The Geek Within

Today's guest is Ratima Kataria. She is the Chief Strategy and Growth Leader for Health Analytics, Research, and Technology Solutions at ICF. Ratima was previously the Deputy Chief Information Officer at Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency under the HHS umbrella. We talked about her career journey and then examined the challenges women have in their career and how to expand...

Today's guest is Chuck Grindle. He is the Executive Advisor for Public Sector at Proofpoint. Chuck is an Army veteran and a previous Chief Information Officer. We talked a bit about the challenges around FedRAMP and the benefits for an organization to implement cloud technologies and how it can be a positive change agent. You can engage Chuck here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/charle...

Today's guest is Chidilim (Okonkwo) Oconkwo, better known as Chi. She is the Director of the Agency Financials Systems Office at NASA. Chi is also an ACT-IAC fellow, which is how we came to know each other. You can engage Chi here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiokonkwocgfm/ The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu List of p...

Today's guest is Brett Fraser. He is the Executive Vice President of Technical Services at NSS, which is a women-owned small business technology solution and services company specializing in business automation and AI. Brett has sixteen years of experience in this space and has a passion for solving business challenges. You can engage Brett here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettfra...

Today's guest is Swamy Sriperumbudur. He is the Chief Digital Officer and Chief AI Officer at Expedite InfoTech, Host of the Leadership in Crisis podcast, and a fellow follower of emerging technologies. Episode 182 on YouTube - https://youtu.be/SFYY-QnoJAQ You can engage Swamy here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cswamy/ Nonprofit - https://www.vtsworld.org/ Podcast - https://podcaster...

Today's guest is Kyle Dodd. He is Vice President for Digital Modernization Capture at ICF. Episode 181 on YouTube - https://youtu.be/_Po4OLIlYt4 You can engage Kyle here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/doddkyle/ The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu List of past episodes: https://www.thegeekwithin.net/

Today's guest is Jason Adolf. He is Vice President Global Public Sector at Appian. You can engage Jason here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonadolf/ The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu List of past episodes: https://www.thegeekwithin.net/

Today's guest is Douglas Hubbard. He is the Manager of the Power Apps Centre of Excellence (PACE) for Transport Canada. Episode 179 on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZhSVaaJgwDQ You can engage Douglas here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-hubbard-tc/ The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu List of past episodes: https://www....

Today's guest is Justin Fessler. He is Vice President of Public Sector at LogicMonitor and a mentor for YearUp. Justin and I have known each other for a few years through our networks here in the DC area. Episode 178 on YouTube - https://youtu.be/hjF59FRaWOw You can engage Justin here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-fessler/ The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platfo...

Today's guest is Gláucia Esppenchutz. She is a Data Operations Engineer at AiFi Inc. and a Committer and Release Manager of the Apache Wayang incubator project. Glaucia is also the author of the book Data Ingestion with Python Cookbook. Episode 177 on YouTube - https://youtu.be/fLlzJKyZLig You can engage Gláucia here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/glauesppen/ Twitter - https://twitter...

Today's guest is Brian Chidester. He is the Head of Industry Strategy for Public Sector at Adobe. Brian is the host of The Government Huddle podcast. He is also an advisor for the G20 Global Smart City Alliance. You can engage Brian here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/abchidester/ Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-government-huddle-podcast-with-brian-chidester/ The Geek W...

Today's guest is Karlene Stecchi. She is an Executive Vice President at Tantus Technologies, which is focused on digital transformation within the government space. Karlene has just stepped up to be the Quantum lead for the Quantum Knowledge Group for the Emerging Technology COI at ACT-IAC. Episode 175 on YouTube - https://youtu.be/_9ly5GDrMzY You can engage Karlene here: LinkedIn - https://ww...

Today's guest is Lauren Leulu. She is the Founder and CEO of Leulu & Company which is focused on providing proposal graphics, marketing, and branding services to government contractors and other adjacent businesses. You can engage Lauren here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenleulu/ Website - https://leuluandco.com/ The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - ht...

