Speakers

Ms. Leslie A. Beavers is a career member of the Senior Executive Service and the DoD Principal Deputy CIO.  In this capacity, she will assist the CIO in advising the Secretary of Defense on Information Management / Information Technology (IT) and Information Assurance, as well as non-intelligence space systems; critical satellite communications, navigation, and timing programs; spectrum; and telecommunications matters. Ms. Beavers will also lead engagement with the Defense Agencies and Field Activities CIOs and drive strategic resource planning across the IT and cybersecurity domains.

Prior to joining the CIO, Ms. Beavers served as the Director of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Enterprise Capabilities (ISREC). In this capacity she led OUSD(I&S)’s Defense Intelligence Digital Transformation Campaign Plan, known as Project Herald.

Project Herald’s overall goal is to evolve how the DoD delivers intelligence to warfighters while providing the unifying focus to realize next-generation capabilities.  To this end, Ms. Beavers oversaw the planning, programming, budgeting and execution of the Defense Intelligence mission area within the Battlespace Awareness portfolio.

Ms. Beavers began her DoD career as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Air Force, where she continues to serve as a Reserve Brigadier General with the Joint Staff J2.  Her assignments included:  16th Air Force, San Antonio, TX; Pacific Air Forces, Hickam, HI; Distributed Common Ground System 2, Beale AFB, CA; and 4th Air Force, March ARB, CA.

Additionally, Ms. Beavers has over 15 years’ experience in the private sector working in the Film/TV, Healthcare, and Oil and Gas industries.  She served as Vice President at NBC/Universal Pictures responsible for recovering 80 years of film and television content destroyed in a fire.  She worked with GE’s Healthcare Diagnostic Imaging division improving to manufacturing capacity, profit margin, and revenue.  At Husky Oil, she consulted with C-suite executives on operational integrity establishing processes to manage risk introduction in drilling operations.

She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a MBA in Finance with Honors from South University. Ms. Beavers is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, a Distinguished Graduate of the Air Force’s Signals Intelligence program, and the recipient of numerous DoD and professional awards including the Defense Superior Service and Legion of Merit. 

Christian Brose is President and Chief Strategy Officer at Anduril Industries. He is responsible for leading the company’s core growth-related functions, including corporate strategy, business development, government relations, communications, and international business. He is also a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, a member of the Aspen Strategy Group, and author of The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High Tech Warfare.

Brose joined Anduril in 2018 from Capitol Hill, where he served as staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee for four years, managing the Committee’s staff and overseeing all programs, policies, and resources of the Department of Defense. From 2009-2014, he served as senior policy adviser to Senator John McCain (R-AZ), supporting his work on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Prior to that, he served as policy adviser and chief speechwriter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice from 2005-2008, working as a member of the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff and supporting the Secretary on regular foreign travel. He began his career in public service as a speechwriter for Secretary of State Colin Powell. He studied political science at Kenyon College and international economics at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.

Jason M. Brown is the General Manager - Defense at Applied Intuition. Previously, Jason was Head of Professional Services - Defense at Google, where he led teams developing solutions for the U.S. public sector. Jason served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force for 26 years, holding roles including 480th ISR Wing Commander and founder of the Air Force Artificial Intelligence Accelerator at MIT. He has master's degrees from Georgetown University, Air University, and Marine Corps University, and a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M.

Jordan Burris is a trailblazer in government innovation and digital trust, leveraging over 15 years of experience to transform public sector technology and pioneer cutting-edge solutions. As Vice President & Head of Public Sector at Socure, he leads the company’s mission to modernize digital identity and fraud detection in government. He guides cross-functional teams across strategy, customer success, sales, legal, and compliance to transform how identity verification powers secure and seamless digital service delivery.

Previously, Jordan served as Chief of Staff in the White House Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer, where he was a key architect of initiatives that modernized federal IT infrastructure, strengthened cybersecurity, and advanced digital identity solutions. He helped manage the Federal Government’s multi-billion-dollar technology budget and led work on critical issues pertaining to cloud computing, zero-trust architecture, and artificial intelligence.

A certified CISSP and CRISC practitioner, Jordan serves on the boards of the Identity Theft Resource Center and the Kantara Initiative, contributing to the development of digital identity standards and efforts to reduce identity-related fraud. He is a proud graduate of Pennsylvania State University and a respected voice in the field of digital identity and public sector technology.

Masao Dahlgren is a fellow with the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he writes on missile defense, space, and emerging technologies. In addition to his writing, he has presented at conferences including the Hypersonic Innovation Conference and Directed Energy Technology Symposium and appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Axios, CNBC, and others. Prior to joining CSIS, he worked at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, U.S. Department of Justice, and NVIDIA Corporation.

