The Geek Within

Today's guest is Nicole Waddell. She is the Founder and CEO of Virtual Link LLC, which is a small IT management consulting business. Nicole is also a published author of the books "Ladies in Tech, Volume III", "Get Back Up… And Do It Again", and "A Relentless Journey with God: Devotional Prayer Journal". She has over 25 years of experience transforming organizatio...

Today's guest is Neil Twa. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Voltage Holdings, a company specializing in launching, consulting, selling, and acquiring brands with a focus on the e-commerce channels such as Amazon FBA, which means Fulfillment by Amazon, and multi-channel. Neil has more than fifteen years of experience selling private label products on Amazon. Neil is also the co-author, along wit...

Today's guest is Amy Corcoran. She is the Director of Business Development and previously led Marketing and Communications at Alpha Omega. Amy is a problem solver with fifteen years of experience in Strategic Communications and Government Relations, both domestically and internationally. And a very proud mother of three. Amy and discuss the continuing challenge of interacting with companies wh...

Today's guest is Donald Gabbin. He is the Chief Operating Officer for PKH Enterprises, which is focused on insider threat, zero trust, and cybersecurity. Donald and I talk about how do we get beyond how business development has always been done and incorporate modern concepts and methods. You can engage Donald here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-gabbin-ms-mpa-pmp-spc-sdp-csm-it...

Today's guest is Nate Chamberlain. He is the Founder and Principal Consultant at Nate Chamberlain LLC. Nate specializes in Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and SharePoint solutions and is well known as a technical trainer, speaker, and author of 11 books! He is a five time Microsoft MVP awardee before joining the Postal Regulatory Commission where he is a Technical Business Analyst with high hop...

Today's guest is Kisha Powell. She is the Chief Experience Officer at ACT-IAC, a nonprofit bringing government and industry together to solve government problems. Kisha is also the CEO and Owner of Designer Event Concepts, LLC focusing on project management, events, marketing, and social media management. Kisha and I have known each other for many years through my interactions with ACT-IAC. We...

Today's guest is Lea Bowman. She is a Data Scientist at Metric5. Lea and I met through work she was doing for another organization at the SEC. Lea and I talk a bit about the job search process and the challenge of getting employers to value our experience over specific education. You can engage Lea here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/leabowman38/ List of past episodes: https://www.thegeek...

Today's guest is Gabrielle Sease. She is the Founder of Spatial Research LLC, which specializes in advanced research, consulting, and technology services related to AI, Metaverse, scientific innovation, and internet technologies. Gabrielle and spoke a bit about how politics are casting a shadow over how we all relate in a business context and how it causes a distraction. You can engage Gabriel...

Today's guest is Shauna Weatherly. She is the President and Founder of Federal Subcontract Solutions LLC (FedSubK). Shauna retired from federal service with almost 36 years of experience across military and civilian agencies. With all the changes in government, Shauna has shared numerous posts to help both industry and government understand the actions and impacts. We chatted about how importa...

Today's guest is Melvin Mooring II. He is the Founder of Polished Technologies LLC, a nearly 10 year old website and software development firm. I met Melvin through our mutual friend, Tiffany Bailey. Melvin and I spoke a bit about expecting early career staff to be super specialized in a world where a plethora of skills helps make you competitive instead of taking chances on someone. You can e...

Today's guest is Kaamil Khan. He is the President of Makpar Corporation as he prepares to take over as the second generation of leadership at Makpar. I met Kaamil through networking in the DC area and also from his participation in ACT-IAC Voyagers 2025. We talk a bit about how important it is to have meaningful interactions between industry and government. You can engage Kaamil here: LinkedIn...

Today's guest is Ella O'Brien. She is the Small Business Liaison Officer as well as the GWAC CM at SOSi. Ella works to bridge the gap between emerging small enterprises and larger industry players. We talk a bit about how companies, especially large firms, should consider education around small business advocacy and supplier diversity. You can engage Ella here: LinkedIn - https://www.linke...

Today's guest is Janet Clement. She is the CEO of Jefferson Consulting Group. Janet has been focused on organizational change and efficiency within the GovCon industry as a federal employee and industry person for over 30 years. Janet and I talk about challenges that interfere with the government buying services. You can engage Janet here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/janet-clement-5...

