Bryan Amedio serves as the Executive Director for the ITS Health & Human Services in the Chief Portfolio Office. He has over thirty-one years’ experience in leadership, management, operations, and technology roles spanning across financial services, healthcare, and state government. Bryan joined ITS in 2016 and before State service, he was the Director of Technical Services at Ellis Medicine, a Capital District region community and teaching healthcare system. At Ellis, Bryan led the strategic organizational alignment of healthcare technology services to meet the needs of the medical providers and patient community. Prior to healthcare, Bryan was a Vice President with KeyCorp - KeyBank N.A in the Enterprise Technology Operations (ETO) Division. He is a graduate of Union College, Schenectady, NY & the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany with both a bachelor and master’s degree in Economics; and is certified in both ITIL & Six Sigma.

Alessandra Barilli joined NYS ITS this past September of 2022 as a Fellow through the New York State Excelsior Fellowship Program. Prior to this position, she worked for the City of New York in Human Resources role while she finished her master’s degree. Allessandra is a graduate of CUNY John Jay where she studied Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity. She entered the security world to explore her passion for social engineering and threat intelligence. Even outside of work, you can find her heavily invested in one of my favorite podcasts: Darknet Diaries.

Dorianne Blanchard is an accomplished IT leader with over 25 years of experience working in the public sector for the state of New York. She holds a Master's Degree in Public Health and has spent a large part of her career in information technology for health and human services.
Currently, Dori serves as the Deputy CIO for Performance and Portfolio Management at the NYS Attorney General's Office, where she oversees the development and implementation of IT strategies and solutions that support the office's mission. Prior to this role, Dori spent 10 years as the Director of Operations at New York State of Health, where she was a leader in the development and implementation of the state's health insurance marketplace.
Dori is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and has a proven track record of successfully managing complex IT projects from conception to delivery. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society, where she advocates for the advancement of women in leadership positions. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the New York IT Leadership Forum.
Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a strong commitment to leveraging technology to improve the lives of New Yorkers. Dori is passionate about using her expertise to drive innovation and transformation in the public sector and is excited to share her insights and experiences with the IT Leadership forum for NYS.

Natalie Cole is the director of the NYS ITS Program Management Office, the newest section within the NYS ITS Program and Project Management Office (PPMO). With over 36 years in Information Technology (IT), she has a wealth of experience and a passion doing IT right. Nat has a BS in Computer Science from SUNY @ Plattsburgh and began her IT career with GE Consulting Services as a COBOL programmer. Her love for programming blossomed into finding her niche in IT Project Management. Her 15-year career with GE, and as an IT consultant working for Keane, Inc., moved to public service with the NYS Police (NYSP) in 2002 where, after less than 3 years, she was promoted to create the NYSP IT Project Management Office (PMO). Natalie transitioned to ITS in 2012 at the agency’s inception, as a leader within the PMO and on the organizational effectiveness team.
Natalie’s knack for problem solving is one of the things that drew her into project and program management, the essence of which is “solving a problem”, and her passion for teambuilding and effective communication enable her success.

Tony is a senior solution consultant at Adobe and has extensive experience supporting complex solution applications. His contributions have helped Federal, State and Local governments maximize their technology to help their citizens live better lives. Prior to joining Adobe, Tony was a solution architect with Accenture.

Grace Dillon currently serves as the Executive Director of the Revenue Finance and Integrity Portfolio at the NYS Office for Information Technology Services. A Portfolio Executive Director ensures IT needs are met for client agencies with a similar lines for business. For Grace, this includes the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, Division of Tax Appeals, Gaming Commission, Office of the Medicaid Inpector General, Division of Human Rights, and several others. In her role she assists in the planning, development, delivery and operation of IT services and initiatives consistent with the New York State IT Strategic Plan. She oversees IT project governance for her agencies, identifies risks to meeting project deliverables, escalates isses to mitigate those risks and collaborates with client agencies and ITS leadership to align IT investments, services and projects with agency business needs and priorities. In her nineteen years of service to NYS, Grace has always lived on the bridge between technology and the business, supporting various agencies and serving in roles related to Information Security, Project Management and Client Engagment. She comes from a long line of storytellers and prides herself on her ability to use that skill to educate and lead others. Grace holds an Associate Degree in Computer Information Systems from Hudson Valley Community College.

