Rear Adm. Michael L. Baker, U.S. Navy, assumed the duties as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Associate Director for Operations in August 2024. As the Associate Director for Operations, he oversees the execution of NGA's mission across the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense. He coordinates daily GEOINT operations within NGA, prioritizing assets to oversee crisis management, deployment of personnel, and capabilities to achieve NGA’s key missions of Awareness, Warning, Targeting, and Safe Navigation.

Baker is a 1995 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in History, and a 2005 graduate of Istanbul Bilgi University as an Olmsted Scholar with a Master of Arts in International Relations. He served as a 2010 International Affairs Fellow to the Council on Foreign Relations, and speaks Turkish and French.

Baker is a Navy foreign area officer, with experience building partnerships and leading U.S. Coalition operations, Military Attaché Operations, and international strategy and plans in the Africa Command, European Command, Indo-Pacific Command, and Central Command areas of responsibility. Baker is the Navy foreign area officer community leader.

As an E-2C Hawkeye naval flight officer, he deployed to the Western Pacific, the Arabian Gulf, and Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Southern Watch. As a foreign area officer, he deployed to Silopi, Turkey and Northern Iraq as liaison officer to the Turkish Special Forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; and on board High Speed Vessel Swift in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S. Naval Forces Africa’s Africa Partnership Station.

Shore assignments include: Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché to India; Branch Head International Strategy & Plans, OPNAV; Assistant Chief of Staff for Strategy, Plans, and Policy (N5), U.S. Naval Forces Central/U.S. 5th Fleet; Director, Asia Pacific Division, Defense Attaché Service, Defense Intelligence Agency; Chief, Naval Cooperation, Office of Defense Cooperation Turkey; Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché, Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, and Seychelles; Weapons and Tactics Instructor, Naval Air Warfare Development Command.

Dr. Jarred M. Conley is the Principal Director for Maritime within the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), where he leads efforts to accelerate the adoption of commercial and dual-use technology across Autonomous Warfare, Kill Web, and 10x portfolios in support of Joint Force priorities. He works directly with Combatant Commands, Military Services, and industry to identify and transition operationally relevant capabilities to the warfighter.  

Dr. Conley has more than 15 years of experience in defense acquisition, systems engineering, and operational capability delivery across the Office of the Secretary of War, Department of the Navy, OPNAV, and Program Executive Office assignments. He is widely recognized as a leader in maritime autonomy and unmanned systems, helping grow the Navy’s small unmanned surface vessel portfolio from early experimentation into a multibillion-dollar capability area.  

Prior to DIU, Dr. Conley served as Principal Assistant Program Manager for Anti-Submarine Warfare, Surface Warfare, and Next Generation Mission Packages within PEO Unmanned and Small Combatants. He led the rapid development, experimentation, and deployment of autonomous maritime capabilities supporting U.S. Fleet Forces, Pacific Fleet, SOCOM, and international partners. His efforts advanced operational employment of unmanned surface vessels for maritime domain awareness, contested logistics, force protection, and kinetic effects. He also established and led the Navy’s Pathmaker Integrated Product Team, delivering critical operational capabilities from requirement identification to fielding in as little as 60 days.  

Earlier in his career, Dr. Conley served in the Mine Warfare Program Office and at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, supporting the development and fielding of advanced mine countermeasures, mission modules, and expeditionary maritime systems. He played key roles in the Airborne Mine Neutralization System, Barracuda program, Surface-to-Surface Mission Module, and other Littoral Combat Ship mission package initiatives.  

Dr. Conley holds a Doctoral Degree from George Washington University, a Master of Science in Systems Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Tuskegee University, and an Associate of Technology in Professional Pilot from Kansas State University. He is DAWIA Level III certified in Program Management and Systems Engineering and is a member of the Defense Acquisition Corps.

Eric Davis, Ph.D., joined DARPA in February 2024 as a program manager in the Strategic Technology Office. His research interests include artificial intelligence, cognitive science, human-machine teaming, and data science.

Prior to DARPA, Davis was the principal scientist of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and human-machine teaming at Galois, where he led programs that focus on the creation of cognitive architectures to allow next-generation artificially intelligent systems to team with humans in real-world environments. 