Tommy Gardner is HP’s Chief Technology Officer for HP Federal, spanning the US Federal Agencies, Higher Education, K-12 Education, State and Local government customer segments, as well as Federal Systems Integrators. His current responsibilities include technology leadership, strategic technology plans, product and technology strategies, sales force technical support, and customer and partner relationships.

Previously, Tommy has served as the Chief Technology Officer for Jacobs Engineering, Scitor, and ManTech. Earlier in his career he was a senior technical executive at Raytheon. In the U.S. Navy he served as the Deputy for Science and Technology for the Chief of Naval Research. He oversaw the Navy’s Deep Submergence Program as well as its Advanced Technology Program. He also commanded the nuclear submarine, USS San Juan (SSN 751).

Tommy’s educational background covers multiple disciplines and fields of interest including: cybersecurity, data science, blockchain, quantum information science, artificial intelligence, high performance computing and systems integration.

Tommy holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, an M.S. in Management of Technology from MIT and a Ph. D. in Energy Economics from George Washington University. He is a Professional Engineer, an ASME Fellow, and serves on the ASME Board of Governors, the ANSI Board of Directors and the U. S. Council on Competitiveness as the Co-chair of the Advanced Computer Roundtable.

Susanne Hake joined Maxar in October 2023 as the General Manager of Maxar Intelligence’s U.S. Government business.

Prior to joining Maxar Intelligence, Susanne was the Senior Vice President for Strategic Technology Programs at Palantir. At Palantir she established the company's integrated hardware software business, developing new products and expanding into new markets through innovative platform-based technology solutions. She led business development teams across the U.S. government portfolio including civil, health, defense and intelligence customers. Prior to Palantir, she worked at Booz Allen Hamilton doing consulting projects across intelligence community agencies. She also worked at the National Security Council in the Office of Near East and North Africa Affairs.

Susanne holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Duke University and an MBA from Georgetown University.

Previous to his current position, Greg was the first Department of Defense (DoD) Deputy Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (DCDAO) of the Business Analytics Directorate. He oversaw the Business Analytics and Strategic Insights (BASI), Enterprise Platform and Capabilities (EPC) and Strategy Operations and Customer Success (SOCS) divisions which were responsible for CJADC2 experimentation, performance management, and the Advana data and analytics platform. 

Prior to this assignment, Greg served as Deputy Comptroller for Enterprise Data and Business Performance (EDBP), in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) (OUSD(C)). In this role, he served as an advisor to the USD(C), DoD’s Principal Staff Assistants and the Deputy Secretary of Defense. He was responsible for advancing the National Defense Strategy by leading and championing the evolution of DoD’s performance management strategy through collaboration with DoD leaders in the use of data to evaluate programs across the enterprise, advance digital transformation, and improve performance across the Defense Agencies/Field Activities as well as the DoD’s Working Capital Fund.

Greg served as Director of the Chief Financial Officer Data Transformation Office (CDTO) for the Office of the Deputy Chief Financial Officer (ODCFO), in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) (OUSD(C)). In this capacity, he developed the first of its kind Defense Financial Management Data Strategy and deployed a big-data repository, called Advana, to transform the use of DoD business data into decisions and actions.

Prior to his appointment to the Senior Executive Service, Greg served as the team lead for the Business Integration Office within the ODCFO. In that position, he successfully led development of the DoD Financial Management Functional Strategy, defined the first Financial Management data analytics vision and strategy for the DoD, and led a team of subject matter experts and technologists to develop the Notice of Findings and Recommendations database to support the DoD’s audit remediation strategy, a crucial step in making and measuring progress on the journey to harness the power of data for better management and decision making on the path toward a clean audit opinion.

Before joining the OUSD(C) in 2015, Greg served five years as the solution architect for the Defense Agencies Initiative (an Oracle enterprise resource planning system). In this position, he was responsible for implementing a single standard financial management system for the Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities. 

Greg holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree from Bates College and has studied abroad at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia.

Mr. Douglas Loverro is a highly regarded national security space thinker and leader who currently serves as President, Loverro Consulting, LLC. He has served in a variety of very senior government positions including at NASA where he led Human Exploration, in the DoD where he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, and in multiple very senior space program leadership roles for DoD and the NRO over a more than 45-year career.

Mr. Loverro holds a Master of Science in Physics from the University of New Mexico, a Master of Political Science from Auburn University, and an MBA from the University of West Florida in addition to his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the US Air Force Academy. He was a distinguished graduate from the Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College and Squadron Officer School and was the top graduate from DoD’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

He is the recipient of multiple prestigious awards including the Secretary of Defense’s Medal for Outstanding Public Service, AIAA’s Durand Lecture for Public Service, the National Defense Industrial Association's (NDIA) Bob Hope Distinguished Citizen Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Federation of Galaxy Explorers, the Society of Satellite Professional Engineers Stellar Award, and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association's (AFCEA) Benjamin Oliver Gold Medal for Engineering among many other civilian and military honors.

