving service delivery. The discussion includes insights into the role of technology, automation, and human factors in transforming contact centers. Key topics covered include the importance of simplicity, measuring the right metrics, leveraging AI, and fostering inter-agency collaboration. The discussion also highlights the rapid adaptations during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing efforts to enhance customer experience in public.

Facilitator: Martha Dorris, Dorris Consulting International,
Moderator: Meghan Daly, Former Federal Director
Panelists: Gundeep Ahluwalia, EVP & Chief Innovation Officer, NuAxis
Mia Jordan, Industry Advisor and Digital Transformation SME, Salesforce
Marcellus Walker Jr., Acting Deputy Director of Operations, Office of Unified Communications, DC Government
Tenesia Wells, Deputy Director, Department of Emergency and Customer Communications, Alexandria VA Government

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Live at the 2025 Contact Center Annual Summit May 28, 2025

In this special live edition of The Buzz, Pete Tseronis interviews key industry leaders on the critical role of contact centers in delivering services, especially through digital and omni-channel strategies. Key speakers, including Martha Dorris of Dorris Consulting International; Amanda Chavez from Qualtrics; Mia Jordan from Salesforce; Marcellus Walker, Jr. from the Office of Unified Communications; Gundeep Ahluwalia from NuAxis Innovations; MaryAnn Monroe from Maximus; Tanya Slater Lowe from the U.S. Department of Labor; Crystal Philcox from Philcox Consulting, share insights on improving customer experience using technologies like AI, sentiment analysis, and automation. The summit emphasized empathy, data-driven decision-making, and the pivotal role of contact centers as the entry point to agencies. Practical lessons, success stories, and future projections for contact centers are also discussed, providing actionable strategies for government and industry leaders.

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The Human Element in Tech and Mission with CIO, DOC Brian Epley May 21, 2025

In this episode of the Buzz , Pete Tseronis interviews Brian Epley, Chief Information Officer at the United States Department of Commerce. They discuss the intersection of mission-driven technology and humanizing government initiatives. Brian reflects on his journey from the private sector to public service, emphasizing the importance of understanding the mission, building partnerships, and continuous evolution in technology. Key topics include the role of AI, cybersecurity, and the significance of data in driving outcomes. Brian highlights the need for mentorship and a service delivery mindset in achieving effective leadership and impactful solutions in government.

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Voyager Voices: Stories of Growth and Impact May 14, 2025

In this special live edition of The Buzz, hosted by Yohanna Baez from Jammin Java in Vienna, Virginia, the focus is on Voyager Talks, celebrating the achievements of the ACT-IAC Voyagers program. The event highlights the importance of collaboration between government and industry, featuring professionals from the program and supporting Canines for Warriors. The episode includes an interview with Annabelle Garcia, Capture Manager at Evans Incorporated, discussing her presentation, experiences, and challenges as a bilingual professional. Insights into the Voyagers program's impact on her career, networking, and the importance of stepping out of one’s comfort zone are also shared. The conversation wraps up with advice for future applicants and an open invitation for networking and support.

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The Power of Connection: Lessons from the Voyager Program May 07, 2025

In this special live edition of The Buzz, host Yohanna Baez broadcasts from Jammin Java in Vienna, Virginia, hosting the signature Voyager Talks event. This episode highlights the ACT-IAC Voyagers program, a professional development program for rising leaders in government and industry. Yohanna interviews Andrew Powell, Chief Growth Officer of Strongbridge, who shares his experiences in the Voyagers program, including effective communication as a tool for leadership, the importance of collaboration between government and industry, and his personal career journey. Andrew also discusses the strategic role of a Chief Growth Officer and the invaluable lessons learned through mentorship and peer connections within the Voyagers program. The conversation touches on the significance of building authentic relationships, leadership during times of change, and how the insights gained from the program are already being applied in his role at Strongbridge.

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The Buzz Live: Creativity and Collaboration at Voyager Talks Apr 30, 2025

In this special live edition of The Buzz, host Yohanna Baez reports from Jammin Java in Vienna, Virginia, celebrating the ACT-IAC Voyagers program and its impact on government and industry leaders. The episode features an inspiring conversation with Colette Creech, Director of Growth Operations at Gunnison Consulting Group, discussing her team's presentation on navigating government compliance and her journey in the professional development program. Colette shares insights on collaboration, the value of mentors, and the importance of building relationships within the industry. The conversation highlights the real-world impact and personal growth fostered by the Voyagers program.

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Empowering Communities: Christina Binhack and the ACT-IAC Gives Back Initiative Apr 23, 2025

In this episode, we sit down with Christina Binhack, Director of Operations and HR at ACT-IAC, to dive into her background, experiences, and passion for nonprofit work. Christina shares her journey from the Midwest to the DMV area, her involvement with ACT-IAC, and her dedication to community service through the ACT-IAC Gives Back program. She discusses the importance of volunteering, the various successful initiatives launched under ACT-IAC Gives Back, and offers insights into how service-oriented projects can shape leadership development. Christina's vision for the future of the program and her unwavering commitment to fostering opportunities for giving back shine through in this engaging and inspiring conversation.

ACT-IAC Gives Back | ACT-IAC

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From College to Career: A Talk with an Associates Graduate from IBM Apr 16, 2025

In our final episode of the Associates graduate series, host Yohanna Baez interviews Lila Najmyar, a senior federal developer at IBM and a recent participant in the ACT-IAC Professional Development Associates Program. Lila shares her journey from college to IBM, the valuable experiences and lessons learned during the program, and how it has influenced her career. They discuss the importance of networking, skill development, and cross-sector collaboration. Lila also provides insights into the community and ongoing professional growth opportunities facilitated by the program.

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Building Networks and Skills: A Talk with an Associates Graduate from ABS Consulting Apr 09, 2025

In this episode of The Buzz from ACT-IAC, host Yohanna Baez interviews Abby Cassell, a business development manager at ABS Consulting and an alumna of the ACT-IAC Professional Development Associates Program. Abby discusses her career journey from graduating college in 2020, navigating business development during the COVID-19 pandemic, to joining ABS Consulting in 2022. She highlights her experiences in the Professional Development Associates Program, the challenges she faced, and the valuable lessons and skills acquired, particularly in networking and negotiation. Abby emphasizes the importance of mentorship and leadership skills gained during the program, which have significantly influenced her career.

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From Nursing to Business Operations: A Talk with an Associates Graduate from Akiak Holdings Apr 02, 2025

In this episode of The Buzz from ACT IAC, host Yohanna Baez dives into the career journey of Olivia Henry, an early career professional who participated in the ACT-IAC Professional Development Associates Program. Olivia discusses her transition from nursing to a leadership role in business operations, fueled by the support and skills gained from the program. The conversation covers Olivia's day-to-day responsibilities, key learnings from the program, the importance of networking, and her promotion to Director of Business Operations. Olivia also shares the impact of mentorship and the practical skills she implemented immediately.

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From Courtside to Capitol Hill: Dir. of Professional Development Sarah Hughes on Career Transformation Mar 27, 2025

We have a different host for this special episode of The Buzz, Pete Tseronis, founder of Dots and Bridges. He interviews Sarah Hughes, Director of Professional Development at ACT-IAC. They discuss Sarah's diverse career across industries, networking, mentorship, and career growth. Sarah shares insights from her journey, including her work with sports teams, transitions to government, and contributions to professional development. The episode also highlights the importance of building strong communities and explores various ACT-IAC programs designed to enhance professional development. Key themes include adaptability, the influence of technology on government, and the power of mentorship.

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Building Confidence and Connections: A Talk with an Associates Graduate from CGI Mar 19, 2025

On our next episode of The Buzz from ACT-IAC, host Yohanna Baez interviews Paige Kowahl, a senior consultant at CGI Federal, about her experiences in the ACT-IAC Professional Development Associates Program. Paige shares her educational and career journey, which began with a pivot from chemistry to computer information systems, leading her to CGI. She discusses how the program helped her overcome social anxiety, gain confidence, and develop essential skills through coaching and collaborative projects. Paige highlights the importance of stepping out of one's comfort zone and offers advice to potential program participants.

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From Intern to AI Sales: A Talk with an Associates Graduate from IBM Mar 12, 2025

In this episode, Yohanna Baez hosts Mackenzie (Kenzie) Downes, a data and AI seller at IBM, to discuss her journey through the ACT-IAC Professional Development Associates Program. Kenzie shares her background, how she was inspired by her mother to pursue sales, and her experience working at IBM. She dives into her motivations for joining the ACT-IAC program, the skills and network she gained, and specific moments that shaped her career.

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From Aviation to GovCon: A Talk with an Associates Graduate from Leidos Mar 05, 2025

In this episode of The Buzz from ACT-IAC, host Yohanna Baez interviews Ryan Cloghessy, a capture manager at Leidos, about his journey through the ACT-IAC Professional Development Associates Program. They discuss Ryan's career trajectory, the impact of the program on his professional growth, and the valuable lessons and experiences he gained. Ryan shares his initial challenges, his role at Leidos, insights from his mentor, and the confidence he has developed in the GovCon industry. The conversation also includes a fun segment called 'Acronym Wars' and encourages listeners to explore ACT-IAC's professional development opportunities.

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(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
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Building Bridges in GovCon: A Talk with an Associates Graduate from the Wilco Group Feb 26, 2025

In this episode of 'The Buzz from ACT-IAC,' host Yohanna Baez dives into the journeys of early career professionals in the ACT-IAC Professional Development Associates Program. Senior Digital Transformation Consultant John Rehm from the Wilco Group shares his story, from his communications background to his current role in federal contracting. John discusses the invaluable skills he acquired, the challenges he overcame, and the supportive mentorship he received. He also highlights the significance of building a network and the profound impact the program had on his career. The episode wraps up with a fun game of acronym wars, showcasing the everyday jargon in government and contracting.

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New V2X Technology at DOT with Grafton deButts and Brian Cronin Feb 19, 2025

This week, The Buzz presents a conversation with Grafton deButts from Strongbridge LLC and the ACT-IAC Department of Transportation Federal Insights Exchange (FIE), as they sit down with Brian Cronin, the forward-thinking Director of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office at the U-S Department of Transportation. Together, they explore the world of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology—a game-changer poised to redefine road safety, mobility, and sustainability on a global scale.

Brian shares his expert perspective on how V2X enables seamless communication between vehicles, infrastructure, and road users, paving the way for smarter, safer, and more efficient transportation systems. From the future of connected mobility to its far-reaching economic, societal, and environmental implications, this discussion is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

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(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
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Welcome Our New Host: Yohanna Baez Feb 12, 2025

Welcome Yohanna Baez: A Different Vision for The Buzz

In this special episode of The Buzz, new host Yohanna Baez introduces herself and outlines her vision for the podcast's future. She pays tribute to previous host, Colin Larsen, and discusses her plans to explore broader perspectives, amplify diverse voices, and provide actionable insights. Yohanna also shares her excitement about upcoming episodes focusing on new technologies and leadership through change. Listeners are encouraged to offer feedback and suggestions, as Yohanna aims to bring her background in storytelling, creativity, and advocacy to The Buzz.

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ICYMI: AI, Innovation, and the Future of Government with Alexis Bonnell Aug 14, 2024

This week, The Buzz presents a session from our Vision 2030 event.
In this opening keynote session, Alexis Bonnell, the Chief Information Officer and Director of the Digital Capabilities Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory shares her insights on how government agencies can leverage technology to drive innovation and better serve the public. She discusses the importance of adopting a human-centered approach to digital transformation, the role of AI in modernizing government services, and the challenges and opportunities that come with implementing new technologies.

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Farewell Colin! Jul 30, 2024

This week, The Buzz is saying goodbye to Colin Larsen, who has produced and hosted the show since it began in the Spring of 2021.
Colin would like to profoundly thank ACT-IAC and the listeners for their support through these more than 150 episodes.
Don't worry, The Buzz will continue! As always, stay tuned for more from ACT-IAC.

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Replay: Civil Service in American Government with Donald Moynihan Jul 16, 2024

The Buzz is going on a short hiatus this summer, so our releases will be less regular than usual.
In the meantime, we'll be replaying some of our favorite episodes from the past year or so. This week, we're revisiting a conversation we had with Donald Moynihan, Chair of the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, about the evolution and function of the civil service in the US.
This episode is more relevant than ever given the increasing politicization of civilian agencies, as it reminds us what's at stake when they can't operate effectively.

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Replay: The Green Transition Dilemma with James Salzman and J.B. Ruhl Jul 09, 2024

The Buzz is going on a short hiatus this summer, so our releases will be less regular than usual.
In the meantime, we'll be replaying some of our favorite episodes from the past year or so. This week, we're revisiting a conversation we had with James Salzman and J.B. Ruhl, environmental law professors at UCLA and Vanderbilt, respectively.
They are the authors of The Greens' Dilemma, a framework for understanding how our regulatory regime is inhibiting our capacity to confront resilient infrastructure, what the stakes are, and what to do about it. The Biden administration has made both infrastructure investment andresilient infrastructure mitigation top priorities, and this issue sits at the intersection of both of those. Understanding it is key to understanding our path to decarbonization and ensuring this transition is successful.
Read The Greens' Dilemma: Building Tomorrow's Infrastructure Today

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ICYMI: Creating a Medically-Ready Military at the Defense Health Agency Jun 11, 2024

This week, The Buzz presents a keynote session from our 2024 Health Innovation Summit.
In this fireside chat, Kevin Seeley, VP of Strategic Programs for Military Health at GDIT, sits down with Naomi Escoffery, Chief Accelerator Officer at the Defense Health Agency. Together, they discuss efforts towards modernization and innovation to improve healthcare outcomes for active-duty US military personnel and their families.

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ICYMI: How NIST is Responding to AI Development Jun 05, 2024

This week, The Buzz presents a session from ACT-IAC's 2024 Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is responsible for developing and issuing guidance around the standards and measurements we use in all kinds of technological development in the US. In the modern era, this includes Artificial Intelligence. Since the release of the AI Executive Order in October 2023, NIST has issued four draft publications intended to help improve the safety, security and trustworthiness of AI systems.
In this fireside chat, Raymond Holder, VP for Digital Growth at Maximus Federal, talks more about this work with Dr. Charles Romine, Associate Director for Laboratory Programs at NIST.

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ICYMI: Venture Meets Mission with Arun Gupta May 29, 2024

Last week, ACT-IAC held its 2024 Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference in Cambridge, MD, where leaders and experts from across government, industry and academia met to discuss how government can harness new technology to improve mission outcomes.
Our conference kicked off with a keynote presentation and fireside chat with Arun Gupta, a venture capitalist, lecturer at Stanford University, adjunct Entrepreneurship Professor at Georgetown University, and author of Venture Meets Mission.
Arun is joined during the fireside chat portion of this session by Ted Davies, Managing Partner at Attain Capital and member of ACT-IAC's Executive Committee, and Sanjay Sardar, President of ASRC Federal.

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ICYMI: Resilient Infrastructure Work at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory May 15, 2024

This week, The Buzz presents a session from our 2024 Resilient Infrastructure Summit.
In this opening keynote session, Dr. Elizabeth Doris, Director of the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), discusses the past, present and future work that the laboratory has conducted to assist in the United States' clean energy transition, resilient infrastructure adaptation, and more.
The Buzz will be taking a break next week as ACT-IAC holds its 2024 Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference in Cambridge, MD. Register now!

