Mia Jordan, Global Go-To-Market Executive at Salesforce and former USDA Chief Information Officer, and Josh Millsapps, CEO of Millsapps, Ballinger & Associates join the show to explore the importance of platform strategies over one-off projects to ultimately drive strategic value for government agencies. Together, we unpack what is driving the rising appetite for change across federal agencies and how to strike the balance between pragmatism and bold innovation. Finally, they offer tactical ...
Jun 27, 2025•43 min•Ep. 198
Dr. David Bray, Former Chief Information Officer of the Federal Communications Commission and CEO at Lead Do Adapt Ventures, and the Honorable Ellen McCarthy, former Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research join the show for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about the evolving landscape of data, digital trust, and national security. We unpack how the explosion of connected devices, AI-generated content, and synthetic data is reshaping decision-making, security, ...
Jun 16, 2025•50 min•Ep. 197
Andrew McClanahan, Senior Director at LexisNexis Risk Solutions for Government Relations rejoins for Part Three of the conversation around government program integrity and we tackle the urgent "so what" in today’s government assistance landscape — what can agencies actually do to strengthen their fraud, waste, and abuse defenses amid tightening budgets, AI-driven bot attacks, and mounting operational pressures? We also unpack practical, tech-enabled strategies for modernizing fraud prevention fr...
Jun 05, 2025•13 min•Ep. 196
Jim Richberg, Head of Cyber Policy and Global Field CISO at Fortinet rejoins the show for a timely discussion on the fast-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and we unpack AI’s unprecedented energy demands, its implications on national infrastructure, and the critical cybersecurity considerations government agencies must navigate in this new era. Jim also shares his "Three Rules for Government Technology Transformation," and we explore why education and clear procurement strategies are...
Jun 02, 2025•32 min•Ep. 195
Andrew McClanahan, Senior Director at LexisNexis Risk Solutions for Government Relations rejoins for Part Two of the conversation around government program integrity and he unpacks the increasing state responsibilities for service delivery and the tough financial balancing acts agencies face while grappling with program reforms, fraud prevention, and privacy protection. We also discuss Medicaid work requirements, SNAP eligibility controversies and the politics of data sharing and we tackle the p...
May 27, 2025•16 min•Ep. 194
Sandy Carter, Author of the new book “AI First, Human Always Author” and the Chief Operating Officer of Unstoppable Domains joins the show to dive into the inspiration behind her latest book and shares why empathy and people-first strategies are essential for the future of artificial intelligence. We also unpack topics like AI trust gaps around the world, the critical role of human oversight in AI implementations, how small businesses and governments alike can embrace emerging tech, and why AI’s...
May 25, 2025•36 min•Ep. 193
Kevin Greene, Chief Security Strategist for the Public Sector at BeyondTrust joins the show for a critical conversation on the evolving cybersecurity landscape in government. Together, we explore the mounting pressures government agencies face from increasingly sophisticated threat actors—and the urgent need for a proactive, threat-informed defense strategy. He also shares his perspectives on the critical role of identity security, the complexities of zero trust adoption, and the emerging role o...
May 16, 2025•35 min•Ep. 192
Andrew McClenahan, Senior Director of Government Relations at LexisNexis Risk Solutions and former program leader at the Florida Department of Children and Families joins the show to dissect the growing concerns surrounding program integrity and fraud mitigation in federal and state benefit programs. We dive into what’s happening on Capitol Hill—from executive orders and agency mandates to the shifting dynamics of federal-state collaboration—and discuss the implications of recent USDA guidance o...
May 15, 2025•14 min•Ep. 191
Jay Shah, former Chief Operating Officer of Octo and now Strategic Advisor at Technomile joins the show to explore how small and mid-sized companies can scale effectively and thrive amid federal market shifts. We also unpack his personal journey from helping build Octo from the ground up to navigating multiple acquisitions and get his candid perspective on the evolving landscape of government contracting, particularly the increasing focus on performance-based acquisition, innovation, and the ris...
