Next-generation AI presents unprecedented opportunities and risks for state and government agencies. This session will show you how to apply new approaches on how you can leverage AI to improve services while safeguarding security, compliance, and public trust.

• Transform service delivery using AI-driven insights
• Reduce operational risks from emerging AI technologies
• Optimize policy and governance frameworks for AI adoption
• Improve inter-agency collaboration through AI-enabled tools
• Bolster citizen trust while deploying innovative AI solutions

Government agencies often struggle with fragmented systems that slow service delivery and limit innovation. This session will show you how to apply new approaches on how you can unify systems, centralize access, and leverage real-time data to transform operations.

• Achieve faster delivery cycles by consolidating legacy systems
• Transform user experience through centralized identity and application portals
• Advance system interoperability across departments
• Amplify technology reuse with shared code frameworks
• Optimize operations to enable AI-powered decision making

Virginia faces fast-moving cyber risks as AI, automation, and new attack vectors reshape how state agencies operate and defend their systems. This session will show you how to reduce emerging risks, improve statewide threat readiness, and apply new approaches so you can protect data, streamline response, and secure automated workflows.

• Advance AI risk mitigation across high-value state systems
• Improve identification of new attack vectors targeting critical services
• Optimize data-level protection to reduce exposure and ensure resilience
• Bolster statewide threat management and coordination for faster response

As state agencies accelerate their adoption of artificial intelligence, they face a dual mandate: move fast enough to unlock value, while maintaining the highest standards of security, compliance, and public trust. In this fireside chat, Maria Thompson, Public Sector Strategist at Wiz and former North Carolina State CRO, sits down with Richard White, Director of Security Products and Services at the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA), to explore how one of the nation’s leading state IT organizations is navigating that balance.

Together, they’ll explore how VITA is moving AI beyond isolated experimentation into real, scalable impact—driving measurable improvements in operational efficiency across core government services. Along the way, Richard will share firsthand insights into the complexities of scaling AI within a state environment, from procurement hurdles to governance challenges, and what it takes to align innovation with enterprise-wide standards.  

State and local governments are under pressure to keep citizen services reliable and accessible while managing growing cyber risk, expanding use of automation and AI, and limited resources. This session explores how government technology leaders are strengthening operational resilience to protect the citizen experience as core systems, services, and data environments modernize. Speakers will share perspectives on how resilience planning supports service continuity, public trust, and responsible adoption of emerging technologies. Attendees will hear how leaders are balancing risk, innovation, and accountability as AI and automation become part of everyday government operations.

• Strengthen operational resilience to support citizen‑facing services as automation and AI expand
• Apply lessons from outages and incidents to improve continuity planning across legacy and modern systems
• Align IT, security, and operations teams around shared resilience and governance priorities across data and systems
• Maintain public trust by ensuring reliability, transparency, and responsible use of emerging technologies

Session Overview:

• State & Local Government agencies are under pressure to do more with less.
• Aging tools, fragmented endpoint environments, and rising operational costs are slowing modernization before it starts.
• This session introduces a practical framework for consolidating IT operations onto a single, FedRAMP and GovRAMP Authorized platform that reduces tool sprawl, lowers endpoint management costs by up to 40 percent, and accelerates remediation from weeks to hours.
• Attendees will leave with a concrete 30-60-90 day IT modernization plan and a scorecard to measure progress. Assess the real-world risks quantum technologies pose to your current cryptographic systems
• Adapt your organization’s roadmap to meet new post-quantum cryptography standards
• Increase resilience by integrating quantum-safe strategies into existing infrastructure
• Advance inter-agency collaboration to ensure consistent, secure adoption of new practices

Governments are under increasing pressure to deliver better services with fewer resources. While emerging tools create opportunities for rapid improvement, the real challenge lies in sustaining innovation and embedding it into everyday operations. This session will help you apply new approaches on how you can drive, support, and scale innovation to create lasting impact across your organization.

• Advance innovation by building systems and leadership support that sustain change
• Adapt emerging tools to meet the evolving needs of citizens and communities
• Optimize collaboration across agencies to scale pilots into long-term solutions
• Amplify the resilience and impact of your services through continuous innovation

This panel demonstrates that AI doesn’t have to be purely technical to deliver real impact. Through a panel of experts, attendees will see real-world proof-of-concept AI solutions that improve customer experience, streamline contract management, optimize supply chains, and ensure compliance. The discussion features supply chain management experts focused on improving contracts search functionality and improving customer service and streamlining the procurement evaluation process, legal/regulatory experts focused on unlocking efficiency while navigating the General Assembly process and a service delivery expert delivering AI solutions at scale for the Commonwealth — highlighting how AI can create tangible business value from both operational and strategic perspectives.

• Automating and enhancing contract search functionality for faster, smarter business decisions
• Implementing AI solutions to improve customer experience and operational efficiency
• Navigating legislative and regulatory processes using AI tools.
• ⁠Lessons learned from proof-of-concept projects across customer service, contracts, and supply chain

Public sector supply chains are increasingly targeted, making procurement a critical line of defense. This session will show you how to embed cybersecurity in contracts, assess vendor risk, and ensure resilience in third-party partnerships.