Today's guest is Sarah Jones. She is Principal Consultant at ShortList Recruitment Limited focused on their Microsoft Practice and Power Platform, BizzApps, and Azure. You can engage Sarah here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahjonespermanentrecruiter/ Website - https://www.ontheshortlist.co.uk/us/events The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywor...

Today's guest is Jennifer Bonner. She is the Senior Vice President of Client Delivery at RIVA Solutions. Jenny is a graduate of the ACT-IAC Partners in 2023 leadership development program and was recently honored by OrangeSlices AI as a 2024 Engage Federal Citizen Services Honoree. Jenny and I met through the ACT-IAC fellows network. You can engage Jennifer here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedi...

Today's guest is Cody Mruk. He is the Senior Director of Business Development at ECS Federal. Cody both met through our interactions in the DC area through AFCEA and ACT-IAC. You can engage Cody here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cody-mruk-pmp-a8750354/ The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu List of past episodes: https://t...

Today's guest is Pam DeGraffenreid. She is Senior Microsoft 365 Developer and Tech Lead at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, one of the Department of Energy labs, with this one managed by UT-Battelle. Pam is also a Microsoft MVP and a Leader for the Knoxville M365 User Group. Pam and I met online through our shared passion for M365. You can engage Pam here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/...

Today's guest is Laura Bennett. She is a Partner at Catapult Growth Partners and a High Performance Coach at BDL Consulting, where she does executive coaching. She has also volunteered with Women in Homeland Security, ACT-IAC, and HIMSS NCA. You can engage Laura here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauradrahanbennett/ The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://...

Today's guest is Timothy Boettcher. He is Senior VP and Head of Go-To-Market Strategy for AvePoint, currently working out of AvePoint's Public Sector office in Arlington, Virginia. Tim has been working in the SharePoint scene for just shy of 20 years and can often be found speaking at events like SharePoint Saturdays, TechCons, ARMA NOVA, KMworld, and more. You can engage Timothy here: Lin...

Today's guest is Natalie Carey. She is the Director for Alliances and Ecosystem for Unqork Government. Natalie is also a co-founder and board member for GovLink, Industry Advisory Board member for ATARC, and ACT-IAC Fellow from Partners 2021. You can engage Natalie here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/careynv/ The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.poly...

*** This is part 2 of a two-part episode. Watch last week's episode for part 1 *** Today's guest is Scott Weiss. He is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Catalest. Scott is also a former White House Presidential Innovation Fellow supporting the VA and OMB and has also worked with IDEO. You can engage Scott here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-weiss-50b1b23/ The Geek...

*** This is part 1 of a two-part episode. Come back next week for part 2 *** Today's guest is Scott Weiss. He is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Catalest. Scott is also a former White House Presidential Innovation Fellow supporting the VA and OMB and has also worked with IDEO. You can engage Scott here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-weiss-50b1b23/ The Geek Within ca...

Today's guest is Malcolm Harden. He is the Chief Growth Officer at Safal Partners and the IAC Chair for ACT-IAC. It is through our years of volunteering for ACT-IAC that Malcolm and I met. You can engage Malcolm here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/malharden/ The Geek Within can be found on several podcast platforms - https://www.polywork.com/posts/W0IZQ1lu List of past episodes: https...

Today's guest is David Wennergren. He is the CEO of ACT-IAC, an amazing non-profit based in the DC area that helps government and industry collaborate to solve problems for government agencies. As a volunteer with ACT-IAC, I have seen first-hand David's commitment to the organization and expanding its reach. You can engage David here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-wennergren-...

Today's guest is Samara Schulman. She is the President of OnPoint Consulting, a technology and consulting services firm in the government contracting space. Samara and I both participate in the ACT-IAC community in Washington DC, which is where we met. You can engage Samara here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/samara-schulman-99335b7/ The Geek Within can be found on several podcast pla...