CEC Advisory Board

Managing Director
Options3Ventures

Lisa Donnan is a partner at Options3Ventures

Donnan has also served as a vice president for TASC, in Chantilly, Virginia.

She is an executive with 20 years of global experience in redefining sales and market strategies, overhauling operations, and recruiting top talent.

She has a bachelor's degree in business from Ramapo College of New Jersey and an executive non-degree in finance and financial management services from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer Perspecta

Barry Barlow is the senior vice president and chief technology officer at Vencore, Inc. Barlowe directs all technology and solution strategies within the company to optimize operational efficiencies in support of the corporate business plan. He leads customer outreach initiatives relative to technology and the planning and execution for all of Vencore’s Independent Research and Development (IRAD) projects.

Barlowe has more than 35 years of government, commercial, and academic experience in the defense and space industry. In addition to teaching Computer Science for seven years, During his federal career, Barlowe was honored with multiple awards, including the Presidential Rank Award as a Distinguished Senior Executive, Presidential Rank Award as a Meritorious Senior Executive, Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award, National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and NGA Medallion for Excellence, as well as numerous Intelligence Community, Department of Defense and NGA Meritorious Unit Citations. In Dec. 2012, a flag was flown in his honor over the International Security Assistance Force’s headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, commemorating his distinguished service in Operation Enduring Freedom.

President
The Beck Foundation

B.G. "Buddy" Beck is an industrial entrepreneur and business executive, scholar, public servant, inventor, and technologist. He had several years of distinguished and decorated military and public service, and served on the National Security Council staff in the White House during both the Ford and Carter Administrations. Other career highlights include founding companies such as Atlantic Systems Research & Engineering and Trans Digital Technologies. Currently, he sits on the boards of several public and private companies and serves on a number of national security boards, as well as various non-profit organizations. He and his wife, Charlotte, founded the Beck Foundation, which has established research programs at a number of universities. The program for wounded veterans – which has received national awards – improves opportunities for all those who have given so much for America. Beck received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Arkansas State University, a master’s degree from the University of Southern California, and he did a fellowship in post-graduate studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

Provost and Executive Vice President and Provost
George Washington University

As the eighth President of Georgia State University, Dr. M. Brian Blake leads the State of Georgia’s largest university spanning 6 campuses and a community of nearly 53,000 students and 8,000 faculty and staff. Georgia State is the most ethnically and socioeconomically diverse Research-1 institution in the Nation. With more than 23,000 African-American students, the university graduates more African-American students than any other non-profit institution in the Nation.

Dr. Blake introduced a strategic vision for Georgia State that emphasizes four pillars: Identity, Placemaking, & Belonging, Research, Scholarship, & Creativity, Student Success, and College to Careers. Georgia State’s newly adopted strategic plan, “The Blueprint to 2033 – Our Place, Our Time”, sets a path for the university to continue to enhance its academic excellence and student success, scholarship and creativity, and campus vibrancy.

During Dr. Blake’s tenure, Georgia State University has set several new milestones. With its increasing reputation, the university received the largest number of applications ever for admission to its Fall 2023 entering class. In the same year, the research enterprise exceeded $200 million in sponsor awards – the highest in history. Dr. Blake oversaw the acquisition of more than $55 Million in government support for a new 120,000-square-foot Research Tower that will break ground in 2024 and open in 2026.

In FY22, the university also raised a one-year amount of more than $100 Million in philanthropic gifts for the first time in history. An advocate for campus experience, Dr. Blake is leading the effort to establish new interconnected green spaces and enhanced facilities to activate the center of Georgia State’s downtown campus.

Before Georgia State, Dr. Blake had over 22 years of faculty and administrative experience across 5 comprehensive research universities including Provost at George Washington University and Drexel University, dean at the University of Miami, and associate dean for research at the University of Notre Dame. During the first 10 years of his academic career, he was professor and later department chair of Computer Science at Georgetown University.

Dr. Blake serves on the Board of Directors for Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation, Metro-Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement of Georgia, and the Atlanta Convention &Visitors Bureau. Dr. Blake has been included on the 2022 and 2023 lists of the Georgia 500 – The State’s Most Influential Leaders as well as recognized as a 2023 Most Admired CEO.

