The Geek Within

This week's guest is Sarah Gilbert, she the Community Manager for Microsoft Public Sector Tech Community. Today's conversation is on how she got started with Opera singing and how she continues to sing.   Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

This week's guest is Kathleen Cowles. She is a Partner at Deep Water Point, serves on the board of AFCEA International and president of AFCEA Bethesda, and has been a huge supporter of ACT-IAC programs.    Kathleen and I met in the trenches in 2018 as we prepared for the ACT-IAC Executive Leadership Conference and continued to work together for a few years after that.   List of past...

This week's guest is Reeba Magulick. She is a Founding Senior Partner at d8 Group and a volunteer with AFCEA NOVA. She hosted an interesting podcast series called A New Way to Win and she is soon to launch a new talk show/ podcast series titled East Coast Hustle.   Reeba and I met at a networking mixer and immediately connected on our shared passion for podcasting. She is a genuine talent tha...

This week's guest is Charlotte Lee. She is the Strategic Lead for CX and Innovation at Granicus and the Chief Executive Officer at Monday Design Company. Charlotte is currently the industry chair for the Customer Experience Community of Interest for ACT-IAC.   I met Charlotte in 2018 when I was in a leadership development program and was paired with her, and my partner in the program, to help...

This is a new side series where I talk to people in my network that have passion projects, side hustles, or amazing hobbies in addition to their day job.   This week's guest is Bianca Kahlenberg, she is a Freelance Product Manager but most interestingly, she is the Founder and Owner of Starship Spirits. Today's conversation is on how she started down the path of developing her own line of vod...

This week's guest is Jennifer Yang. She is the President at Inflexion LLC, and an Entrepreneur in Residence at McDaniel College. She is also the Founder of Covalent Spirits, TasteBuds Events, and Whisk(e)y Labs.   Jennifer and I had actually never met, although we circulate among a common set of friends. I learned about Covalent Spirits, which led me to reaching out to interview her. This is...

This is a new side series where I talk to people in my network that have passion projects, side hustles, or amazing hobbies in addition to their day job.   This week's guest is Ana Inés Urrutia, she is the D365 Human Resources Practice Lead at Axazure. She is also a Microsoft Business Applications MVP, but for today's conversation we are going to talk about her passion project - flying. ...

This week's guest is Deon Norals. He is the President and CEO of iHealth Innovative Solutions and is a big supporter of organizations that help people and HBCUs.   Deon and I met when I worked at the Millennium Challenge Corporation and continue to keep connected.   You can engage Deon here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deon-norals-emba-pmp-cissp-ccnp-aws-sap-b048702/ https://ihealthis.co...

This week's guest is Patrick Doran, he is a Front-End Development Lead and UX Design Manager working on Microsoft 365 and SharePoint at the North Carolina Department of Information Technology.    Patrick and I met through online Microsoft communities, and being fellow public sector employees, attending sessions about the uniqueness of the government offerings.   You can engage Patri...

This week's guest is Savin Joseph, he is the Senior Director of Business Development at ICF. He is an ACT-IAC Fellow and participates with AFCEA and HiMMS, all three amazing programs.   Savin and I met through our interactions with ACT-IAC and networking at events in the DC area. He is a dynamic personality, good at what he does, and always engaging when you meet and spend some time with him....

This week's guest is Sandy Barsky, he is the Executive Program Director for Government and Education at Oracle. He is a prolific volunteer with ACT-IAC, the Partnership for Public Service, and ATARC.   Sandy and I met volunteering with the ACT-IAC Emerging Technology Community of Interest. He is extremely knowledgeable of the challenges government has in leveraging innovative technologies and...

This is a new side series where I talk to people in my network that have passion projects, side hustles, or amazing hobbies in addition to their day job.   This week's guest is Ioana Tanase, she is an Accessibility Program Manager at Microsoft, but her passion project is making shoes. In this episode we learn how she started and how it all works.   You can engage Ioana here: https://www....

