Tuesday, December 9 | Carahsoft Innovation and Conference Center, Reston, VA
Date Tuesday, December 9
Time 2 – 5pm EDT
Where Carahsoft Innovation and Conference Center, 11493 Sunset Hills Road Reston, VA 20190
Join Us for an Unforgettable Celebration!
GovTech Connects invites you to a high-energy convergence of Federal, Military, and Industry Health IT changemakers driving the next era of Health IT digital transformation. This dynamic gathering celebrates bold ideas, emerging technologies, and the leaders redefining how missions are achieved across the federal landscape.
From Generative AI and Agentic AI to transformative modernization initiatives shaping 2026, you’ll hear directly from visionary government and DoD leaders who are pushing boundaries, driving innovation, and accelerating impact.
At the heart of the celebration, the ACCELERATE 125 Health IT Awards recognize pioneers delivering real-world results across AI and Data, Cybersecurity, Quantum Computing, UX/UI, and beyond.
Celebrate. Connect. Accelerate. Join us for an afternoon of recognition, insight, and holiday cheer as we honor the people and ideas moving missions forward and transforming what’s possible in government technology.
FOCUSED SESSIONS
1:30-2 pm: Registration/Check-In
EVENT BEGINS AT 2 pm
- Disruptive Tech in Action: Generative AI, Agentic AI and Next Gen AI Shaping 2026
- Data Driven Impact: Powering Mission Success
- Driving Transformation through Innovation, AI, Data, Cyber, Next-Gen Tech
- Accelerate 125 Award Recognition
- Holiday Networking Reception
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Mehmet Oz
Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services*
Keynote Panelists
Matthew Artz
AI Product Manager, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services*
David Bray, Ph.D.
Principal, LeadDoAdapt Ventures, Chair of the Accelerator, Stimson Center, Senior Fellow, Institute for Human-Machine Cognition & Expert, MIT Horizon*
Karen Brazell, DSL
Senior Advisor, Department of Veterans Affairs*
Brad Bower
Acting Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, National Institutes of Health*
Barclay Butler, Ph.D.
Deputy Commissioner for Operations and Chief Operating Officer, Food and Drug Administration*
Jesus Caban, Ph.D.
Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Defense Health Agency*
Mike Caswell
Senior Expert on Cybersecurity, Fraud Detection and Intelligence*
Lee Ann Cronchunis
Deputy Director, Office of Information Technology, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services*
Ben Cushing
Chief Architect, Health & Life Sciences, Red Hat*
Hesha Duggirala
Epidemiologist & AI Center Lead, Food and Drug Administration*
William Liu, Ph.D.
Director, AI Governance & Implementation, Food and Drug Administration*
Greg Pishko
Lead Data Scientist, Food and Drug Administration*
Andreas Schick
Director, Data Science, ML, AI Development, CDER, Food and Drug Administration*
Nadia Smith
Acting Chief Digital Health Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs*
Anthony Scriffignano, Ph.D.
Distinguished Fellow, Alfred Lee Loomis Innovation Council, The Stimson Center, EVP Data & Analytics, Aerospace Venture*
Trent Teyema
Founder, President and Principal Consultant, CSG Strategies*
*invited, awaiting confirmation
Agenda
9:40 – 10:15 AM
Title
Description
9:40 – 10:15 AM
Title
Description
Sponsors
Matthew Artz
AI Product Manager, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services*
David Bray, Ph.D.
Principal, LeadDoAdapt Ventures, Chair of the Accelerator, Stimson Center, Senior Fellow, Institute for Human-Machine Cognition & Expert, MIT Horizon*
Karen Brazell, DSL
Senior Advisor, Department of Veterans Affairs*
Brad Bower
Acting Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, National Institutes of Health*
Barclay Butler, Ph.D.
Deputy Commissioner for Operations and Chief Operating Officer, Food and Drug Administration*
Jesus Caban, Ph.D.
Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Defense Health Agency*
Lee Ann Cronchunis
Deputy Director, Office of Information Technology, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services*
Ben Cushing
Chief Architect, Health & Life Sciences, Red Hat
Hesha Duggirala
Epidemiologist & AI Center Lead, Food and Drug Administration*
William Liu, Ph.D.
Director, AI Governance & Implementation, Food and Drug Administration*
Greg Pishko
Lead Data Scientist, Food and Drug Administration*
Andreas Schick
Director, Data Science, ML, AI Development, CDER, Food and Drug Administration*
Nadia Smith
Acting Chief Digital Health Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs*
Anthony Scriffignano, Ph.D.
