Zoe Chance is a writer, teacher, researcher, and climate philanthropist. She’s obsessed with the topic of interpersonal influence and her bestselling book is called Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen. It is being published in 28 languages. Zoe earned her doctorate from Harvard and now teaches the most popular course at Yale School of Management (Mastering Influence and Persuasion). Her research is published in top academic journals and covered in global media outlets. She speaks on television and around the world, and her framework for behavior change is the foundation for Google’s global food policy. Before joining academia, Zoe managed a $200 million segment of the Barbie brand, helped out with political campaigns, and worked in less glamorous influence jobs like door-to-door sales and telemarketing. She lives with her family in New Haven, CT.

Tabitha Clark is the Senior Communication Administrator for the City of Perry located in central Georgia. She is accredited in public relations (APR) by the Universal Accreditation Board where she was trained and evaluated in the strategic planning process and best practices in the public relations field.
Her communication experience includes law enforcement, K-12 public education, and local government. After spending over a decade working in communications, Tabitha knows how to engage target audiences through creative storytelling and communicating messages in a fun and unique way. She is passionate about supporting government communicators and promoting communications as an essential professional resource in all levels of government.

Caitlin has supported executive leaders at the local, state, and federal level throughout her career in communications. She has led large teams during disaster response and recovery operations for both Stafford Act and PPD-44 events.

She has extensive experience drafting agency messaging on behalf of principals, including Cabinet level officials.

Caitlin has served as a spokesperson for various public and private sector organizations throughout her career, to include the largest police union in Texas.

Caitlin has been recognized by Secretary Mayorkas of the United States Department of Homeland Security, and by Texas Governor Greg Abbott for her leadership during various high profile disasters.

In 2016, Caitlin received her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Mass Communication/Media Studies from Texas State University.

Jennifer Kerber is Director of Public Policy for Grant Thornton, LLP and serves as Director of Marketing & Government Affairs for Grant Thornton Public Sector where she leads policy efforts for the state and local market. She has over 20 years of experience working with federal and state governments on technology issues, having served at both levels of government. Her expertise spans topics such as information technology, identity management, cybersecurity, government innovation, and acquisition issues. She recently led Grant Thornton’s response to the CARES Act and the American Recovery Plan.

Prior to joining Grant Thornton, Ms. Kerber served in the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, where she led improvement of a government identity management and cybersecurity shared service, now called Login.gov. She is widely regarded as an expert in the vast spectrum of policy issues surrounding identity management.

Previously Ms. Kerber served as Executive Director of the Government Transformation Initiative (GTI), a coalition of businesses, think tanks, academic institutions and non-profits dedicated to transforming government to operate more economical, efficient, and effective. Jennifer also served nearly a decade as a government affairs professional representing the technology industry before Congress and the Administration while working at TechAmerica. An expert in technology policy, Ms. Kerber led groundbreaking research on technology and innovation issues examining topics such as cloud computing, privacy, security, identity management, procurement policy and workforce.

Ms. Kerber was recognized by Federal Computer Week as a Fed100 Award Winner for 2011, which recognizes “government and industry leaders who have played pivotal roles in the federal government IT community.”

Early in her career, Ms. Kerber spent several years in the federal marketing and lobbying practice of the Jefferson Consulting Group in Washington DC. She began her career working in the Texas State Senate.

Ms. Kerber earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science with a minor in Journalism from Texas A&M University in College Station and graduate work at the University of Texas-Arlington. She is a member of the Public Affairs Council Board of Directors and Chair’s the ITI Texas Innovation Acquisition Committee. She volunteers as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused children and helps rescue dogs with Heart of Texas Lab Rescue! She serves as a Founder and Board Member of the JMKL Melanoma Foundation.

Stephanie Geiger has 15 years of experience in U.S. Public Sector marketing with various leadership roles at Professional Services firms, Value-Added Resellers, and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Most recently she held the role of Senior Vice President of the Virtual Marketing Division at Sage Communications. There she directed the strategy, planning, and implementation of integrated public sector marketing campaigns for technology companies and government contractors.

In 2015 Geiger helped to co-found Government Marketing University, filling the need for a marketplace of knowledge to support professionals responsible for marketing and selling into the U.S. Public Sector. Her passion is for helping to enable others in expanding their knowledge and gain in-depth insight into this unique marketplace. As Executive Vice President, she leads the company’s business operations, setting the annual strategic plan to ensure the mission of “For the People. By the People” remains at the forefront of all that Government Marketing University brings to this amazing community.

She is a member of the American Marketing Association (AMA), James Madison University Alumni, die hard CAPS fan and lover of travel and great food.

Nick Wakeman is the editor-in-chief of Washington Technology and joined the publication in 1996 as a staff writer. He's a graduate of Bridgewater College and earned a masters degree from American University. When he isn't writing about government contractors, he's thinking of cooking large pieces of meat over a fire and dreaming of ways to embarrass his two sons.

Aaron Heffron has over 20 years of experience in research and analysis in various industries and sectors, including federal government, trade associations, technology, television and radio, and telecommunications. Prior to joining Market Connections, Aaron worked with The NPD Group, Inc. connecting NPD’s syndicated consumer data with federal, state and local government agencies. He founded some of the first public/private partnerships with the U.S. Department of Commerce to improve economic indicators and data gathering practices. Prior to NPD, he was Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Research for Harris Interactive where he facilitated a multi-continent strategic planning process for the US Department of State, ran product trials for the Open Mobile Video Coalition and facilitated focus groups with first Americans in Alaska and South Dakota.

Aaron’s professional history is rooted in both the public sector and the technology and telecommunications industries, including past positions with Market Connections, Inc.; the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS), a trade association that represented the interests of America’s 357 public television stations; and Independent Sector (IS), a coalition of 700 national nonprofit organizations, foundations and corporate giving programs.

He has his master degree in public policy from Georgetown University and a BA in leadership studies and economics from the University of Richmond in Virginia.