This week's guest is Chuck Riddle, he is a Senior Advisor to the CTO at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.   Chuck and I met many years ago when he hired me to work at the Food Safety Inspection Service. It was so great to work for him, I was fortunate to follow him when he became CIO at the Government Printing Office. Chuck is a dynamic leader who listens well, cares for, and prote...

This week's guest is Tom Suder, he is the Chief Executive Officer at the Advanced Technology Academic Research Center, better known as ATARC.   Tom and I met a long time ago when I first got involved with ACT-IAC around the government mobile application initiative. Tom is a great organizer and networker. His work with ATARC continues to expose more software vendors to the government and helps...

This week's guest is Jonathan Alboum. He is the Federal CTO at ServiceNow, is a previous IT executive in government, serves as an advisor to numerous companies, and has been an active member of the IT community with organizations such as ACT-IAC, AFFIRM, and more.   Jonathan and I met through interactions within the ACT-IAC community. He is always helpful and insightful around federal executi...

This week's guest is Christian Buckley. He is the Brand Alliance Director at AvePoint, a Microsoft Regional Director, and an MVP for Microsoft Office Apps and Services. Listen as he shares about his long 30-year journey in the technology space, although he started with a plan to go into Industrial Design   Christian and I met online while interacting within the Microsoft community space espec...

This week's guest is Theresa Kinney. She is the NASA SEWP Director of Operations and Communications at NASA.  Listen as she talks about her journey to NASA and how her education wasn't even related to the job she has done for twenty years!   Theresa and I met when we were in the ACT-IAC Partners 2018 program together. She is such an approachable person with a great wealth of knowledge ar...

This week's guest is Marshall Heard. He is the Chief Operations Officer at Thermopylae Sciences + Technology. Listen as he talks about an unexpected opportunity that changed his career plans.   Marshall and I met through a local church youth program we both volunteered with, and he was an awesome mentor for my youngest son. In conversations we learned about our shared passion for IT and our m...

This week's guest is Becky John. She is the Vice President of Business Development at ECS. Listen as she talks about her unexpected journey into the technology world and government contracting.   Becky and I met when I volunteered to help with the ACT-IAC Associates 2020. She was the industry chair and a delight to work with throughout the year. Becky has a heart for people, and I was honored...

This week's guest is Ashley Nichols. She recently achieved a goal and contrary to my introduction is now a Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State! Ashley is also the author of Tech to Save the World. Listen as she shares talks about the winding road she traveled, and even mentioned how she wanted to be an FSO.   Ashley and I worked together at a previous agency on several projec...

This week's guest is Ioana Tanase. She is an Accessibility Program Manager at Microsoft, an author of two books, and a shoemaker - she has a business making custom shoes! Listen as she talks about her journey from Romania to London, starting in recruiting, and her side businesses.   Ioana and I met through our friend Dona Sarkar and I am so glad! Ioana is an amazing person who, despite being...

This week's guest is Akanksha Sharma. She is the Senior Advisor on Human Capital Technology Transformation at the Office of Personnel Management. Listen as she talks about her interesting path to a career in the technology space, which started when her family immigrated to the United States.   Akanksha and I are both government advisors for the ACT-IAC Emerging Technology Community of Interes...

This week's guest is Sharon Weaver. She is the founder and CEO of Smarter Consulting. Listen as she shares about how she has always been a "nerd" and a problem solver, which has led her first to the medical field before moving into technology.   Sharon and I bumped into each other on the speaking circuit for Microsoft technologies. She is a positively focused professional who is good at expla...

This week's guest is Don Lovett. He is the Founder, CIO, and Principal Consultant at ProjectBits Consulting. Listen as he shares about his background growing up in Houston Texas and the heavy influence his father had on him.   Don and I met through our work with the ACT-IAC Emerging Technology Community of Interest when the Internet of Things/Smart Cities efforts started. He became an industr...

This week's guest is Bethany Aquilina Brez. She is the Managing Director of Strategic Execution at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. Listen as she talks about how a trip to Russia when she was a Freshman in High School set her on the trajectory she is following in regard to the challenges and opportunities around the world.   Bethany and I met working at the Millennium C...