Speakers

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.

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.

Dena Potter, Director of Communications for the Virginia Department of General Services (DGS), is NAGC's 2022 Communicator of the Year. In 2021, Potter held several high-profile communications roles, both with DGS and Vaccinate Virginia.

At the height of the pandemic in February 2021, Virginia's governor requested Potter to lead the communications efforts for Vaccinate Virginia, which struggled to get people vaccinated against COVID-19. Prior to her arrival, the state ranked 50th for vaccine delivery. Through the execution of her strategic communications plan, Potter worked with local, state, and national organizations and the media to construct messages to communicate with residents about the importance of vaccinations through various platforms. Potter's efforts resulted in a significant increase in vaccinations between February 2021 and May 2021. Vaccinations in Virginia went from 11.8 percent to more than 55 percent by the end of her tenure. Similarly, fully vaccinated rates rose from 3.8 percent to 45 percent in that same timeframe. Virginia also entered the top 10 in the country for vaccine delivery.

After leading Vaccinate Virginia, Potter returned to DGS where she served as chief communications strategist. Among other responsibilities, she crafted and oversaw the media relations surrounding the controversial removal of the state-owned Robert E. Lee monument.

Immediately following, Potter then oversaw the transition of power of the Commonwealth's governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and inauguration activities.

Joe Damico, Director of the Virginia Department of General Services, added: "We are fortunate to have Dena's professional expertise, talent and creative perspective at DGS. We are all proud to see her recognized on a national stage for her exceptional work this past year. We know she will continue to do great things in the years to come."

As Communicator of the Year, Potter joins a prestigious group of noted communicators who have exemplified the ethics of good communication and good government through their professionalism and superior performance in serving the people of the nation.

Potter is a former journalist with The Associated Press, where she specialized in state government and public safety reporting before becoming news editor over Virginia and West Virginia in 2011. Prior to joining the AP, she served as editor of the Appalachian News-Express in Pikeville, Ky.

Potter has a bachelor's degree in journalism and a minor in political science from Eastern Kentucky University and a master's in mass communication/strategic public relations from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a graduate of the Virginia Executive Institute and the Commonwealth Management Institute.

Gabe Lugo is the Deputy Chief of External Affairs at the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA). HSEMA’s mission is to protect the nation’s capital from all threats and hazards including acts of terrorism, mass violence, disruptive critical incidents, and natural disasters. HSEMA houses the District’s Emergency Operations Center, Joint Information Center, Watch Center, Fusion Center, and Threat Assessment Center. In his role Mr. Lugo serves as the lead Public Information Officer (PIO) for the agency, with a portfolio that includes public affairs, media relations, social media, alert and warning, and staffing/writing for senior leadership.

Prior to HSEMA, Gabe served as a Public Affairs Lead and PIO for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic). Unique opportunities in this role included deployments following the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, COVID-19 mass vaccination, and Operation Allies Welcome (Afghan refugee resettlement). This role followed a year of service at FEMA HQ where Mr. Lugo worked as a Social Listening and Communications Analyst in the Office of External Affairs. In this role, he supported the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) during major incidents such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gabe has also served in several other public safety organizations, including the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, VCU Police Department, City of Richmond Police Department, and the City of Richmond Office of Emergency Management. He received a BA in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness from Virginia Commonwealth University, is a FEMA PIO Instructor, and is certified by FEMA as an Advanced PIO.

Megan Battaglia is currently the Director of Marketing at ThunderCat Technology, A Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business based out of Reston, VA. ThunderCat is a leading solutions provider to the U.S. Government, educational institutions, and commercial companies. Megan is an experienced federal marketer with over 10 years of technical and digital knowledge. Megan is responsible for planning and executing an overall marketing strategy and tactics for ThunderCat Technology and our entire portfolio of partners.

Megan graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in information systems and technology and a minor in mass communications from Shenandoah University (’16). She has been with ThunderCat for over five and a half years. Prior to ThunderCat, she gained marketing and IT experience by working for McCormick & Company and Johns Hopkins Health System in Baltimore, MD.

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.

April Downey is the senior federal marketing manager responsible for the strategy, planning, and execution of federal marketing programs and campaigns at Sonatype. She has 10 years of federal marketing experience including campaign strategy, event management, and channel marketing. April began her career in the cybersecurity industry at Raytheon Trusted Computer Solutions and continued her tenure in federal marketing at Forcepoint’s Global Governments and Critical Infrastructure. She currently works for Sonatype promoting DevSecOps to government and system integrators. April was recognized consistently as a top performer for her role in Sonatype’s virtual DevSecOps Federal Leadership Forum. She’s an innovative, independent thinker who spearheaded programs including Forcepoint’s Jumanji Charity Program, a giveback initiative to support Freedom Service Dogs which assists veterans with PTSD. April enjoys spending time with her family, her husband, and two children.