Distinguished Fellow, Alfred Lee Loomis Innovation Council, The Stimson Center, EVP Data & Analytics, Aerospace Venture*
*invited, awaiting confirmation
Agenda
9:40 – 10:15 AM
Title
Description
9:40 – 10:15 AM
Title
Description
Sponsors
2025 Accelerate 125 Award Winners
Raghu Akkepeddi
CEO, Index Analytics
Danielle Applegate
Vice President, Veterans Affairs, CGI Federal
Matthew Artz
AI Product Manager, CMS
Dianne Babski
Director User & Collection Services, National Library of Medicine
Milad Bahrami
Senior Vice President and General Manager, Leidos
Mark Baxter
Deputy Executive Director, VA
Alisa Bearfield
Senior Vice President, Civilian Business Unit Leader, CGI
Ken Beecher
President & CoFounder, Ibility
Kelly Bent Morrison
Vice President, Health IT Strategy and Operations, HumanTouch
Jessica Berrellez
VP, Health IT Strategy & Operations, DLH Corp
David Blackburn
Founder & CEO, OrangeSlices AI
Jennifer Bond
Growth & Client Engagement, VA Portfolio, Accenture Federal Services
Brad Bower
Acting Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, NIH
Kimberly Brandt
Chief Operating Officer/Deputy Administrator, CMS
Karen Brazell, DSL
Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs
Barclay Butler
Deputy Commissioner for Operations/COO, FDA
Sara Byrd
Principal, Byrd Strategies
Jesus Caban, Ph.D.
Chief Data and Analytics Officer, DHA
Michael Cardarelli
CEO, Blue Water Thinking, LLC
Diana Ceban
Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives & Market Expansion, Tria
Suzanne Charleston
Executive Director, Federal Account, Wellpoint Federal
Mohammed Sohail Chaudhry
Vice President & Chief Innovation Officer, Precise Software Solutions, Inc.
David Chow
CEO, Pyramid Systems
Philip Christy
Chief Acquisition Officer, VA
Tim Cox
Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, GovCIO
Lisa Creason
Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, Precise Software Solutions, Inc.
Lee Anne Crochunis
Deputy Director, OIT, CMS
Robert Cunningham
Executive Director, VA
Ben Cushing
Chief Architect, Health & Life Sciences, Red Hat
Mike Damiano
US Federal Senior Solution Engineer, Zimperium
Mike Deutsch
Chief Growth Officer, Alpha Omega
Jothi Dugar
Chief Information Security Officer, NIH
Hesha Duggirala, MD
Epidemiologist & AI Center Lead, FDA
Kevin Duvall
Deputy Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (Acting) and Deputy Chief Information Officer, HHS
Mike Enos
VP, Defense & Veteran Services Operating Unit, Peraton
Neil Evans, M.D.
Acting Program Executive Director, Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office and Chief Officer for the Office of Connected Care, Veterans Health Administration, VA
Elena Fenton
Senior Growth Executive
Thomas Flanders
Chief Information Officer/Program Executive Officer for Medical Systems, DHA
Keita Franklin, Ph.D.
Chief of Behavioral Health, Leidos
Jack Galvin
Deputy Chief Information Officer, VA
Matt Garvey
Vice President, Health, SAIC
James Gfrerer
Principal, Fidelis Technology
Greg Giddens
Partner, Potomac Ridge Consulting
Eric Gonzales
Senior Director, Client Growth, AdHoc
Joe Grace
President & CEO, Grace and Associates
Robert Hickey
Senior Vice President/COO, All In Solutions
Allison Hickey
CEO, All In Solutions
Raymond Holder
Chief Growth Officer, CapGemini Government Solutions
Theresa Holder
Founder and CEO, Holder Strategy Group
Kimberly Hornik
Senior Vice President, Business Development, Integrity Management Services
Brad Houston
Chief of Staff, PingWind
Julie Hoyte
CEO, Health Information Technology Solutions
Reginald Humphries
CEO, HIT Communications, and Managing Partner, Eliza Levy Public Relations
Scott Hutchison
Solutions Architect, Index Analytics
Luis Ibarra
CTO, PingWind
Nikolaos Ipiotis
Chief Information Officer, ARPA-H
Steve Irish
VP and GM, Defense Enterprise & Health Solutions, Peraton
Andrew Jacobs
CTO, MicroHealth, LLC
Jennifer Johnson
Acting Deputy Assistant Commissioner/Acquisitions and Senior Procurement Executive, HHS
Luwanda Jones, Dr. BA
Acting Chief of Staff, VA
Ratima Kataria
Vice President, Federal Health, ICF
Omer Khan
VP, Benefits, Claims, and Integrity Solutions, Peraton
Johnny Khan
CEO, Managing Partner, Avilamb, Inc
Farhan Khan
Chief AI Officer, Swingtech
Chris Kim
Senior Vice President of Growth, BDR Solutions
Nathan Kim
Director of Technology, Public Sector, Publicis Sapient
Praveen Kosgi
Vice President of Technical Solutions, NetImpact Strategies
Danielle Krakora
CEO and CoFounder, Ibility
Kendall Krebs
Deputy Chief Information Officer Infrastructure Operations, VA
Leo Luis
Tech Lead, Pyramid Systems
Anita Lynn
Principal, CapGemini Government Solutions
Murali Mallina
Chief Technology Officer, Tria Federal
Dan McCune
Principal, Credence Management
Regina McGregor
Director of Business Development & Small Business Technical Advisor, VA
Elizabeth McNamara
Health IT Innovation Officer, Next Phase Solutions
Shane McNamee
Industry Lead, Global Public Health, Appian
Clark Minor
Chief Information Officer/Chief Technology Officer, HHS
Deanna Moschette
TPS Director, Department of Veterans Affairs
Umar Munroe
Engineering Lead, Publicis Sapient
Maria Kelly Murphy
Senior Director, Prometheus Federal Services
Sophie Myers
CX Leader, VA, SAIC
Kamal Narang
Vice President and General Manager, Federal Health Sector, GDIT
Dan Naselius
President and CTO, CORAS.ai
Jeffrey Neill
Associate Executive Director, Technology Acquisition Center, VA
Patrick Newbold
Chief Information Officer, OIT, CMS
Chris Nichols
Program Manager/Chief, Enterprise Intelligence and Data Solutions Program Management Office
Michael Parrish, Ph.D.
