Peter Aiken, an acknowledged Data Management (DM) authority, is an Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, past President DAMA International, and Associate Director of the MIT International Society of Chief Data Officers. For more than 35 years, Peter has learned from working with hundreds of data management practices in 30 countries including some of the world’s most important. Among his 10 books are the first on CDOs (the case for data leadership), the first describing the monetization of data for profit/good, and the first on modern strategic data thinking. International recognition has resulted in an intensive schedule of events worldwide. Peter also hosts the longest-running DM webinar series (hosted by dataversity.net). In 1999 (before Google, before data was big, and before data science), he founded Data Blueprint, a consulting firm that has helped more than 150 organizations leverage data for profit, improvement, competitive advantage and operational efficiencies.

Todd Harbour has over 30 years of government and business experience and is a recognized data expert and business leader. As a government executive, Todd was the Chief Data Officer (CDO) for New York State and CDO for the Directorate of Science and Technology (DS&T) at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where he led the development and operation of big data analytics capabilities across government. Todd also led many data initiatives that set up rules of engagement, decision rights, and the accountabilities for the effective management of data assets. As an industry expert, Todd served as the Vice President of Federal Services for FGM for over 15 years, building the company’s Federal and international practice and helping FGM achieve a successful exit in 2012. Todd is also an Associate Director of the MIT-based International Society of Chief Data Officers and member of the Data Management Association (DAMA). Todd is the author of two books and several papers on data management and data leadership including the first book on modern strategic data thinking. His latest book offers real-world recommendations to executive data leaders. Todd is a certified Project and Program Management Professional (PMP and PgMP), and Chief Information Officer (CIO) with the Project Management Institute and the National Defense University, respectively. Todd is also a certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) and Data Governance and Stewardship Professional (DGSP) with the Data Management Association (DAMA). Todd currently holds four graduate degrees in information systems, project management, business administration, and government information leadership.

Ed Kelly has over 30 years of experience in business and information technology. He currently serves as the Statewide Data Coordinator for the Department of Information Resources (DIR). In his role, he works with agencies and institutions of higher education to collaboratively develop data policies, standards, and best practices to improve data governance and integrity statewide. Ed is also responsible for seeking out opportunities for data sharing across government agencies, to increase government transparency, reduce duplicative information collection, and improve data management and analysis. Prior to joining DIR, he held positions with the Texas Department of Agriculture as Chief Administrative Officer and with the Texas Department of Public Safety as Chief Information Officer. Ed’s experience includes a variety of roles in the private sector including State Street Bank and Trust Company, Fidelity Investments, Dell Computer, Dell Financial Services, and Unisys Corporation.

Burt Walsh brings over 20 years of experience in the IT industry in various technical and management roles. He has extensive knowledge of programming languages, enterprise systems, technology frameworks, data conversion, operating systems, and design methodologies. Prior to joining AST, Burt served as Development Lead—Cloud Services with Amazon Web Services and Principal Software Engineer with Computer Science Corporation. Some of his earlier roles include Lead Architect with the Office of Early Learning, Lead Architect/Project Manager with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, as well as various roles with Bank of America. Burt holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the Florida State University and a Master of Science in Computer Science.

Kathy Walter has a decade of experience managing IT projects, first as a COBOL programmer in the utilities industry, then as an IT Project Manager in a variety of website consulting firms and in the financial services industry. She also worked for nearly a decade in product management and development as Technical Product Manager at Instinet Corporation, Associate Brand Manager at Gillette and Proctor & Gamble, as well as Senior Product Manager for Iron Mountain, before branching into the education industry working as Executive Director, Product Development, for NYC Department of Education. Kathy started her own company, Nsoma, working with schools and education companies on data and technology issues. Kathy currently works as an attorney for the State of New York focused on issues of consumer protection and data privacy. She also works with businesses and non-profits on corporate issues, including intellectual property protection and with pro bono clients facing credit debt, housing, immigration, and family law matters. Kathy holds a B.S. in Applied Math from Union College, an M.B.A. from NYU’s Stern School of Business, and a J.D. with a concentration in Information Law and Intellectual Property from Fordham University School of Law. Kathy also holds a graduate certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and has been an ESL educator at Northeastern University and Cambridge Learning Center, an ESL curriculum consultant with the YearUp program in Boston, and a program developer for several teaching projects in Uganda.