Dr. Blake has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Mercer University, and a Ph.D. in Software Engineering from George Mason University. Blake grew up in Savannah, Ga., and attended Benedictine Military Academy. He and his wife, Bridget, have two sons, Brendan and Bryce.

Associate Vice Chancellor for Cyber Initiatives
Professor of Practice, College of Engineering, Texas A&M

Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer
Blackberry

Ms. Dickman joined BlackBerry in 2020 as a corporate officer and the company's first Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer, reporting directly to the Executive Chairman and CEO. As a member of the C-suite, she serves as the top advisor on worldwide government affairs and technical standards decisions enabling the company's two businesses: Cybersecurity (software and services) and Internet of Things (e.g., securing Connected, Electric and Automated Vehicles).

Ms. Dickman launched BlackBerry's Government Affairs and Public Policy organization from the ground up, including Government Relations and Technical Standards teams spanning the U.S., Canada, EMEA, the UK, and APAC. Her organization focuses on legislation, regulation and standards related to AI-driven cybersecurity (for governments and defense, financial services, critical infrastructure, manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and logistics), and vehicle safety and security.

Prior to BlackBerry, Ms. Dickman had a highly successful 16 year career at Intel Corporation, where she most recently led global government affairs for two of the company's most disruptive businesses: Internet of Things and Automated Vehicles. Her global team spanned the U.S., EMEA, LAR and APAC. An avid proponent of diversity in the technology sector, Ms. Dickman has a multi-decade history of mentoring and promoting STEM careers for women.

In addition to GMU's College of Engineering and Computing, she serves on the Boards of the Consumer Technology Association; the Eno Center for Transportation; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Engagement Center; and the Northern Virginia Technology Council. She is an honors graduate of Duke University and the Georgetown University Law Center, and studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ms. Dickman’s recent recognitions include the "Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Tech," The Hill "Top Lobbyist," and Washingtonian "Tech Titan."

Chief Information Officer
United States Marine Corps Recruiting Command

Dave DiEugenio is a distinguished information technology leader and manager with extensive federal experience. He has more than 24 years of leadership and management experience serving as a Marine officer, as well as more than 20 years of information system integration, information technology, and project management experience. He is a cybersecurity expert who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in strategic planning and operations analysis.

DiEugenio was appointed chief information officer (CIO/G-6) of the Marine Corps Recruiting Command in September 2016. He leads, guides, and directs a staff overseeing the cyber operations planning, delivery, maintenance and defense of mission critical networks and information systems.

DiEugenio received a BS in Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and a MS in Information Technology Management from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. His certifications include Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM). 

Independent Board Director, Former Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
CACI International

Deborah Dunie serves on the board of directors for Alliant Energy, SAIC, and works with technology startups. Previously, she served as executive vice president and chief technology officer for CACI. She has worked in both industry and government, serving in the office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, with oversight of a multi-billion dollar portfolio. She held positions at Oracle, Raytheon, and Martin Marietta dudring her 30-year career. She has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Tufts University, and a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Director of Network Security Deployment
Department of Homeland Security

Martin Gross serves as the director of Network Security Deployment within the Department of Homeland Security. He is responsible for leading the life-cycle acquisition and engineering of cybersecurity technologies to counter on-going, real world national cyber threats and applying effective risk mitigation strategies to detect and deter these threats. 

He has more than 30 years of progressive technical and management experience across the entire spectrum of the information technology lifecycle. This includes a broad range of assignments at the staff and line operation levels performing requirements analysis, technology development, systems engineering, cyber security implementation, acquisition, and operations functions. 

Chief Executive Officer
Research Innovations, Inc.

Jack Harrington, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from George Mason University, is a serial entrepreneur with 30 years of experience delivering leading edge technology in the aerospace and defense industry.  He is currently the CEO of Research Innovations, Inc. (RII), headquartered in Alexandria Virginia, focused on providing C4I, Big Data Analytics, AI and Machine Learning, and Cyber Technology & Solutions to the national security community.  Prior to joining RII, Harrington was Vice President of Cybersecurity and Special Missions (CSM), a business of Raytheon Company’s Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS), providing full scale cyber solutions across global markets.  Prior to his IIS role, Harrington served as CEO of Thales Raytheon Systems, a transatlantic defense joint venture with customers in 60 countries around the world and headquartered in Massy, France.  Starting in 1994, Harrington was the founder and CEO of Virtual Technology Corporation (VTC) focused in the C4I and distributed modeling & simulation markets until the company was acquired by Raytheon in 2006. 
Harrington is an alumnus of the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization, Washington, D.C., chapter, a graduate of MIT’s distinguished Birthing of Giants entrepreneurial program, and a graduate of Raytheon’s Executive Leadership Summit.