Leslie Gervasio is a senior public engagement specialist for Michael Baker International, specializing in public engagement and strategic communication management for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and county and municipal clients.
Overall, Leslie has more than 20 years of state and local government experience, most recently serving for almost a decade as the director of public affairs for the PA State Association of Boroughs. In that role, she also served as the managing editor of the Borough News magazine and the managing producer for Inside PA Boroughs.
Her experience includes serving as a deputy director of the Office of Public Liaison to former Governor Ed Rendell, where she led statewide community outreach efforts. She also served as press secretary for the PA Department of Community and Economic Development; as a project manager in the PA House of Representatives; and as a Main Street Manager for the City of Allentown. Upon graduation from college, she was a newspaper reporter in western PA, which is when she discovered her passion for government reporting.
Gervasio earned a Bachelor of Science in communication and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. She also studied Spanish at the University of San Jose, Costa Rica. She earned a Certificate in Association Management from the American Society of Association Executives in 2014. Locally, Leslie is the programming chair for the Pennsylvania Public Relations Society. She is an advocate for animal welfare initiatives.

With over 13 years of experience, I continue to refine and advance my skills in an area where technology and creativity collide. My primary focus as a digital strategist and marketing professional has led and supported teams to strategically position their brands to meet their business goals and make an impact in the marketplace.

My previous clients range from startups and small businesses to nationally known non-profits, associations, and technology firms. With years of experience working in sync and across public relations teams, advertising executives, and marketers, positions me to view all work from a broad lens, considering the multi-faceted needs of each client.

In my free time, I enjoy volunteering to support passion projects focused on mental health awareness, LGBTQ+ issues, and human rights.

Stephanie Gravel, Director of Client Relations at GovEvents, has worked in the government industry her entire professional career. From being a contractor at NASA, NSA, and DISA to working with government event organizers and marketers in her current position, she understands the complexities of working with government agencies and supporting industry.

Stephanie has spent the last twelve years serving her marketing clients at GovEvents. Her expertise lies in learning about her clients' needs and goals and creating customized marketing packages to help them reach their target audience. Flexibility and creativity are key components of successful marketing campaigns, and she incorporates both elements into her work style.

Contact Stephanie at stephanie.gravel@govevents.com or 703-544-9147 to discuss your marketing needs.

Erin Hawley is currently serving as the Vice President for Federal at Instabase, helping federal organizations drive transformation by unlocking unstructured data with deep learning in the Instabase automation platform.

Ms. Hawley is highly skilled in developing an encompassing business strategy to facilitate scalable growth of start-ups launching into the public sector. Prior to Instabase, Ms. Hawley led the sales and marketing strategy for technology leaders including DataRobot, Cloudera, and Composite Software (Cisco acquired) and has been a top performer in each of those organizations as they propelled their market growth and execution into the public arena.

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.

Carmel McDonagh is a Senior Vice President, Account Management at Yes& Agency. She leads their business-to-government practice where they provide clients with a variety of marketing services including brand strategy, public relations, digital marketing support, content creation, advisory board services and design & creative implementation. Carmel has almost 20 years of experience in the B2G market working with many of the biggest and brightest firms serving the Federal government. With a background in Enterprise & IT Media, she also understands how to tell a story that connects and helps a brand rise above the noise.
Forever a champion of her team, she received FOLIO’s ‘Mentor of the Year’ and ‘Top Women in Media’ earlier in her career. And she has held positions on ABM’s audience marketing board.

Julie Murphy brings particular strength in helping enterprise technology organizations improve their acceptance in the public sector, including Amazon Web Services, SAP NS2, Dell, Hitachi Data Systems, Brocade, and a variety of venture-backed and emerging companies.

Julie is a regular convener of industry conversation within cybersecurity, cloud computing, network management, Internet of Things, and Big Data. She sits on the Board of Women in Technology, and speaks regularly at conferences and academic gatherings, including PR News, DC PR Summit, Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit, IABC, George Mason University, and Catholic University. She dedicates significant time to a number of DC-area charities, include National Multiple Sclerosis Society and March of Dimes.

Julie is a proud graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. In fact, she's the fourth generation in her family to graduate from that college — apparently they bleed Orange.

Alex Stevens has over ten years of marketing and startup experience across both private and public sectors. Prior to joining RIVA Solutions, Alex served as the Head of Marketing at The Clearing. An entrepreneur at heart, Alex co-founded Digital District in 2013, a 501(c)6 organization aimed at fostering innovation and education in the digital sphere. Alex has a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University and a dual Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Business from Boston University. She hopes to one day pursue a doctorate and spend her golden years as an adjunct professor teaching the next generation of entrepreneurs and creative thinkers. In her free time Alex is an avid CrossFitter and Powerlifter. She enjoys cooking, tending to her growing collection of house plants, and taking long walks with her rescue pitbull, Zooey.

