2024 Conference for Advancing the Public Sector Speakers Announced

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (September 12, 2024)—Mission Critical Partners (MCP) announced today the speakers for its fifth annual Conference for Advancing the Public Sector (CAPS). The two-day, virtual conference, which will be held September 17-18, 2024, is created for leaders of public-sector organizations. Featured speakers include the following:

Ani Dave is founder and group CEO of Tech Unicorn, which specializes in delivering innovative technology solutions for public-sector organizations, as well as the healthcare, insurance, and banking sectors. She is participating in the session “Artificial intelligence: exploring the possibilities, dispelling the myths” and will be joined by the following:

• Kirk Arthur, senior director, worldwide government solutions, Microsoft
• David Williams, global public safety and justice lead, Microsoft
• David Fritsche, program manager, Mission Critical Partners
• Gary Pulford, manager of alliance partnerships, Mission Critical Partners

Charles Werner is director of Drone Responders and the former chief of the Charlottesville (Virginia) Fire Department and former chair of the Department of Homeland Security’s SAFECOM committee. He will be exploring the exploding use cases for drones as part of the session, “Disruptive technologies: what they are and how they are taking emergency response to new levels,” and will be joined by the following:

• Christy Williams, director, North Central Texas Emergency Communications District (NCT9-1-1)
• Bob Finney, director, Collier County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office
• Bonnie Maney, 911 operations manager, Mission Critical Partners

Darrin Reilly is president and chief executive officer of Mission Critical Partners. Reilly will leverage three decades of technology experience in the public sector to provide visibility into numerous MCP-led projects that are transforming emergency-response and justice outcomes.

Steve Butkovich is chief product officer for CPI Security, a provider of intelligent security solutions for residences and businesses; he also is president of The Monitoring Association (TMA). He will be discussing how the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol, jointly developed by TMA and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), is reducing emergency-response times dramatically while relieving the burden on 911 telecommunicators. He will be joined in the session “Innovating 911 digital alarm response with the ASAP Service” by the following:

• Jeff Carney, executive director, Hamilton County 911 Emergency Communications District
• John Chiaramonte, president of consulting services, Mission Critical Partners

After serving as public safety engineer for SAIC under the Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program — where he designed, led, and evaluated public-safety exercise and training events throughout the United States — John Persano joined Amazon Web Services in October 2020 and today is its emergency communications lead. Meanwhile, Doug Gardner has more than 15 years of software-engineering experience and assists public-sector agencies with their technical application architectures as AWS’s principal solutions architect. They will lead the discussion during the session “How Amazon Connect is changing emergency response” and will be joined by the following:

• Chris Kelly, senior vice president, Mission Critical Partners
• Gary Pulford, manager of alliance partnerships, Mission Critical Partners

The rest of the speaker roster is as follows:

Cybersecurity trends: what’s next and how to prepare for it

• Aparicio Clifton, network operations manager, city of Raleigh (North Carolina)/Wake 911
• Richard Osborne, director of commercial services – Secure Halo, Mission Critical Partners
• Jason Franks, cybersecurity analyst, Mission Critical Partners

Change management: why every public-sector organization should be embracing it

• Sherri Griffith Powell, 911 services manager, Mission Critical Partners
• Bonnie Maney, 911 operations manager, Mission Critical Partners
• Lindy Dages, change manager, Mission Critical Partners

911 and 988 integration: why it is essential and how to achieve it

• Bob Cozzie, director, Portland (Oregon) Bureau of Emergency Communications
• Dave Sankey, state 911 director, Nebraska Public Service Commission
• Marie Jacques, director of 911, Maine Public Utilities Commission
• Bonnie Maney, 911 operations manager, Mission Critical Partners

What’s new in outdoor warning systems

• Meena Janmohamad, emergency manager, Beverly Hills, California
• Brian Malinich, senior services specialist, Mission Critical Partners
• Corey Thomas, technology specialist, Mission Critical Partners

Remote operations: what this means in today’s emergency-response environment and how to leverage them

• Tim Kane, operations manager, Arlington County (Virginia) Emergency Communications
• Jeff Wobbleton, system administrator, Arlington County (Virginia) 911
• Jamie Donley, assistant director of operations, Kitsap 911 (Bremerton, Washington)
• Brad Flanagan, emergency operations manager, Pitkin County (Colorado) Emergency Communication Center
• Brett Loeb, 911 division chief, Pitkin County (Colorado) Regional Emergency Dispatch Center

How to design and implement a public-safety grade facility

• Ashley Love, principal, ADW Architects
• Vicki Callicutt, director of communications, Union County (North Carolina) Department of Emergency Services
• Lisa Shorter, project manager, Mission Critical Partners
• Frank Thomason, communications consultant, Mission Critical Partners

“Since its inception five years ago, CAPS has featured the public-sector’s brightest minds exploring its greatest challenges and opportunities, and this year’s conference is no exception,” said Morgan Sava, senior vice president of corporate marketing and support services. “We’re looking forward to another great event.”

Registration for this conference is open to any individual who is working for a public-sector organization. Those interested in attending can learn more and register to attend by clicking here.

About Mission Critical Partners (MCP)

Mission Critical Partners (MCP) is a leading provider of data-integration, consulting, and network and cybersecurity solutions specializing in transforming mission-critical communications networks into integrated ecosystems that improve outcomes in the public safety, justice, healthcare, transportation, and utility markets. Our comprehensive experience and vendor-agnostic approach helps us develop modernized solutions for our clients that achieve maximum value and optimal efficiency while mitigating risk. Additional information and career opportunities are available at http://www.MissionCriticalPartners.com