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ICYMI: Academic Perspectives in Resilient Infrastructure Apr 30, 2024

This week, The Buzz presents a session from our 2024 Resilient Infrastructure Summit.
This panel focuses on how academic institutions contribute to infrastructure change action through research, sustainable practices, and policy advocacy. Speakers will showcase university-led initiatives and their alignment with government efforts to meet national goals. Attendees will learn how academic expertise can guide effective action, emphasizing the importance of informed government strategies in tackling environmental challenges.
Speakers:
Jill Thijs (Moderator) - Director of Resilience and Sustainability at Noblis
William Hederman - Senior Fellow at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania
Richard Kauzlarich - Co-Director of the Center for Energy Science and Policy at George Mason University
Edward Maibach - Director of the Center for Resilient Infrastructure Communication at George Mason University
Katie O'Donnell - Program Manager for the Infrastructure and Health Institute at George Washington University

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Dark Patterns and Ethical Design with Colin Gray Apr 24, 2024

Have you ever tried to cancel an online subscription and ended up clicking around in circles trying to find the right button to press? If so, you experienced a "dark pattern" - a deceptive tactic of UX design that tries to trick users into doing something they don't want to do.
In the online age, UX designers have enormous power in facilitating our access to information and services. What happens when this power is used for evil?
To discuss this question (and more), we're joined by Colin Gray, Associate Professor of Informatics at Indiana University Bloomington and Director of the Human-Computer Interaction design program. They've spent the past several years documenting and classifying dark patterns and exploring the legal and ethical questions surrounding their use.

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ICYMI: Digital Transformation Strides Driving Citizen Experience in Government Apr 16, 2024

This week, The Buzz presents a session from ACT-IAC's 2024 Digital Transformation Summit.

This panel of fedtech experts discusses the progress they have made in their respective agencies to leverage digital transformation to enhance the citizen experience, focusing on policy and process impediments that can derail progress and how to overcome them.
Panelists:

Andrea Fletcher - Chief Digital Strategy Officer, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Raymond Holder - .VP of Digital Growth, Maximus
Beth Martin - Digital Services Expert, OPM
Raj Iyer (Moderator) - Global Head of Public Sector, ServiceNow

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The Civic Tech Success of IRS Direct File with Courtney O' Reilly Apr 09, 2024

About a year ago, we were joined on the show by Gabriel Zucker of Code for America to talk taxes. Specifically, a provision of the Inflation Reduction Act that directed the IRS to develop their own proprietary, free tax prep software for the first time in history.
Since then, the IRS has been hard at work. 2024 tax season marks the launch of the IRS Direct File pilot, a simplified tax prep tool available to residents of twelve states. It's free, easy, fast, and represents a huge win for civic tech.
So we invited Code for America back on to celebrate this win and discuss the implications and future of this momentous project. This week The Buzz is joined by Courtney O' Reilly, Senior Program Manager for Tax Benefits at CforA.
Resources:
Code for America's FileYourStateTaxes
IRS Direct File Report to Congress

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A New Era for US Passenger Rail? With Robert Puentes Apr 02, 2024

This week, The Buzz is joined once again by Robert Puentes, President and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation. Last time, we talked about some of the challenges facing American aviation and the FAA. The intervening weeks have magnified some of this as Boeing, under scrutiny for a series of engineering failures, has started seeing some serious turnover in upper management and a slew of promises to shape up.
So maybe now is a good time to examine a different transportation mode for your next vacation or long-distance trip. American regional rail, once among the best in the world, has spent the last 100 years shriveling up into a fractured network that captures only 33 million passengers annually (barely 1/30th of US airlines). But that may be changing. Amtrak gained nearly 25% more passengers from 2022 to 2023, and billions of dollars of federal money are flowing into rail projects all over the country, courtesy of the Inflation Reduction Act and 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.
With all this momentum, perhaps a new age in American rail is upon us? We discuss the past, present and future of rail travel this week on The Buzz.
More from the Eno Center: https://enotrans.org/issues-and-modes/railroads/
More on Permitting and Planning Challenges: The Green Transition Dilemma with James Salzman and J.B. Ruhl

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ICYMI: Shared Services Lessons from the Intelligence Community Mar 26, 2024

This week, The Buzz presents a session from our 2024 Shared Services Summit, in partnership with the Shared Services Leadership Coalition. Learn more at sharedservicesnow.org.
In this fireside chat, Maria Banks, Director of Federal Sales at Atlassian, sat down with Susan Dorr, Chief Information Officer at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

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Replay: The Tax Software We Deserve with Gabriel Zucker Mar 19, 2024

This episode originally aired on April 5th, 2023.
As tax season ramps up in earnest, and given the good news about the IRS's Direct File Pilot Program, we thought now would be a good time to revisit an interview we conducted last year with Code For America's Gabriel Zucker, the Interim Program Director of Tax Policy and Partnerships.
This interview focused on how the IRS could design a direct file system, what such a tool might look like, and Code for America's work in civic tech for taxes.

Resources:
GAO Free File Report
ProPublica's Investigation into Private Tax Prep Software
Code for America's Direct File Prototype
Code for America's Research on Simple Tax Filing

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From the Archives: The Roots of Government CX with Dan Tangherlini Mar 12, 2024

This week, The Buzz presents a session from our archives.
The concept of customer experience has driven business decisions in private industry for some time, but it's only in the last decade that CX, or citizen service, has become a focus of government.
The creation of healthcare.gov in 2013 heralded a new era in government, one marked by an interest in the lessons learned from tech start-ups and the relationship between IT systems, government processes and the people that use them. In this fireside chat from ACT-IAC's 2014 Executive Leadership Conference, we see the beginning stages of an ongoing conversation that continues to evolve to this day.
Dan Tangherlini, then General Administrator of the GSA, discussed all this and more with Evan Burfield, entrepreneur, author and civic tech enthusiast.

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ICYMI: Don't Forget to Cyber Mar 05, 2024

This week, The Buzz presents a session from ACT-IAC's 2024 Digital Transformation Summit.
Digital transformation efforts often rely on implementation of new systems. This presents an opportunity to integrate improved cybersecurity policy from the ground up. Unfortunately, cyber is still often ignored in the digital transformation process despite its importance.
In this fireside chat, Paul Butterfoss, CTO of Federal Civilian IT at Leidos, discusses proper cyber hygiene with Paul Selby, CISO and Deputy CIO at the Department of Energy.

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Virtual Reality and the Future of Medicine with Dr. Brennan Spiegel Feb 27, 2024

While virtual reality has been around for several decades, both as a concept and a technology, it is only in the past few years that inexpensive, mass-produced, higher-quality VR systems have become broadly available. This has enabled more people to experiment and conduct research with VR software, and better determine its potential and use.
The field of medicine has exemplified this approach. Medical Extended Reality, or MXR, is an emerging area of research surrounding the psychology, physiology, and ethics of virtual reality and augmented reality. By applying it to the treatment of mental and physical illnesses, MXR sheds light on some of the most mysterious, even philosophical aspects of human existence - perception and the mind.
Dr. Brennen Spiegel is the Director Health Services Research for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he and his colleagues are exploring the cutting edge of MXR. He is also the author of VRx: How Virtual Therapeutics Will Revolutionize Medicine.

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The Future of Federal Buildings with Elliot Doomes Feb 21, 2024

Since the mass adoption of remote work began in 2020, there has been an ongoing question around what the shift in commuting habits means for American downtowns. What should office space look like? Where should people be living and working, and how do they get between those two places? All of these have implications for local policymakers, developers, and property owners.
And the Federal Government is, in a way, all three of these. The Public Buildings Service (PBS), a division of the GSA, is responsible for maintaining all of the 352 million square feet of federally-owned property across America. The PBS also seeks to invest and develop urban communities, trial and prove sustainable buildings solutions, and be a willing and enthusiastic partner with state and local government in achieving their goals. Now, as the entire federal government reassesses how its employees will work, the PBS is also doing its best to steward federal properties towards their best and highest use.
This week, we're joined by PBS Commissioner Elliot Doomes to discuss the many facets of the agency's current initiatives.

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ICYMI: AI Acquisitions at the Department of State with Michael Derrios Feb 13, 2024

This week, The Buzz presents a session from our 2024 Acquisition Forum, which specifically focused this year on AI in government.
Our forum ended with a fireside chat between Susie Rainey, Diplomacy and Exploration Lead at Accenture Federal, and Michael Derrios, Senior Procurement Executive at the US Department of State. Together, they discuss the implications of artificial intelligence-driven systems in the procurement process.
Submit a nomination for the 2024 Innovation Awards here!

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Modernization and Reform at the FAA with Robert Puentes Feb 07, 2024

In just a few short years, the aviation sector has experienced the whipsaw of a pandemic-era travel freeze followed by a post-pandemic travel explosion.
Like many other industries, our already complex air travel system has experienced some recent pain points related to labor shortages, technological failures, and governance challenges. Some are new, but others are long-standing concerns that have resurfaced due to the pressures of a rapidly changing world.
This week, we're joined by Robert Puentes, president and CEO at the Eno Center for Transportation, a non-partisan think tank that focuses on improving all facets of American transportation. He'll give us a primer on the interaction of private, federal, state and local actors that make up the aviation sector and how they can build a more resilient air travel system.

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The Green Transition Dilemma with James Salzman and J.B. Ruhl Jan 31, 2024

As we've explored on this show before, the past few years have seen an unprecedented level of public and private investment in green energy, green infrastructure, and electrification. Between the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, over $1 Trillion has flowed into the green economy. This reflects the urgency of the crisis and the need to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to attempt to avoid worst-case global warming scenarios.
Unfortunately, when it comes to physically building all these projects - from wind turbines, to lithium mines, to transmission lines - we are seeing massive, decades-long delays in the permitting and planning process, often as a result of environmental law meant to, ironically, protect us from pollution and ecological harm. In the fight against resilient infrastructure, every second counts, and we cannot afford these delays.
Our guests this week are James Salzman and J.B. Ruhl, environmental law professors at UCLA and Vanderbilt, respectively. They are the authors of The Greens' Dilemma, a framework for understanding how our regulatory regime is inhibiting our capacity to confront resilient infrastructure, what the stakes are, and what to do about it.
Read The Greens' Dilemma: Building Tomorrow's Infrastructure Today

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ICYMI: Pursuing Greatness with Art Jackson Jan 24, 2024

This week, The Buzz presents something a little different than usual.
ELC 2023, ACT-IAC's flagship conference in Hershey, PA, opened with a rousing, inspirational keynote from Art Jackson about personal leadership.
Art Jackson is a professional speaker and coach, West Point graduate, and former IT executive. Learn more about him at https://artjackson.com/.
Learn more about the ACT-IAC Associates Program here!
Submit a nomination for the 2024 Innovation Awards here!

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(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
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ICYMI: CX Progress at the IRS with Danny Werfel Jan 17, 2024

This week, The Buzz presents a session from our December 2023 CX Summit. CX is a key component of the Biden-Harris President's Management Agenda.
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act appropriated an additional $79.4 billion to the IRS to assist in modernization and improved service delivery. In this keynote, Commissioner Danny Werfel details the challenges and priorities of the agency as they strive to build a simpler, fairer, tax system for Americans.
Learn more about the ACT-IAC Associates Program here!
Submit a nomination for the 2024 Innovation Awards here!

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(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
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All About Tech Hubs with Alejandra Castillo Jan 09, 2024

In August 2022, Congress passed the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors – or Chips and Science Act. Congratulations to whoever came up with that acronym. The law authorized more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in funding for domestic technology manufacturing and development. It has been recognized as a key piece of the reignition of US industrial policy – which has lain dormant for much of the 21st century.

As you can imagine, direct funding of research across the US is a key component of this legislation – so the bill set aside funding for the designation of Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs. The Economic Development Administration is spearheading this program, and now that things are up and running, we can start to dive deeper into the Tech Hubs Program, what it seeks to accomplish, and why it matters.
To do this, we're joined by Alejandra Castillo, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.
Resources:
Tech Hubs Overview
List of Awardees
Learn more about the ACT-IAC Associates Program here!
Submit a nomination for the 2024 Innovation Awards here!

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Farewell 2023 with Dave Wennergren Dec 20, 2023

This week will be the last episode of The Buzz for 2023, and we're taking the time to reflect back on a busy year at ACT-IAC with Dave Wennergren, our CEO.
We review the major topics of interest for the federal government, how to deal with a rapidly-changing world, what ACT-IAC has been up to, and what to look forward to next year.
Thank you, listeners, for making The Buzz a part of your week in 2023. Have a fantastic holiday season, and we'll see you in 2024.

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FTX Fallout and the Future of Crypto with Hilary Allen Dec 12, 2023

The last time we discussed cryptocurrency on this podcast in April 2022, both the economy and the technology sector were in very different places. Right around that time, inflation really began to accelerate, peaking at 9.1% year-over-year in June. The Federal Reserve pumped the brakes and hiked interest rates 5% in a 4-month period. The entire cryptocurrency market essentially collapsed by the end of 2022 - including several high-profile failures like the FTX exchange.
In November, the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT initiated the most visible phase of the generative AI arms race, and crypto faded into the background of public consciousness as a new tech hype cycle took over.
But crypto has not disappeared, and the Federal Government has yet to conclusively settle the most important questions concerning cryptocurrency regulation.
To discuss what went wrong, why this all matters, and what we should do next, The Buzz is joined once again by Hilary Allen, Professor of Law at American University.
You can listen to our first conversation with Hilary here.

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ICYMI: 2023's Leaders in Acquisitions Excellence Dec 05, 2023

This year, ACT-IAC's Imagine Nation ELC was our largest conference ever, with more than 1200 in-person attendees! We also had more sessions than ever, and The Buzz is excited to bring a selection of recordings from this year's event to our podcast audience.
This session features the presentation of the Federal Acquisition Institute's 2023 Chief Acquisition Officers Council Awards. After a brief introduction, moderator Christine Harada, Senior Advisor in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, sits down with all our award-winners for a robust panel discussion around the important work they've done in 2023.
Awardees:

Individual Award - James Greer, AWARE Program Manager, IRS
Team Award - Bonnie Evangelista and the Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace Team, Department of Defense
Small Business and Procurement Individual Award - Darlene Bullock, Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Utilization, DHS
Small Business and Procurement Team Award - Anthony Lomelin and Team
Indian Affairs Acquisition Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs
Lisa Wilusz Program Management Excellence Award - Mouncef Belcaid & Peggy O' Connor and Team, Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network Program Management Division, FirstNet Authority, Department of Commerce
Sustainable Acquisition Award - Gabriel Rangel, General Services Officer, U.S. Embassy of Tanzania

Congratulations again to all awardees!

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Why do Government Shutdowns Happen? with Philip Joyce Nov 29, 2023

This fall, our federal government has teetered on the edge of shutdown more than once before a last-minute agreement could be reached. As of this episode, yet another Continuing Resolution has extended the day of reckoning to either mid-January or early February, depending on the agency.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time discord in Congress has disrupted government operations, and it's not likely to be the last. While the process of Congressional appropriations is byzantine and wonky, it has enormous implications for the basic function and effectiveness of government. Shutdowns, even the threat of shutdowns, bring significant negative impacts to the American public, whether they recognize it or not.
This week, we're joined by Philip Joyce, Professor of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. He'll take us into the weeds of how and why Congressional budgeting works (or rather doesn't work), the effects of shutdowns, and whether we can prevent this kind of instability in the future.

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ICYMI: Kiran Ahuja on the Future at OPM Nov 14, 2023

This year, ACT-IAC's Imagine Nation ELC was our largest conference ever, with more than 1200 in-person attendees! We also had more sessions than ever, and The Buzz is excited to bring a selection of recordings from this year's event to our podcast audience.
We're kicking things off with a lively discussion between OPM Director Kiran Ahuja and her colleague Melvin Brown, who serves as the Deputy CIO.

