Sree Sreenivasan is a consultant, speaker and trainer for nonprofits, corporations, startups and executives. He is the former Chief Digital Officer for New York City, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Columbia University and was a professor of digital media at Columbia Journalism School for 20 years. He was named Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business 2015 and Poynter Institute’s 35 most influential in social media.
Kristin Switzer is the Senior Advisor to the Chief Data Officer at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where she facilitates collaboration across the Bureau’s business components to lead and operationalize the agency’s Enterprise Data Strategy, a shared agenda for the Bureau to better leverage data to achieve its mission. In addition to providing guidance and counsel to the CDO and members of the Office of the Chief Data Officer leadership team, Kristin oversees strategic planning, budget and procurement, metrics, stakeholder communications and engagement, and serves as the gatekeeper to OCDO for internal and external partners.
Including several years at the U.S. Department of Justice, Kristin’s career in the federal government and private sector, and her experience working at the intersection of business, operations, policy, technology, and data, spans over 17 years. Since joining the Bureau in 2013, Kristin has served on numerous rulewriting teams, was instrumental in establishing the Bureau’s Regulatory Implementation & Guidance function, developed the Concept of Operations and inaugural roadmap that laid the foundation for the establishment of the OCDO, and led a major reg tech initiative, which earned her the Bureau’s highest honor, the Director’s Mission Achievement Award. Kristin earned a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Society and Women’s Studies from Purdue University and recently completed an executive education course on artificial intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
As the Deputy Director, U.S. Army Office of Enterprise Management (OEM), Mr. Sasala leads organization-wide operational initiatives and assists the Director in managing the Army Business Mission Area (BMA) portfolio. He also directly supports the Under Secretary of the Army (USA) with essential enterprise metrics, spanning a wide range of functional and mission-oriented performance indicators, and works closely with the Army Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Data and Analytics Officer (CDAO) to manage defense business systems, master business data, and provide oversight of business system investments.
Prior to his role as the Deputy Director, Sasala served as the Chief Data Officer (CDO) for the Department of the Navy where he was responsible for implementing the Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary
(OPEN) Government Data Act, training the Naval workforce on data and data analytics, and making high quality, timely data available to decision-makers and warfighters. He executed his statutory responsibilities as the CDO by establishing data management priorities, driving change through the Navy Data Strategy Implementation Plan, and implementing the Department of Navy Data Management concept of Employment.
Prior to joining the Department of the Navy, Mr. Sasala served as Director, Army Architecture Integration Center and Chief Data Officer for the U.S. Army. In this role, he led data governance and analytics across
the Army, was responsible for the implementation and migration to cloud computing and developed segment and systems architectures. Mr. Sasala also served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the Joint
Service Provider (JSP) and the U.S. Army Information Technology Agency (ITA), where he was responsible for the modernization of Pentagon information technology (IT) solutions.
Mr. Sasala began his career as a student trainee at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). After graduating from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, he returned to NRL and pursued a Master of Science in Telecommunication and Computers. While serving at NRL, Mr. Sasala led a variety of mission-critical projects, including advance research and development in public key cryptography, software-defined agile cryptography and key management, and the modernization of strategic communication solutions for nuclear command and control systems.
After leaving NRL, Sasala joined the private sector where he supported a variety of clients as a consultant. His many roles include chief architect for the All-Source Analytics Environment, chief architect and
technical advisor for the Analytic Transformation (AT) program, and Program Manager (PM) for various initiatives within the defense and intelligence spaces. Additionally, Mr. Sasala spent almost two years
developing cutting-edge data and training solutions at an Internet startup, targeting the public educational market.
In 2014, Mr. Sasala received the prestigious “Bold Award,” which recognizes excellence in all areas of design enterprise, for “Innovation,” recognizing his creative problem-solving, technical acumen, ambition,
and persistence. In 2015, he was named a “Fed 100” honoring the top 100 contributors across federal, state, and local governments.
Austin Gerig is the Chief Data Officer at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In this role, he is responsible for developing the agency’s data strategy, enabling data analytics to support enforcement, examinations, and policymaking, and ensuring effective data security.
Austin holds a Ph.D. in Physics and an M.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining the SEC, Austin was a Senior Research Fellow in the Said Business School, University of Oxford.
Austin’s research work has covered various important topics in market microstructure, including the price impact of large, algorithmically traded orders, the structure of volatility fluctuations in security prices, and the effects of high-frequency trading in financial markets. His research has been highlighted in numerous media outlets including Bloomberg, Time, The Wire, MIT Technology Review, and NPR.