A respected thought leader in the Federal IT community, Tom Suder is the CEO of the Advanced Technology Academic Research Center (ATARC), a non-profit organization that introduces innovative technology from academic research labs to the Federal government and private industry with the goal of commercialization.

Through a partnership with the MITRE Corporation, ATARC holds collaboration sessions featuring industry thought leaders and subject matter experts in the areas of mobility, cloud computing and big data and the group has published research documents featuring best practices, lessons learned and recommendations to the government.

Tom is a Strategic Advisor for the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Simulation & Training (IS&T), an internationally-renowned center of excellence that focuses on advancing modeling and simulation technology, including the integration of mobile, games and virtual worlds for learning. Tom is also the Founder and President of Mobilegov, a mobile integrator he spun out of UCF’s Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab (METIL).

Tom is a past winner of the Federal 100 Awards, a prestigious honor that recognizes government and industry leaders who played pivotal roles in Federal IT and made a made a difference in the way technology transformed the government. He serves on several technology advisory boards, including the Professional Science Master’s Advisory Board, which is a part of the Telecommunications Management graduate program at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC).

Tom is an active member of the American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC), a prominent professional organization dedicated to the improvement of Federal IT through government and industry collaboration. From 2011 to 2013, he served as Co-Chair of ACT-IAC’s Advanced Mobility Working Group (AMWG), an influential committee that helped shape the mobility component of the Digital Government Strategy. ACT-IAC honored Tom’s substantial impact in mobility by naming him the 2012 Industry Contributor of the Year.

Tom has held leadership positions on numerous ACT-IAC committees including: Advanced Mobility Working Group (Co-Chair, 2011-13); IAC Executive Board Nomination Committee (Committee Member, 2010); Management of Change Conference (Industry Vice Chair, 2008); and Program Committee (Vice Chair, 2007).

In 2008, Tom won the IAC Chair’s Award for outstanding service and dedication to the organization. In addition to his ACT-IAC committee work, Tom has been a lead contributor on several high-profile government collaboration initiatives within the organization. In 2011, he served as ACT-IAC Working Group Leader on the Myth Busters campaign, which was Point No. 25 in Federal CIO Vivek Kundra’s 25-point IT Management Reform Program.

In 2010, he served as the ACT-IAC Working Group Leader for the Better Buy Project – an idea he proposed – which had a goal of helping make government acquisition more open and transparent by using social media tools and collaboration. While the project started out as an experiment by the General Services Administration, it has now become a new way of doing procurements by GSA.

Born into media, Jeffrey Wolinsky grew up in a family-owned and operated full-service advertising agency where marketing and advertising were part of the menu at the dinner table. For the past 20 years he has worked with hundreds of local and national companies on creative media concepts and execution. Jeffrey currently is a director of federal and national sales for WTOP and Federal News Network. WTOP is the number-one revenue-producing radio station in the country and has evolved from a radio station into a digital news organization that currently provides outreach to its massive radio, digital, and social audiences. In addition, it offers external digital services to its clients so that WTOP can provide marketing services beyond its proprietary audience, helping clients target any audience through digital marketing. Jeffrey has delivered 3 main stage original speeches at GAIN, the premier event for Government Marketers from the Government Marketing University and has been featured on numerous podcasts as well as part of many panel discussions. He’s a certified facilitator of the creative problem-solving process and a five-time finalist and 2013 winner of the National Sales Manager of the Year Award presented by Radio Ink, a leading trade publication. A graduate of University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Jeffrey coaches youth sports and cheers on Maryland basketball; he brings his three sons to as many of their games as possible.

Lou Anne Brossman is CEO and founder of Government Marketing University. Her passion for “bringing clarity to the clutter in government marketing” drove her to found GMarkU. Lou Anne has over 35 years of public sector government marketing leadership experience gained while working for some of the leading companies in the market (Juniper Networks, immixGroup, EMC). She is a customer-centric, solution-oriented marketer. She has in-depth knowledge of product and services branding, communications and strategic planning and is committed to increasing client’s competitiveness, market share and profitability.

She is a sought-out speaker on Government Marketing Best Practices and is well recognized and respected for her ability to drive Thought Leadership campaigns on relevant federal, state and local government policies and mandates. Lou Anne has served on numerous boards including immixGroup and Trezza Media and was a founding member of the Women’s Center Executive Council. Lou Anne was honored with the Heroines in Technology award presented by Women in Technology and she was the recipient of the ACT IAC Dedication to Making a Difference award. In 2017 Lou Anne was a finalist for “2017 Women Business Owner of the Year” in the National Association of Women Business Owners and was named a “2017 Trending 40 Federal Entrepreneurs and Innovators.

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.

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.

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.