May 12, 2025•34 min•Ep. 190
Mika J. Cross, Public Sector Workforce Transformation Strategist and former Government Executive joins the show to explore the evolving dynamics of the modern government workforce and together we unpack the critical issues surrounding return-to-office mandates, skills-based hiring, generational shifts in workplace expectations. We also dive into what it truly means to build a resilient, future-ready government workforce PLUS the role of data literacy, the challenges of leadership development in ...
May 02, 2025•46 min•Ep. 189
Larry Katzman, Chief Executive Officer of Applied Information Sciences (AIS)joined the show for a candid and insightful conversation on the evolving landscape of technology in government. We discuss his journey from developer to CEO and the intentional leadership practices that have guided AIS through decades of digital transformation in both federal and commercial sectors. We also dive into the critical role of safe experimentation environments, the importance of internal champions, and why clo...
Apr 25, 2025•34 min•Ep. 188
Hannah Hunt, Distinguished Technical Fellow at MetroStar and former Chief of Product at the Army Software Factory joins the show to share how her government experience is now shaping her impact from the private sector. She also offered candid insights on software factory success metrics, the challenges of scaling innovation within bureaucracy, and how emerging technologies like generative AI can be aligned with mission needs. Finally, we unpacked lessons learned from standing up transformative p...
Apr 18, 2025•47 min•Ep. 187
Oleg Polovynko, the Chief Advisor for Digitalization to the Mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine and Former Kyiv Chief Information Officer returns to share how the city has evolved through crisis, transforming its digital infrastructure amidst a full-scale invasion. From the launch of Misto—a platform designed to help cities adapt best practices—to reflections on the pandemic’s unexpected role in building resilience, Oleg offers powerful insights on adaptability, trust, and citizen-centric design. We also dis...
Apr 14, 2025•36 min•Ep. 186
Justin Brown, CEO of the Center for Public Sector AI and former Secretary of Human Services for the State of Oklahoma joins the show to level-set on where things stand with AI adoption in government—especially at the state and local levels. From small-scale AI implementations to larger strategic trends, we explore how emerging technologies are reshaping service delivery across health and human services. We also discuss the evolution of leadership conversations around AI, how states are approachi...
Apr 04, 2025•41 min•Ep. 185
Mohammad J. Sear, Global Public Sector Consulting Leader at EY and Author of “Becoming Digital Nations,” joins the show for a deep dive into his new book while also sharing his inspiration behind the book and the bold ideas that drive his vision for rethinking governance, service delivery, and nation-building in a digital-first world. We also explore the difference between digitizing legacy systems and truly reimagining government operating models from the ground up—touching on examples like sma...
Mar 30, 2025•37 min•Ep. 184
Dominic Sale, Managing Director at Code and Theory for Public Sector and Deputy Chief Information Officer of the United States joins the show to discuss the current state of government modernization and the critical need to reimagine public service delivery. We also deliberate on what government’s ultimate metric should be, and how experience, efficiency, and transparency are all levers to get there. Finally, we explore the barriers holding back innovation and the opportunity this moment in time...
Mar 26, 2025•39 min•Ep. 183
Savanrith Kong, the First Chief Experience Officer for the United States Department of Defense joins the show to discuss why customer experience is critical in defense and national security. He also shares personal reflections on his leadership journey, insights from building the DoD's CX office from the ground up, and the strategic importance of storytelling, data-driven decisions, and user-centric design within large government organizations.
Mar 21, 2025•45 min•Ep. 182
Arun Gupta, Chief Executive Officer of NobleReach Foundation joins the show to discuss innovative approaches to integrating top talent from the private sector into public service. He shares his personal journey and parallels between his early aspirations to become a sports general manager and his professional experience as a venture capitalist and the critical importance of assembling the right team and resources. We also address the broader implications of current workforce events and technolog...
Mar 19, 2025•39 min•Ep. 181
Akash Mandavilli, Co-founder of GovEagle joins the show to explore how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the government contracting process. He also shares insights into how AI can accelerate proposal development, improve accuracy, and help organizations navigate the evolving landscape of government acquisitions and he covers trends in AI adoption, strategies for winning contracts, and the balance between automation and relationship-building in procurement.