Today's guest is Ted Fells. He the President and CEO of NucoreVision Inc., an Enterprise IT, Cyber, and Management Consulting Firm. Ted is also the cohost of The 30 Minute Hour podcast, which is how we came to meet as I was a recent guest. Ted and I speak about helping others to consider what it means to start a business. You can engage Ted here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-fells-6a...

Today's guest is Carrie Kramer. She is a Fellow from the ACT-IAC Partner's Program in 2017 and was a vice chair for Partner's in 2023. I have had the pleasure of getting to know Carrie via our joint participation in the ACT-IAC fellows community. We talk a bit about how more companies need to be open to hiring staff with non-traditional degree programs and how they can bring fresh idea...

Today's guest is Bethany Hsiao. She is an Application Developer at Dev Technology Group. Bethany is an ACT-IAC Associates 2024 graduate and was part of a team writing a whitepaper on Leveraging AI to Modernize Legacy Code in Federal Civilian Agencies, which is how we met. We talk a bit about the importance of speaking up and being an active participant within your company. You can engage Betha...

Today's guest is Anil Chaudhry. He is the Senior Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at U.S. Department of Transportation. Anil goes by Neal and has been a Presidential Management Fellow, a graduate of ACT-IAC Partners 2022, and a White House Leadership Development Program Fellow. Neal and I met many years ago around our shared passion for emerging technologies and how the government can lever...

Today's guest is Cheryl Waldrup. She is a Principal Consultant at AIMC Consulting, which is a woman-owned business here in the DC area. Cheryl is also a graduate of the 2012 ACT-IAC Partners program and we both met through our interactions with that organization. Cheryl and I have a shared passion for mentoring and its valuable impact on careers. You can engage Cheryl here: LinkedIn - https://...

Today's guest is Shelley McGuire. She is the owner and Events Curator for Shelley's Events, the Chief Strategy Officer for OrangeSlices, a realtor in Florida, and Co-owner of MSS Management, an accounting and wealth management company. On top of all that, Shelley is a former professor of Entrepreneurship, a former special education teacher, and a former Business High School teacher. We tal...

Today's guest is Eric Twiggs. He is a Founding Partner and President of The What Now Movement, author of The Discipline of Now: 12 Practical Principles to Overcome Procrastination, host of The 30 Minute Hour podcast, and a Certified Business and Life Coach. We talk a bit about Eric's passion for providing tools and ideas to entrepreneurs. You can engage Eric here: LinkedIn - https://www.li...

Today's guest is Matt Payne. He is the Founder of Outer Circle Foundation, which is focused on supporting Veterans and first responders during their most critical moments. They champion PTSD awareness, suicide prevention, and their transition to new opportunities. Matt has a diverse background and has worked for several well known companies. Listen or watch episode 201 here: YouTube - https://...

Today's episode is a little different. I asked my good friend Rima Reyes to interview me for my podcast so that I could share my own career journey. It is a little weird to describe myself, but here goes - I am the Chief of Enterprise Architecture at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, I speak on government innovation and use of technologies, volunteer with the ACT-IAC Emerging Technologi...

Today's guest is Brionna Mayo. She is a Data Architect at Smart Synergies. Brionna has a lot of experience in the DoD contracting community. We met through our shared love of networking in the DC area. Brionna and I talk a bit about your pipeline of growth and how hard it is to communicate what you know in the early years, and we need mentors to help us learn how to do that. On top of that, we nee...

Today's guest is Samuel Navarro. He is a Strategic Account Executive for Health IT at Microsoft. Samuel previously worked for both GSA and the Army, and is an ACT-IAC fellow as a graduate of Voyagers 2016. Samuel and I have gotten to know each other through our participation in ACT-IAC and networking groups in the DC area. We talk about how there is a need to ramp up emerging technologies with...

Today's guest is Dominic Sale. He is the Managing Director at Code and Theory, which builds transformative digital experiences for federal agencies. Dominic is a previous federal employee where he worked at the General Services Administration, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Department of Transportation. We talk a bit about the all too formal way government interacts with industry and...