Prior to Galois, Davis was a professor and director of the Trustworthy Data Engineering Laboratory at Iowa State University and the University of Miami where he was named a Frontiers of Engineering Education faculty member by the National Academy of Engineering.

The Honorable Joseph S. Jewell, Ph.D., is the Assistant Secretary of War for Science and Technology (ASW S&T). As the principal advisor to the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (USW(R&E)) on matters related to S&T, developmental prototyping, and experimentation he guides the Department’s science and technology strategy and investments, acting as a crucial link between fundamental scientific discovery and its strategic application in defense.

Dr. Jewell oversees and advocates for the entirety of the Department’s S&T enterprise, which includes its specialized workforce, laboratory infrastructure, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), and University-Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs). His office also directs a diverse portfolio of critical S&T programs including hypersonics and biomanufacturing. Basic research, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, and the DoW Manufacturing Technology program, along with the nine Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (MIIs) also are within the S&T portfolio.

Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Jewell built a career at the intersection of academia and defense research. Most recently Dr. Jewell was the John Bogdanoff Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana where he served as Director of two hypersonic wind tunnels in the College of Engineering and the Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI). Previously, Dr. Jewell was a research scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). In these roles, his work centered on hypersonic aerothermodynamics, analyzing flight test data, and operating uniquely capable hypersonic wind tunnels. Dr. Jewell has authored more than 150 published journal articles and conference papers in aerospace engineering and hypersonics and holds a U.S. Patent in hypersonic inlet design.

Driven by a passion to secure America's technological future, Dr. Jewell is committed to strengthening the nation's future by preparing students for vital science and engineering careers in the Department of War, national labs, and the defense industry. His research has directly advanced U.S. military capabilities, having led hypersonic test programs for the Army, Navy and Air Force. Dr. Jewell has been a member or chair of four NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO) hypersonics working groups and was selected as a member of the Defense Science Study Group (DSSG) in 2024.

Dr. Jewell holds a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics and History from the California Institute of Technology, a Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Michigan in Aerospace Engineering, as well as a Master of Science by Research from the University of Oxford in Engineering Science, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Additionally, Dr. Jewell received his Doctor of Philosophy from the California Institute of Technology in Aeronautics. 

Dr. Jewell has received numerous awards including the NATO Panel Excellence Award, the National Institute of Aerospace Bo Walkley Best Research Publication Award, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Star Team Award (with R. Kimmel group, AFRL), the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Award and the NRC Research Associate Award. Dr. Jewell is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS), an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and a registered Professional Engineer (PE, Michigan).

Dominique Luzeaux entered the Ministry of Defense in 1984, as a cadet within the Military Academy of Saint-Cyr from Sep. 84 to Jan. 85, and platoon leader, 43rd Infantry Regiment, from Feb. 85 to Aug. 85. He graduated from École Polytechnique (1987) and École Nationale Supérieure des  Techniques Avancées (1989) as an armament engineer.

His first position was a research engineer in  artificial intelligence and robotics. He defended his PhD thesis at the University of Paris XI (1991), and was a visiting research scientist at the University of California at Berkeley (1991-1992). Within the DGA (French Armament Procurement Agency), he occupied various positions  successively as expert, project manager and director. As Director of the Complex System Engineering Department (2002-2004), he was in charge of  the R&T programs in system engineering methods and tools, as well as in modeling and simulation. He was the French representative within NATO/RTO and WEAG technical panels. As Director of the Technical Center for Information Systems (2004-2007) he was in charge of the reorganization of the technical and human resources dedicated to the information system infrastructure of the DGA. 2008-2009, he was appointed Deputy Director for C4ISR systems. From 2009 to 2013, as Director for Land Systems acquisition, he was responsible for the technical and financial execution (yearly payment over 1 billion euros) of the military programs for land systems, and was the French representative for several bilateral and multilateral agreements. He was named Honorary Private First Class of the Army for his personal implication in various armament programs, among them the Unitary Rocket Launcher. End of 2013 he joined the Joint Staff as Deputy Director within the Directorate for Infrastructure Networks and Information Systems at the Ministry of Defense level, where he acted as the Chief Purchasing Officer (yearly budgetary envelope of almost 1 billion euros) and head of the Acquisition and Supply-Chain Division. From 2021 to September 2023, he was Director of the newly created Digital Defense Agency within the French Ministry of Defense, in charge of all defense complex digital projects.