Claudia works in the Chief Information Security Office (CISO) at the New York State Office for Information Technology Services. In this role she is responsible for managing all the Security Services Teams (SSTs) that provide information security services to New York State agencies and works directly with the CTO and CPO to ensure security is integrated in all projects and solutions provided by ITS.
Ms. Fisher has over 20 years of experience working in Information Technology with a background in software architecture and identity management. She joined the CISO over five years ago and specializes in leadership, risk management and secure architecture. Claudia has conducted several seminars throughout her career on technology, security, workforce and leadership.
Claudia has a bachelor's degree in Information Technology with a focus in Information Security. In addition, Ms. Fisher holds several certifications, including the ISC2 CISSP. She is currently enrolled in SUNY Polytechnic's MBA program. She was born and raised in Albany, NY and currently resides in East Greenbush.

Tara Holloway is a passionate problem solver with over 30 years of IT experience; including over a decade of service supporting ITS and the citizens of New York State. In her most recent role as the Deputy Executive Director within the Revenue, Finance, and Public Integrity Portfolio, Tara supports ITS’s client agencies in implementing IT solutions to meet their strategic goals. Prior to NYS service, Tara worked as an application development specialist for several large regional financial institutions.
Tara is committed to helping ITS achieve its goal of gaining efficiency and improving customer service while delivering innovative IT solutions to help her client agencies achieve their strategic goals. Tara believes that teams, not individuals, solve problems. She is adept at aligning teams to effectively engage in the problem-solving process; bringing the right people, with the right knowledge, the right support together to solve problems and achieve goals.

Jenson Jacob has more than 20 years of experience as a technologist in Information Technology systems performing various technology roles including leadership and operational management of large-scale complex IT systems, managing enterprise architecture teams for agency business solutions and services. In this role, Jenson serves as a Senior leader within the Chief Technology Office for ITS and drives oversight, management and strategic technology initiatives for the Business Application Services group which is an 1800+ strong application and product engineering team serving more than 30+ executive agency customers and partners. This group is responsible for design, build, deployment, and operational support of all state-wide application services spanning 4000+ solutions.
Prior to joining the state in 2011, Jenson worked in the private industry as a Senior Solution Architect for more than 10 years with Unisys Corp and HCL Technologies. Jenson holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and serves as an Adjunct Professor with State University of New York (SUNY) – College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security & Cybersecurity for the last 10 years.

Matt Jebaraj leads NYS ITS Program and Project Management Office (PPMO) and Business Analysis Services Team, as Executive Director. Prior to that, Matt was the Deputy Executive Director for ITS Workforce, Public Safety and Housing portfolio. Matt was the Deputy Director reporting to NYS Education Department (NYSED) CIO, leading IT Business Solutions, and launched NYSED's PMO and BA Services units. Before that, he has led multiple teams at NYS ITS, and has successfully managed various large, complex programs and technical deliveries. Matt has 25+ years of public and private sector IT management experience, including at GE Energy. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and a Bachelor of Engineering degree. Matt has implemented multiple organizational effectiveness programs, in various organizations. He also formed and led local interest groups for the Project Management Institute (PMI) to mentor outstanding leaders, and served as PMI Upstate NY Chapter's Strategic Planning Director. Matt has been a panelist and moderator in previous NY IT Leadership Forums, and is passionate about bringing experts together to share ideas, and helping new and experienced IT leaders grow, and develop professionally.

Dan Johnson heads State and Local Government customer engineering for Google, a position he has held since January of 2020. Dan and his team are responsible for working with a range of government customers to apply advances in big data and machine learning to their business problems. Prior to his current role, Dan led Financial Services customer engineering for Google working in Global Banking and Financial Markets.
Dan started his career 19 years ago at NLV Financial Corporation as a Systems Programmer. His path leading to Google in 2013 includes leadership and engineering roles at Cisco Systems, ATT and the University of Oregon.
"Through ML and AI, cloud computing will provide both the data storage and the processing power necessary to train new models tackling new problems that were previously incalculable."
Mr. Johnson holds a BA in Economics from the University of Washington and a MS in Organizational Leadership from Colorado State University.

Patrick is a recent law school graduate and current Excelsior Fellow with the Bureau of Enterprise Risk Management. As an Excelsior Fellow, Patrick works with the ERM team to maximize taxpayer value by tracking and mitigating organizational risk. Prior to joining ITS, Patrick worked in Labor Relations at Erie County, interned as a law clerk in a New York State Supreme Court, and served on the Board of Directors for three non-profit corporations During his career in state service Patrick hopes to create a high return on investment for New York citizens and promote government transparency and accountability. Patrick holds Bachelors degrees in Business Administration and International Relations from SUNY Geneseo, and a Juris Doctor from the University at Buffalo School of Law.

