GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts

The Department of Health and Human Services is working to centralize common IT procurement across the department by October 2027, with the Office of Mission Acquisition Solutions aiming to consolidate requirements currently spread across roughly 30 CIOs. Office of Mission Acquisition Solutions (OMAS) Executive Director Quentin McCoy said the effort is intended to deliver better value for taxpayers...

The Department of Veterans Affairs has spent the past several years building the governance, infrastructure and workforce needed to scale artificial intelligence across the nation's largest integrated health care system. Now, VA is increasingly focused on turning that foundation into practical applications that improve care and services for veterans. Acting Chief AI Officer Kimberly McManus discus...

The federal government is modernizing electronic health records to give clinicians more seamless access to patient data across agencies and improve the delivery of care. Lance Scott, CTO for the Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization Office (FEHRM), discussed how the office is coordinating technology efforts across agencies to improve interoperability and standardize health information sha...

Jamie Holcombe, COO of Electrosoft and former CIO of the Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), shared his leadership insights on how culture is built and discussed how speed without culture leads to burnout and broken trust. He explained the importance of connecting every team member's work to the mission and that without understanding the "why," people become disengaged and innovation suffers. Add...

Federal agencies can make the authorization to operate (ATO) process more efficient by treating security as an ongoing part of software development rather than a checklist to complete before deployment, according to Victoria Yan Pillitteri, cybersecurity lead at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Speaking with GovCIO Media & Research at the Carahsoft DevSecOps Conference, Pillitte...

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Director John Sarrao discussed how artificial intelligence and large-scale computing are changing the way scientific research is conducted across the national laboratory system. Sarrao explained how SLAC's massive scientific data streams are contributing to the Genesis Mission's push to accelerate scientific discovery with AI. He also highlighted SLAC's use of...

Federal agencies risk falling behind the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence unless they rethink how they buy technology, according to Anil Chaudhry, senior advisor of AI, Autonomy and National Security at the Transportation Department. Chaudhry discussed how agentic AI is accelerating application development, testing and deployment while rapid advances in AI models are challenging traditio...

The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) is expanding its DevSecOps research to explore how artificial intelligence can support software development and security workflows. Michael Ogata, a computer scientist at NIST, discussed how AI and large language models are being applied to coding, testing, security evaluation and vulnerability remediation. He also outlined NIST's emerging fo...

The Coast Guard is modernizing how it develops applications to support its missions. The service's new Software Yard is designed to accelerate secure software development, incorporate DevSecOps and use low-code/no-code platforms to respond more quickly to emerging operational needs. Capt. Patrick Thompson, technical director of infrastructure at the Coast Guard, discussed how the Software Yard is...

The Navy is making AI and data central to how it operates, with a new strategy focused on faster decision-making and scaling what works. Department of the Navy CTO Justin Fanelli discussed the service's push toward an AI-first maritime force, how officials are evaluating AI projects based on return on investment and mission impact, and why the "make versus buy" mindset is becoming increasingly imp...

Former CIA Chief Wellbeing Officer Jennifer Posa discussed why workforce wellbeing is a strategic driver of mission success. She drew on her experience building the CIA's first agency-wide wellbeing strategy to explain why leaders should focus on creating "readiness," not just resilience, to help employees perform in high-pressure, unpredictable environments.  She outlined the four pillars of read...

Government software development pipelines are increasingly integrating AI coding assistants, but Air Force Sustainment Center Software Directorate CTO Kurt Jarvis said success depends on improving how developers use existing code, not just generating new code faster. Speaking with GovCIO Media & Research at the Carahsoft DevSecOps Conference, Jarvis outlined an engineer-first approach that uses re...

Army Acting CIO Gabe Chiulli discussed an upcoming DevSecOps initiative that aims to improve sharing and securing code with industry partners. In what Chiulli dubbed "Project Gatekeeper," the effort aims to streamline industry access, enable rapid code evaluation using AI and incentivize partners by offering quicker deployment authorizations. Drawing from prior roles, most recently as CTO in the A...