Besides, he defended in 2001 his Professor thesis, has directed a dozen of PhD students, has published around hundred articles in conferences and international journals, and has written 9 books in French and in English on nanotechnology, on simulation, and on complex systems engineering. He received the “Ingénieur Général Chanson” Award in 2006 for his work on military autonomous unmanned ground vehicles. Luzeaux is married to Ghislaine and is father of one son, Yvain.

Mark Nehmer is the Chief of Analytics and Innovation, Research and Innovation for the Security Enterprise (RISE) for Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), Quantico, VA. DCSA is a strategic asset to the Nation and its allies – continuously ensuring a trusted federal, industrial and affiliated workforce, and enabling industry’s delivery of uncompromised capabilities by leveraging advanced technologies and innovation. The agency uniquely blends critical technology protection, trusted personnel vetting, counterintelligence, and professional education and certification to advance and preserve America's strategic edge.

Mr. Nehmer is responsible for developing and evolving DCSA’s strategic innovation pathways for emerging and disruptive technologies, including the talent development framework for technical individuals building and supporting artificial intelligence capabilities. He was previously the Deputy Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO), responsible for strategic vision, governance, talent acquisition, and talent management frameworks for artificial intelligence capabilities. Prior roles include Advisor for Technical Strategy and the first Technical Director of the Program Executive Office (PEO); managing activities necessary for the standup of the Cyber-Counterintelligence division in 2013; was a founding member responsible for projects and initiatives that covered technology, contracts, funding, and (DoD and Federal) policies related to the establishment of the Defense Insider Threat Management and Analysis Center (DITMAC) in 2014; then the Defense Vetting Directorate (DVD) and PEO in 2018, all within DCSA.

Prior to joining DCSA, Mr. Nehmer was the J65 Division Chief, Risk Management/C4 Analysis and Strategy, United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), responsible for analysis of current and future DoD and Federal risk management and C4 instructions, directives and implementations, and development of strategies for and on behalf of the USCYBERCOM J6, Command and DoD leadership teams.

A native of Croswell, Michigan, Nehmer graduated from the University of Michigan and holds
Bachelor degrees in History and Economics. Upon graduation, he relocated to St. Louis, Missouri
where he completed his Master of Business Administration with a dual concentration in Finance
and Information Systems from Fontbonne University where he graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Kedar Pavgi is the Director of Commercial Strategy and Operations at the Defense Innovation Unit. Since joining DIU in 2020, Kedar has supported a number of different efforts to identify and rapidly harness commercial technology.

Before joining the DIU team, Kedar was a consultant in Deloitte Consulting's Government and Public Sector practice supporting Department of Defense clients. Prior to that, he was a Washington D.C. based journalist covering national security, defense and international affairs for Defense One, Government Executive, Foreign Policy among other publications. He received his graduate degree in international relations and international economics from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, and his undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary.

Dr. Rachel Riley joins the Office of Naval Research from the Department of Health and Human Services, where she served as a Special Advisor to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on a wide variety of topics related to operations and operational efficiency, including personnel, contracts and grants.

Previously, Dr. Riley was a Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Public Sector and People/Organizational Performance practices, where she led teams advising governmentand private sector clients on topics encompassing strategy, transformation and organizational design for efficiency and speed. She specialized in leading large, complex transformations involving a wide range of stakeholders.

Prior to joining McKinsey, Dr. Riley — a proficient speaker of Mandarin Chinese — completed a PhD in Social Policy and a Master of Science in Contemporary Chinese Studies from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. Her PhD research focused on how the Chinese government used (or failed to use) real-world data from policy experiments to refine its family planning policies — those often referred to collectively as the “One Child Policy.”

Dr. Riley earned a B.S. and B.A. from Wofford College, focusing on Business Economics and Chinese Language and Culture.