Valerie A. Lubanko has served as Deputy General Counsel to NYS ITS since January 2022. In this role she assists in managing the daily operations of the Division of Legal Affairs, which includes addressing a wide variety of topics related to litigation, procurement, electronic discovery, ethics, policy, and legislation. Prior to joining ITS, Valerie worked for the NYS Executive Chamber since 2017, first as the Chamber FOIL Counsel and then as an Assistant Counsel to the Governor, managing a portfolio of technology, local government, and judicial related matters.
Valerie has spent her entire legal career in public service. Her first position out of law school was with the Town of Colonie as an Assistant Town Attorney, and then for the City of Albany as a First Assistant Corporation Counsel.
Valerie holds a JD from Albany Law School where she graduated magna cum laude, as well as a BA from Mount Holyoke College.

David Mahoney is the Director of Inclusion & Engagement at the New York State Office of General Services (OGS). In this capacity, he co-authored OGS’ 5-year Strategic Diversity & Inclusion Plan (1st ever) which outlines the agency’s commitment to recruiting, cultivating, and promoting a diverse and inclusive culture where employees feel welcomed, valued, and motivated to do their best. David and his Team are directly responsible for the recruitment of candidates from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skillsets; the promotion of continuous learning and professional development opportunities for all employees; the development and implementation of employee recognition and engagement initiatives; and communications to employees regarding special events, cultural celebrations, and more.
David has over 20 years of experience in New York State Government, starting his professional career with the New York State Education Department (NYSED) in the Office of Diversity, Ethics, & Access. Since then, he has served in a variety of roles including Program & Grant Manager with the Office for Great Teachers & Leaders (NYSED), Special Assistant to the Executive Deputy Commissioner (NYSED), as well as Director of Labor Relations and Director of Learning & Talent Management with the New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS).
David joined OGS in 2019 as the Director of Learning & Talent Management prior to creating the Office of Inclusion & Engagement in 2021 - where he currently serves as the Director. David is often sought out for his expertise, perspective and insight into State government, diversity and inclusion best practices, as well as his years of experience as a teacher, educator, and public service employee.
David holds a M.A. in History & Political Science and a B.A. in History Education from the College of Saint Rose. David is a graduate of the New York State Public Management Institute and has acquired professional certificates in the areas of Public Policy, Management, Training & Workforce Development, and Human Resources Management.

Glenn R. Marchi, Ph.D. is a chief information officer (CIO), army officer, and adjunct professor who inspires and empowers teams to deliver extraordinary results with high customer satisfaction.
Since July 2016, Glenn has served as the Commissioner, Office of Central and Information Services for Dutchess County Government, with the mission to provide premier technology services to support 300,000 citizens.
Glenn was honored with Government Technology’s Top-25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers Award (2020); StateScoop’s County-Level Executive of the Year Award (2021); and the University at Albany’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2022).

Amtul Nayeem is a Deputy Director in the Chief Portfolio Office's Health and Human Services Portfolio supporting NYS Behavioral Health agencies. In her previous role, she supported the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles in their Modernization efforts, and had oversight of DMV’s Ticketing and Licensing applications.
Amtul is passionate about her role within NYS ITS; supporting her client’s needs by making deliberate choices and decisions to positively influence the quality and timeliness of the services that ITS provides.
Amtul believes that highly effective teams are almost always cognitively diverse teams. Originally born in India, she appreciates the differences that her ethnicity and beliefs have inculcated in her and she creates environments where everyone's unique skills and talents are respected. Amtul is passionate about bringing diverse perspectives together; increasing the value and effectiveness of the teams she leads.

Jeff accepted an appointment with NYS Information Technology Services (ITS) in January 2016. Jeff has served as an Executive Director for multiple Chief Portfolio Office (CPO) Portfolios since November 2020, most recently as Executive Director for the Public Safety Portfolio. Jeff previously served as Deputy CPO and Director of Project Management Shared Services.
Prior to NYS service, Jeff enjoyed a 28-year career as an IT Consultant, with over 20 years as a certified Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP) (7 times recertified). Jeff was part of NTT Data’s Project Office, providing direct oversight, management, supervision and auditing of upwards of 30 NTT Data (Keane) managed multi-year projects with a combined value of nearly $100 million.
In 2019 Jeff retired as a Sergeant Major assigned to Joint Force Headquarters – New York, NYS Division of Military and Naval Affairs, with 34 years of service in the US Army, US Army Reserves, and NY Army National Guard. Jeff deployed to Iraq as a First Sergeant with the 42nd Infantry Division, responsible for the preparation, training, credentialing, deployment, and redeployment of 200 soldiers and over $25 million of unit equipment.