Founder and Former CEO
Vistronix

The founder and former CEO of Vistronix has more than 25 years of management and technical experience with privately funded and venture-funded high-tech start-ups.

He is a member of the senior advisory board of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and a member of the Executive Committee of the Professional Services Council.

He has a BS in mathematics and physics from St. Xavier’s College and a BA in computer sciences from The University of Texas at Austin.

Chief Information Security Officer
Department of Housing and Urban Development

Hun Kim is the Chief Information Security Officer at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Kim has an extensive experience in leading and managing IT, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure protection, enterprise architecture, electronic commerce, online fraud, and identity theft.  He chaired the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, IT Security Training and Education Committee, and the DOD IT Improvement Committee.  

Prior to joining HUD, Kim was the president of KIM Global Consulting, LLC.  He was an adjunct professor at George Mason University in fall 2017 teaching enterprise security case study to graduate students in the management of information security program.  Kim previously worked as the director, online fraud detection and prevention and acting director, privacy, information protection and data security at the Internal Revenue Service; special assistant to the staff director at the Federal Reserve Board; special assistant to the federal CIO at OMB; chief of staff, Office of Cybersecurity and Communications and the deputy director of the National Cybersecurity Division at the Department of Homeland Security;  and director, critical infrastructure protection group and enterprise architecture group at the Department of the Navy CIO Office. 

Former President, Mission Sustainment
Harris Corporation

Wayne Lucernoni is president of Mission Sustainment for Harris Corporation’s Critical Networks segment. Previously, he was president of Harris IT Services, which designed, deployed, operated, and maintained secure communications systems and information networks. He is a member of the Homeland Security and Defense Business Council and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. He serves on the board of directors of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the Professional Services Council and is a member of the Executive Advisory Council for the American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council. He recently joined the Board of Advisors for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance,

Prior to joining Harris in 1990, Lucernoni worked as an accountant in contracting firms that were service and manufacturing focused, serving government and commercial markets.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from James Madison University’s School of Accounting, and Certified Public Accountant certification in Maryland and Virginia, and has completed The Executive Program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Partner, Chief Technology Officer
Guidehouse

Vinay Manne drives strategic IT initiatives to offer innovative and secure solutions for Dovel customers. He plays a key role in expanding the company’s agile software development, DevSecOps, Cloud computing, and advanced analytics capabilities and practice. He helps customers and engineering teams leverage emerging architectures and technologies to build highly interoperable, autonomic, and distributed intelligent systems using cloud computing, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Manne brings 20 years of IT and leadership experience providing technical guidance and expertise to start-ups in Silicon Valley and Manhattan and government customers including the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Commerce, Environment Protection Agency, and Department of Agriculture, among others. Most recently as CTO, he led AceInfo’s technology practice where he founded its Centers of Excellence focusing on incubating emerging technologies and building innovative platforms and solutions as well as advancing the company’s technology partnerships for excellence and growth

Manne has a Master’s in Information Technology and BS in Engineering. He is PMP and ITIL certified and holds Certified Scrum Master/Professional and AWS Certified Solutions Architect certifications. He is a member of the Advisory Boards for Volgenau School of Engineering at George Mason University and for the Cybersecurity Executives program at the University of South Florida. Manne lives in Chantilly, VA, and likes to spend his spare time with his family and mentoring young talent and tech startups.

Executive Vice President
Booz Allen Hamilton

Brad Medairy is a McLean, VA-based Senior Vice President and leader in Booz Allen Hamilton's Predictive Intelligence initiative focused on delivering solutions that combine systems development and integration, big data analytics, data sciences, and specialized tradecraft to help clients anticipate, prevent, detect and respond to global threats and opportunities with real-time actionable insight about their environments.