This session will help you apply new approaches on how you can align procurement with security frameworks, reduce third-party vulnerabilities, and transform vendor relationships into trusted partnerships.

• Integrate cybersecurity standards and Zero Trust principles into procurement processes
• Evaluate vendor risks using proven frameworks and due diligence practices
• Adapt lessons from recent supply chain attacks to strengthen resilience
• Balance innovation, cost, and security in vendor selection and contract negotiations

Discover AI agents, automation, and analytics that augment decision-making and streamline service delivery. Case studies and frameworks for secure deployment, workforce enablement, and measuring impact on citizen outcomes.

Government IT teams face growing complexity—from siloed agencies and legacy systems to rising demands and limited resources. This session explores how Enterprise Service Management (ESM) simplifies operations and extends service delivery beyond IT—freeing up time to better serve constituents and deliver on their mission.

Learn practical ways to streamline workflows, reduce administrative burden, and deliver consistent, accessible service experiences.

• Create a unified service experience across agencies
• Streamline workflows and reduce manual work
• Use data to support better decision-making
• Enable scalable, secure service delivery

As quantum threats move closer to reality, many organizations are being asked to prepare for a shift in cryptographic standards. But before planning a transition, a more immediate challenge remains: understanding where and how encryption is actually used across systems, data, and infrastructure.

This session focuses on the often-overlooked first step—gaining visibility into cryptographic dependencies, identifying exposure, and building a realistic foundation for future readiness. By grounding the conversation in current-state challenges, this discussion prepares attendees for the broader strategic and roadmap-focused insights explored later in the keynote session.

Key Discussion Points
• Why many organizations lack visibility into their current cryptographic landscape
• Where encryption is most commonly embedded and often overlooked (applications, data flows, third-party systems)
• How to begin mapping and assessing cryptographic risk without large scale disruption
• Common gaps that can delay or complicate future post quantum transitions
• The role of government and industry collaboration in building early-stage awareness and readiness

ROUNDTABLE #1:

Communication as Digital Transformation

Facilitated by Chris Busse, Chief AI Officer, SingleStone

ROUNDTABLE #2:

GenAI & Analytics in Government - From Pilots to Governed, Measurable Outcomes

Facilitated by Sherrod Heyward, Founder & CEO, Ulizer Technology Solutions, LLC

ROUNDTABLE #3:

What Effective Public-Private Collaboration Looks Like in Practice

Facilitated by Matt Crane, General Manager, Tyler Technologies Virginia

ROUNDTABLE #4:

Modernizing Service Delivery

Facilitated by Warren Gouws, Senior Director, Solution Engineering, Freshworks

ROUNDTABLE #5:

Accelerating Modernization Through Automation, Data, and AI-Enabled Enhancements

Facilitated by Jeremy Johnson, Principal Automation, Wize Technologies

ROUNDTABLE #6:

What Does "Context" Mean for AI in Government, and Why Does It Matter?

Facilitated by Angelo Di Salvo - Content Intelligence Advisor, Hyland

ROUNDTABLE #7:

The AI Journey From Beginning to End - Selecting the right use case determines AI value

Facilitated by Kevin Kohn, Solutions Director, ePlus Technology, Inc.

ROUNDTABLE #8:

Building Resilient State Agencies for the Future

Facilitated by Bill Greeves, Industry Executive Advisor - State & Local Government, Education, SAP

ROUNDTABLE #9:

Technology Solutions to Navigate the Data Driven Landscape

Facilitated by Keith Nelson, Senior Strategist, Public Sector, OpenText

ROUNDTABLE #10:

Hiring Smarter Not Slower by Rethinking Talent Strategies for Mission-Critical Roles

Facilitated by Amy Gottschling, Account Director, LinkedIn

ROUNDTABLE #11:

Evolving Security Operations: How AI and Automation Are Shaping the Modern SOC

Facilitated by Sheldon Mur, Global Head of Channels, Torq

1:30 PM – 1:45 PM (15 mins)

• Kayla Anderson Senior Infrastructure/Enterprise Sourcing Specialist, Virginia Information Technologies Agency
• Steven Bishop, Virginia’s Account Executive, GDIT

1:45 PM – 2:00 PM (15 mins)

• Larry White Category Manager – IT Hardware & Public Safety, Virginia Information Technologies Agency
• Gary Lynn, HP

Government procurement is evolving, with agencies seeking not just cost savings but also innovation, accountability, and long-term value from vendor relationships. In this session, procurement leaders will provide insights to help vendors better understand the government’s priorities, expectations, and processes. Attendees will gain clarity on how to navigate compliance requirements, present innovative solutions, and build partnerships that align with agency missions and citizen needs.

Kayla Anderson and Steven Bishop will focus on innovations inherent in VITA’s IT Sourcing Process for Infrastructure and how those innovations cultivated VITA-Supplier partnership throughout a recent RFP. 

Larry White and Gary Lynn will focus on the transparency and innovative approaches taken in  VITA SCM’s Supplier Onboarding Process compared to other markets.

Both sessions will tackle following topics:

• What government buyers look for beyond pricing
• Best practices for engaging with agencies early and effectively
• How agencies evaluate innovation while ensuring fairness and compliance
• Building trusted, transparent, and long-term vendor partnerships