Former Chief Acquisition Officer, VA
Jordan Parsons
CEO and CoFounder, GovAllies
Amber Pearson
Executive Director, VA
Melinda Pitchford
Chief Strategy Officer, Connected Logistics/Canopy Health
Haydon Pitchford
Director of Health Strategy, All In Solutions, LLC
Bryan Pizzillo
Director, Engineering, Publicis Sapient
Laura Prietula, Ed.D.
Deputy Chief Information Officer, EHRM Office, VA
Denise Rainey
President & CEO, Rainmakers Strategic Solutions
Tarik Reyes
President, Defense Mission and Health Solutions, Peraton
Edwin Rosas
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Avetus Partners
Lisa Rosenmerkel
Chief Data Officer, VA
Monica Rosser
Executive Managing Director, Federal Health, Maximus
Nathan Ruiz
Senior Vice President, Govini
Eric Rutledge
Clinical Informaticist, BDR Solutions, LLC
Bobby Saxon
Specialist Executive, Deloitte
Andreas Schick
Director AI/Data Intelligence/AI Development, FDA
Steve Schielsman
President & COO, EMH Government Solutions
Christian Schrank
Deputy Inspector General for Investigations, Office of the Inspector General, HHS
Kevin Seeley
Vice President, VA Business Area, GDIT
Seyoum Senay
Senior Program Manager, AI and Data Science Leader, FDA
Meera Shah
Health Specialist, NIH
Vinay Shirke
CIO, ASSYST, Inc.
Jason Simmons
Director, Health Solutions, EMKS
M.J. Sivulich
Managing Director, Monticello Advisory Group
Dave Sloniker
Vice President, Supply Chain, TISTA Science and Technology
Joy Smith
Acting Associate Executive Director, Strategic Acquisition Center/National Acquisition Center, VA
Nadia Smith
Acting Chief Digital Health Officer, VA
Andrea Snader
Sector President, Health and DOD, Edgewater Federal Solutions
Eric Strauss
Chief Growth Officer, Connected Logistics/Canopy Health
Ned Struzziero
VP Growth, Sprezzatura
John Mark Suhy
Chief Technology Officer, Greystones Group
Sumesh Sundareswaran
Vice President, HHS, GDIT
Ashique Tanveer
Director, Health Systems, REI Systems
Alastair Thomson
Founder and Principal Consultant, AI Strategy, LLC
Alyssa Tsai
Director of Strategic Accounts, DSS, Inc.
Zeshawn Uddin
Senior Manager, Agile Program Management, Publicis Sapient (HRSA Contractor)
Mariela Unangst
VP Business Development and Capture, Freelance
Mike Vogel
Senior Client Executive, Credence Management Solutions
Jeremy Walsh
Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, FDA
Kate Wetherby
Acting Director, Marketplace IT Group, CMS
David Whitmer
Vice President of Federal Operations, DSS, Inc.
Dawn Wierzbicki
Chief Federal Business Development Officer, Signature Performance
Jason Windsor
Founder & CEO, Belli, Inc.
Monica Winthrop
Senior Vice President, CGI Federal
Mary Womack
Federal Civilian Account Lead, RockIT Data
Christopher Wood
Chief Growth Officer, Ad Hoc, LLC
Robert Wood
Founder and CEO, Sidekick Security
Charles Worthington
Chief Technology Officer and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, VA
Krista Yager
Vice President, Health, Peraton
Jack Yang
Product Line Director, Healthcare System Data Analytics, Leidos