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Federal Insights Exchange: Acquisitions at the VA with Dr. Angela Billups Oct 31, 2023

This week, the Buzz is partnering with ACT-IAC's Federal Insights Exchange (FIE). The FIE program hosts short-form conversations between industry and agency leaders to share success stories, challenges, and priorities.
Our guest host Dr. Allan Burman, President of Jefferson Solutions at the Jefferson Consulting Group and member of the Department of Veterans Affairs FIE, sat down with Dr. Angela Billups, Executive Director for the Office of Acquisitions and Logistics at the VA. Together, they discuss Dr. Billup's career journey into procurement, her perspective on how the acquisitions field can improve, and what the future holds for the VA.
If you liked this episode, the Federal Insights Exchange is always hosting more sessions. With 15 agencies represented, there's a whole range of topics and learning opportunities available - but only for ACT-IAC members! Learn more here.

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Closing the Digital Divide for the Quinault Indian Nation with Tyson Johnston Oct 24, 2023

Among America's Indigenous communities, the legacy of settler colonialism has left deep scars. As they confront disparities in health outcomes, economic development, and political attention, Tribal governments must routinely do more with less to provide necessary services to their people.
In addition, accelerating resilient infrastructure threatens local ecologies, which many tribes rely on both culturally and economically, in unpredictable ways. Indigenous leaders have no small task before them in preparing for the future.
The Quinault Indian Nation (QIN), located in Washington State along the Pacific Ocean, has undertaken a series of ambitious projects to address some of the unique challenges faced by Tribal Nations like themselves.
To discuss further, The Buzz is joined by Tyson Johnston, Self-Governance Executive Director for the QIN and Chairperson of the Board for Toptana Technologies, a QIN-owned enterprise seeking to bring high-speed broadband to Quinault territory.
Resources:
Ebook on the QIN and the Digital Divide
More info on Toptana

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The Art of Government Memes with Joseph Galbo Oct 18, 2023

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is a small government agency with an important charge - to research and communicate to the public the personal safety risks of the everyday products that we buy and use.
But our cluttered information landscape makes any sort of public communication challenging - let alone for (traditionally) dry messages from public sector agencies with limited budgets. How can the government get people's attention?
This week's guest has some ideas. Joseph Galbo, Social Media Specialist at the CPSC, has helped pioneer some novel strategies to increase the visibility of the agency and further its mission. With little more than some stock photos, an appreciation for internet culture and the media landscape, and a willingness to think outside the box, Joseph and the CPSC team have created a unique online brand for the agency - all of which serves the greater purpose of informing and protecting the American public.
Resources:
CPSC's Website

CPSC Memes at the Library of Congress
We're Safety Now Haven't We (Full Album)
Protect Ya Noggin (Skatepark Safety Remix) by BlakeReid

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ICYMI: A Cybersecurity Breakdown with Yemi Oshinnaiye Oct 13, 2023

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, so this week we present a session from ACT-IAC's 2023 Cybersecurity Summit.
TSA CIO Yemi Oshinnaiye kicked off our summit with a broad-ranging discussion of his experience in cyber, why cybersecurity matters, and how the IT community can confront the cyber challenges of the present and future.

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From the Archives: The First USDS Administrator Oct 03, 2023

This week, The Buzz presents a session from ELC 2014.
Mikey Dickerson initially came to the federal government on a temporary basis as part of the team assigned to rescue the unfortunate Healthcare.gov rollout in 2013. Less than a year later, he was tapped to serve as the first administrator of the fledgling US Digital Service, which sought to bring a modern service design and delivery approach to the rest of the federal government.
Just months after his appointment, Mikey sat down with Francis Rose to briefly discuss the origins and progress of the new agency.
This conversation then led into a panel discussion on government service delivery with other members of the federal government.
Panelists:
Kevin Cooke, former Deputy CIO at the Department of Housing and Urban Development
Kevin Mahoney, former Chief Human Capital Officer at the Department of Commerce
Marina (Martin) Nitze, former CTO, Department of Veterans Affairs
David Robinson, former Associate Adminstrator, Mission Support Bureau at FEMA
Melisa Starinsky, former Chancellor of the VA Acquisition Academy

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ICYMI: The New Employer-Employee Compact Sep 26, 2023

This week, The Buzz presents a session from our first ever Future Evolution of the Workforce Forum.

For decades, the Government has competed with private industry for talent by offering what were generally perceived to be better benefits, job stability, improved working environments and a greater sense of fulfillment via a sense of purpose built around agency mission. Unfortunately, workers entering the job force today do not universally perceive government employment as offering those benefits.
New entrants into the job market have a very different perception of their government than previous generations, and new ideas about the relationships between employers and employees, and about how work fits into their lives and lifestyles. Agencies failing to recognize and address those changes will not succeed in attracting, hiring, or retaining the world-class workforce they need to accomplish their missions.
This panel will discuss the expectations of new entrants to the job market and what OMB, GSA and some agencies are doing to meet them.
Speakers:
Joe Paiva (Moderator) - Creator and Host of Federal News Network's "A Deeper Look"
Javier Inclán - Assistant Inspector General for Management and CIO at the National Science Foundation OIG
Rocio Bauer - Deputy Assistant Secretary of Army (Data, Engineering and Software)
Tony Brannum -Associate CIO at USDA

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The Inflation Reduction Act Progress Report with Grace Smith Sep 19, 2023

Last month marked the 1-year anniversary of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. The somewhat simple name belies the breadth and scope of this enormous piece of legislation.
Among other changes like tax code and Medicare reform, the IRA is also the most comprehensive piece of US climate policy in history, and it contains a dizzying number of new programs and incentives that seek to reorient the US industrial base and economy towards green infrastructure.
Despite the bill's potential impact, a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll revealed in August that 71% of Americans surveyed know "little to nothing" about the IRA. This week on The Buzz, we're trying to change that.
Our guest is Grace Smith, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund who, along with colleagues at Columbia Law School, maintains the Inflation Reduction Act Tracker. She’ll help get us up to speed on what's in the IRA, how implementation is proceeding, and what’s coming next.
Also check out Rewiring America's IRA Savings Calculator!

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ICYMI: Resilient Infrastructure Risks to National Security Sep 06, 2023

This week, The Buzz presents a session from our 2023 Resilient Infrastructure Summit.
DoD, DHS, and the State Department have long recognized that resilient infrastructure’s impacts - including sea level rise, weather-related challenges to installations and operations, and forced migration - can significantly threaten our national security. In January of 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14008 that declared resilient infrastructure to be an essential element of national security and directed agencies to integrate it considerations into their operations. This discussion will highlight the science, risks, and realities that DoD, the Coast Guard, and the Statement Department are wrestling with as they implement adaptation plans and frameworks and incorporate consideration of resilient infrastructure into future planning.
Speakers:
John Conger (Moderator) - Director Emeritus, Center for Resilient Infrastructure& Security
Chelsea Cervantes de Blois, Ph.D. - Resilient Infrastructure Security Analyst, U.S. Department of State
Candace Nachman - Senior Oceans Policy and Program Advisor, U.S. Coast Guard
Ester Sperling - Senior Resilient Infrastructure Advisor, U.S. Air Force

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Life Experiences: Helping Parents Navigate the Challenges of Early Childhood Aug 29, 2023

As detailed in the President's Management Agenda and Executive Order 14058, a major priority of the current administration has been to improve government service delivery to the American public. The challenges of receiving federal benefits have been well-documented - from confusing paper applications to unclear responsibilities between multiple federal agencies - and so a reform effort is underway to make service delivery faster, more effective, and more human-centered than ever before.
Out of this effort has grown the Life Experiences Project - a framework that focuses on the major life events where Americans have the greatest need to interface with the federal government to help them navigate these challenging moments. These are make-or-break opportunities where a positive experience accessing services will do a world of good, but a bad experience can be ruinous.
In this miniseries, The Buzz will be exploring the five major life experiences that CX teams from the US Digital Service focused on as a part of this project in collaboration with their agency partners.
This week, we're kicking things off by looking at how new parents interact with the federal government to help them handle the trials and joys of having a child. We're joined by OMB's Federal Customer Experience Lead Amira Boland to introduce us to the framework, as well as Maya Mechenbier, the Birth and Early Childhood Project Lead from the US Digital Service.
Resources:
Having a Child and Early Childhood Overview at Performance.gov
Join the team at USDS!
Executive Order 14058 on Customer Experience
The Biden-Harris Management Agenda

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Summer News Round-Up 2023 Aug 23, 2023

As August comes to a close, The Buzz is here to get you up to speed on the top stories in the federal technology sector from this summer, as well as share what ACT-IAC has coming up in the fall.
From climate change to government AI, we'll give you the most important updates from the past few months.
Resources:
AI News:

Resilient Infrastructure:

ACT-IAC Updates:

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ICYMI: Hyperautomation in the Workforce Aug 15, 2023

This week, The Buzz presents a session from our 2023 Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference.
In this panel discussion, representatives from government and industry discuss how hyperautomation is reshaping roles and responsibilities in the working world, and the skill requirements for organizations to operate these powerful new technologies.
Panelists:
Mike McKinney - Vice President at Amivero
Gopa Nair - Innovation Adoption Lead at the Technology Transformation Services at GSA
Jamie Holcomb - CIO, US Patent and Trademark Office
Rob Brown - CTO, Systalex and former CTO at US Citizenship and Immigration Services
For more on emerging technology in the workplace, please join us at our Future Evolution of the Workforce forum on September 19th - Register Here!
This recording has been edited for time.

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Building Flood-Resistant Communities with Mathew Sanders Aug 09, 2023

This past July, a series of severe floods devastated central Vermont. After more than a decade of drought, early 2023 brought a series of 12 "atmospheric rivers" to California, dumping trillions of gallons of water up and down the coast and causing billions of dollars in damage. Last summer, parts of Eastern Kentucky experienced more than a foot of rainfall in less than 5 days. Rivers swelled and coursed through small Appalachian towns, claiming the lives of 59 people.
All over the United States, the frequency and intensity of floods increase. Cities and towns are often underprepared for these events and lack the resources to respond effectively. Our nation needs a more comprehensive framework for dealing with disaster that includes cooperation between federal, state, and local actors.
To discuss the challenges and requirements of building an effective flood resilience system, we're joined this week by Mathew Sanders, the State Resilience Policy Portfolio Lead at the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Learn more about Pew's Flood-Prepared Communities Project

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Unpacking the EV Charger War with Andrew Russell Jul 26, 2023

If you have a gas car, you never really need to double-check which gas station you go to when you fill up. Every gas station in North America is compatible with every personal vehicle. This standardized fuel network enables our gas-driven transportation system in a way that most of us don't notice on a day-to-day basis.
If you have an electric vehicle, though, you do notice this. Or rather, you notice that a similar network is missing. There are currently 3 different charging standards for EV's in the US, so drivers have to routinely check maps to find compatible chargers or purchase and travel with expensive adaptors. The lack of charger standardization and availability has stood as one of the larger barriers to EV adoption in the US, which currently sit at a paltry 6% of total vehicle sales.
This needs to change quickly in order to meet the ambitious goals set by the Biden administration and car manufacturers and to eliminate the use of fossil fuels as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the majority of the major US-based automakers announced this summer that they would be transitioning to Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) by 2025, opening a path to total standardization across the US EV charging network.
This week, we're diving into how and why this standardization process unfolded and why technical standards matter when it comes to technological transformation. We're joined this week by Andrew Russell, Officer-In-Charge and Professor of Science and Technology History and SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

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Replay: Getting America Online with Kathryn De Wit Jul 18, 2023

Over the past few weeks, we've seen a host of state governments triumphantly announcing the arrival of federal funds - usually over $1 billion apiece - to expand broadband access, particularly to rural communities.
The seeds of this arrival were planted nearly two years ago, when Congress passed the Infrastructure and Jobs Act. The wheels of government do spin slowly, but hopefully the scope and scale of this investment will pay major dividends for those Americans currently without quality, affordable internet.
So with this next step beginning in the fight for internet access, we thought it would be a good time to revisit an interview we conducted last year with Kathryn de Wit, Project Director of the Broadband Access Initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
More from The Pew Charitable Trusts' Broadband Access Initiative: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/broadband-access-initiative
This episode originally aired March 1, 2022.

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Nuclear Fusion: Energy of the Future? Jul 11, 2023

In December 2022, scientists at the National Ignition Facility, of NIF, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory did something that had never happened before on Earth – controlled fusion ignition.
What is nuclear fusion and why does it matter? This week on The Buzz, we'll be talking about why last year's experiment represents an enormous breakthrough in the future of energy, by hearing from some of the public sector scientists directly involved.
Featuring:
Alex Zylstra - Experimental Physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
John Edwards - Inertial Confinement Fusion Program Director at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Learn more at lasers.llnl.gov!

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Insecure Work in a Digital Age with Julia Ticona Jun 27, 2023

While "the Future of Work" has become a popular topic in the post-pandemic era, the conversation has largely focused on how white-collar workers are adapting and reacting to a workplace and labor market governed and facilitated by digital technologies. The expansion of remote work has sparked plenty of discussion about our relationship to technology, both economic and philosophical.
Missing from this discourse, however, are the voices of low-wage workers. According to a 2022 Oxfam report, nearly a third of the American workforce earns less than $15 an hour. These workers, too, rely on the internet and smartphones to locate shifting and inconsistent job opportunities, yet they are not often considered in conversations about technology in the workplace, despite many earning the designation of "essential" in the darkest throes of the Coronavirus pandemic.
This week's guest set out to change that. In Left to Our Own Devices, Julia Ticona, Professor of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, studies how low-wage workers must navigate an increasingly precarious economy using their smartphones and wits. In doing so, she reveals the ways in which these technologies can reproduce and magnify the economic, racial and gender inequalities that our society already grapples with.

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(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
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ICYMI: Government Partnerships in the Health Life Cycle Jun 21, 2023

This week, The Buzz presents a session from our 2023 Health Innovation Summit.
Government partnerships across civilian and military healthcare agencies are critical for health life cycle delivery. In this panel discussion, leaders from both civilian, military and industry health landscape will discuss how collaborations and standard development are driving the data modernization and the implementation of platform and technology enhancements.
Speakers:
Bobby Saxon (Moderator) - VP of Health Group, Leidos
Amanda Lienau Ph.D. - Director of Data and Analytic Innovation, Department of Veterans Affairs
Ryan Argentieri - Deputy Director of the Office of Technology, Department of Health and Human Services
COL Thomas Cantilina - Chief Health Informatics Officer, Defense Health Agency
Srini Iyer - Senior Technology Officer of Health Group, Leidos

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Opening the Artificial Information Floodgates with Ravit Dotan Jun 07, 2023

This episode of The Buzz is best experienced with headphones.
With the generative AI hype cycle reaching a fever pitch, now may be a good time to step back and consider some of the potential downsides and risks of creating terabytes of text, image, sound and video at the click of a button. What will it mean to exist in an online world where the source and veracity of information is even more inscrutable than it is today?
This week, the Buzz is joined by AI ethicist and researcher Ravit Dotan, PhD. to give us some ideas on how to avoid a future rife with misinformation and mistrust as more of our information landscape becomes automated.
More on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act
More from Ravit

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ICYMI: Preparing for the Future at the Defense Intelligence Agency May 31, 2023

This week, The Buzz presents a keynote session from ACT-IAC's 2023 Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference.
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) supports the entire DoD community by providing strategic information about the capabilities of foreign adversaries. In this talk, Edacheril "E.P." Mathew, the agency's Deputy CIO, explains who the DIA is concerned about, how they enable information-sharing across both DoD members and US allies, and what modernization efforts will mean for the agency's mission.