Six months after War Secretary Pete Hegseth directed sweeping acquisition reforms across the department, the Defense Information Systems Agency is accelerating its transition from government-developed cybersecurity tools to commercial technologies. On this episode of CyberCast, Brian Hermann, director of PAE Cyber at DISA, discussed how the agency is modernizing its cyber acquisition strategy by p...

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape government technology, National Endowment for the Arts CIO and Chief AI Officer Jim Tunnessen said the technology has significant potential to accelerate modernization, streamline software development and improve operational efficiency. Tunnessen pointed to AI-assisted development as a fundamental shift in how agencies build applications, enabling sm...

The Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of the Inspector General serves as the agency's internal watchdog, and leaders are leveraging technology to improve oversight. The office's CIO Lance Jenkinson discussed how the OIG is using AI to strengthen oversight, improve operational efficiency and ensure the agency's IT systems meet security and compliance requirements. Jenkinson also discussed why...

DODNet leaders say 90-day OTA cycles and flexible engineering models are helping DISA deliver capabilities at the speed of cyber threats. Guest: Kelli Garczynski, acting DODNet Deputy Program Manager, and Mike Butler, Chief Engineer, DODNet, DISA Description: As cyber threats evolve and technology advances at an unprecedented pace, the Defense Information Systems Agency is rethinking how it acquir...

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is using artificial intelligence to strengthen criminal investigations and improve workforce efficiency. Eric Shen, inspector in charge of the Criminal Investigations Group, explained how investigators use AI to analyze large volumes of data, identify patterns and generate insights that support complex investigations. Shen also discussed how the agency is applyin...

Cybersecurity leader and author Agatha Merle discussed her unconventional path into cybersecurity, why creating more inclusive workplaces is essential to strengthening the industry and how creativity has become one of the most important tools for cyber defenders. Merle shared lessons from interviewing more than 100 women for her book, "Cyber Like a Girl", and offered practical advice for leaders o...

The U.S. Army is expanding its use of artificial intelligence across the enterprise, from administrative operations to battlefield decision-making and logistics. As AI adoption accelerates, Army leaders are also navigating the cybersecurity and governance challenges that come with integrating the technology into mission systems. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jordan Duke, chief of the Cybersecurity Divis...

Justin Cole, director of data transparency at the Treasury Department's Bureau of Fiscal Service, outlined a new initiative highlighting the nation's oldest continuously updated federal financial data ahead of the U.S. 250th anniversary. He explained how Treasury is expanding access to trusted spending, revenue and debt data while embracing AI as another way for the public to discover authoritativ...

Labor Department CIO and Chief AI Officer Mangala Kuppa joined GovCIO Media & Research at the Federal IT Efficiency Summit to discuss how the agency is integrating artificial intelligence across its operations to improve efficiency, modernize legacy systems and enhance customer services. As the department expands its use of AI, Kuppa said leaders are focused on ensuring new technologies support ex...

The administration's Genesis Mission aims to build an integrated ecosystem connecting supercomputers, AI systems and emerging quantum technologies to tackle complex challenges in scientific research. Building that interconnected system requires overcoming both cultural and technical barriers, Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Gina Tourassi told GovCIO Media & Research at the SCSP AI+Expo 2026 in Was...

Misunderstandings about the Authority to Operate (ATO) process are slowing federal technology modernization efforts and driving up costs, according to David Raley, chief digital business officer for Operation StormBreaker in the Marine Corps. Speaking at GovCIO Media & Research's Federal IT Efficiency Summit, Raley argued that many delays stem from a fundamental misconception about what receives a...

The Smithsonian began its digital transformation journey in 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the Office of Digital Transformation has advanced the use of AI across the Smithsonian's research initiatives and online collections. As the institution prepares for America250 — the 250th anniversary of the United States commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence on...