Christopher O’Connor has nearly 25 years of experience working in the field of information technology in New York State government. He has been with ITS since its inception and has held leadership positions in application development, data management, GIS, business analysis, project management, and client engagement. Prior to joining ITS, Christopher worked at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, where he directed the agency’s GIS services team, Research Library, and IT Project Management Office. Christopher earned his master’s degree in Geography and Planning with a specialization in GIS from the State University of New York at Albany, where he has served as an adjunct professor teaching GIS for the past 19 years.

For over a decade Charlie was as a Member of the New York State Assembly, where he served as the
Ranking Member of the Insurance Committee and a member of the Ways & Means, Banks and Social Services Committees. He also was the elected Chairman of the Nassau County Board of Assessors and Nassau County Real Property Tax Director.
Charlie additionally served for almost a dozen years as Director of Government Relations & External Affairs for the New York State Department of Transportation’s New York City Region. He was a lawyer/lobbyist in both Albany and New York City and then formed his own consulting firm.
He is a graduate of Duke University and Fordham University School of Law.

ToniAnn Panella is a Government Account Executive at Snowflake, focused on helping public sector agencies modernize their data platforms. With a Bachelor's degree in Social Work and over 10 years of experience working with public sector organizations on their technology initiatives, ToniAnn is passionate about using data to improve operational efficiency, support evidence-based decision-making, and advance open data initiatives. She has served as a New York City government account executive for four years and joined Snowflake in April 2021. ToniAnn is dedicated to her work and strives to make a positive impact in her community through her expertise in data and technology. She is known for her creative ability to articulate challenges and propose solutions.

Stacy Panis has served as the Chief Portfolio Officer for NYS ITS since May of 2021. In this role, she is responsible for managing all the Chief Portfolio Office (CPO) teams that work directly with New York State agencies on their IT needs, as well as the Project Management Office and the Portfolio Governance and Strategy Unit.
Stacy has nearly three decades of experience across a number of important NYS agencies, including the Department of Taxation and Finance, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, and the Office of Mental Health. She joined ITS when it was created in 2012.
Stacy received a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University, where she completed a dual major in accounting and public relations. She was raised in Clifton Park and now resides in the town of Knox.

Catherine Quinlan is Vice President, AI Ethics and Policy for IBM. In her current role, Cathy is responsible for developing guidance on compliance and strategy on a global basis for new and upcoming regulations around emerging technologies, such as AI and biometrics. Prior to accepting this role, Cathy held a variety of roles within the IBM Law Department as an attorney working across areas such as technology licensing, product counseling, open source, privacy and regulatory compliance. Cathy is a member of the New York State Bar, is admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States of America and the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Alex Rose is the Director of Governmental Partnerships for Securworks. In that role, she is the lead for advancing public and private relationships which has led to Secureworks becoming a CISA Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) strategic partner. In addition to her role at Secureworks, Rose serves as the primary contact with Dell Federal and regularly provides them with global cyber threat insights.
Rose’s career has centered around providing leadership, technical insight, and guidance on the global threat landscape to bridge expertise between private sector and government organizations. She previously established and led a U.S. government inter-agency team of 50+ data scientists, technologists, and domain experts delivering advanced capabilities for countering foreign influence and adversarial propaganda. She has also served in a variety of roles within the National Security Agency – Chief Operations Officer, Technical Leader, Analyst, & Linguist throughout her time in the U.S. Air Force and as a Federal Civilian. Rose is recognized as a subject matter expert in the field and is consistently engaged by law enforcement and intelligence community.