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Federal Insights Exchange: Workforce Modernization at the VA May 23, 2023

This week, the Buzz is partnering with ACT-IAC's Federal Insights Exchange (FIE). The FIE program hosts short-form conversations between industry and agency leaders to share success stories, challenges, and priorities.
Our guest host Sid Getz, Vice President at CGI and member of the Department of Veterans Affairs FIE, sat down with Jon Rychalski, Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer at the VA. Together, they discuss approaches the VA and government financial management community are taking to stay competitive in the labor market, retain talent, and attract younger civil servants.
If you liked this episode, the Federal Insights Exchange is always hosting more sessions. With 15 agencies represented, there's a whole range of topics and learning opportunities available - but only for ACT-IAC members! Learn more here.

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ICYMI: Infrastructure Vulnerabilities and the Infrastructure Emergency May 16, 2023

This week, the Buzz presents a recorded session from our first ever Resilient Infrastructure Summit, held on April 17th.
This fireside chat features Edward Saltzberg, Executive Director of the Security and Sustainability Forum and Andy Bochman, Senior Grid Strategist at the Idaho National Laboratory. These two experts discuss vulnerability of infrastructure in a world that must adjust to geopolitics, and domestic terrorism. They acknowledge that traditional infrastructure is no longer sufficient to withstand the changes, as well as the political and security threats of the modern world.

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Infectious Disease in a Warming World with Dr. Ben Beard & Dr. Nancy Chow May 03, 2023

Global average temperatures have risen roughly 2 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880, but more than half of that change has come only in the last 4 decades.
And in the next 3 decades, we are on track to see an additional 5-degree Fahrenheit (or more) increase. The Earth of today, and of the near future, is one in which we must constantly adapt to the environmental upheaval we have created. As our planet's flora and fauna act and react to this shifting world, we will, as individuals, more and more often directly face the consequences of resilient infrastructure.
Infectious disease is one such consequence. As the geographic ranges of animals, plants and fungi expand and contract, we are exposed to disease vectors in new and often unpredictable ways.
In an effort to better prepare our country for an uncertain future, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are studying how resilient infrastructure is shaping the patterns of infection across our country, and what we can do about it.
This week, the Buzz is joined by CDC experts Dr. Ben Beard, Deputy Director of Vector-Borne Diseases and Dr. Nancy Chow, Data and Quality Team Lead in the Mycotic Diseases Branch.
Get more information at cdc.gov

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Education for an AI-Driven Workforce with Dr. Ioulia Rytikova & Dr. Aisha Sikder Apr 18, 2023

If “data is the new oil” as British mathematician Clive Humby famously said in 2006, then perhaps artificial intelligence is the new plastics – a novel application of an existing raw material.

Though opinions vary on how AI will actually influence our future, we're firmly in the “revolution is imminent” category. Whether that revolution is beneficial or harmful, however, is still up in the air.

The data scientists at George Mason University agree. As an educational institution, they have a vested interest in preparing students for the world as it will be. Given their location, GMU also has a long history of collaborating with government and industry partners in federal technology – training the workforce of tomorrow.
This week on The Buzz, we're speaking with two data scientists deeply involved in both education and federal IT. Joining us are Dr. Ioulia Rytikova, Professor and Associate Chair for Graduate Studies of Information Sciences and Technology at GMU, and Dr. Aisha Sikder, Director of the Data Analytics Practice at CGI and adjunct professor at George Mason University.
This episode of The Buzz is brought to you by CGI. Insights-driven and outcome-based, CGI has helped advance government missions for over 40 years. Learn more at www.cgi.com.

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What's Next for DOJ IT with Melinda Rogers & Brian Wodarski Apr 11, 2023

The Department of Justice – home to our nation’s most prominent law enforcement agencies (sorry Park Rangers) and US attorneys’ offices. With more than 40 separate component agencies and over 115,000 employees in all 50 states and worldwide, the DOJ requires an IT infrastructure to match its scale.

Enter the IT strategic plan. This document outlines the major priorities and strategies the department will employ to meet the needs of an evolving workforce and mission, with special attention paid to President Biden’s management agenda. The most recent plan is organized around 5 key priorities:

1. Enhance Service Delivery

2. Elevate Cybersecurity

3. Embrace Innovation

4. Expand the Workforce

5. Increase financial transparency

This week on the Buzz, we’re diving deeper into the 2022-2024 strategic plan with Melinda Rogers, the department’s Chief Information Officer, and Brian Wodarski, a partner at Guidehouse, who have worked closely with the DOJ for a number of years to advance their IT goals.
This episode of the Buzz is sponsored by Guidehouse. Learn more at guidehouse.com
Resources:
DOJ IT Strategic Plan 2022-2024

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The Tax Software We Deserve with Gabriel Zucker Apr 05, 2023

With 2023’s tax deadline fast approaching, our thoughts turn once again to the peculiarities of America’s filing system. Instead of the IRS interacting directly with the public for annual tax preparation, private companies facilitate electronic filing in the United States, a service that is supposed to be provided to most Americans free of charge.

Yet while more than 70% of Americans qualify for free, software-guided tax filing, only 3% end up using it. This means that not only are many filers spending extra time and money when they shouldn’t have to, but they may also be missing out on government benefits and tax breaks to which they are entitled.

But that may soon change. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act directed $15 million to the IRS to study how they could design and implement their own free tax filing software and provide an alternative to the free file program. That report is due next month, but in the meantime, we’re going to take at look at what this IRS system could look like and how that might improve the way the IRS interacts with the public.

To help us do that, this week on the Buzz, we're joined by Gabriel Zucker, Associate Policy Director for Tax Benefits at Code for America. As a civic tech organization, they have plenty of experience thinking about and designing public sector tools to improve government services. And in this case, they’ve even designed a prototype to serve as a model for the IRS to, hopefully, emulate.
Resources:
GAO Free File Report
ProPublica's Investigation into Private Tax Prep Software
Code for America's Direct File Prototype
Code for America's Research on Simple Tax Filing

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ICYMI: The Race to Secure Federal Cryptographic Systems Mar 22, 2023

This week, The Buzz presents a recorded session from our 2023 Shared Services Summit, which took place on March 21st.
National Security Memoradum (NSM)-10, released last year, outlines the Administration's plans to remain ahead of cybersecurity threats posed by quantum computing systems. Federal agencies must begin to inventory their cryptographic systems and develop cost estimates for transitioning to quantum platforms. The scale of compliance activities is expected to be comparable to the Y2K compliance effort at the turn of the century, and the cost to be well beyond the capacity of most individual agencies to pay.
To address how shared services can help assist agencies to meet this challenge, summit Industry Chair Jylinda Johnson hosted a discussion with Dylan Presman, Director for Budget and Assessment at the Office of the National Cyber Director.

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A Vision of Carbon-Free Transportation with Drew Kodjak Mar 14, 2023

In January of this year, the Biden administration published The U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, to surprisingly little fanfare. I agree it’s not the sexiest title, but transportation is the single greatest driver of U.S greenhouse gas emissions – nearly 40% of our total, in fact. For our nation to meet the goal of a 50% emission reduction by 2030, Americans need to be able to get around carbon-free.

Following this blueprint would transform not only how we as Americans travel, but also the layouts of our cities and towns, our lifestyles, and our entire economy. If we want to limit global warming to less than 2 degree Celsius and avoid some of the most catastrophic effects of resilient infrastructure, we need to be paying attention to this.

To discuss the implications of the National Blueprint, The Buzz is joined by Drew Kodjak, Executive Director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, or ICCT.
Resources:
U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization
More from the ICCT

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A Career Retrospective with Mary Davie Mar 07, 2023

After more than 34 years of federal service, acquisitions pioneer Mary Davie announced her retirement at the end of 2022. Much of her career was spent at the GSA, guiding development of well-known procurement practices like shared services and category management. She's won a panoply of awards for her work (including some from ACT-IAC), so we're very excited to welcome Mary to the show this week.
Mary is joined by her colleague (and friend of the show) Renee Wynn, former CIO of NASA, to look back on Mary's many accomplishments and experiences in federal service.
ACT-IAC would like to profoundly thank Mary for her many contributions to Federal IT.

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ICYMI: Lessons Learned and Best Practices in C-SCRM Feb 22, 2023

This week, The Buzz presents a session from ACT-IAC's January C-SCRM Forum.
The federal government has identified Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management (C-SCRM) as one of the pillars of a safe and secure IT environment. In the wake of the SolarWinds attack, the Biden Administration released EO 14028, mandating enhanced C-SCRM practices in the federal acquisitions process.
In this panel, you'll hear how some agencies are instituting these policies and what they've learned throughout the process.
Panelists:
Shon Lyublonavits - C-SCRM Initiatives Lead, CISA
Rajiv Uppal - Acting CIO, CMS
Kevin Cox - Deputy Chief Information Officer, DOJ

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A Federal Quantum Primer with Tim Gilday and Sabina Sokol Feb 16, 2023

Even for those with significant experience in the technology field, the concept of quantum computing can feel intimidating. After all, it is a field involving the notoriously complex theories governing subatomic particles, the physical engineering challenges of supercomputer construction, and the higher-level mathematics of computer cryptography.
And if that sentence made your head spin, then this episode of The Buzz might be a good place to start. The potential applications of quantum computing make it an area of research for the federal government, and while the technology is still in its infancy, we should be prepared for what it may bring in the near future.
So to help us understand why quantum computing matters, we're joined by Tim Gilday and Sabina Sokol, Industry Chair and Resource Management & Education Advisor, respectively, for ACT-IAC's Quantum Knowledge Group.
Resources:
Quantum Panel from Emerging Tech Conference 2022
Sabina's Briefing on Federal Quantum Cyber Guidance
Learn more at Girls in Quantum
Register for the 2023 Emerging Technology Conference from May 7th - 9th!
Use code EARLYBIRD for $75 off registration until February 28th.

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The Innovation Delusion and the Value of Maintenance with Andrew Russell and Lee Vinsel Feb 07, 2023

"Innovation" is one of those words that has, unfortunately, been used so frequently as to almost be without meaning. What began as an economic term to describe productivity gains from technology, has morphed into a catch-all for anything new or different, regardless of whether it improves our lives or not.
The pursuit of this nebulous idea of innovation as an ultimate goal has crowded out much of the important, less exciting work that keeps our world functioning. We idolize "innovators" and "disruptors", but undervalue the simple, daily tasks of maintenance necessary for the upkeep of both our physical and digital infrastructure.
This week on The Buzz, we're joined by Andrew Russell and Lee Vinsel, authors of the book, "The Innovation Delusion" and co-founders of The Maintainers, a global research network studying the concepts of maintenance, infrastructure, repair, and the myriad forms of labor and expertise that sustain our human-built world.
More from The Maintainers at https://themaintainers.org/
Referenced in this episode:

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The Power Law with Sebastian Mallaby Jan 31, 2023

In the annals of tech history, few places carry as weighty a reputation as Silicon Valley. The very name is synonymous with the US technology sector. Somehow, this small region of Northern California has managed to produce nearly all of the most successful and most dominant technology companies in modern history. To the untrained eye, the story of Silicon Valley appears almost magical.
Yet to this week's guest, the success of Silicon Valley is perfectly logical, and indeed, replicable, under the right conditions. The key is venture capital.
In his book, The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future, journalist Sebastian Mallaby, examines the unique attributes that enabled the venture capital system to produce such rapid innovation, in Silicon Valley and beyond.

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A Peek Behind the Curtains of Federal Procurement Jan 19, 2023

This week, the Buzz presents a presentation from our Small Business Alliance.
The ACT-IAC Small Business Alliance is member community chartered to promote the interests and contributions of small businesses in the federal contracting space.
In this presentation, veteran contracting specialist and educator William Randolph will give a peek behind the curtains of federal procurement and help small businesses get a leg up in understanding and competing for federal contracts.
William Randolph is the Chief Executive Officer of THINK Acquisition. William was selected into the Senior Executive Service (SES). He is a decorated United States Navy veteran (1998-1993), a David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award winner (2008) and the recipient of the Navy/Marine Corps Meritorious Civil Service medal (2009). In August 2016, William retired from the federal government with over 26 years of public service.
This presentation previously aired on our webinar platform and has been edited for time.
Learn more about the Small Business Alliance here!

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ICYMI: The Francis Rose Sessions Jan 10, 2023

This week, the Buzz presents some more highlights from last year's ELC conference.
Veteran broadcaster and interviewer Francis Rose closed out ELC 2022 with two insightful interviews about how federal agencies are carrying out IT modernization efforts.
First, Francis interviewed Guy Torres, Deputy Chief Procurement Officer at the IRS and experienced federal acquisitions specialist.
Next, Francis sat down with Danielle Metz, recently named Director of the Information Management and Technology Directorate in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).
You can get access to all of last year's ELC sessions online here: https://web.cvent.com/event/1635a9e7-5864-4abe-b742-6a3abfe9d325/summary
Save your spot at ELC 2023 now and save $75 with code EARLYBIRD!