Leigh Palmer joined Google in 2022 as Vice President of Technology Strategy & Delivery for Google’s fast-growing Google Public Sector business.  In this role, she is responsible for delivering mission critical technology to public sector customers.  Leigh also is responsible for the global managed services of Google’s Distributed Cloud Hosted product.

Prior to joining Google Cloud, Leigh served in executive leadership roles at BAE Systems, CSRA and, most recently, at General Dynamics Information Technology. During her time in these roles, Leigh led teams delivering complex digital transformation programs for the Federal Government focusing on the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, and Intelligence Community.  Leigh has a passion for executing business objectives by building high performing teams. She was recognized in 2021 by WashingtonExec as one of the Top 25 DOD Execs to Watch and by Virginia Business’ Women in Leadership Awards. 

Leigh is on the Board of Directors for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, and the AFCEA International Executive Committee.

Leigh earned her undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech, and a Masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She resides in Dunn Loring, VA with her husband and two children.

Maj. Gen. Mark Piper is the Deputy Director of Operations, Headquarters North American Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. As Deputy Director, he is responsible for supporting the execution and future planning of aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning for North America to include the Canadian, Alaskan, and continental United States NORAD Regions within the bi-national command.

General Piper received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1995. He has served in a variety of operational and staff assignments to include command at the squadron, group and wing levels; Joint Staff Liaison to the Federal Emergency Management Agency; Director, National Guard Bureau Senior Leader Management; and Director, National Guard Bureau Plans, Programs, and Requirements.

General Piper is a command pilot with more than 2,400 hours in fighter aircraft to include more than 300 combat hours in support of Operations NORTHERN WATCH, SOUTHERN WATCH, IRAQI FREEDOM, and ENDURING FREEDOM. Prior to his current position, the general was the Special Assistant to the Director of the Air National Guard, National Guard Bureau, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia.

Lee is a hands-on technical executive who loves building AI systems and high-performing teams. He has extensive experience applying machine learning to a variety of DoD problems ranging from sensor processing to autonomous platform control. Prior to founding Primordial Labs, Lee was a technical leader at Lockheed Martin where he served as Director and Chief AI Architect for the Applied AI organization. Before that, he spent the better part of a decade at the Skunk Works.

As a Principal Investor at Shield Capital, David Rothzeid is responsible for identifying and evaluating high-potential startups at the nexus of commercial innovation and national security. With over $350 million in assets under management, Shield Capital partners with visionary founders to scale transformative technologies. David sits on multiple boards and leverages his expertise to help portfolio companies navigate the complexities of federal procurement and access key government markets.

Before joining Shield, David spent thirteen years in the United States Air Force, where he held various assignments in Space Command, Air Force Materiel Command, Special Operations Command, the Defense Innovation Unit, and the Pentagon, separating at the rank of Major. He continues to serve in the Air Force Reserves at the Pentagon. David resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Lauren, and their Pit bull, Bentley.

Robert Shea is a recognized government management and policy expert who served in both Congress and the Executive Branch. He has more than 25 years experience working to improve the government’s performance.

Most recently, he was National Managing Principal at Grant Thornton, where he led the firm’s public policy activities and advised federal, state, and local government agencies on strategy, performance, and evidence-based policymaking. 

Robert is a Fellow & former Chairman of the National Academy of Public Administration. He was appointed to the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking, which made important recommendations for better integration of evidence into policymaking.

Dr. Derek Tournear is the Director of the Space Development Agency (SDA). Established in March 2019, SDA is recognized as the Department of Defense's constructive disruptor for space acquisition. SDA will quickly deliver much needed space-based capabilities to the joint warfighter to support terrestrial missions through development, fielding, and operation of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

Before leading SDA, Dr. Tournear most recently served as Assistant Director of Research and Development for Space within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering where he was responsible for coordinating all DoD efforts in space and initiating programs to address critical gaps.

Dr. Tournear previously held leadership roles in industry, most recently the director for Harris Corporation Space & Intelligence research & development. Prior to industry, Dr. Tournear held program management positions at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He has professional experience at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) managing intelligence and defense programs.

Dr. Tournear has a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University and a B.S. from Purdue University. In 2010 he received an Outstanding Alumnus award from Purdue University and a 2008 DARPA award for Outstanding Accomplishments in a Systems Technology Area. Dr. Tournear is a 2011, and 2020 recipient of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service, and a 2012 recipient of the Office of Director of National Intelligence Award for Exceptional Public Service. Additionally, Dr. Tournear is the recipient of a 2021 Space News award, 2021 Theodore Roosevelt Government Leadership award, 2021 Wash 100 award, as well as the 2022 Aviation Week Laureate. He was selected for the Senior Executive Service in 2019.