Deborah is an accomplished C-level influencer, with a broad range of experience in government, policy, cybersecurity, privacy and information technology. She is an experienced and highly respected thought leader who has held executive roles for over two decades. She recently retired from her position as New York state’s chief information security officer (CISO) after over 35 years of public service.
In that role, as part of New York state’s information technology transformation and consolidation initiative, she helped redesign how the state protects its data. As state CISO, she directed the state’s comprehensive cybersecurity governance, risk management and compliance program, providing strategic leadership and vision and assuring business-aligned, risk-based investments that maximized business opportunity and minimized cybersecurity risk. She also directed the NYS Cyber Command Center, hotline, procedures for reporting and response to cyberthreats and digital forensics.
She holds multiple industry certifications, including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP); Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC); SANS Strategic Planning, Policy and Leadership (GSTRT) Global Information Assurance Certification; and Project Management Institute certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Marcy S. Stevens, has served as Chief General Counsel to NYS ITS since January 2020. In this role, she is the chief legal and policy officer for the agency and is responsible for all legal matters pertaining to and affecting NYS ITS, as well as in its capacity as a statewide service provider. Marcy has been with the agency since 2016, previously serving as ITS Deputy Counsel and Director of Litigation & eDiscovery.
Marcy has nearly 15 years of legal experience in the public and private sector. Prior to joining NYS, Marcy worked as a civil litigation attorney, most recently at a national law firm in the commercial and liability defense litigation practice, where she served as a member of the national eDiscovery triage team and represented corporate clients in high-exposure tort claims and employment matters.
Marcy is a key member of the NYS ITS leadership team, as well as a respected resource across the state for her ability to bridge the gap between complicated legal and policy matters and their intersection with technology tools, information security and data privacy issues.
Marcy holds a Juris Doctor (JD) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Western New England University Schools of Law and Business, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University. Marcy is in the process of obtaining her CIPP/US Privacy certification.

Charles is a cyber professional interested in the intersection between software and security. He completed his masters in '22 for cybersecurity and BA in ’20 for computer science. He enjoys solving difficult problems and investigating complex systems. Working for NYS ITS cycom has given Charles practical experience in applying academic skills in a real world environment.

Matthew Thompson, CISSP, is an industry-recognized thought leader in the area of Identity and Security Management and currently leads Socure's Public Sector business while also serving as the President of the Board for the Kantara Initiative, the leading global community commons improving trustworthy use of identity and personal data through innovation, standardization and good practice. Matt is an innovator in the digital identity space with several patents having co-founded ID.me, which was named to the “100 Brilliant Companies” list in 2014 by Entrepreneur Magazine. Matt has spent more than a decade working in the public and private sectors to promote privacy-enhancing, secure, interoperable, and user-friendly ways to give individuals and organizations confidence in their online interactions, which garnered him recognition by One World Identity as one of the “Top 100 Leaders in Identity” in 2017 and 2018.
Graduating as the Top Cadet from the Virginia Military Institute, Honor Graduate from Army Ranger School and with an MBA from Harvard Business School, Matt is a proven business leader, successful entrepreneur, Ironman triathlete, and decorated combat veteran. He served as an Army Special Operations Officer, completing four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with multiple awards for his service in combat. Matt’s civilian experience includes positions at McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, Capital One and IDEMIA.

My name is George Ventura, I am currently employed as a Cyber Security Analyst with NYSED. Although I graduated, I am still actively learning and furthering my education through news articles, videos, and studying for certifications. I enjoy watching tutorial videos on ethical hacking.

Aisha Washington joined HPE in 2020, where she operates as the Vice President, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer. Aisha has focused her 20+ years in the HR/Diversity field on creating inclusive organizations that champion advocacy and harness the power of diversity to uncover talent. Under her leadership, HPE has received several global accolades including being awarded Diversity Best Practices by Inclusion Index Company, being nominated as “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+” by Human Rights Campaign and acquiring a 100% rating from the Disability Equality Index.
Aisha is guided by the principle that “Belonging creates space for our authentic voice to be empowered. To drive significant and sustainable change, organizations must double down on accountability – it’s a requirement.”
Prior to HPE, Aisha spent fourteen-years guiding the D&I people strategy at PwC where she held roles in HR Leadership and Talent Acquisition.
Aisha currently serves on the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering board (NACME), is a certified executive coach by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC), and is SHRM certified by the Human Resource Standards Institute (HRCI). Aisha holds a BS in Economics from the University of Missouri – Columbia where she was a published researcher as well as a Management Certificate from Cornell University.
Aisha lives in Texas with her husband, Larry, and four children Ernesto, Tre, Gabby, and Josiah. She spends her weekends either attending her children’s sporting events or relaxing with her family on Lake Whitney.