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Rejuvenating the Civil Service Jan 05, 2023

Much like the government's legacy IT systems, the federal workforce has grown a bit long in the tooth. Based on OPM data collected in 2017, it is estimated that roughly 30% of the federal workforce will be eligible for retirement this year. In addition, more than 70% of the federal civil service is older than 40, and fewer than 1 in 10 are younger than 30.
For the federal government to provide effective services and confront the challenges of today, it must build a workforce that is skilled, energetic, and technologically savvy - none of which can be accomplished without the help of younger Americans, few of which currently choose to make careers in the public sector.
This week on the Buzz, we're looking at how to change that, as well as hearing perspectives from some young civil servants on federal employment.
Guests:
Michelle Amante - Vice President of Federal Workforce Programs at the Partnership for Public Service
Brianna Stinsman - 2022 USAID Payne Fellow
Railyn Moyers - Digital Content Specialist at the GSA
Resources for this episode:

Find all open federal jobs at https://www.usajobs.gov/
Pew Research Centers Data on Gen Z

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2022: Year in Review Dec 21, 2022

For our last episode of 2022, The Buzz is revisiting some of the big ideas from the last year in the federal technology sector. We'll return in 2023. Happy Holidays!
References:
Unpacking DeFi and Financial Risk
How Government Built This Series at Bureau of the Fiscal Service
Building Trust Through Service Design
Brookings data on disparate impact of PPP loans
Episodes about Estonian Digital Society:
Carmen Raal
Taavi Kotka
Recording of the 12/14/22 Senate Banking Committee Hearing courtesy of C-SPAN

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ICYMI: The CX Journey of High-Impact Service Providers Dec 07, 2022

This week, The Buzz presents a panel from our 2022 CX Summit.
High-Impact Service Providers (HISPs) are federal entities that provide necessary services directly to the American public, as designated by the Office of Management and Budget. In this panel discussion, customer experience leaders at some of our nation's most critical agencies break down their service delivery efforts.
Panelists:
Lee Becker (Moderator) - Senior VP, Public Sector & Healthcare, Medallia
Nicole Callahan - Voice of the Customer, Customer Analytics at Federal Student Aid, Department of Education
Amber Chaudry - Customer Experience Lead, Department of Housing & Urban Development
Vashon Citizen - Digital Services Division Chief, Office of Access and Information Services at U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services
Kenneth Corbin - Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer, Internal Revenue Service
Ben Sweezy - Director of Federal Digital Strategy, Salesforce

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ICYMI: GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan on Making Government Serve the People Nov 30, 2022

This week, The Buzz presents a keynote session from ACT-IAC's ELC 2022 Conference.
GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan joined Winnie Lin, VP of Government and Administrative Services at Peraton, to share how the GSA is helping to upgrade the federal government to improve service delivery to the American people. They discuss the Technology Modernization Fund, the President's Management Agenda, and the GSA's sustainability investments to combat resilient infrastructure.
You can get access to all of this year's ELC sessions online here: https://web.cvent.com/event/1635a9e7-5864-4abe-b742-6a3abfe9d325/summary

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Small Business, Big Security with Kimberly Mentzell Nov 16, 2022

Everyone loves a nice local business. In a world increasingly dominated by enormous, faceless corporations, it's always nice to walk into a brick-and-mortar establishment and know that the business's owner is one of your neighbors.
As the Biden administration has recognized, small businesses drive innovation, generate economic mobility, and strengthen community bonds. The sign of a healthy town is a thriving Main Street. It is the duty of our government to support these enterprises and create the environment necessary for them to flourish.
We live in the age of an information technology, in which very few businesses can choose to remain analog. The opportunities of a digital society also create new risks - everything connected to the internet is a vector of attack. Small businesses, with their limited resources and lack of technical experience, make easy targets for cybercriminals. Without proper preparation and training, a business owner could very easily see their livelihood destroyed in a matter of moments.
That's where this week's guest comes in. Kimberly Mentzell is the Director of Cybersecurity and Aerospace for the Maryland Department of Commerce. With grant funding from the Small Business Administration, she runs Maryland's Small Business Cybersecurity Resilience Program, helping entrepreneurs protect their enterprises from cyberattack.
Learn more about Maryland's program
Cyber Guidance for Small Business by CISA
NIST's Small Business Cybersecurity Corner

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Scaling Technology and the ARPA Model with William Bonvillian Nov 08, 2022

After the Soviet Union shocked the United States by successfully launching the first artificial satellite in 1957, President Eisenhower recognized the need to accelerate our nation's research and development capacity, in order to meet the future challenges that the Cold War would bring.
Thus, in 1958, the Advanced Research Projects Agency, or ARPA, was born. The agency was later rolled into the Defense Department and re-designated DARPA. Early on, DARPA distinguished itself with a unique, high-risk, high-reward approach - directing funding towards diverse sets of long-shot projects with the understanding that the return on investment would be worth it even if only one or two projects succeeded.
Though DARPA's budget was only a fraction of total DoD spending during the Cold War, the tiny agency has had an outsized impact on creating the technologies that shape our modern world. From GPS to drones to even the internet - the fruits of DARPA's labors surround us.
In the 21st century, a few efforts have been made to adapt DARPA's innovation model outside the defense sector. This saw the created of ARPA-Energy in 2009 and now ARPA-Health in March of this year. What can we learn from the ARPA model, and can it help prepare us for a future where technology will be sorely needed to address the rising global threat of resilient infrastructure?
To discuss, The Buzz is joined by William Bonvillian, MIT lecturer, author and former senior senate advisor on science and technology policy.

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How Government Built This: Encouraging Change by Putting People First at the Department of the Treasury Nov 01, 2022

Welcome to the final episode of “How Government Built This,” a six-part podcast and blog post series developed by the Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation (FIT) in collaboration with The Buzz with ACT-IAC.
This week, host Jesrael Lopez interviews Joe Gioeli III, Chief Information Officer at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, and Nick Totten, Associate Chief Information Officer at the Department of the Treasury.

They discuss Treasury's human-centered approach to digital transformation - that change is more about the people, interactions and processes that make up an organization, rather than the technology itself. Joe and Nick also discuss how to engage the workforce in the process and how to keep them invested.
References:

Bureau of Fiscal Service Future of Financial Management Vision
Emerging Technology Community of Interest (COI) November 15th monthly meeting taking place from 10 AM to 11:30 AM covering the COI’s Emerging Technology Accelerator.
Emerging Technology COI working groups. To join a working group, please reach out to Nancy Delanoche (ndelanoche@actiac.org)
National Use Case and Solutions Library open to government, academia, and industry for capturing emerging technology use cases:
Department of Transportation blog and podcast

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How Government Built This: How the Department of Transportation is Driving Digital Transformation with a Focus on Safety, and Resilient Infrastructure Oct 12, 2022

Welcome to “How Government Built This,” a six-part podcast and blog post series developed by the Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation (FIT) in collaboration with The Buzz with ACT-IAC.
This week, host Jacqueline French interviews Laila Alequresh, Chief Innovation Officer at the Department of Transportation, and Amy Lucero, Associate Administrator of Transportation Workforce Development & Technology Deployment at the Federal Highway Administration.

They discuss how the DOT is looking toward future to predict and develop ,connected transportation networks driven by technology. They also emphasize the opportunities for R&D presented by emerging technologies and how these initiatives can better build a reliable transportation system that meets the needs of all Americans.
References:

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Easy, Breezy, Beautiful, Tax Code with Beverly Moran Oct 04, 2022

Ah, tax season. Though certainly not everyone’s favorite time of year, filing a tax return is perhaps the most notable interaction with the Federal Government that nearly every working American experiences. As those in public service design know, sometimes one interaction is all you get – and whether that interaction is positive or negative can greatly shape the public’s perception of and trust in government.

So, it stands to reason that building a simpler, more straightforward tax system (and making filing easier) for individuals makes sense. And yet, the US tax code has only become more complex in the past few decades. In response to this, a sizable industry of tax preparation software has arisen to, ostensibly, simplify the filing process. In 2021, 90% of US filers did so electronically, which means that the vast majority of Americans are navigating a commercial marketplace in order to facilitate a government interaction that is legally required.

Is there a better way? To discuss this question, The Buzz is joined by Beverly Moran, Professor Emerita at Vanderbilt Law School, who has written extensively about the US tax code.

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How Government Built This: Balancing the Bottom-Up, Top-Down Approach at Canada’s Office of the Auditor General Sep 27, 2022

Welcome to “How Government Built This,” a six-part podcast and blog post series developed by the Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation (FIT) in collaboration with The Buzz with ACT-IAC.
This week, host Cindy Good interviews Paul Faucher, Director of Enterprise Services and Digital Engagement, and Troy MacFarlene, Deputy CIO, both from Canada's Office of the Auditor General.
They discuss how the OAG is pursuing a culture-first strategy for digital transformation, highlighted the need for benchmarking and measurable outcomes, and mentioned the value in an agile approach not just to IT modernization, but to workforce development.
Resources:

From Transformation to Evolution – How DHS Focuses on Strategic Partnerships to Jumpstart Digital Transformation
Cyber's Elite Forces – How Air National Guard Puts People First with Artificial Intelligence to Drive Digital Transformation
ACT-IAC Use Case Summit, September 20, 2022
ACT-IAC 2021 Shark Tank – Use of Emerging Technology to Streamline Acquisition
For more information on ACT-IAC’s Emerging Technology Accelerator i) Technology Literacy and ii) Robotic Process Automation projects, please reach out to act-iac@actiac.org.
ACT-IAC Emerging Technology COI Artificial Intelligence playbook, Intelligent Automation playbook, and Blockchain playbook which assess organizational readiness for emerging technologies.

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Health Inequities and the COVID-19 Response with LaRon Nelson Sep 20, 2022

Because of the peculiar perception of time that we have collectively experienced throughout the pandemic, it may feel odd that the US only began rolling out COVID vaccines in the beginning of last year. So much has occurred in the intervening months that the early days of the pandemic seem much further removed than they are.
Increasingly, the United States appears to have moved on. Roughly 80% of Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine and virtually no lockdown restrictions remain in place anywhere in the country. At ACT-IAC, most of our conversations are focusing on the future and the changes that COVID has brought to Federal service delivery and the workforce.
While these are important conversations, it is equally important to recognize the profound loss that the world has experienced in these past two years. COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 1 million Americans and more than 6 million people globally. Millions more have suffered from a startling decline in physical and financial security and quality of life.
Unfortunately, this loss has not been borne equally within this nation or across the globe. COVID has instead magnified the inequalities already present in our social and economic systems, placing a greater burden on some communities over others.
This week, The Buzz is joined by LaRon Nelson, Associate Dean for Global Affairs and Planetary Health at the Yale School of Nursing to discuss the causes and consequences of these inequities. He urges us not to forget the hard-learned lessons of this pandemic and to endeavor to prevent them from re-occurring.

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How Government Built This: How DHS Focuses on Strategic Partnerships to Jumpstart Digital Transformation Sep 13, 2022

Welcome to “How Government Built This,” a six-part podcast and blog post series developed by the Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation (FIT) in collaboration with The Buzz with ACT-IAC.
This week, host Cindy Good interviews Dave Larrimore, Executive Director of the CTO Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, and Rob Brown, CTO at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
They discuss how DHS is tackling digital transformation across a broad coalition of enterprise groups within the agency - their management approach, workforce development strategies, and more.
Resources:

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Civil Service in American Government with Donald Moynihan Sep 06, 2022

Rather than being explicitly created by the US Constitution, the administrative agencies that make up the Federal bureaucracy have emerged through subsequent acts of Congress. As the United States grew in size and complexity, it became apparent that some governing powers must be delegated to professional agencies with narrower focuses than the traditional branches of government.
Now, the federal civil service numbers more than 2 million civilian employees from all walks of life, serving all over the country, and has become an indispensable part of the American government and society.
This week on The Buzz, we're taking a look at the US civil service system - how it interacts with other branches of government, the role it plays in public and political life, and how it has evolved over time. Our guest is Donald Moynihan, chair of the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.
More from Donald on his Substack: https://donmoynihan.substack.com/

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How Government Built This: Cyber’s Elite Forces – How Air National Guard Puts People First with Artificial Intelligence to Drive Digital Transformation Aug 30, 2022

Welcome to “How Government Built This,” a six-part podcast and blog post series developed by the Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation (FIT) in collaboration with The Buzz with ACT-IAC.
This week, host Jacqueline French interviews Lt. Col Andrew Wonpat, member of the Air National Guard's 175th Network Warfare Squadron. In his current assignment, he serves as a Cyber Capabilities Development Strategist with U.S. Air Force (USAF) Futures, with the mission of exploring non-traditional force structure and future cyber capability development.
In this episode, Lt. Col Wonpat discusses the CYDE-CARS initiative, and AI-driven project to find new ways of identifying ideal candidates to built high-performing teams. He also discusses a people-first approach to digital transformation and encourages outside-the-box thinking when it comes to organizational initiatives
CYDE-CARS is open to agencies across government. For more information on CYDE-CARS, please reach out to Lt Col Andrew Wonpat at andrew.r.wonpat.mil@mail.mil.

References

1. For more information on ACT-IAC’s Emerging Technology Accelerator, please reach out act-iac@actiac.org.

2. ACT-IAC Emerging Technology Community of Interest (COI) “People as the Strongest Link: Emerging Trends in Human Centered Design and Customer Experience Approaches for Cybersecurity” June Monthly Meeting.

3. ACT-IAC Use Case Summit taking place on September 20, 2022, from 9 AM to 12 PM at the General Services Administration’s headquarters and online.

4. ACT-IAC Cybersecurity Forum 2022 taking place on October 12, 2022, from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM at the Renaissance Washington, DC, Downtown Hotel.

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From the Archives: The Federal Perspective from 11 Years Ago Aug 23, 2022

This week, join the Buzz for a journey to the distant past of 2011.
Over a decade ago, ACT-IAC's ELC Conference featured a keynote from Steve VanRoekel, who served as Federal CIO from 2011-2014.
In his presentation, entitled "Our Moment", VanRoekel discussed the federal IT priorities of the day, the opportunities to involve the private sector in improving government services, and what the future will bring.
It's fascinating to see what's changed over the past 11 years (and what hasn't).
This recording has been edited for time.

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How Government Built This: How USDA is Paving the Way for Digital Transformation Aug 16, 2022

Welcome to “How Government Built This,” a six-part podcast and blog post series developed by the Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation (FIT) in collaboration with The Buzz with ACT-IAC.
This week, host Jesrael Lopez is joined by Dr. Michael Valivullah, Chief Technology Officer at the US Department of Agriculture.
Michael's perspective on digital transformation is informed by the mission areas of the USDA, which has been collecting data for over 150 years. He emphasizes the importance of cloud computing and upskilling and reskilling the agency's workforce.
Resources:
ACT-IAC Health Community of Interest (COI) White Paper “Policy Considerations for the Use of Synthetic Healthcare Data”

Federal Insights Exchange (FIE) Chief Data Officer (CDO) Panel on September 7th from 10 AM to 11 AM. Register here
Fiscal Service's Digital End-to-End Efficiency Playbook

For more information on ACT-IAC’s Emerging Technology COI’s CDO outreach initiative, please email actiacnucsl@gmail.com

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The Keys to Estonia's Success with Taavi Kotka Aug 09, 2022

This week, The Buzz presents a follow-up from last month's episode exploring the basics of digital services in Estonia.
In this episode, we'll hear more about e-Estonia from someone who had a significant role in building it.
Taavi Kotka helped expand Estonian e-governance when he became the nation's first Chief Information Officer in 2014. He was subsequently named European CIO of the year and pioneered many of the ideas and concepts behind the modern Estonian digital society.
With his considerable private sector experience, Taavi also shares a more holistic view of the challenges faced and solutions required to build a digital society.

Listen to the first e-Estonia episode here.

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How Synthetic Data Can Improve AI in Medicine with Dr. Amanda Purnell Aug 02, 2022

Artificial Intelligence technologies continue to develop in leaps and bounds with each passing year, and their impact on our lives will only become more salient as these tools increase in complexity and variety.
Though AI applications have the potential to revolutionize nearly every sector of the economy, they also carry significant risks that will require careful thought and intentional design to mitigate harm. AI systems - defined their ability to learn iteratively and improve their decision-making capabilities - require massive amounts of data with which to train them. Though we may call them "intelligent", these machines are merely reflections of the inputs we give them, and incomplete or non-representative data sets lead to biased systems.
In the medical field, this issue is particularly salient, as the very health and well-being of humans is at stake. In addition, using patient data to train AI tools raises significant privacy concerns.
Enter synthetic data. As the name implies, synthetic data is entirely computer-generated, so no personal information of actual patients is at stake. Synthetic data can also be designed to fill in the gaps of real-world data sets, thereby reducing bias.
To learn more about how synthetic data is being used in Federal healthcare, The Buzz is joined by Dr. Amanda Purnell, Director of Data and Analytics Innovation at the Department of Veteran's Affairs.
Learn more about the VA's Arches Platform: https://marketplace.va.gov/innovations/arches

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ICYMI: AI in Mission Decision-Making Jul 26, 2022

This week, The Buzz with ACT-IAC presents a session from the 2022 Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference.
This panel features a discussion among agency CIO's and industry leaders about how emerging AI tools are being used to manage data and guide decision making, as well as the limitations of AI in the government sphere.
Speakers:
Lexy Guenther (Moderator) - VP & CTO, Civil Enterprise IT & Mission Solutions at Leidos
Gundeep Ahluwalia - CIO at the US Department of Labor
Keith Jones - CIO at US Department of State
Dr. David Keever - Vice President, Technical Fellow at Leidos
David Shive - CIO at GSA
Registration is open for ACT-IAC's next conference: Imagine Nation ELC 2022! Learn more here.