Trey Treadwell is currently the Associate Director for Capabilities at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. In this capacity, he is responsible for defining the strategic direction of the agency and implementing that strategy. He provides oversight, guidance, and development of NGA, National System for Geospatial Intelligence, and Allied System for Geospatial Intelligence strategic direction, future resource programming, capabilities planning and oversees acquisition, innovation, and the adoption of new technologies supporting GEOINT requirements.

Prior to coming to NGA, Mr. Treadwell was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Department of Treasury where he managed and implemented the Support and Technology portfolio for the Treasury’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis. His duties resembled those of a Chief Operating Officer for OIA, covering such areas as budgeting, information technology, human resources, facilities, and operations.

He also served as the Assistant Director of National Intelligence and Chief Financial Officer of the Intelligence Community. In this capacity, he reported directly to the Director of National Intelligence, helping to execute their statutory responsibilities concerning the National Intelligence Program. He also functioned as the DNI’s primary advisor on managing and allocating the IC’s budget.

Before serving as the IC’s CFO, Mr. Treadwell spearheaded the ODNI Transformation, facilitating the strategic realignment and refocus of the ODNI to propel the IC to heightened performance levels. His previous senior roles also include serving as the Deputy Director for the Business Plans and Operations Directorate and Deputy Chief Financial Officer at the National Reconnaissance Office and within the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget.

Before re-entering the government in 2010, Mr. Treadwell worked for General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, where he led a team of contractors providing IT service delivery for mission operations across multiple ground stations, and as a consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers supporting several government agencies.

Mr. Treadwell served over 11 years as an active duty Air Force officer, starting his tenure in 1996 as an acquisitions and space operations officer at multiple HQ and mission ground stations before concluding his active duty at NRO headquarters in Chantilly, VA. Mr. Treadwell has continued to serve and has over 22 years of active and reserve duty.

As a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy in 1996, Mr. Treadwell holds a Bachelor of Science degree and obtained his MBA in 2007 from George Mason University School of Management.

William (Bill) Vass is Booz Allen’s chief technology officer and a member of our Leadership Team. With more than 40 years of experience in leading large global teams developing technology solutions, Bill accelerates our business growth through mission-centric innovation and infrastructure. His areas of expertise include IT, large-scale cloud, robotics, autonomy, and cybersecurity.

Before joining Booz Allen, Bill was a vice president of engineering at Amazon Web Services (AWS). In this role, he was responsible for emerging technologies at AWS, including IoT services, advanced driver-assistance systems, robotics, satellite edge processing, digital twins, high-performance computing, quantum computing and networking, and more. He also led the development of more than 60 cloud and edge technologies, including storage, streaming, messaging, monitoring, and cloud management services.

Bill has held executive-level leadership positions for both startups and Fortune 100 companies. He was also in the Senior Executive Service (SES) at the U.S. Department of Defense. Bill started his career as a software development engineer delivering large-scale commercial IT engineering solutions for technology providers, defense system integrators, and the oil and gas, automotive, and ocean engineering industries.

Throughout his distinguished career, Bill has received several honors, including the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service and the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service. Bill received the 2024 Chairman’s Award from the IEEE Communications Society’s Technical Committee on Communications Quality & Reliability.

Meghann Myers covers land warfare and other topics for Defense One. She formerly served as Pentagon bureau chief for Military Times and reported and edited for Army Times and Navy Times. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

Bradley Peniston is executive editor of Defense One. A national security journalist for a quarter-century, he helped launch Military.com, served as managing editor of Defense News, and was editor of Armed Forces Journal. His books include No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf (Naval Institute Press, 2006), which has been featured in the Chief of Naval Operations' Professional Reading Program.

Patrick Tucker is science and technology editor for Defense One. He’s also the author of The Naked Future: What Happens in a World That Anticipates Your Every Move? (Current, 2014). His coverage of the effects of emerging technology on national security has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, FOX, BBC and elsewhere. Previously, Tucker was deputy editor for The Futurist for nine years. Tucker has written about emerging technology in Slate, The Sun, MIT Technology Review, Wilson Quarterly, The American Legion Magazine, BBC News Magazine, Utne Reader, and elsewhere.

Lauren C. Williams is senior editor for Defense One. She previously covered defense technology and cybersecurity for FCW and Defense Systems. Before then, Williams has reported on several issues, including internet culture, national security, health care, politics and crime for various publications. 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.