COL Paul F. Evangelista was commissioned as an Engineer officer from the United States Military Academy in 1996. Upon completion of the Engineer Officer Basic Course, COL Evangelista served as a platoon leader, company executive officer, and battalion maintenance officer with the 65th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. In 2000 COL Evangelista completed the Engineer Captains Career Course and was assigned as the S4 for the 41st Engineer Battalion, 10th Mountain Division (Light), Fort Drum, NY. While at Fort Drum, he assumed command of the 642nd Engineer Company (Combat Support Equipment) and deployed with the company to Iraq in 2003. Upon returning from Iraq, COL Evangelista started graduate school at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he earned an M.S. in Operations Research and Statistics and a Ph.D. in Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems.
From 2005 to 2008, COL Evangelista served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Systems Engineering and career field designated as an operations research / systems analyst (ORSA). As an ORSA, COL Evangelista was assigned to the Training and Doctrine Command Analysis Center in Monterey (TRAC – Monterey), located at the Naval Postgraduate School, where he served from 2008-2012. From January 2011 – July 2011 COL Evangelista deployed as an analyst at ISAF headquarters, Kabul, Afghanistan.
In June of 2012, COL Evangelista was assigned as an Academy Professor in the Department of Systems Engineering at USMA. From June of 2013 to December of 2013, COL Evangelista deployed to serve as the Chief ORSA for the theater counter-IED task force, Combined Joint Task Force Paladin, Bagram, Afghanistan. During his current assignment at USMA, COL Evangelista has served as an Academy Professor in the Department of Systems Engineering, to include leading the Operations Research Center (ORCEN) and leading the Engineering Management program. COL Evangelista currently serves as the USMA Chief Data Officer. COL Evangelista is a graduate of the US Army War College and a licensed professional engineer in the state of New York.
Dr. Delester Brown Jr. is the Chief Data Officer (CDO) at the National Guard Bureau. Dr. Brown is building a data program at the enterprise level that stretches across the 54 states and territories. Formerly, he acted as the CDO for the Army National Guard. He was tasked with transitioning the ARNG to data-centric organization. Starting as a computer engineer many around Arlington Hall Station know him as the fixer of everything and a change champion in digital transformation. He has seen previous successes in multiple projects regarding emerging technology within the ARNG as the Chief Technology Officer. Additionally, his body of work includes the design of Guard Cloud Services and the Army’s first approved mobility solution under the Rapid Workforce Capabilities Program. Dr. Brown is in a unique environment in which his leadership excels in managing teams of military personnel, civilians, and contractors to complete various projects and initiatives. As a published author, he continues to support higher education amongst Soldiers as a tutor and guest lecturer at the Cyber Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon.
Previously, Dr. Brown was an instructor in the Engineering Technology Program at Lanier Technical College. He collaborated to build degree curriculums and conducted science lessons for the Boys & Girls Club of Lanier. Dr. Brown completed AT&T’s Network Engineering Technical Development Program where he was dual hatted as a Manager and Sr. Wireless Translation Engineer at the Mobility Transport Center. His team consisted of engineers working in Atlanta, Dallas, and Prague, Czech Republic. Dr. Brown’s team was highlighted for completing the IPv6 conversion on the entire AT&T network as well as quality service awards for prolonged periods without network outages. He started his career as a lead field service technician III at Ciena working to expand the 4G LTE backhaul to support numerous Fortune 500 companies.
Dr. Brown possesses a Doctorate in Computer Science from Colorado Technical University, M.S. in Network and Communications Management from Keller School Management, a B.S. in Electronic Engineering Technology from DeVry University, and A.A.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Augusta Technical College. His career contributions have led to multiple performance awards, challenge coins, the Army Superior Civilian Service Medal(2021,2022), and awarded the prestigious Bronze Order of Mercury as a civilian by the Signal Corps Regimental Association. Dr. Brown’s foundation is rooted in outreach work, mentorship in addition to coaching, and STEM advocacy.
To operate in excellence and produce daily gains, Dr. Brown acknowledges the support of an amazing family. His wife, Felicia, and two daughters, Ziva and Eleta make home enjoyable and full of laughter. They are his testament to bringing a family-oriented atmosphere and high energy approach to the workplace.
Dr. Mark Brady is currently Deputy Chief Data Officer of the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense Research & Engineering / TRMC and Senior Manager at KBR.
A world class expert in data management, he has served as Chief Data Officer for the Space Force, Chief Data Officer for the Air Force Space Command, Data Architect for The DOJ, and Information Architect for the National Marine Fisheries Service.
He also helped established electronic trade standards as U.S. delegate to the United Nations, served on the White House Data Cabinet, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Big Data Council.
Prior to his federal service he conducted basic scientific research in neuroscience, taught neuroscience and statistics; conducted industrial R&D in artificial intelligence, software, medical electronics, traffic management, electrophoresis, and mathematical modeling for automotive geometry. He is an inventor and author, with a number of patents from this work in industry.
