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Tune in to Dr. Alan Shark’s interviews with technology leaders from cities and counties across the nation. This series focuses on various aspects of technology leadership, including emergency response, the evolving role of AI, digital service delivery, citizen communication, emerging technologies, and future requirements for professional development.
48 Episodes
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Season 5: Episode 13: Three Buckets of Concern – The Perils of Federal Data Curation A conversation with Denice Ross, Senior Fellow at the Federation of American Scientists and former U.S. Chief Data Scientist. Denice was invited to be a guest lecturer on the current state of data risks in an increasingly polarized environment for Alan’s recent MPA class. She was so well-received and did an excellent job of spelling out what appears to be the current state of data (and research) at the federal level, which is being presented here. Join us for a fascinating discussion.
Season 5: Episode 12: Policy, AI, and Cybersecurity - InseparableA conversation with Erica Shoemate, consultant, motivational speaker, and head of the EN Strategy Group. Erica is a Tech Policy Leader with extensive knowledge in cutting-edge technologies like Generative AI and AdTech. Today, she is a consultant, motivational speaker, and more, and heads the EN Strategy Group. Erica has helped organizations dismantle ineffective policies and build people-centered solutions in tech, leadership, and equity. Erica previously served as a National Security Leader and Analyst at the FBI and across the U.S. Intelligence Community. In 2017, as detailed in her 2021 best-selling contributing author anthology, Special Delivery: From Pregnancy to Toddlerhood (A Little Perspective), Erica utilized her strategic analysis expertise to save her own baby’s life. Currently, Erica is dedicated to transforming policy landscapes across multiple industries. Her National Security experience is deeply woven into all of her work as a policy consultant, maternal health strategist, and advocate.
Season 5: Episode 11: State and Local Cybersecurity and Digital Risk: Strategies for Success in the Current Policy EnvironmentA Special rebroadcast from the National Academy of Public Administration, webcast featuring Bobbie Stempfley, Jeff Greene, and Traci Doaks First aired on September 3 as a NAPA event, we present the audio portion here, given its timeliness and importance. As state and local governments face increasingly sophisticated cyber threats and rising digital risk, navigating the current policy and resource environment demands coordinated strategy, strong public-private partnerships, and adaptable governance models. Join Academy Fellow and moderator Alan Shark as the panel examines how evolving federal guidance, grant programs, and threat intelligence will impact the focus on state and local preparedness, and how practical, scalable digital risk managementwill be affected—and offer concrete recommendations for public administrators to act decisively in this critical arena of national resilience.Panelists:· Tracy Doaks, President and CEO of MCNC, former North Carolina CIO· Jeff Greene is a Distinguished Fellow at the Aspen Institute, formerly with CISA, NSC, and NIST. · Bobbie Stempfley serves as Vice President & Business Unit Security Officer at Dell Technologies.
Season 5: Episode 10: Looking Back to Moving Forward – A Vision for Future Public Sector Tech LeadershipA conversation with Darry Polk, Director of Education, Public Technology Institute After 36 years of public service, Darryl has assumed a new and highly influential role as Director of Education for the Public Technology Institute. Darryl began his career as a 911 police dispatcher. Having worked for the police department for some 20 years, he saw an opening for the CIO position. He thought he’d never get the position – and has never looked back. Most recently, he was the CTO for Riverside County.
Season 5: Episode 9: The Intersection of Cybersecurity and AIA conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Di Bene, Chief Information Security Officer, Loudoun County, VA.Elizabeth has demonstrated a deep understanding of cybersecurity, network security, and information security, honed over the 20 years at CACI International Inc., the U.S. Department of Justice, and the United States Marine Corps. Today, she serves as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for one of the fastest-growing counties in the U.S., Loudoun County. She is nationally recognized for her expertise in cybersecurity. As if this were not enough, she graduated from PTI’s Certified Government Chief Information Officer (CGCIO)program with Rutgers University. She was recruited to be an adjunct faculty member for the CGCIO program. She earned a Doctor's degree at Capella University,
Season 5 Episode 8: GovRamp Five Years Later – Its Mission Has Never Been More CriticalA conversation with Leah McGrath, Executive Director of GovRamp.Leah McGrath, recipient of the 2025 Federal 100 Award from GovExec, has served as the executive director of GovRamp (formerly StateRamp) for just over five years, and she last appeared on Sharkbytes.Net in early 2021. Much has changed since then, as the demand for cybersecurity and now AI cloud-based systems demands greater scrutiny and understanding, especially when it comes to making purchasing decisions. The discussion will highlight the significance of the name change and how AI is introducing a new layer of complexity. Lastly, it will cover the impact of the federal government’s extensive changes to its FedRamp program and what these mean for all levels of government.
