GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts

Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy Chief of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships Stephen Konya has been credited with launching groundbreaking initiatives like CancerX to accelerate innovation in health care. These efforts are largely borne out of partnerships with the private sector, including academia, entrepreneurs, investors, developers and more. Konya shared how he's building innovati...

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) facilitates trades of exports of goods and services and, in doing so, deals with massive troves of data. From the Billington Cybersecurity Summit, EXIM CISO, Chief Privacy Officer, and Deputy Chief AI Officer Darren Death tells CyberCast that his agency is centralizing data about user access and behavior to detect potential cyber threats. Death sa...

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence for its mission. According USPIS Inspector in Charge Eric Shen, the agency is exploring AI's potential to identify suspects, monitor illicit websites and enhance public awareness about mail fraud. At Identity Week America 2025, Shen speaks with GovCast about how USPIS is evolving as technology changes. He says th...

Cybersecurity has been on the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) high-risk list since 1997. Federal agencies struggle with issues like cyber hygiene, cyber workforce shortages and strategic execution. While agencies put strategies in place to secure their systems, the implementation and execution can be ineffective, according to GAO Managing Director of IT and Cybersecurity Nick Marinos. Mar...

The U.S. Marine Corps has launched its first AI fellowship program in partnership with the Naval Postgraduate School to accelerate artificial intelligence adoption across the force. Modeled after the Air Force's Phantom program at MIT, the five-month pilot trains Marines to identify command-level problems and develop AI-driven solutions that support operational readiness. Christopher Paul, the sch...

The General Services Administration launched USAi.gov to provide a secure generative AI evaluation suite that enables federal agencies to experiment with and adopt AI more quickly and at no cost. Designed to support the White House's AI Action Plan, USAi puts tools like chat-based AI, code generation and document summarization directly into the hands of government users. Zach Whitman, the agency's...

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is transforming how health data is shared and used, emphasizing transparency. Chief Data Officer Kristen Honey is spearheading an "open by default" strategy that moves away from top-down, siloed data management to a more collaborative model. HHS is pushing decision-making to local, state and regional experts on the front lines of public health. Ins...

The White House released a new executive order in July — Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure  — calling on government to develop AI-ready data centers, streamline federal permitting and encourage private investment in critical infrastructure. Federal agencies are focusing on system resilience to withstand rising environmental and cybersecurity threats as data centers cont...

FedRAMP 20x is redefining how federal cloud services get authorized —making them faster, smarter and more secure. Earlier this year GSA released the 20x pilot in an effort to increase the efficiency of authorizations and enhance security. Pete Waterman, FedRAMP director at the General Services Administration, unpacks how the program is streamlining approvals, enhancing continuous monitoring and le...

The second Trump administration has spent 2025 accelerating its software modernization initiatives through the creation of agencies like the U.S. DOGE Service and other entities designed to digitize and modernize the American government. Modeling after DOD enterprise software container platforms, the Department of Veterans Affairs stood up its own Platform One application in 2021 to drive software...

Cybersecurity is a critical component of organizational health no matter the federal agency. Yet, federal leaders across government are struggling to change culture, improve workflows and promote good cyber hygiene to prepare for the threats of tomorrow. The Government Accountability Office's Information Technology and Cybersecurity division assists Congress with assessing and improving the govern...

Monitoring the world's oceans and waterways is no simple task. 70% of the world is made up of water, and with millions of data points around the globe to sift through, human analysts cannot do the job alone. NRL's Alan Hope joins us to discuss how the agency is leveraging relationships with federal agencies and services like National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Navy to trac...

NASA Chief Data Officer and Chief AI Officer David Salvagnini joined GovCIO Media & Research live from the Federal IT Efficiency Summit in Tysons, Virginia, to share insights into his dual role leading AI and data initiatives at the agency, including the development of NASA's AI strategy and how it's being integrated with responsible data governance. He also highlighted exciting AI projects curren...

Darnita Trower, former deputy CIO for Operations at the Internal Revenue Service, discusses her tenure at the agency and the resilience the workforce has shown through budget cuts, administration changes and difficult tax seasons. She said the agency is built to weather storms and is on a continuing modernization path. Trower is an accomplished executive and digital transformation leader with over...

In her first interview since becoming Principal Director of the Defense Department's Cyber Academic Engagement Office (CAEO), Diba Hadi reflects on her role and vision for the office since stepping into the position in 2024 during the 2025 HammerCON conference in Laurel, Maryland. Hadi shares insights into her day-to-day responsibilities and highlights efforts to strengthen the integration of univ...

Mark Gorak, the Defense Department's Cyber Academic Engagement Office's (CAEO) director and principal director for Resources and Analysis, shares how his office is shaping the future of cyber talent during the 2025 HammerCON conference in Laurel, Maryland. Launched in 2024, CAEO has partnered with over 480 academic institutions nationwide to identify and develop the next generation of cyber profes...

Competitiveness in advanced telecommunications technologies is critical to American innovation and national security. The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced the new Verticals-enabling Intelligent NEtwork Systems (VINES) program to foster U.S. leadership in advanced telecommunications and foster innovative real-world applications. NSF Acting Assistant Director of Computer and Info...

Edmon Begoli, Director of the Center for AI Security Research (CAISER) at the Energy Department's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, highlights how his team is ensuring safe and responsible AI deployment across government during the AI+ Expo in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. The research team is developing cutting-edge tools and methodologies to assess AI vulnerabilities, test models under extr...

The new administration has released several new directives to guide agencies' approach to AI since the beginning of the year. The tech is reshaping the U.S. Coast Guard's core services and pushing its workforce to rethink the service's approach to operations. The Coast Guard has been on a journey to upskill its workforce to better utilize the technology in daily operations. Brian Campo, the servic...

Department of Labor's Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling outlines a comprehensive strategy to address the growing demand for AI skills in the American economy, during a live discussion at the AI+ Expo in Washington, D.C. earlier this month. Sonderling explains the federal government's multi-pronged approach to AI literacy, focusing on early education initiatives that would integrate tech training f...

Shannon Ayers from Lawrence Livermore National Lab unveiled a groundbreaking generative AI tool to boost operational efficiency at the National Ignition Facility. The tool leverages 22 years of institutional data, analyzing over 98,000 problem logs, to provide instant troubleshooting guidance for operators. By creating a decision-tree system, the lab addresses critical challenges of aging infrastr...

The Idaho National Laboratory is working on a suite of artificial intelligence capabilities to enhance nuclear energy research. During an interview at AWS Summit in Washington, D.C., the lab's Scientific Computing Division Director Chris Ritter discussed how the organization is using generative AI to address complex scientific challenges across domains like reactor design and operations. The lab s...

Technology and software development can take years to field capabilities that may no longer meet mission needs once they reach the finish line. Some department compliance practices can add 12-18 months for authorization. At the AWS Summit in Washington, D.C., Marine Corps Community Services Digital Program Manager David Raley said that his office is accelerating the development and approval proces...

High-performance computing (HPC) systems provide fundamental computing infrastructure for government and industry. Security is critical for these systems that play a pivotal role in economic competitiveness and scientific discovery. At the AWS Summit in Washington, D.C., National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Computer Scientist Yang Guo said that efficient encryption and zone-based...

The VA is set to resume its electronic health record modernization program in 2026, nearly three years since it was paused in 2023. During the pause, the agency focused on developing a new strategy for deployment to improve success and boost patient safety. VA now plans to jumpstart the program with a focus on functionality and interoperability of the system, Dr. Neil Evans, VA's acting program ex...