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Reflections on a Career in Federal Service with Maria Roat Jul 19, 2022

After a storied, four-decade career in federal IT, Deputy Federal CIO Maria Roat retired in March of this year. Maria spent 25 years in the Navy and Naval Reserve, then served in leadership roles in an array of federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Small Business Administration and the Department of Transportation.
Few can claim the breadth of professional experience that Maria can, and fewer still can match her extracurricular activity. Maria has served as both ACT's President and Vice President as well as a conference chair and frequent speaker and moderator at ACT-IAC's many events.
In this episode, Maria sits down with her friend and former Federal CIO Suzette Kent to reflect on Maria's years of hard work and discuss what the future holds for her and for the government IT sector.
ACT-IAC would like to profoundly thank Maria for her valuable contributions and decades of service.

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How to Build a Digital Society from Scratch with Carmen Raal Jul 12, 2022

On the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, south of Finland and west of Russia, lies the nation of Estonia. Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, this tiny-but-mighty country has embarked on one of the most successful IT modernization efforts in the world.
In less than 30 years, Estonia has gone from technological desert to fully digitized society, in which 94% of residents regularly use the internet and 99% of government services can be accessed online - everything from social benefits, to medical records, to even voting.
This week on The Buzz, we're exploring Estonia's transformative journey, what a digitized government means for the citizen experience, and how the Estonian private and public sectors have interacted to build one of the most technologically convenient nations on Earth. We're joined by Carmen Raal, a Digital Transformation Advisor at the e-Estonia Briefing Center, an NGO formed to share Estonia's digital expertise with the rest of the world.
Visit the e-Estonia Briefing Center

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Lessons in Digital Transformation from Government and Industry Jul 05, 2022

This week, The Buzz with ACT-IAC presents a discussion about the many pieces of successful digital transformation - cultural change, new software and technologies, service design and more - from leaders in the Federal IT community who have undertaken these changes first-hand.
This episode is hosted by Ben Kutil, Director for Technical Solutions at Ad Hoc, with guests
Christopher Corpuel, Co-Founder and CEO of Catalest, and Melvin Brown II, Deputy CIO at OPM.
This episode of The Buzz is sponsored by Ad Hoc. Learn more at https://adhocteam.us/

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Adapting to IT Supply Chain Risks with Leo Alvarez Jun 28, 2022

Software development and hardware manufacturing has become increasingly globalized over the last 10 years. A single application can contain hundreds, or even thousands, of software components sourced from just as many vendors located all over the world. And each one of these components presents a potential entry point for attack.
As evidenced by the Solar Winds hack, the lack of transparency in our supply chains represents a significant impediment to securing the United States' IT systems . The Biden Administration said as much with last year's Executive Order 14028, "Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity".
Now, a year later, federal agencies are beginning to roll out new requirements and guidelines for contracting firms to improve the integrity of these IT supply chains and reduce systemic risk. As with much of cybersecurity, this will require comprehensive efforts throughout the federal technology ecosystem, and a careful balancing of security and ease of use.
This week, The Buzz is joined by Leo Alvarez, Principal at Baker-Tilly and member of ACT-IAC's Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management (C-SCRM) Working Group. He shares some insights on what effective C-SCRM strategies look like and how these new requirements will affect the acquisitions process.
Referenced in this episode:
CISA C-SCRM Task Force
NIST C-SCRM Practices
ACT-IAC Acquisitions C-SCRM Working Group

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Building Trust through Service Design with Eddie Hartwig Jun 21, 2022

Earlier this year, the United Nations Development Program released a special report entitled “New Threats to Human Security in the Anthropocene”, which details some of the unique, large-scale issues faced by human society in the 21st century. These are problems that require collective, comprehensive action. Unfortunately, such action has been difficult to achieve.

A reason for this is the global decline in institutional trust - the kind that facilitates buy-in and civil participation from communities. When institutions lose trust, the people they are supposed to serve feel less secure and less willing to engage with them, which makes it even more difficult to promote collective action and social cohesion, further worsening the situation, which further degrades trust, and so on.

Between a government and its people, the building blocks for this trust relationship are the tiny, everyday interactions that citizens have with government services. So how can we best design these services to build trust?
Joining the Buzz this week to discuss is Eddie Hartwig, the former Deputy Administrator of the US Digital Service, and currently the Chairman and Partner of the Service Design Collective.
Follow Humans of Public Service on Instagram!
Register for ELC 2022 here!

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Service Delivery from the Farm to the Wildlands at USDA Jun 14, 2022

Last year, the Biden Administration issued a series of executive orders directing federal agencies to study and measure the effectiveness of government programs - both for program recipients and the federal workforce that implements them.
This difficult, but necessary, work involves gathering both qualitative and quantitative data, analyzing it, and taking a critical eye to the processes that govern our agencies in order to assess how they can better meet the needs of US citizens. This week's guests are helping to drive this historic effort at one of the broadest-reaching federal agencies: the US Department of Agriculture
Simchah Suveyke-Bogin is the Chief Customer Experience Officer at USDA. Nora Johnson, a design strategist at Booz Allen Hamilton, is the former project lead for the Wildland Firefighter Program at the U.S. Forest Service.
This episode of the Buzz is sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton. Learn more at https://www.boozallen.com/.
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Register for ELC 2022 here!
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Y2K: A Date to Remember with Zachary Loeb Jun 07, 2022

Y2K, also known as the Millennium Bug, was a computer error predicted to cause widespread systematic issues when internal dates changed from 12/31/99 to 01/01/00. Despite apocalyptic fears and doomsaying in the years leading up to the new millennium, the year 2000 arrived with no major catastrophe. Planes didn't fall out of the sky. Banks didn't fail. The American public now commonly remembers Y2K as a sort of hoax.
But the popular understanding of Y2K fails to recognize the years of preparation that occurred before January 31, 1999. Over $100 billion was spent in the US alone by government and the private sector to avert any potential disaster. And it worked.
This week on the Buzz, we're digging into the history and legacy of Y2K with guest Zachary Loeb, a doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania who studies the social and technical impacts of the Millennium Bug. This seemingly minor computer glitch has a lot to teach us about the role of technology our lives, how institutions cooperate (or don't), and how we as a society measure and respond to large-scale risk.
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ICYMI: Quantum Computing and the Future of Cybersecurity May 31, 2022

This week, the Buzz presents another session from one of our recent in-person events. The 2022 Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference took place from May 22-24, and explored how new technologies are introducing new opportunities and impacting government services and the citizen experience.
Quantum computing is a nascent technology that proposes to harness the quantum properties of subatomic particles to solve computational problems. Sounds complicated, right? Well this panel of experts from industry, government and academia will help break down what quantum computing is, what it isn't, and the implications for this technology on the field of cybersecurity and cryptography.
Panelists:
Tim Gilday (moderator) - Emerging Technology Senior Director, General Dynamics IT
Dr. Celia Merzbacher - Executive Director, Quantum Economic Development Consortium
Bill Newhouse - Cybersecurity Engineer, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Mark Sherman - Director, Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
Neal Ziring - Technical Director, National Security Agency

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ICYMI: The Impact of Health Data Interoperability on the Patient Experience May 24, 2022

This week, The Buzz presents a session from ACT-IAC's 2022 Health Innovation Summit, which took place in person on May 5th.
This panel explores how health records can be more easily shared and within our federal health ecosystems, how interoperability can improve care for patients and make processes more efficient, as well as looking at some challenges and trends in health data exchange.
Speakers:
Geoff Howard (Moderator) - VP for Health, ManTech
Dr. John Howard - Director, National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, CDC
Lance Scott - Director of Solutions Integration, Defense Health Agency
Kent Stevenson - Chief Architect, Military Health, ManTech
Dr. Paul Tibbets - Executive Director, Office of Technical Integration, Department of Veterans Affairs

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Building FinTech for Low-Income Americans with Stacy Taylor of Propel May 17, 2022

Here at ACT-IAC, we are all about looking at ways that technology can help solve our nation's most intractable problems. While technological development can and does shape and disrupt the way we live, it is rare to see new technology intentionally designed to serve the economically vulnerable.
And that's what makes Propel different. Propel develops simple software primarily for low-income Americans. Their app, Providers, helps recipients of government benefits manage their spending and budgeting as well as giving users access to coupons and job listings.
This week on The Buzz, we spoke to Propel's Head of Policy and Partnerships Stacy Taylor to learn more about their approach to serving their customer base and how they try to best meet the needs of a population often underserved by the broader tech industry.

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Exploring Change in the Federal Health Sector May 10, 2022

Last week, ACT-IAC held its 5th annual Health Innovation Summit – an event which explored the evolution of healthcare systems and technologies. Of course, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic looms large over every discussion in the healthcare sector, and understandably so, as it has revealed the strengths and weaknesses of our health systems as only a true crisis can.
To talk more about how the Federal health sector and workforce has responded to the pandemic, this week The Buzz is joined by Tamar Mintz and Lisa Klein from Highlight Technologies, one of the sponsors of ACT-IAC’s Health Innovation Summit.
This episode of the Buzz is sponsored by Highlight Technologies. Learn more at www.highlighttech.com.
Register for ACT-IAC's Emerging Technology and Innovation 2022 Conference!

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Wherefore Art Thou Web3? with Elizabeth Renieris May 03, 2022

As the past couple of years have underscored, much of our modern society is organized around the internet. From work, to interpersonal communication, to news media, to leisure - over 80% of US adults use the internet every day, averaging almost 7 hours per day.
There is a growing concern in both government and civil society that the internet is not operating as it should. Two of the most common issues raised include consumer privacy and the centralization of control over internet infrastructure. And this is where Web3 comes in – a new version of the internet intended to solve all of these problems.

This week on the Buzz, we’re diving into Web3 to figure out what it is, how it works, and whether it will do what advocates say it will do.
Today's guest is Elizabeth Renieris, Professor of Technology Ethics at the University of Notre Dame and a fellow at both the Stanford Digital Civil Society Lab and the Harvard Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.
Elizabeth's writing on Web3: https://www.cigionline.org/articles/amid-the-hype-over-web3-informed-skepticism-is-critical/

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Demystifying Procurement: The Rise of Other Transactions with Stan Soloway Apr 26, 2022

For those outside of the acquisitions community, the practices, policies and processes of federal procurement can seem quite impenetrable. But given that the US Government spent more than $665 billion on contracts in 2020, it is not a subject to be ignored.
To that end, The Buzz with ACT-IAC presents: Demystifying Procurement - a series designed to take you through the ins and outs of this complex, but vital, topic.
In this episode, Stan Soloway, President and CEO of Celero Strategies, shares his insights on a unique aspect of federal procurement - other transaction authorities (OTA's). He recently co-authored a report exploring where OTA's fit into the Federal acquisitions picture and how their use has evolved in recent years.
Stan's Report: "Other Transactions Authorities: After 60 Years, Hitting Their Stride or Hitting The Wall?”
Demystifying Procurement Series:
Episode 1 - A Brief History of Government Contracting with Jim Nagle
Episode 2 - A Crash Course in Modern Acquisitions with Lesley Field
Episode 3 - Getting Creative within the FAR with Soraya Correa

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Ensuring a Successful Voting Experience for All with Amy Cohen Apr 12, 2022

Voting is one of the most powerful and direct ways that the average citizen can participate in our nation's governance. Between local, state and federal government, there are over half a million elected positions in the United States, and each one of those positions requires a complex system of administration to ensure a free, fair and secure election in which all voters can make their voices heard. These systems involve an array of interlocking pieces - the way we design ballots, the technology we use, the duties and responsibilities of election officials, and even the interactions between different levels of government. How does all of this fit together to create our democratic system?
To answer that question, this week the Buzz is joined by Amy Cohen, Executive Director of the National Association of State Election Directors, or NASED. NASED is a non-partisan professional organization for our nation's election officials to exchange best practices and ideas and create the best election system possible for all Americans.
For more from NASED, visit https://www.nased.org

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Unpacking DeFi and Financial Risk with Hilary J. Allen Apr 05, 2022

Decentralized finance, or DeFi, is a rapidly-growing sector that seeks to use distributed ledger technologies (like cryptocurrencies) to move traditional financial services away from centralized institutions (like banks) and onto the blockchain.
Advocates of DeFi say that by removing intermediaries, banking and financial services will become simpler, and more secure. But are they right? Will DeFi revolutionize money for the better, or will it only exacerbate the existing issues and inequalities in our economy?
This week, the Buzz is joined by Hilary Allen, Professor of Law at American University and author of the forthcoming paper "DeFi: Shadow Banking 2.0?". She argues that DeFi mimics many of the same issues that led to the 2008 financial crash, and that allowing DeFi to integrate into our financial systems will magnify risk and increase instability.
The paper: "DeFi: Shadow Banking 2.0?"
Hilary's upcoming book: Driverless Finance

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Fighting Fires with AI with Dr. Ilkay Altintas Mar 29, 2022

Year after year, the United States experiences larger, more frequent, and more destructive wildfires as a result of a changing global climate. These disasters, although a natural part of our ecosystem, have become an increasingly disruptive force that endangers human lives and livelihoods.
To combat this growing threat, researchers at the WIFIRE Laboratory at the University of California San Diego are leveraging data analysis and modeling to better predict how and where fires will spread and plan fire mitigation efforts.
This week, the Buzz is joined by Dr. Ilkay Altintas, Founding Director of the WIFIRE Lab and Chief Data Science Officer of the UCSD Supercomputer Center, to share how her team collects, manages, and visualizes fire data to support fire management efforts by public and private-sector organizations.
More about the WIFIRE lab: https://wifire.ucsd.edu/

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Tracing Theft on the Blockchain with Josephine Wolff Mar 22, 2022

In February of this year, the DOJ made the largest financial seizure in the department's history - $3.6 billion worth of cryptocurrency that had been stolen from the Bitfinex crypto exchange nearly 6 years earlier. They traced the laundered money through a complex web of currency swaps, darknet markets, and fiat bank accounts, all of which led them to arrest NYC-based couple Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein.
While the outcome of this case is touted as a win for law enforcement over cybercriminals, it also reveals a lot about the state of cryptocurrency in the United States - fractured regulatory schemes, technical complexities, even the idiosyncratic culture that surrounds it.
This week, The Buzz is joined by Josephine Wolff, Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, to discuss what the arrests of Morgan and Lichtenstein show about crypto's place in financial crime and how law enforcement and regulators can respond.

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ICYMI: Innovate or Perish - A CIA Perspective on Digital Transformation Mar 15, 2022

In case you missed it, The Buzz presents a keynote session from ACT-IAC's most recent Digital Transformation Summit.
Jennifer Ewbank, Deputy Director of Innovation at the CIA, discusses the digital threat landscape and how digital innovation is enabling CIA’s success against America’s most daunting national security challenges.
This recording also includes a Q&A moderated by Sam Cottrell, Vice President and General Manager at GDIT.

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More Thoughts on Internet Access with Former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler Mar 09, 2022

Last week, The Buzz explored some of the complexities of ensuring affordable, reliable internet access to all Americans - as well as how the 2021 Investment Infrastructure and Jobs Act looks to improve this.
This week, The Buzz gets some perspective from someone who played a key role at the federal level in overseeing the regulation and development of modern broadband infrastructure - Tom Wheeler. Wheeler is a businessman, author, and was Chairman of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) from 2013 to 2017.

