The Geek Within

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...

This week's guest is Mary O'Connor. She is a Program Management Office Coordinator at Agile Defense and a 2021 graduate of the ACT-IAC Associates leadership development program. Listen as she talks about growing up locally in the DC area, staying here for school, and her journey to a career in the technology area.   I was the government chair for the Associates 2021, which is how Mary and I m...

This week's guest is Jeremiah Akinbohun. He is a Technical Specialist at Dev Technology Group and a 2021 graduate of the ACT-IAC Associates leadership development program. Listen as he talks about how he works to support those who are interested and trying to get into a career as a software developer.   I was the government chair for the Associates 2021, which is how Jeremiah and I met. We ha...

This week's guest is Jessica Alfaro. She is a Managing Director of Technology Solutions at Acuity, Inc. and a 2021 graduate of the ACT-IAC Voyagers leadership development program. Listen as she talks about how she is a native of DC with parents from Honduras and had a challenging journey to the success she has today. Jessica and I met through networking events with ACT-IAC and her participation in...

This week's guest is David Patrick. He a Subject Matter Expert at DSA working in the SharePoint space. He is an adjunct professor and volunteer with several amazing organizations and is well known as a speaker and trainer in the Microsoft community. Listen as he talks about being a local to the DC area and the early exposure to technology at camps that was his inspiration for getting into an IT ca...

This week's guest is Rob Lerner. He is the Vice President of Sales for Cloud at Databank Ltd and an entrepreneur who is always looking for his next venture. Listen as he talks about how his family started in the Soviet Union and that immigrating to America was like hitting the lottery, and how that has influenced his career.   Rob and I met when he was in a relationship with my sister that br...

This week's guest is Mike Rice. He is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of CornerStone IT. Mike is also the author of "In Pursuit Business Development Life Cycle: The Framework". Listen as he talks about how his interest in technology and experimentation drove him to systems engineering and set him on the course of his career.   Mike and I met while volunteering with the ACT-IAC Emer...

This week's guest is Kelly Morrison. She is the Director of TBM Strategy and Engagement within the Digital Transformation & Management Service Line at Grant Thornton Public Sector. Listen as she talks about how she is a Michigan girl and how that attitude continues to be a driving force in her career.   Kelly and I met when she was a vice-chair for the ACT-IAC Partners Program in 2018 and...

This week's guest is Alec Longarzo. He is the Director of Business Development at Dcode. Listen as he talks about how growing up in a military family encouraged him to move around a bit himself before settling in DC for the opportunities it provides.   Alec and I met while helping facilitate the ACT-IAC Associates 2021 leadership development program and I have enjoyed getting to know him via...

This week's guest is Cayhan Movaghari. He is a Digital Transformation Executive at Appian and he is on the board at AFCEA Bethesda Emerging Leaders.  Listen as he talks about his career journey and his passion project as a DJ and music creator.  Cayhan and I have interacted at a number of local networking events (shoutout to NXNE government). He is a focused individual with an engaging w...

This week's guest is Scott Brewster, he is an Office 365 Subject Matter Expert at Leidos and a Community Organizer for the DC SharePoint User Group. Listen as he talks about his career starting in the Army and then transitioning to support government agencies in the DC area.    I have attended a number of monthly meetings for the user group he helps organize and have gotten to know Scott...

This week's guest is Jillian Stiegmann, she is in Business Development and Operations at Ambit Group. Listen as she talks about being a Virginia native and having an accelerated education so that she was in the workforce early.   Jillian and I met when she participated in the ACT-IAC Associates 2021 leadership development program. You can immediately tell that she has a powerful sense of who...

This week's guest is Ray McCollum, DACS Policy Branch Chief at the National Science Foundation. Listen as he talks about being the one to do a lot of firsts for his family - https://youtu.be/YYlf0ERCBEE More ways to listen: https://tgwlink.net/podcasts

Join me for a conversation with JoRob as he shares about how he got started in the music industry and the decisions that led to him starting his own set of companies for creation and management.     You can engage JoRob here:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorob/ https://twitter.com/jorobismusic https://jorobismusic.com/ http://www.jorobproductions.com/  Other ways to liste...

Join me for a conversation with Mark as he shares about the typical start he had via help desk and web development, and how that moved into SCRUM, which led to him launching his own company.   You can engage Mark here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wavle/   Other ways to listen: https://tgwlink.net/ep53

Join me for a conversation with Susan as she shares how she went to school with a specific goal of getting into consulting with degree mix between phycology and information systems. She is huge in the information management space, so I really hope you enjoy learning more about her journey.   You can engage Susan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanhanley/ https://twitter.com/susanhanley&nb...

Join me for a conversation with David as he shares his journey started in the UK, learning valuable lessons about business, and then transitioned to the US and what that looked like.  You can engage David here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dgcassidy/   Other ways to listen: https://tgwlink.net/ep51