Former Fed Friday

Leaving federal service can feel like stepping into an entirely different world—but the skills, mission focus, and experience built during a government career may be more valuable to industry than many federal employees realize. On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Hunter Gros and Shelley McGuire sit down with Todd Anthony , Chief Operating Officer at ThinkTek and former Chief Procurement Officer...

After 28 years in federal service, Marc Richardson may have moved to the industry side, but his focus hasn’t changed: the mission still comes first. On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Shelley McGuire sits down with Marc, Executive Vice President at USA InfoTech and former CMS Senior Executive Director, to talk about the lessons he carried from a career spanning Social Security, VA, and CMS—and...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Hunter Gros and Shelley McGuire sit down with Katrina Brisbon , CEO of Columbia Alliance and former HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Senior Procurement Executive, to challenge one of GovCon’s most common assumptions: that access equals advantage. Drawing on more than 27 years of federal experience, Katrina explains why relationships can provi...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Hunter Gros and Shelley McGuire sit down with Ryan Ferry , National Security Manager at RELI Group and a former DHS and TSA leader with nearly two decades of federal experience. Ryan shares a firsthand perspective on the role data plays in mission execution, from passenger screening and workforce planning to technology deployment, risk management, and resource...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Shelley McGuire and Hunter Gros sit down with Leslie Reid , Vice President of Defense Programs at iWorks Corporation and former Senior Advisor at DCSA, for an inside look at one of the federal government's most ambitious modernization efforts. Drawing on her experience leading through the evolution of the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) and T...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Hunter Gros and Shelley McGuire welcome Lee Ann Crochunis , former CMS Deputy Director of the Office of Information Technology and now Technology Account Lead focused on CMS at Guidehouse, for a candid conversation about the realities of government, industry, and what it takes to successfully bridge the two. Drawing from more than 24 years at CMS and leadershi...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Shelley McGuire sits down with Robert Wood , former Chief Information Security Officer at CMS and founder of Sidekick Security, to discuss what it really takes to secure AI adoption in federal agencies and the companies that support them. Drawing on his experience leading cybersecurity programs in government and advising organizations today, Robert explains wh...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Hunter Gros sits down with Hemant Baidwan , former DHS Chief Information Security Officer and Acting Deputy CIO, and current Chief Information Security Officer with Knox Systems, Inc. to discuss leadership, career growth, cybersecurity, and the transition from public service to industry. Hemant reflects on the experiences that shaped his 26-year career, the im...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Shelley McGuire and Hunter Gros welcome back Jeff Grant , founder of Schedule F Healthcare Strategies and former CMS executive, for a candid discussion about what he has learned during his first year helping displaced federal employees find new opportunities and supporting GovCon companies navigating the healthcare market. Drawing on his experience inside CMS...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Hunter Gros and Shelley McGuire sit down with former CMS cybersecurity leader Malachi Robinson for a candid conversation about influence, innovation, and what really drives federal technology adoption. After spending more than a decade shaping cloud authorization strategy, SaaS governance, and risk-based frameworks at CMS, Malachi shares why he walked away fro...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Hunter Gros and Shelley McGuire talk with Krista Drobac and Kristen McGovern , partners at Sirona Strategies and co-founders of the Health Policy Futures Lab, for a candid conversation about healthcare policy, government operations, and the realities of working across the public and private sectors. Drawing from decades of experience inside CMS, OMB, Capitol H...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Hunter Gros and Shelley McGuire catch up with Calvin Mitchell , Senior Director, Acquisition Strategy and Engagement, GDIT, shares how an unexpected push from his mom launched a 20-year federal career that spanned weapons systems, disaster response, Capitol Hill, and the Department of Education, ultimately rising to Deputy Assistant Secretary. Along the way, h...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, the conversation highlights Ashley Badami ’s transition from CMS leadership into industry and her continued focus on program integrity with J29. Through a series of targeted questions, the hosts explore her perspective on AI’s role in detecting fraud, waste, and abuse, where current policies fall short, and what blind spots still exist in the system. They also...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Hunter Gros and Shelley McGuire sit down with Larry Bafundo , founder of Commonwealth Digital and a longtime leader in civic technology, government innovation, and digital service design. With more than a decade of experience across government, nonprofits, and the private sector, including roles as an SES-level leader, product leader at 18F and Code for Americ...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Hunter Gros and Shelley McGuire welcomes Merri-Ellen James , former CMS leader and now Client Relations Executive at RELI Group who shares insights shaped by more than two decades leading complex healthcare programs, technology initiatives, and fraud prevention efforts. Drawing on her experience across government and industry, she unpacks how effective problem...