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Getting America Online with Kathryn De Wit Mar 01, 2022

Last November, after much deliberation and negotiation in the house and senate between congressional Democrats and Republicans, President Biden finally signed the $1.2 Trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This is an enormous, comprehensive piece of legislation that touches nearly every sector of the US economy – including the Internet. And that’s why we at ACT-IAC are talking about it. This is the first time in US history that funding for the “information superhighway” is included in the same category as funding for our physical highways. It represents a shift in how we think about infrastructure into something more comprehensive than just roads and bridges.
So, how will this bill deliver on the promise of reliable, affordable internet access for all Americans? To help lay out where this funding will go and how it will be implemented is this week's guest - Kathryn De Wit, Project Director of the Broadband Access Initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Pew Charitable Trusts' Broadband Access Initiative: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/broadband-access-initiative

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Rethinking Digital Bank Transfers with FedNow CIO Dan Anthony Feb 22, 2022

As a follow up from our recent episode about digital transformation, this week The Buzz presents an interview with Dan Anthony, Senior Vice President and CIO of FedNow, a new digital payment rail being developed by the Federal Reserve - the first since ACH was introduced roughly 50 years ago.
Erika Flora, one of the authors of ACT-IAC's digital transformation case study, interviewed Dan to understand his path to working on FedNow, how this service can help American citizens, and how the concepts behind digital transformation have manifested in FedNow's development.
Learn more about FedNow here.
Check out some of Erika's work: Digital Transformation: Industry and Agency Best Practices and Lessons Learned
Register for ACT-IAC's upcoming Digital Transformation Summit!

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Demystifying Procurement: Getting Creative within the FAR with Soraya Correa Feb 15, 2022

For those outside of the acquisitions community, the practices, policies and processes of federal procurement can seem quite impenetrable. But given that the US Government spent more than $665 billion on contracts in 2020, it is not a subject to be ignored.
To that end, The Buzz with ACT-IAC presents: Demystifying Procurement - a series designed to take you through the ins and outs of this complex, but vital, topic.
In this episode, Soraya Correa, former Chief Procurement Officer at DHS, returns to the Buzz to offer more insights about federal acquisitions. She shares some of her thoughts on how to be successful as a contracting officer, how to find space within the FAR to innovate, and how she'd like to see procurement change in the future.
Demystifying Procurement Series:
Episode 1 - A Brief History of Government Contracting with Jim Nagle
Episode 2 - A Crash Course in Modern Acquisitions with Lesley Field
If you missed Soraya's first appearance on the Buzz, you can check that out here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1615747/9007540

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Why Digital Transformation is About More than Just Technology Feb 09, 2022

While emerging technologies like Robotic Process Automation, 5G, and Quantum Computing may capture our imaginations (and headlines), there is more to digital transformation than buying a shiny new toy.
As a new case study from ACT-IAC's ITMM Community of Interest details, digital transformation is about more than the tools we use, but rather the people who build, use, and maintain the tools, and the larger systems that exist outside of the technology. It means considering the context in which a new digital tool is used to fulfill an organization's mission.
This week, The Buzz is joined first by the paper's authors to discuss their findings. Afterwards, listeners will hear from different members of the government IT community about what digital transformation has meant to them.
Authors:
Erika Flora - President and CEO of Beyond20
Alison O' Mara - Innovation Adoption Lead at the GSA's Centers of Excellence
Jeannette Bruno - Innovation Adoption Lead at the GSA's Centers of Excellence
ITMM COI Speakers:
Eddie Hartwig - Deputy Administrator at USDS
Sarah Hall - User experience Practice Lead,Office of Innovation and Technology, City of Philadelphia
Darryl Peek - Head of Federal Strategic Partnerships, Google
Anthony Rogers - Director of Technology Transformation Services, State of Michigan
The Paper: Digital Transformation: Industry and Agency Best Practices and Lessons Learned
Register for ACT-IAC's upcoming Digital Transformation Summit!

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From the Archives: Dr. Michio Kaku's Predictions for the Future Feb 01, 2022

This week, the Buzz presents a recording from ACT-IAC's 2012 Executive Leadership Conference.
That year's theme was "“Charting a Course Through Changing Times", so renowned theoretical physicist, author and futurist Dr. Michio Kaku took the stage to present a vision of how society would change as a result of technological advances in the far-off year of 2020.
Admittedly, not everything he predicted has come to pass, but many of Dr. Kaku's forecasts for the future of technology were remarkably prescient, including the role of big data, digitization, and IoT.
This recording has been edited and condensed for time. You can watch the full presentation and Q&A here.

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Demystifying Procurement: A Crash Course in Modern Acquisitions with Lesley Field Jan 25, 2022

For those outside of the acquisitions community, the practices, policies and processes of federal procurement can seem quite impenetrable. But given that the US Government spent more than $665 billion on contracts in 2020, it is not a subject to be ignored.
To that end, The Buzz with ACT-IAC presents: Demystifying Procurement - a series designed to take you through the ins and outs of this complex, but vital, topic.
In this episode, host Colin Larsen interviews Lesley Field, Acting Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy at OMB, where she guides the office to provide government-wide direction to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in acquisition processes.
Lesley takes us on a crash course through the procurement process and talks about ways the government is trying to modernize and streamline the process to make delivery of services more efficient.
Demystifying Procurement Series:
Episode 1 - A Brief History of Government Contracting with Jim Nagle
Resources:
OMB M-22-03
OFPP "Mythbusting" Memo 3
Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovation

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The Tricky Business of the Pandemic Economy with Combiz Abdolrahimi Jan 19, 2022

One of the many, many consequences of our current global pandemic has been the severe disruption of supply chains. Our nation's economy has lurched and stumbled along these past two years, plagued by variable labor markets, demand shifts and shipping bottlenecks.
Unfortunately, the next global emergency may not be far off, so government leaders and industry groups are looking for ways to build a more resilient, flexible economy.
For more about these trade issues and how we might address them, The Buzz is joined by Combiz Abdolrahimi, global emerging technology leader with Deloitte, and chair of the FinTech Subcommittee at the Trade Finance Advisory Council within the Department of Commerce.
This is the second half of The Buzz's interview with Combiz. The first half, on cryptocurrency regulation, can be found here.
Combiz's LinkedIn
NYT's Postcards from a World on Fire

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Exploring Pittsburgh's Transportation Options with Kim Lucas Jan 11, 2022

It's no secret that the US transportation system is built around the car. Compared to other developed countries, our cities are less walkable, less bikeable, and have less robust public transit networks. Roughly 87% of miles traveled in the US are by car, and this has enormous consequences for the health and welfare of individuals and communities . Traffic, accidents, air pollution, space dedicated to parking, costs of vehicle ownership - all of these negative externalities that impact our quality of life.
To help combat this, many US cities are finding ways to encourage and facilitate alternative mobility options - Pittsburgh is one such city.
This week, The Buzz is joined by Kim Lucas, Acting Director of the Department of Mobility & Infrastructure for the city of Pittsburgh. She's helping to spearhead a new program, Move PGH, designed to make it easy for Pittsburghers to ditch their cars and get connected to all different types of transportation services.
More about Move PGH: https://move-pgh.com/
Pittsburgh's Department of Mobility and Infrastructure is hiring!

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Demystifying Procurement: A Brief History of Government Contracting with Jim Nagle Jan 04, 2022

For those outside of the acquisitions community, the practices, policies and processes of federal procurement can seem quite impenetrable. But given that the US Government spent more than $665 billion on contracts in 2020, it is not a subject to be ignored.
To that end, The Buzz with ACT-IAC presents: Demystifying Procurement - a series designed to take you through the ins and outs of this complex, but vital, topic.
This week, host Colin Larsen interviews lawyer, author and lecturer Jim Nagle. In addition to his over 40 years of experience in procurement law, Jim has also published six books on the subject - including History of Government Contracting.

In this episode, Jim gives some important historical background on how the federal acquisitions system developed, how it changed, and why.

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Looking Ahead to 2022 with Dave Wennergren Dec 21, 2021

This week on The Buzz, the final episode of 2021! This year has brought plenty of change, challenge and adaptation to the government IT community, and the next year looks to bring even more.
To help us look forward to 2022, The Buzz is joined by ACT-IAC's very own CEO, Dave Wennergren. On this episode, Dave gives his perspective on the Biden-Harris Management Agenda, the importance of government-industry collaboration, and how organizations can promote faster and smoother IT modernization.
Links:
President's Management Agenda
ACT-IAC Zero-Trust Project
ACT-IAC Communities of Interest
From all of us at ACT-IAC, thank you for listening to The Buzz! New episodes will return in 2022.

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Decrypting Cryptocurrency with Combiz Abdolrahimi Dec 14, 2021

Although Bitcoin has been around since 2009, it is only in the past couple of years that cryptocurrency has blossomed into a multibillion-dollar industry. The lack of regulation governing crypto assets led SEC chair Gary Gensler to liken the market to the "wild west", with thousands of different coins and platforms and fortunes made and lost overnight.
Governments the world over are taking notice. Cryptocurrency isn't going anywhere, and regulators are trying to understand how to responsibly foster the nascent technology without letting it wreak havoc on consumers or the economy.
To help make sense of where crypto is going, The Buzz is joined by Combiz Abdolrahimi, an expert in the field of financial technology, currently at Deloitte. Combiz also serves as chair of the FinTech Subcommittee at the Trade Finance Advisory Council within the Department of Commerce.
Combiz's LinkedIn
President's Working Group Report on Stablecoins
This episode includes part one of the conversation with Combiz. Part two will be available in the new year.

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ICYMI: Exploring Possibility Government with Mitchell Weiss Dec 07, 2021

This week, The Buzz presents a recorded session from Imagine Nation ELC 2021.
Harvard Business School professor Mitchell Weiss took the stage (virtually) this year to talk about his book, "We the Possibility: Harnessing Public Entrepreneurship to Solve Our Most Urgent Problems", in which he advocates for a public service model that incorporates entrepreneurship, experimentation, and creative problem-solving to tackle our nation's challenges and better serve the citizen.

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Winning Ideas for Simplifying Acquisitions Nov 30, 2021

Back in September, the Buzz previewed a virtual Shark Tank competition hosted by ACT-IAC's Emerging Tech and Acquisitions COI (you can listen to that episode here). The question competitors sought to answer was "How can emerging technologies help streamline the acquisition lifecycle ?"
This week, host Colin Larsen talks with the winners of that event to discuss where these ideas came from, how they work, and why it matters.
Guests:
Jaime Gracia - IRS Acquisition Manager and Government Chair of ACT-IAC’s Acquisitions Community of Interest
"Intelligent Automation for Automating Contract Modifications"
David Gill - Procurement Data Scientist, IRS
Jessica Mosely - Consultant, Summit2Sea
"WAFR - Waste Abuse Fraud Report"
Miguel Acevedo - RPA Consultant, Summit2Sea
Ken Ganatra - Intelligent Automation Technology Lead, Summit2Sea

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ICYMI: Department of Energy CIO Ann Dunkin on Tackling Resilient Infrastructure at Scale Nov 16, 2021

After attending Imagine Nation ELC 2021 in Hershey, PA last week, The Buzz returns with an in-person ICYMI from the event.
On the final day of the conference, Darby Chellis Bade, Vice President of EPA Programs and Executive Lead at GDIT, sat down with Department of Energy CIO Ann Dunkin to discuss one of greatest public policy challenges of our time - resilient infrastructure.
In this session, they discussed how the Department of Energy works to support resilient infrastructure mitigation efforts and how the department's IT modernization strategies contribute to that goal.

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Thoughts on Thinking Machines: Managing Risk in AI with Elham Tabassi Nov 02, 2021

The field of Artificial Intelligence has grown in leaps and bounds over the last decade. The rapid development of AI technologies brings with it an equally rapid transformation of our communities, economies, and individual lives.
As we integrate more of these AI systems into our world, we will need to consider the challenges and risks they pose to our society. Fortunately, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently embarked on a project to do just that. NIST is currently developing a framework for assessing and managing the risks of developing and applying AI systems in collaboration with the global AI community.
This week on The Buzz, host Colin Larsen is joined by Elham Tabassi, Chief of Staff at NIST's Information Technology Laboratory, to discuss some of the early results of this effort and some big ideas from the project's recent workshop.
More about NIST's AI Risk Management Framework: https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework
A summary of RFI responses can be found here.
Session recordings from the first workshop: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/events/2021/10/kicking-nist-ai-risk-management-framework

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Catching Up With Imagine Nation ELC 2021 Oct 26, 2021

ACT-IAC's largest annual conference, Imagine Nation ELC, is coming up from November 7-9! This week on The Buzz, host Colin Larsen chats with members of the conference's executive committee to give listeners an idea of what to expect this year.
First, Maria Roat, the government chair, and Jonathan Benett, the industry chair, highlight some of the exciting speakers and sessions during the 3-day conference. Next, Sudha Venkateswaran and Steve Krauss, two of the ELC's vice-chairs, talk more about the themes and topics of Imagine Nation 2021 and what makes this conference unique.
You can get all the details of this year's conference here.
This episode of The Buzz is brought to you by Adobe, a proud sponsor of ACT-IAC’s Imagine Nation ELC 2021. Adobe Government is committed to creating equitable digital experiences for all. Visit adobe.com/government to learn more.

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In Conversation with Government IT Leader Sandy Barsky Oct 19, 2021

This week, The Buzz with ACT-IAC celebrates Sandy Barsky’s retirement from the General Services Administration (GSA) after an almost 40-year career in government. In this episode, Sandy sits down with Todd Hager, Industry Chair of ACT-IAC’s Emerging Technology Community of Interest (COI) and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Macro Solutions, to reflect on a career that began as a GS-3 supporting GSA’s cataloging.

ACT-IAC would like to thank Sandy for his years of public service and his many contributions to the ACT-IAC community as a senior leader and speaker, as well as for his contributions to the Emerging Technology COI. With Sandy’s leadership, the COI developed several bodies of knowledge around emerging technologies which are accessible here and open to the public. Along with this, several of the Artificial Intelligence frameworks were recently covered in Forbes here.

Congratulations Sandy!

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Burning Questions: How Waste Management Practices Contribute to Pollution Oct 12, 2021

The United States produces almost 300 million tons of municipal solid waste per year - everything from food to furniture to packaging to electronics. Everything we throw away has to end up somewhere, and the practices and policies that govern this process have a profound effect on our natural world. As we consider ways to combat and mitigate the threat of resilient infrastructure, we will have to confront the problems in our waste management systems.
This week on The Buzz, host Colin Larsen is joined by Denise Patel and Dr. Tok Oyewole from the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, or GAIA, a non-profit dedicated to advancing solutions for waste and pollution and ensuring our planet’s resources are sustainably conserved. They discuss the state of trash, bust some myths about waste-to-energy technologies, and make recommendations for how communities can create alternative systems to reduce their environmental impact.
GAIA website: www.no-burn.org
Background on municipal solid waste incinerators: https://www.no-burn.org/failing-incinerators/
Building a zero-waste world: www.zerowasteworld.org/zwmp

GAIA Reports:
All Talk and No Recycling
Resources on Chemical Recycling
Tale of Five Cities

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ICYMI: How Contact Centers Drive Inclusivity Efforts Sep 28, 2021

This week, The Buzz presents a recording from ACT-IAC's 2021 CX Summit.
The pandemic has increased the public's expectations and the government's drive towards the delivery of digital services to the public and to its employees. This panel discussion focused on some concrete ways that federal agencies have utilized contact centers to reach diverse and underserved audiences, and the impact these centers have had on both employee and customer experience.
Speakers:

Mary Ann Monroe (Moderator), Senior Director, Customer Engagement Solutions and Services, Maximus
Angeline Boey, CDC-INFO Operations Lead, Division of Communication Services, CDC
Trisha Dang, Deputy Director, Veterans Relationship Management Program Office, VA
Michelle Morris, Managing Client Partner for Public Sector Customer Experience, Verizon

2021 ACT-IAC Awards: https://www.actiac.org/awards_nomination_form

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COVID Conversations: Government CX Leader Brian Whittaker Sep 21, 2021

The Buzz with ACT-IAC presents COVID Conversations - reflections on life and work during this historic time period with members of the ACT-IAC community.
This week, host Colin Larsen is joined by Brian Whittaker, Chief Experience Officer at FDIC* and host of The Buzz's CX discussion series. Brian shares insights about his job transition during the pandemic, learning how to lead a remote workforce, dealing with stress, and his CX goals for the future.
Brian's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bwhtt/
*At the time of recording, Brian was serving as the Director of Design and Development at the CFPB

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Shark Tank: Innovative Solutions to Procurement Challenges Sep 14, 2021

On October 14th, ACT-IAC’s Emerging Technology and Acquisition Communities of Interest (COIs) will be hosting a Shark Tank competition focused on making acquisitions easier, faster, and simpler. Government agencies, academia, and industry will have an opportunity to pitch ideas on how federal government can leverage emerging technologies to solve federal acquisition challenges. On this episode, to cover the competition in more detail and provide an overview of the submission process, The Buzz is joined by Mike Rice, Co-Founder of CornerStone IT, LLC, and Cindy Good, Management and Program Analyst for the Bureau of Fiscal Service’s Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation.