He has a proven track record in the application of emerging technologies (e.g. Hadoop, Cloud Computing) and techniques (e.g. Agile Development, Advanced Analytics, Enterprise Architecture) to design, develop, and deliver large-scale enterprise systems that address business and missions needs across Federal and Commercial clients.

He has MS in information systems and technology from Johns Hopkins University and a BS in information systems from University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Director
Information Technology and Systems Division, Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA)

As director of IDA’s information technology and systems division, Margaret Myers leads researchers who address cybersecurity and other cyberspace challenges of national and global importance, drawing from their broad understanding of related operations and business, technology and systems, and policy and law. Myers has served as principal director for the Department of Defense Deputy Chief Information Officer and as director of information technology acquisition and investment for the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I).

She earned a doctorate in Information Technology from George Mason University; a master of science in Operations Research from American University in Washington, D.C.; and a bachelor of arts magna cum laude in mathematics from Colorado College.

Director, Center for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
National Institutes of Health.

Andrea Norris serves as the Director, Center for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the National Institutes of Health. She provides oversight of NIH’s $1 billion IT portfolio that supports scientific research and discovery. She is responsible for managing a broad range of NIH-wide information and information technology services, including a new state-of-the-market high-speed research network infrastructure, a high-performance scientific computing system ranked at #66 in the world in 2017 by TOP500, cloud-based collaboration and communication platforms and tools, bioinformatics research programs, data center services, business solutions and applications, and 24 x7 operations of NIH’s distributed IT environment.

She has an MBA with a major in Information Systems Management from the George Washington University and a BA in Economics from the College of William and Mary. 

Chief Strategy Officer
CVP (Customer Value Partners)

Todd Pantezzi is a Senior Vice President with ICF International, responsible for ICF’s relationships and growth across the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS) since 2009. He represents ICF’s consulting practices in biomedical information services, data management and analytics, technology and management consulting, digital strategy, communications, survey research, and program evaluation. Since joining ICF the firm has grown to be one of the most prolific prime contractors across HHS.

An expert on the federal government’s civilian health programs, his first assignment was to create and build a health informatics practice for a small systems integrator. As an independent consultant he created and implemented market entry strategies for most of the large federal systems integrators seeking to enter the civilian health sector. He went on to lead HHS business development for SRA, Pearson (now GDIT), UnitedHealth Group, and CSC. As chair of “An Evening for Hope” to benefit The Children’s Inn at NIH, he led the committee that raised a record $900,000 donation in 2016, and is the chair of the 2017 gala.

Pantezzi is a regular committee chair, moderator, speaker, and panelist at industry and government events. He is a graduate of Skidmore College.

President, CEO, and Manager
Shirley Contracting

Michael Post has more than 35 years of construction experience. While pursuing his degree at George Mason University, he started his career with Shirley Contracting in 1981 as a project manager. He was involved with a number of projects, including the Mills Branch Drainage Culvert, Pickett Road Widening, Phase II Ramp and Taxiway, and a three-mile rehabilitation project on the George Washington Parkway. 

In 1995, Post was promoted to president and CEO where he assumed responsibility for the overall leadership and management of Shirley Contracting. Currently, his responsibilities include overseeing the corporate safety program, financial management and planning, corporate operations, business planning, estimating, and overall business development of the organization.  He has grown Shirley Contracting Company into one of the leading providers of transportation construction services in the mid-Atlantic region.

He attended the Darden Graduate School at the University of Virginia, the Management Productivity for Executives and Young Managers Institute at The Fails Management Institute, and Transportation Construction Management at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Post also serves on the board for Mason’s Civil Engineering Institute.

Co-Founder and CEO
Orchid Technologies

Hadi Rezazad is co-founder and CEO of Orchid Technologies, an information technology solutions provider company established in 1992. He has more than 30 years of experience in IT, with more than 23 years leading Orchid. In addition to his Mason degrees, Rezazad earned a master’s in computer science and a bachelor’s in three majors — Computer Science, Statistics, and Applied Mathematics — from American University. He has received such industry certifications as a Project Management Professional and a Certified Data Management Professional. Rezazad is the Chairman of the Alumni Development Board, as well as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board of Volgenau. He has coached youth sports for years and is a professionally licensed soccer coach.

