The Geek Within

Today's guest is Steve Winward, he is the Managing Director for Business Applications at Microsoft.  His history is in software development and consulting within the federal space. GitHub link mentioned in interview - https://github.com/microsoft/Federal-Business-Applications   You can engage Steve here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevewinward/ https://twitter.com/Steve_Winward List of...

This week's guest is Miguel Adams, he is the Chief Information Security Officer at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, retired 24 years active duty Navy, and a graduate of the ACT-IAC Partners program in 2019. I was also grateful when Miguel volunteered to be a coach for the ACT-IAC Associates program in 2021. Miguel and I worked together at MCC, which was a fantastic place to work and a great g...

This week's guest is Stephanie Geiger, she is the Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of the Government Marketing University.   I was excited when some friends in my network reached out to introduce me to Stephanie so we could all hear her story.   Link to the GAIN conference (October 18th, 2022) - https://thegainconference.com/   You can engage Stephanie here: https://www....

This week's guest is Neneh Deallo, she is the Chief Diversity Officer at USAID, the first for the organization. Neneh and I met when we both worked at the Millennium Challenge Corporation.   You can engage Nineh here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neneh-diallo-a235972/  List of past episodes: https://tgwlink.net/episodes

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 Andrew Och, he is the Director of Marketing at Planet Technologies and the President, Speaker, Documentarian, and Historian of The First Ladies Man, which is what I wanted to learn all about.   Sound effects obtai...

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 Seamus Kearns, he is an Inside Account Manager at Splunk and currently participating in the ACT-IAC Associates leadership development program, where we met. Today's conversation is on how he found himself farming. &nbs...

This week's guest is Casey Harris Custardo, she is a Senior Federal Partner Marketing Advisor at Microsoft. She also volunteers with ACT-IAC as the Programs Chair for the Health Community of Interest and with AFCEA Bethesda as a board member for the Emerging Leaders program.   Casey and I met when I went through the ACT-IAC Partners program in 2018 and she was running the program for ACT-IAC....

This week's guest is Laura Smith, she is the Director of Marketing at Ardent. Laura is a big supporter of mentorship and loves to mentor others, which is why she also volunteers with ACT-IAC as a coach for the Associates 2022 Program.    Laura and I met because of our shared passion for mentoring.   List of past episodes: https://tgwlink.net/episodes

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 Holly Barnett, she is a business systems analyst at Leidos and currently participating in the ACT-IAC Associates leadership development program, where we met. Today's conversation is on how she got started with dancing...

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...