Mahesh Choksi joins the Former Fed Friday podcast with Shelley McGuire to share insights from more than two decades of experience driving procurement transformation and technology modernization across federal health agencies, including FDA, CDC, NIH, and CMS. Drawing on his time leading high-stakes initiatives and enterprise acquisition frameworks at HHS agencies, Mahesh discusses what contractors...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Hunter Gros and Shelley McGuire have a conversation with  ⁠Jaime Gracia⁠ , former Federal Procurement Executive at the Department of State and now director at The Wolverine Group. He offers a look at what’s really changing in federal acquisition. With all the buzz around AI, FAR 2.0, and procurement reform, Jaime separates hype from reality. He explains why ou...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Shelley McGuire welcomes Melissa Moreno , co-founder and principal of Medicare Knowledge Partners (MKP) and a longtime former CMS leader. After more than 15 years at CMS, spanning regulatory work, plan engagement, and agency-wide communications and training, Melissa shares how her deep institutional knowledge shaped her decision to launch MKP and continue serv...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, hosts Hunter Gros sits down with Kelly Murray , former Associate Director for Chemical Security at the Department of Homeland Security and current President of Resilience and Risk Solutions, as well as a Principal at Deepwater Point & Associates. Kelly reflects on a career that spanned decades in homeland security, critical infrastructure protection, and p...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, hosts Hunter Gros and Shelley McGuire welcome Solitaire Carroll , former Director of the Veteran Experience Services Portfolio at the VA and now a founder working at the intersection of government and industry. Drawing on her journey from contractor to federal leader and back to industry, Solitaire reflects on what motivated her to enter public service and how...

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, host Shelley McGuire welcomes Greg Godbout , Chief AI Officer at Code360 and a longtime leader in federal technology innovation. With a career that includes serving as former CTO and U.S. Digital Services Lead at the EPA, co-founding and leading 18F, and working as a Presidential Innovation Fellow, Greg brings a rare, inside-outside perspective on how governme...

In this episode of Former Fed Friday, Shelley McGuire and Hunter Gros chat with Meaghan Hakala , Principal Consultant at Vericol LLC and a former GSA leader with nearly two decades of federal experience. Megan shares insights from her career spanning Public Buildings Service and GSA Assisted Acquisition Services, where she ultimately served as a division director overseeing a $2 billion portfolio...

In this episode of Former Fed Friday, Shelley McGuire sits down with longtime federal HR leader Traci DiMartini for a candid look at what the past year has meant for the federal workforce. Their conversation digs into what Tracy sees as an unprecedented breakdown in protections for federal employees, what it would look like if similar upheaval happened in the private sector, and how agencies shoul...

This week, Former Fed Friday welcomes back Monica Padron Harris , former Senior IT Acquisition Advisor at DHS, who reflects on her first year stepping out of government and into entrepreneurship. Monica shares what it was really like to build a business from the ground up, including what she expected, what she didn’t, and how her federal experience shaped every decision she made. She talks candidl...

In this episode of Former Fed Friday, host Shelley McGuire welcomes Teresa Hunter , former CFO of the IRS and now Executive Director at Management Science and Innovation (MSI), for an engaging conversation about leadership, modernization, and transformation inside one of the government’s most complex financial environments. Teresa shares her 15-year federal journey, from auditing at KPMG to drivin...