Season 5: Episode 7: Special Edition: Ensuring the Future of Federal Data A Special rebroadcast from the National Academy of Public Administration, webcast featuring Joel Gurin, Denice Ross, Dr. Steven Pierson, and Meeta Anand.The federal government's massive data collections, a critical national resource, are under attack from the Trump administration. Federal agencies have already removed thousands of web pages and datasets following the president’s directives on DEI, climate change, and “gender ideology,” and other data collections may be altered to align with political agendas.While dozens of organizations have successfully downloaded, archived, and made available deleted data, the nation's future data is at risk. The Trump administration, as well as future administrations, may discontinue, modify, or alter many critical data collections in ways that could significantly hinder research, knowledge, and social progress. This panel discussed the risks to federal data and explored various ways to address these risks, including advocacy, litigation, legislation, monitoring, and the development of new data sources.Moderator: Joel Gurin, President & Founder, Center for Open Data Enterprise (CODE)Panelist: Denice Ross, former US Chief Data ScientistPanelist: Dr. Steven Pierson, Director of Science Policy, American Statistical AssociationPanelist: Meeta Anand, Senior Director, Census and Data Equity, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights For more information: https://www.opendataenterprise.org/
Season 5: Episode 6: The Marriage of AI and Cybersecurity – Opportunities and Challenges AboundA conversation with Micki Boland, Lead Technologist, Check Point Software Technologies, Office of the CTO. Starting with a military career that solidified her interest in information technology, Micki Boland is a self-proclaimed global cybersecurity warrior. She is a security architect with Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. She has over 20 years of experience in ICT and security system engineering, design, and architecture with the United States Army, Sprint, Nortel Networks, and Avaya. Micki focuses on helping enterprise customers, SIs, MSPs, and Telcos reduce risk by architecting security, visibility, and resiliency into the software-defined data center and cloud environments. Micki is a CISSP and holds a Master of Science in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA with a global security focus from Eastern Carolina University.
Season 5: Episode 5: Training AI Models with Neurodivergent Human TalentA conversation with Peter Kant, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Enabled Intelligence. Having served as an executive at one of the leading tech innovation institutes, SRI International, Pete identified a gap in how AI models were being trained – and thus an opportunity. Without high-quality data inputs, AI models, including LLMs, will underperform or worse. That’s why Enabled Intelligence’s focus has been on ensuring the data used to train and fine-tune AI models is expertly and precisely annotated. What makes their approach unique is the active recruitment of neurodiverse talents that are often overlooked. After all, data analysis and labeling require detail orientation, hyperfocus, puzzle-solving, and diverse ways of thinking. They have built a highly talented and motivated team that focuses on individuals who are neurodivergent, unlocking unique superpower skills and abilities to reduce AI bias, enhance model performance, and create highly reliable solutions.
Season 5: Episode 4: AI’s Impact on Organizational Boundaries and People Through a Qualitative LensA conversation with Dr. Sarah Wittman, Assistant Professor of Management at George Mason University’s Costello College of Business.Artificial intelligence impacts all facets of modern life, particularly knowledge acquisition and assimilation, organizational behavior, and the growing relationship between humans and machines. This mind-opening discussion touches all the bases and more.Dr. Whitman holds a PhD in Organizational Behavior, a Master’s degree in Communication and Politics from George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University. Her research explores people’s transitions within, across, and beyond organizational boundaries, their organizational impacts, and the social, technological, and learning support systems that can help make these transitions more personally and organizationally successful. Her work has been published in the Oxford Handbook of Leadership and Organizations, Academy of Management Review, and Academy of Management Annals. Her practitioner-oriented work has been featured in Business Insider and business.com.
Season 5: Episode 3: The Story of the Red Hen, Building a Culture of InnovationA conversation with Scott Conn CGCIO, CIO of the City of MesaThere is a reason why the City of Mesa has won 7 technology-related awards in just one year and is rated number 5 in the nation as a Digital City. Indeed, Scott Conn has something to crow about! He is an exceptional leader, motivator, and innovator. He has been a highly successful tech leader in both the private as well as public sectors and may have found his ideal position at Mesa. This episode will dive into how he has managed his organization with remarkable results. You may be surprised to learn some of his techniques.