Dr. Riley is married to a U.S. Army Veteran and has three sons, all with deep roots in the mountains of Tennessee. She was a varsity member and two-year captain of Wofford College’s Lady Terriers Volleyball Team.

Rob Bocek is Chief Commercial Officer and leads the strategy and execution for Virtualitics across U.S. Defense, Intelligence, Federal Civilian agencies, and State and Local Government business verticals. He is responsible for overseeing the end-to-end customer acquisition and expanding mission partnerships while spearheading strategic business development campaigns, sales, and go-to-market strategies to drive revenue and communicate our company’s mission, core values, and vision.

Rob has nearly 15 years of experience leading teams focused on bringing new & disruptive technologies to market. Prior to joining Virtualitics, Rob led multiple VC defense-tech startups in the rapid scaling and buildout of revenue operations. His business experience includes serving as Chief Revenue Officer for a privacy-enhancing technology company with deep roots in DOD & Intel mission communities to leading the Revenue and Growth for a Directed Energy counter-electronics weapons development company.

Rob was also a senior executive at Microsoft for nearly 7 years, leading the Defense Industrial Base/FSI business across Microsoft Federal – National Security organization. His core initiatives centered on positioning enterprise SaaS solutions and driving the adoption of Microsoft’s advanced technologies including Artificial Intelligence, Mixed Reality, and human-machine teaming capabilities supporting next-generation Battle Management Command & Control.

Before launching into the tech landscape, Rob had a distinguished career in Naval Special Warfare where he served for almost a decade as a U.S. Navy SEAL; a decorated tactical commander with over four consecutive combat tours supporting national directives. Rob holds a Bachelor of Science in Weapons & Systems Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and is a graduate of Harvard Business School – Executive Education and Program for Leadership Development.

As chief technology officer (CTO) of Peraton, Todd Borkey leads the company’s technology strategy, research and development (R&D) operations, and R&D portfolio development. In this role, he oversees Peraton Labs, a customer-funded advanced research organization solving the toughest national security problems. Todd also develops strategic campaigns which drive new capabilities, creates disruptive solutions for customers, and ensures that Peraton remains a thought leader in critical mission areas.

In 2023, he was named by WashingonExec as a “Top AI Executive to Watch.” Today, Todd and his team are developing and deploying revolutionary AI-powered enterprise automation technology which is reinventing the relationship between humans and the enterprise.

Prior to joining Peraton, Todd served as executive vice president and CTO to Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), where he led the company’s technology strategy, R&D, and strategic growth initiatives. During his tenure, he founded the HII Mission Technologies AI campaign which became ranked by GovWin as a top 10 capability in the engineering services market.

Todd has held CTO roles at Alion Science and Technology, Thales Defense, and DRS Technologies, where he developed technical roadmaps and led technical programs across RF communications, C5ISR systems, remote sensing, radars, sonars, and cyber/electronic warfare systems. Early in his career, he held engineering and management roles at Northrop Grumman and AT&T Bell Labs. At Bell Labs he served as project manager for the development of several world-record long-haul undersea optical communications networks.

He holds a master’s degree in engineering management from Stevens Institute of Technology and has an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics.

Jamison Braun leads SAP Americas’ U.S. Public Services practice, which encompasses federal, state, and local government, as well as the higher education, aerospace and defense, and healthcare industries. He is responsible for leading strategy, business operations, revenue performance, customer relationships, and overall customer satisfaction throughout the United States. 

Jamison joined SAP from Salesforce, where he served as Vice President of Global Public Sector, driving growth across Autonomous Agents (AI), Slack, and Field Service for government customers. Prior to Salesforce, Jamison led NATO and European Defense organizations, helping modernize citizen engagement and mission outcomes.

Before entering the private sector, Jamison spent four decades as a senior uniformed officer in the U.S. Department of Defense. His final post was at U.S. European Command, where he served as Chief of Staff and Senior Military Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, leading coordination across a 51-country area of responsibility.

A recognized transformation leader, Jamison launched the Department of Defense’s inaugural cloud initiative with the Department of the Air Force and pioneered enterprise-wide human capital modernization efforts, including the establishment of the first Office of People Analytics to support data-driven portfolio decisions.