President & Chief Executive Officer
Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

Felipe Rodriguez founded Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (ASI) in 1988 and continues as the company’s president and chief executive officer. After several years’ experience as a general manager and division president for an aerospace manufacturer, Phil launched ASI. His ethics of hard work and responsiveness to customer requirements are evident throughout ASI which enjoys an enviable reputation for engineering excellence, reliability, and integrity.

In addition to his responsibilities for ASI, Rodriguez has published papers on industry restructuring and concepts for improving industry competitiveness. He has participated in numerous conferences and trade missions, representing the best in United States business acumen and inventiveness. He was invited to present his views to the 1993 White House Conference on Small Business. He is a founding member of the Hispanic Access Group and is a regular contributor to numerous associations, boards, and charitable organizations.

From 1996 to 1998 he served as a Permanent Representative to the Organization of the American States during which time he was involved in negotiating several important multi-lateral treaties and in building bridges between the US and foreign militaries.

Rodriguez has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Dulles Chamber of Commerce and works within the business community to emphasize the importance that exporting has on the longevity and stability of the economy. He was appointed to the Board of Advisors for BB&T which merged with Sun Trust in 2019 and has served in this capacity for the past decade. Together with his wife, Mary, he also works with local universities to improve and expand their engineering and technical science programs.

Vice President
Internal Security Fortinet

Prior to this position, Renee Tarun served as the Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer of the Information Assurance Directorate at the National Security Agency. Her focus areas include strategy, planning, integration, and relationship management, in cybersecurity and related disciplines. She has served as a Cyber Strategist in a joint Defense Department-Homeland Security Department organization for orchestrating coordinated joint efforts in operational planning, policy and strategic development, and identification of gaps and solutions for cyber issues. She also served as the Protect Data and Networks and Operational Resiliency Portfolio Lead for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Information and Identity Assurance. Throughout her career she has worked as a computer scientist, information technologist, and a variety of policy, program management, and resource jobs.

Fellow, Director, and Chief Scientist
Advanced Analytics and Agile IT (AIT) Division, Noblis

Sterling Thomas is a Fellow and Director of the Advanced Analytics and Agile IT (AIT) Division at Noblis, a nonprofit research corporation with headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia. There, he’s had the opportunity to work, and lead, in a field with rapid advances and continuous innovations. Under his direction, Noblis’ AIT division offers advanced analytics research and development for clients in state, federal and private sectors for projects ranging from developing human diagnostics to developing financial algorithms for equities markets. His division also manages a portfolio of diverse projects including the 2014 Ebola outbreak, infectious disease tracking and research, Web research focused on pursuing human traffickers, and research in cybersecurity.

Sterling has a PhD in Bioinformatics from Virginia Commonwealth University.

CEO
Viventum, Inc.

Vijay Venkateswaran is the CEO of Viventum Inc. and serves as an executive advisor to Fortune 500, P/E firms and start-ups. Venkateswaran brings over thirty (30) years of experience in driving new ventures, launching new products on large-scale, consulting on strategic initiatives to high technology and telecommunications firms, and turn-around businesses.

Prior to managing his management consulting business, Venkateswaran held senior executive positions with GE Ventures (as an entrepreneur in residence) and with Time Warner Cable, Ligado Networks, Verizon, and Accenture, and holds five patents in the mobile telecommunications and application fields.

Vijay holds an MBA from the Darden School of Business (University of Virginia), and both an  ME and BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia and George Mason University, respectively.

Venkateswaran also serves on George Mason University’s Board of Trustees and has been an active board member since 2018.

Vice President for Digital Transformation
Lockheed Martin

Jeffrey (Jeff) Wilcox oversees the digital transformation office and is responsible for the design, development, and implementation of operations strategy for Lockheed Martin. This office is chartered with leveraging emerging digital technologies to transform systems design, production, and sustainment and ensuring the workforce and systems are in place to enable successful transformation.

Wilcox earned his BS in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and his MS in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University. He holds an honorary doctorate of Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.

He is chairman of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership National Advisory Board and serves on the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Board as well as on multiple industry and university advisory boards.

Chief Technologist Federal Health Segment
DXC Technology

Chief Information Security Officer
Truist

Chief Executive Officer
22nd Century Technologies Inc.