Mar 12, 2025•34 min•Ep. 180
Jon Baba, Senior Vice President of the Defense Markets at LMI joins the show to discuss the evolving defense landscape and how technology, strategy, and efficiency are converging to shape the future of national security. We also discuss the new administration's defense priorities, including homeland defense and deterrence in Asia the role of AI and emerging technologies in increasing military efficiency and readiness.
Mar 10, 2025•9 min•Ep. 179
Dan Wolf, former Deputy CIO of the Commonwealth of Virginia and Director of State Programs at the Alliance for Digital Innovation joins the show to unpack the evolving landscape of government modernization at the state and local levels. We also discuss the barriers to cloud adoption, how procurement reform can accelerate modernization, and the impact of accessibility mandates on state digital services and why compliance is driving cloud migration.
Mar 05, 2025•43 min•Ep. 178
Amy Crawford, Director of Market Planning at LexisNexis Risk Solutions to discuss the increasing fraud in government benefits programs and reveal results from the latest True Cost of Fraud™ Study for SNAP Agencies & Integrated Eligibility Systems (IES). We also talk about the need for legacy service delivery modernization & early fraud detection PLUS what state and federal agencies can do today to fight fraud while optimizing efficiency and experience.
Feb 26, 2025•34 min•Ep. 177
Maxwell Shuftan, Director of Mission Programs at SANS Institute joins the show to discuss the state of the government cybersecurity workforce and methods for recruiting some of the best talent into the public sector. We also discuss training initiatives that can be a game-changing strategy to unlock a hidden workforce and the national security implications that these roles have on our country.
Feb 20, 2025•32 min•Ep. 176
Billy Biggs, President and Chief Revenue Officer at Technomile joins Breaking the Huddle to discuss research that his company just released to quantify the DOGE impact on vendors and some of the biggest challenges he sees for companies that are looking to pursue a public sector business in this environment.
Feb 18, 2025•10 min•Ep. 175
Tom McConnell, Practice Area Director for Business and Digital Transformation at LMI joins Breaking the Huddle to explore how LMI has evolved its role in supporting government agencies by unlocking efficiencies in government processes, enabling agencies to better engage stakeholders and optimize internal operations. We also discuss LMI’s "Magnify" approach—an extensible human-centered design framework—and the organization's forward-thinking vision for the future of government technology.
Feb 12, 2025•13 min•Ep. 174
Joel Krooswyk, Federal Chief Technology Officer at GitLab joins the show to discuss some of his predictions for the Federal government this year including his thoughts on the proliferation of Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs), AI in software development, and the renewed focus that agencies will place on cloud technology. We also discuss his thoughts on compliance as a strategic enabler and why DevSecOps will continue to grow in popularity.
Feb 07, 2025•35 min•Ep. 173
Lucas McCabe, a Data Science Fellow at LMI joins Breaking the Huddle to uncover fascinating insights into the world of data science, research, and AI safety. We discuss the story behind the naming of LIGER, LMI’s innovative platform, and dives into his groundbreaking work on interdisciplinary data science, including a network science analysis of the opioid epidemic in collaboration with the CDC and SUNY Buffalo.
Jan 24, 2025•13 min•Ep. 172
Courtney Kay-Decker, Deputy Chief Experience Officer at the Internal Revenue Service joins the show to discuss some of the biggest barriers to modernizing the IRS’s digital experience, and how is the organization is working to overcome them. We also talk about how the IRS defines success when it comes to modernizing its digital experiences for citizens and the role personalization plays in the IRS's digital engagement strategy.
Jan 17, 2025•37 min•Ep. 171
Dr. Joseph Norton, Chief Technology Office at LMI joins Breaking the Huddle to discuss how his organization is aligning Research and Development capabilities to support government at the Pace of Need®. We also talk about why platform approaches are driving the most scalable impact and why innovation partnerships with the private sector is the future of public sector modernization.
Jan 06, 2025•10 min•Ep. 170
Karina Landing RN, MS, NI-BC, CPHIMS, a healthcare IT leader and Executive Wellness Strategist joins the show to help listeners kickoff the 2025 with an intentional focus on your overall health and wellness. We dive into several topic including why it is so important to treat the cause and not the symptom, how you can take an active role in your health journey PLUS she shares some success stories of clients who have undergone their own transformation.
Jan 03, 2025•30 min•Ep. 169