Jamison holds multiple graduate degrees in business, systems analysis, and international strategy, is a graduate of Harvard University’s Executive Program, and is a recipient of the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Disney Innovation Award. He is based in San Antonio, Texas.

Eric Brock is the Founder of Ondas Inc. and our Chairman and CEO. Eric works closely with our management teams and partners to drive adoption of our private wireless connectivity and autonomous drone technology platforms and services in critical government and industrial markets across our Ondas Networks and Ondas Autonomous Systems (OAS) business units. He is an entrepreneur with over 20 years of global banking and investing experience. Previously, Eric served as a founding Partner and Portfolio Manager with Clough Capital Partners, a Boston-based investment firm from 2000 to 2017. Prior to Clough, Eric was an investment banker at Bear, Stearns & Co. and an accountant at Ernst & Young, LLP. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BS from Boston College.

Chad D’Amore serves on Nightwing’s Special Projects team, where he focuses on operationalizing artificial intelligence at the edge, particularly in austere and denied environments. His work centers on ensuring warfighters and intelligence professionals can trust, employ, and benefit from emerging technologies in the highest-consequence missions.

Prior to joining Nightwing, D’Amore spent more than a decade at Booz Allen Hamilton in consulting and mission operations roles supporting defense and intelligence customers. He later worked on special projects at Raytheon Intelligence & Space. In addition to his public sector experience, he has held leadership and governance positions in the private sector, serving as founder of CoFestCo LLC, a member of the Board of Directors for Gambit Holdings Global, and a Board Advisor for Ahura AI.

D’Amore holds a bachelor's degree in International Studies from American University and a master's degree in Global Business Administration from American Military University. He has also completed executive education programs in management and leadership through the MIT Sloan School of Management, as well as MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory’s (CSAIL) AI for Senior Executives program.

Veronica Blount Daigle is the President of Red Cell’s National Security Practice and a Partner at the firm. Prior to joining, she was an Executive Director within Boeing’s Legislative Affairs, Government Operations. Before her time at Boeing, Ms. Daigle was the Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness in the Department of Defense (DoD), where she served as the principal staff advisor to the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness on all matters related to military readiness.  In that position, Ms. Daigle managed three deputy assistant secretaries of defense, with a combined staff of over 50 military and civilian personnel.

Ms. Daigle entered the Federal Government in 2008 as a Presidential Management Fellow at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and subsequently served as an operations research analyst in DoD’s office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE).  From 2008 to 2013, Ms. Daigle assessed a wide-ranging portfolio of issues, including the operational requirements and costs for Army ground operations, the potential effect of continued Overseas Contingency Operations funding on readiness programs, and the sufficiency of resources to support mental health services for Service Members. In 2013, Ms. Daigle was selected to become a career member of the Senior Executive Service and served as the Director of CAPE’s Force and Infrastructure Analysis Division.  She joined the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in 2017 as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness, and was confirmed by the Senate to be the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness in the summer of 2019. 

Prior to her federal service, Ms. Daigle worked nearly ten years in the financial sector where she developed industry-wide benchmarks to measure the risk-adjusted performance of securities lending activities. She collaborated closely with senior executives at 20 global banking institutions to prepare customized benchmark analyses and marketing strategies, and supported over 150 state Treasurers, public pension fund executives, and mutual fund administrators in assessing the performance of their securities lending programs.

Ms. Daigle earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Fordham University and a Master’s Degree in Political Science/International Affairs from George Mason University. She is a recipient of the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service.

Lisa Henke is Vice President of Sensor & Mission Systems at LeoLabs, where she is focused on scaling the company’s global radar network, accelerating mission system innovation, and strengthening partnerships across government, industry, and research organizations to ensure LeoLabs’ capabilities are integrated into evolving defense architectures for Space Domain Awareness and Missile Defense.  With more than 35 years of experience across the U.S. Air Force, the Intelligence Community, and the defense industry, Lisa is recognized for bridging strategy, engineering, and mission outcomes.