All pitches for the competition are due on September 20, 2021, here. Not pitching, but plan to attend? Make sure to register here.

In order to help inform the development of potential participant’s pitches, the Emerging Technology COI's Primers and Playbooks are available for review - listed below are links to each of the documents. Along with this, potential participants can review emerging technology use cases from across the government via the National Use Case & Solutions Library (NUCSL) here. Have questions? Chat us on our event page here: https://lnkd.in/e2Z5EM2p.

Primers and Playbooks
Blockchain Primer: https://lnkd.in/ez9Nusk
Blockchain Playbook: https://lnkd.in/e8eqEBn
AI Primer: https://lnkd.in/e2RRhSp
AI Playbook: https://lnkd.in/eP2SRXZ
Intelligent Automation Primer: https://lnkd.in/eZD6nbh
Intelligent Automation Playbook: https://lnkd.in/e2G2FfZ

Did you know? The Emerging Technology COI’s AI frameworks were recently covered in Forbes! Check out the article here.

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From the Archives: CX Recommendations from 2020 Sep 07, 2021

This week, The Buzz presents a recording from ACT-IAC's archives.
ACT-IAC's 2020 CX Summit occurred in a particularly challenging year for customer experience. COVID-19 spotlighted the gaps in agencies where progress hadn't happened. while also highlighting agencies where those improvements had already been made.
The virtual event was closed out by a fireside chat between Kathy Conrad and Robert Shea. They discussed Robert's role in the Presidential Election Project, how to expand the focus on CX, how to measure progress, how to improve trust in governance and how to shift to digital access.
Kathy Conrad is the Director of Digital Government at Accenture Federal Services
Robert Shea is the National Managing Principal of Public Policy at Grant Thornton Public Sector
This recording has been condensed for time.
Want to learn more about how the federal government is adapting their CX policies and strategies to meet the challenges of today? Register now for ACT-IAC's 2021 CX Summit to hear more insights: https://www.actiac.org/act-iac-event/cx-summit-2021

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How to Maximize the Value of End-of-Year Dollars Aug 31, 2021

With the end of the federal fiscal year fast approaching, agencies will be looking to use their leftover budget in a rush of 4th-quarter contracts. How can government and industry work together to ensure those end-of-year dollars are best spent to maximize an agency's mission objectives?
To answer that question this week, The Buzz is joined by Greg Giddens, former CAO & Exec Dir, Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction & Office of Modernization at the VA, Luwanda Jones, Deputy Chief Information Officer of the Office of Strategic Sourcing at the VA, and Bryan Schromsky, Managing Partner of Federal Government & Public Safety for Verizon.
This episode was produced in partnership with Verizon. For more information about Verizon's Federal IT Modernization solutions, visit verizon.com/federal/

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CX Discussion: Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast Aug 24, 2021

CX Community of Interest leader Brian Whittaker hosts another interview with a customer experience difference-maker in the federal government.
This week, Brian sits down with Amber Chaudhry, Customer Experience Lead at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.
They discuss Amber's work streamlining customer experience at her previous role at the SBA, adjusting to a new workplace during the pandemic, and breaking down data silos to see a more complete picture of customer sentiment.
Amber's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberchaudhry/

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COVID Conversations: Former NASA CIO Renee Wynn Aug 17, 2021

The Buzz with ACT-IAC presents COVID Conversations - reflections on life and work during this historic time period with members of the ACT-IAC community.
This week, host Colin Larsen is joined by Renee Wynn, former CIO at NASA, who shares her experience helping NASA transition to a remote environment, her strategies for promoting human connection as a manager, and her plans and goals for the future, however uncertain it may seem.

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Reflections on a Career in Federal Service with Soraya Correa Aug 10, 2021

This week, The Buzz with ACT-IAC bids a fond farewell to Soraya Correa, who retired last month after a 40-year career in government.
In this episode, Soraya sits down in conversation with colleague Harrison Smith, Director of Enterprise Digitization at the IRS, to reflect on a career that began as a GS-4 clerk typist in 1980, and ended more than 40 years later as the Chief Procurement Officer at the Department of Homeland Security.
ACT-IAC would like to profoundly thank Soraya for her years of public service, as well as her many contributions to the ACT-IAC community as a senior leader and speaker.

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Federal Record-Keeping in the Digital Age Aug 03, 2021

This week, Colin Larsen sits down with Leslie Johnston, the director of digital preservation at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), to discuss the notion of the "digital Dark Age", the process and challenges of digital record-keeping, and the implications of Memorandum-19-21 on Leslie's work at NARA.
For more information:
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA): https://www.archives.gov/
Digital Preservation at NARA: https://www.archives.gov/preservation/electronic-records
NARA Digital Preservation Framework: https://github.com/usnationalarchives/digital-preservation

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ICYMI: Women Leaders Discuss the "New Normal" for Work Jul 27, 2021

This week, The Buzz presents a recording from this year's virtual Women in Leadership forum on July 24th.
Libby Bacon, principal at Deloitte Consulting, moderates a panel discussion with Dr. Ileana Arias, Associate Deputy Director for Public Health, Science and Surveillance at the CDC, and Ashley Wilson, VP of Congressional and Public Affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce.
The three of them discuss balancing work and home responsibilities during the pandemic while still achieving corporate goals and managing teams along with customer requests.
This recording has been condensed for time.

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ACT-IAC News Briefing - July 2021 Jul 20, 2021

This week, the Buzz presents a quick breakdown of some of the top stories from world of Federal IT, as well as some updates on upcoming events and opportunities from ACT-IAC.
ACT-IAC Voyagers: https://www.actiac.org/overview-0
ACT-IAC Communities of Interest: http://www.actiac.org/participation/communities-interest
For ELC sponsorship inquiries, email Carol Miller at mailto:cmiller@actiac.org
Sources for this episode's news stories:
JEDI Contract Cancellation

Ransomware Attacks and Federal Response

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CX Discussion: Designing for the Community at USA.gov Jul 13, 2021

CX Community of Interest leader Brian Whittaker hosts another interview with a customer experience difference-maker in the federal government.
This week, Brian sits down with Leilani Martinez, Branch Chief of the Content and Outreach Division of the USAGov program, a part of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services (TTS).
They discuss the development of USA.gov and USA.gov en Español, designing services for different communities, and actively incorporating feedback from users in the design process.
USA.gov: https://www.usa.gov/
USA.gov en Español: https://www.usa.gov/espanol/
Leilani's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leilanimartinez/

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ICYMI: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee on COVID-19 in the US Jun 29, 2021

In case you missed it, The Buzz presents a virtual keynote from ACT-IAC's 2021 Health Innovation Summit.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, chair of the Congressional Coronavirus Task Force, sat down with Combiz Abdolrahimi, the Emerging Technology and Innovation Leader at Deloitte. They discussed the government's response to the pandemic in the Congresswoman's district.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee represents Texas's 18th district, located in Houston. She sits on three Congressional Committees — as a senior member of the House Committees on the Judiciary and Homeland Security, and as a member of the Budget Committee.

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From Earth to the Moon and Mars with Space Architect Sam Ximenes Jun 22, 2021

This week, the Buzz with ACT-IAC presents the second in a series of episodes exploring some of the innovative people and organizations of Port San Antonio.
Colin Larsen talks with Sam Ximenes, space architect and CEO of XArc, an interplanetary architecture firm. Sam is also the Founder and Board Chair of the WEX Foundation, which provides space-STEM education programs for disadvantaged youth in the San Antonio area.
They discuss constructing habitats and commercial interests on the Moon and Mars, spaceport infrastructure on Earth, and how the government interacts with private industry to drive the space industry.
More about XArc: https://explorationarchitecture.com/
More about the WEX Foundation: https://www.wexfoundation.org/
Sam's talk from TEDxSan Antonio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nag3RH5v2Z4

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Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Cyberattack Jun 15, 2021

This week on The Buzz, Colin Larsen talks with Sean Mcbride, Industrial Cybersecurity Engineering Technology Coordinator at Idaho State University.
Sean runs the nation’s only 2 year, hands-on degree to specialize in defending industrial facilities from cyber attacks and incidents.
In the wake of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, Sean talks about why our industrial facilities are vulnerable to attack and what we can do about it.
More about ISU's program: https://www.isu.edu/industrialcybersecurity/
Sean's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-mcbride-9705298/

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CX Discussion: Edge Cases and Empathy Jun 08, 2021

CX Community of Interest leader Brian Whittaker hosts another interview with a customer experience difference-maker in the federal government.
This week, Brian sits down with Ron Bronson, Director of Design at 18F. Ron talks about his beginnings in customer service, how 18F and the federal government are approaching CX design, and some key lessons from his time in the field.
More about 18F: https://18f.gsa.gov/
More from Ron Bronson:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ronbronson?lang=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronbronson/

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.
Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.
Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate.
Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

ICYMI: Federal CIO Clare Martorana on Fostering Innovation Jun 01, 2021

In case you missed it, this week The Buzz presents a recording of Federal CIO Clare Martorana's keynote address from the 2021 Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference.
The Q&A session was facilitated by Dave Young, Senior Vice President at Lumen.
Register for ACT-IAC's 2021 Health Innovation Summit: https://www.actiac.org/act-iac-event/health-innovation-summit-2021

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.
Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.
Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate.
Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

Lunar Manufacturing, Lasers and eSports at Port San Antonio May 25, 2021

The Buzz with ACT-IAC presents the first in a series of episodes exploring Port San Antonio - an innovation campus that has emerged from the closure of Kelly Air Force Base.
In this episode, Jim Perschbach, President & CEO, gives us an introduction to the Port, highlights some of the technologies and companies coming out of San Antonio, discusses their approach to fostering innovation, and hypothesizes on the future of the space industry.
Learn more about Port San Antonio: https://www.portsanantonio.us/

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.
Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.
Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate.
Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

Innovations from a Pandemic Year May 18, 2021

This week on The Buzz, we present a conversation with three of our judges for ACT-IAC's 2021 Innovation Awards.
The Innovation Awards, a part of our Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference on May 25 and 26, recognize those technologies and projects at the forefront of change in the government IT sector.
Our judges, Renee Wynn, Jim Cook and Tim Smith, reflect on the trends in innovation from the past year, discuss their process for selecting the winners, and highlight some of their favorite nominees.
Registration for the Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference is still open! Register here: https://bit.ly/2T1aGnl
Renee's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renee-wynn-8935a24/
Jim's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-cook-10ab23a/
Tim's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-smith-1a4134/

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.
Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.
Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate.
Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

From the Archives: Vint Cerf - Father of the Internet May 11, 2021

This week, we present an interview from our archives.
At Imagine Nation ELC 2019, Teresa Carlson, ACT-IAC's conference industry chair, sat down with technology pioneer Vint Cerf to discuss his reflections on the past, present, and future of the internet.
Vint Cerf is currently the Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google. He is a recipient of the US National Medal of Technology, the Alan M. Turing Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.
Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.
Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate.
Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

CX Discussion: Baking a Delicious Customer Experience Cake May 04, 2021

CX Community of Interest leader Brian Whittaker hosts another interview with a customer experience difference-maker in the federal government.
This week, Brian talks with Lashanda Hodge, Director of CX at the GSA's Centers of Excellence. They discuss Lashanda's path to her current position, the challenges and opportunities of customer experience in the wake of a global pandemic, and the strategies and techniques she uses to promote CX transformations in the federal government.
The GSA's Centers for Excellence: https://coe.gsa.gov/
Lashanda Hodge's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lashandahodge/
Brian Whittaker's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bwhtt/

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.
Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.
Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate.
Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

Solving Problems in Federal Acquisitions Apr 27, 2021

In this episode, Mike Pullen of CGI, Adam Bouffard of Mitre, and Chad Jones of KPMG come together to review some of the lessons learned from ACT-IAC's Acquisition Innovation Forum.
Mike, Adam and Chad each served as facilitators for breakout room discussions during the forum. Listen to them discuss collaboration, information-sharing, learning from failure, improving communication, and soap.
Mike Pullen is the VP of Strategic Operations at CGI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-pullen-pmp-8583907/
Adam Bouffard is the Contract Analysis Lead and Group Lead at The MITRE Corporation: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-bouffard-3109b1101/
Chad Jones is the Managing Director - Federal Supply Chain and Operations at KPMG: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-jones-08b88413/

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.
Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.
Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate.
Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

A Briefing on the SolarWinds Threat Apr 20, 2021

This week, ACT-IAC presents a podcast version of our April 14th, 2021 webinar on the SolarWinds cyberattack, presented by Palo Alto Networks.
This episode also contains additional commentary by the event speakers: Ryan Olson and Ryan Gillis. They discuss the methods, effects and timeline of the SolarWinds cyberattack and provide security recommendations for future attacks.
Ryan Gillis is the Vice President of Cybersecurity Strategy and Global Policy at Palo Alto Networks.
Ryan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmgillis/
Ryan Olson is the Vice President of Threat Intelligence (Unit 42) at Palo Alto Networks.
Ryan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-olson-6777269/

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.
Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.
Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate.
Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

CX Discussion with USDS Apr 13, 2021

On this episode of The Buzz, we present the first in our series of Customer Experience discussions, facilitated by one of ACT-IAC's CX Community of Interest leaders, Brian Whittaker.
This week, Brian talks with Florence Kasule, Director of Procurement, and Sheri Trivedi, Director of Design, both of the U.S. Digital Service. The conversation centers around human centered design and how it, along with user research, is critical to the success of digital services in government.

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.
Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.
Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate.
Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

Fireside Chat with Dr. John Kotter Apr 06, 2021

Dave Wennergren, ACT-IAC CEO, and Dr. John Kotter, founder of Kotter, Inc., sit down to discuss leadership, technology and societal change in a pandemic/post-pandemic world. Dr. Kotter is a best-selling author, thought-leader, entrepreneur, and Harvard professor. This ICYMI episode was first aired at the Imagine Nation ELC 2020 Conference.

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.
Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.
Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate.
Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

Introducing The Buzz with ACT-IAC Apr 06, 2021

ACT-IAC’s CEO, David Wennergren, gives a little background on the The Buzz. Listen each week as we delve into the hot topics impacting the federal technology market.

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.
Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.
Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate.
Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

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