CDAO Defense & Security 2026

Agenda | Day 1 Sept 22
Agenda | Day 2 Sept 23

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8:00 AM

Registration & Light Breakfast
8:25 AM

Chairperson's Opening Remarks

Leslie Beavers, SES - Former Acting Chief Information Officer - US DEPARTMENT OF WAR
PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH: ADVANCING AI AND DATA-DRIVEN DECISION-MAKING
8:30 AM

Delivering Decision Advantage: Integrating Intelligence, Data, and AI Across the Joint Force

Brigadier General Shannon O’Harren - Deputy Director for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Operations - US JOINT STAFF
9:00 AM

Edge AI / Local AI – Data Sovereignty + Security Performance

Matt Barry - Federal COO - HP
9:30 AM

Driving Financial Operations and Government Efficiency at Scale

Justin Marsico, Chief Data Officer and Assistant Commissioner, US DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY - Chief Data Officer and Assistant Commissioner - US DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
10:00AM

Fireside Chat: Delivering Critical Capabilities at the Speed of Mission

Bonnie Evangelista - Director of Acquisition - OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF WAR FOR SPECIAL OPERATIONS AND LOW-INTENSITY CONFLICT
10:30 AM

Networking Break
11:00AM

From Data to Decision Advantage: Operationalizing Data Across the Naval Enterprise

Dr. Colin Crosby - Service Data Officer - US MARINE CORPS
11:30AM

Integrating Data and AI into Next-Generation Airpower

Michelle Brouhard - Head of Policy and Geopolitical Risk - KPLER
12:00PM

Bridging Defense and Innovation: Accelerating AI Adoption Through Strategic Partnerships

Colleen Laughlin - Advisory Board Member - STATION DC
12:30PM

10x’ing National Security for Future Generations

John Eubank - CEO - 10x NATIONAL SECURITY
1:00 PM

Lunch & Networking Break
2:00PM

Preparing the Cyber Workforce for the Future Fight

Elizabeth Phu - Chancellor, College of Information and Cyberspace - NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY
- Ensuring trust in AI: advancing test and evaluation frameworks to validate AI-enabled systems in operational environments
- Modeling and simulation at scale: leveraging digital environments to accelerate development, testing, and deployment of advanced capabilities
- Bridging experimentation and fielding: translating modeling, simulation, and test results into mission-ready systems
- Building confidence in autonomy: addressing verification, validation, and reliability challenges for AI and autonomous platforms
2:30PM

Fireside Chat: From Data to Mission Advantage: Operationalizing Data Across the Defense Enterprise

Rear Admiral Julius "JC" Caesar (Ret.) - Former Deputy Director - US JOINT STAFF
3:00PM

Verification Meets Uncertainty: Enabling Next-Generation Robotics, Logistics, and Compliance

Dr. Alvaro Velasquez - CEO, NSI, Assistant Professor - UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER
3:30PM

From Innovation to Deployment: Delivering AI-Enabled Capabilities for Defense Missions

Michael Huynh - Founder & CEO - PHERATECH SYSTEMS
4:00PM

COFFEE & NETWORKING
4:30 PM

Data and AI Collaboration Across Government and Allied Networks

Colonel Gabriel Arrington - Graduate Flying Training - US AETC
5:00 PM

Operational Lessons in AI, Cyber, and Data from the War in Ukraine

Iryna Kopanitsa - - UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES
5:30PM

ITAR Wasn't Built for AI: Closing the Gap Before It Closes You

Katie Sweeten - Partner - SCALE LLP
6:00 PM

Welcome Drinks Reception

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8:00 AM

Registration & Light Breakfast
8:40 AM

Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

Leslie Beavers - Former Acting Chief Information Officer - US DEPARTMENT OF WAR
8:45 AM

Building the AI-Ready Organization: Modernization, Accountability, and Sustainable Transformation

Justin Carder - Chief Digital & AI Officer - DEFENSE CONTRACT AUDIT AGENCY
9:15 AM

Panel Discussion: AI and the Adaptation Advantage: Outpacing Adversaries Through Rapid Innovation

Panelists:

Kevin McQueary, Data and AI Weaponization Lead, US NAVY

Tyler Saltsman, Founder & CEO, EDGERUNNER

Dr. Kimberly Elenberg, Applied AI Research Scientist, CARNEGIE MELLON
10:00 AM

Building the Digital Army: Delivering Technology at the Speed of the Mission

Gabriele Chiulli - Acting Chief Information Officer - US ARMY
10:30 AM

Leveraging Data and AI to Drive Community Impact and Organizational Transformation

Andrew Patricio - Chief Data and AI Officer - UNIDOSUS

In the highly competitive age of digital transformation financial service organizations are facing accelerated urgency to improve their customer and employee experience while simultaneously reducing operating costs, and managing risk and compliance.

To meet these competing demands on their business, these organizations are racing to deploy deep learning to achieve a new competitive edge by optimizing their back office operations with intelligent document processing, personalizing their customer experience with cutting edge NLP models, and reducing fraud and risk using state-of-the-art deep learning.

AI is here and delivering new capabilities to help businesses solve large and complicated challenges. Join Bob Gaines to learn what that means for your business and how deep learning is helping organizations:

• Achieve higher compliance, faster and with lower costs • Dramatically improve Customer Experience • Reduce time to value from years to weeks

Sergio Rego is a customer engineer at SambaNova Systems where he helps clients deploy purpose-built, deep learning solutions in weeks rather than years. Sergio started his career in financial services, where he worked in strategy; active and index management; and product design and management. Sergio also served as a senior data scientist and team manager for a system integrator where he helped federal government agencies deploy ML and AI solutions.
11:00 AM

Networking Break
11:30 AM

Advancing Intelligent Systems for the Future Fight: From Research to Operational Capability

Dr. Rajneesh Singh - Associate Division Chief, Science of Intelligent Systems Division - US ARMY
12:15PM

Accelerating Defense Innovation Through AI, Emerging Technologies, and Strategic Collaboration

Amy Soller - Chief AI Officer, Systems Planning & Analysis -
12:45 PM

Scaling Commercial Capabilities for Operational Advantage

Charlene Jacka - Chief Engineer, SPACEWERX - US SPACE FORCE
1:15 PM

Lunch & Networking
2:15PM

THE INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM
2:15 PM

Scaling Commercial Capabilities for Operational Advantage

Moderator:

Leslie Beavers, SES, Former Acting Chief Information Officer, US DEPARTMENT OF WAR

Panelists:

Charlene Jacka, Chief Engineer, SPACEWERX, US SPACE FORCE

Dr. Amy Soller, Chief AI Officer, Systems Planning & Analysis
Jason Wicker, CTO, THE MODERN DATA COMPANY
3:00 PM

Geospatial Standards for AI-Driven Decision-Making

Christy Monaco - Chief Operating Officer - OPEN GEOSPATIAL CONSORTIUM
3:30 PM

COFFEE & NETWORKING BREAK
4:00PM

Roundtable 1: Operationalizing AI Across Defense Missions
4:00PM

Roundtable 2: Data as a Warfighting Asset
4:00PM

Roundtable 3: Cloud Infrastructure for Modern Defense Operations
4:00PM

Roundtable 4: Accelerating Technology Transition: From Innovation to Fielded Capability
4:00PM

Roundtable 5: Human–Machine Teaming: Building Trust and Effectiveness
4:00PM

Roundtable 6: Cyber Resilience in Contested Environments
5:30PM

End of Conference

CDAO Defense & Security 2026 schedule

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