2025 Tech Forecast for State and Local IT: All Aboard the AI Train and More Tech AdventuresA special webinar-turned-podcast features the executive directors of NASCIO and PTI. Now in its fourth year, Doug Robinson and Alan Shark once again share their views based on their organization’s research. To view this as a webinar see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fURO8VSP-c
Season 5: Episode 1: GovTech Vision 2025: Innovating the Future of Public Sector Technology A special webinar-turned podcast, hosted by CitiBot. This episode explores the pivotal trends shaping urban environments through AI and other digital advancements. · Bratton Riley, CITIBOT CEO and co-founder· Mark Wheeler, Former Philadelphia CIO and GIO· Ron Holifield, Co-Founder, Civic Marketplace· Alan Shark, Executive Director, PTI
Season 4: Episode 33: The City & County 2025 Tech OutlookAs with previous years, Dr. Alan Shark shares his views about what to look for in 2025. This podcast’s content is based on a commentary he wrote for State Tech Magazine, see: https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2024/12/12-trends-watch-2025-city-and-county-outlook
This episode borrows from an informative webinar where PTI held a Part 2 as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Jamil Niazi, Director Of Information Technology, City of Stockton CA; Elizabeth Di Bene, CISO, Loudoun County VA; William Mann, CGCIO™, CISO, Borough of West Chester PA. Moderated by Dr. Alan Shark.
This episode borrows from an informative webinar where PTI kicks off Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Panelists include:Nikki Milburn, CISO, Franklin County, OhioRyon Saenz, Deputy Director, Information Technology Services, Alexandria, VirginiaSamantha Sendrowski, Director of IT Administration, City of Worcester, Massachusetts
A Conversation with Brooke Smith, NIGP-CPP, MIS, MMC, UCC, City Recorder, Murray City CorporationRecently, Brooke has embraced AI technology to update City Policy, prepare new RFPs and bids, and streamline operations. She is dedicated to training other procurement and government employees on the ethical and responsible use of AI. Brooke's mission is to equip government professionals with AI and Cooperative procurement knowledge to reduce tedious tasks, enhance efficiency, and improve public sector effectiveness through innovation and education.With over a decade of experience in public administration and policy, Brooke Smith oversees Purchasing, Passports, and Records Management functions for Murray City, Utah. She serves on the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) Finance Council, volunteers with RadioNIGP, and was the 2022 President of the Utah Chapter of NIGP.
A conversation with Mark Hampton, Ph.D., Executive Education Advisor, Amazon Web Services As an Executive Education Advisor, Mark works with higher education executives and line-of-business leaders to understand how cloud technologies can enable digital transformation efforts, particularly around the effective use of data and analytics. Prior to joining AWS, Mark served for 30 years as an administrator at six different institutions of higher education, ranging from a small private liberal arts college to several large research universities with academic medical centers, holding faculty rank at three such institutions. Throughout his career in higher education, Mark has held Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) roles, as well as institution-level leadership roles in analytics, and has played key leadership roles in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations, cloud migrations, managed-services provisioning of IT services, and the adoption of analytics-based decision-support and resource-allocation systems.
A conversation with James Farrell, CIO, Village of Bolingbrook, IL, with co-host Mary Frances Coryell, Chief Revenue Officer, Citibot. James Farrell has lived and worked in Bolingbrook for nearly 20 years and has been instrumental in modernizing digital services for the village. Serving as CIO for five years, he now sees things differently. Conversely, his peers and citizens view him in a new way—recognizing the confluence of personal power coupled with position power. James is a people person who happens to enjoy fixing things and serves as an inspiration for all.
Season 4: Episode 27: A Sure Bet, Reducing 200 IT Projects into Three SlotsA conversation with Bob Leek, CIO of Clark County NV, with co-host Mary Frances Coryell, Chief Revenue Officer, for CITIBOT.(This Sharkbytes.Net episode is co-hosted with Mary Frances, Chief Revenue Officer , CITIBOT)Bob Leek is the CIO of Clark County, Nevada. He started out as the deputy CIO in 2021 and soon became the CIO when the former CIO retired. Leek leads a team of some 200 workers, with a mission to drive innovation to efficiently deliver cost-effective, robust solutions that provide faster and better ways for employees to do their jobs and for residents of Clark County to access services. By some measures, Clark County ranks amongst the top ten counties in the US.Leek has an extensive background in managing large capital projects, developing strategic plans, and implementing systems. He has more than 30 years of experience in information technology in both the private and public sectors, including time with Multnomah County, Ore., Kaiser Permanente, and the now-defunct Egghead.com.
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