Prior to joining LeoLabs, Lisa served as Vice President and Chief of Technology & Innovation at Maxar, where she established the company’s innovation organization, led strategic engagements with defense customers, and helped shape next-generation systems supporting the U.S. Space Force, U.S. Army, and national security missions. She has held senior leadership roles at Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and the SI, advancing programs spanning missile defense, space domain awareness, and next generation integrated ground systems. 

Mohammed Husain is a Strategic Delivery Lead at OpenAI, focused on helping government and national security organizations understand, evaluate, and adopt advanced AI capabilities. Prior to OpenAI, he held lead technical roles with Scale AI’s National Security team and served as a government civilian at the National Reconnaissance Office. He holds an M.S. in Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from UCLA.

Mike Kremer is the Sr. Director of Solutions Consulting for OpenText’s US Public Sector business unit. His team supports customers in the Federal Government, DoD, Intelligence Community, Federal Systems Integrators, State & Local government agencies, and Education entities ranging from K-12 to Higher Ed. He has worked closely with his fellow OpenText teammates in developing our FedRAMP offering and go to market strategy. A career IT professional, Mike has an extensive background in process automation and integration technologies working with commercial and government customers. Since joining OpenText in 2011, he has expanded his knowledge to incorporate content and records management as well as improved user experiences into customer solutions.

Dr. Jerry McGinn is the director of the Center for the Industrial Base and a senior fellow with the Defense and Security Department. He is one of the nation’s leading experts on industrial base, acquisition, government contracting, and security policy issues. Prior to joining CSIS, Jerry served as executive director of the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University, publishing over 70 influential reports, white papers, and commentaries. Prior to GMU, Jerry served as the senior career official in the Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy in the Department of Defense (DoD), leading efforts to analyze the capabilities of the defense industrial base. He also directed hundreds of reviews of high-profile mergers and acquisitions as well as transactions before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Before his service in DoD, Dr. McGinn spent a decade in senior defense industry roles at Northrop Grumman, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and QinetiQ North America. Prior to industry, Dr. McGinn served as special assistant to the principal deputy undersecretary for policy in DoD and as a political scientist at RAND. Dr. McGinn is also a widely acclaimed thought leader and has testified numerous times before the U.S. Congress and the UK House of Commons. Dr. McGinn served with distinction as an infantry officer and is a graduate of Ranger and Airborne Schools. He earned a PhD, MS, and MA from Georgetown University as well as a BS from the United States Military Academy.

Dr. Paul Rodrigues is the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer of Microsoft’s National Security Group, where he supports artificial intelligence efforts across US federal customers and the defense industrial base.  Before Microsoft, Dr. Rodrigues was Principal Director of Data Science Innovation and the Natural Language Processing (NLP) Science Director at Accenture Federal Services (AFS), where he coordinated NLP efforts across Accenture’s US federal client accounts. 

Prior to AFS, Dr. Rodrigues was an Associate Research Scientist at two DOD University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) – the University of Maryland (UMD) Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) and the UMD Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL). He continues to teach in UMD’s Machine Learning program. 

Dr. Rodrigues has led 10 federally funded research projects, authored over 35 peer-reviewed research papers, and produced more than 20 comprehensive technical reports for U.S. government clients. He holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. in Computational Linguistics from Indiana University, and a B.S. in Computer Science from Stockton University.

Brandon Tseng is Shield AI’s Co-Founder and President. Previously, Brandon proudly served in the Navy for seven years as a SEAL and Surface Warfare Officer aboard USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52). He founded Shield AI – with the mission to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems – driven by firsthand experiences during deployments to Afghanistan (x2), the Pacific Theater, and the Arabian Gulf. Brandon earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Thomas Novelly covers air and space warfare as a senior reporter for Defense One. He was previously a reporter for Military.com, where he covered Air Force and Space Force personnel and policy. Before that, he was the military and politics reporter for The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina. He lives in Washington, D.C. 

Lauren C. Williams is Business Editor for Defense One. She previously covered defense technology and cybersecurity for FCW and Defense Systems. Williams has reported for various publications on topics from internet culture and health care, politics to crime. She has a master's in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a bachelor's in dietetics from the University of Delaware.