Reston, Virginia, United States
TOOK PATH LESS TRAVELED, MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE. Dedicated non-partisan in a fragmented world. Awarded Emory Humanitarian Award, 2000 +Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, 2008 & 2025; also named one of 24 Americans Changing the World by Business Insider. LOVE TO TACKLE TRULY HARD PROBLEMS IN TURBULENT ENVIRONMENTS. Hired by at 15: physics, early Internet with USG, & AI/simulations of events. Age 17: space, satellites, & computer models. Later Microsoft & Yahoo! +global work. 2000: Joined Bioterrorism Preparedness & Response Program. Slated to brief FBI & CIA on tech plans at 0900 on 11 Sept 2001; responded to 9/11 then briefed 3 Oct, 1st case of anthrax 24 hours later. Led BPRP's tech response in 2001 +to West Nile, SARS, monkeypox. 2026: Recognized as one of 250 "Public Service Champions" for Semiquincentennial. TWICE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR SUCCESSFUL COMMISSIONS. Across Intel Community *and* on Geopolitical Impacts of New Tech & Data with Industry, Congressional Members +Global Allies: science, cybersecurity, trust in AI, supply chains, biotech, & space. Achieved bipartisan successes, recommendation hand-delivered to U.S. President & Congress. 2021-on: CEO & Board Advisor on adaptive leadership & transformational strategies. 2023: Named "Industry Genius" Award & elected to National Academy of Public Admin. 2024-on: invited to host 5 Davos dinners on topics of bio, data, & AI with WEF. 2025: Invited expert witness to Congress for public hearing on tech & changing world. LEADERSHIP TACKLING EXISTING APT CYBERTHREATS. 2013-2017: Parachuted into FCC leadership role with previous high turnover. Led successful org-wide push to public cloud, saved millions $ for development. Armed Forces Comms & Electronic Assoc's Outstanding Achievement Award +Global CIO Award twice 2015 & 2017. Joined Vint Cerf as ExecDir for People-Centered Internet coalition; experienced political disinfo attack & survived with 2021 NY Attorney General confirming my concerns raised as valid. 2017-2020: advised U.S. Navy, Marines, & SOF on tech-meets-global security activities. Asked to give UN Charter Day address to General Assembly on Future of AI, Data, & Internet. PHD IN INFO SYSTEMS & DECISION ANALYSIS. Keynoter globally to Fortune 500s on leadership actions tied to AI, bio, space, quantum & IoT transformations. Harvard, MIT, Oxford post-doc & 2009 in Afghanistan: Joint Civilian Service Commendation Award. Senior Nat'l Intelligence Service Executive; 2010-2013: awarded National Intel Exceptional Achievement Medal. BE BOLD, BE BRAVE, BE BENEVOLENT. Onwards & upwards together.
LDA Ventures: CEO & Principal for LeadDoAdapt Ventures focused on incubating new tech efforts, providing strategic action for Boards and directing orgs navigating data, bio, AI, quantum, & global turbulence, 2021-present. Deliver leadership, executive consulting, foresight, agility, AI expertise, resilient tech & business development, and focused performance needed for global scales. Co-founder & CEO for planned $1B stealth space, air, and AI data co focused on regional insights for secure infrastructure (2022-present). Strategy & board roles with Swan Island Networks (2004-05), Sermo (2007-08), Beacon Global Strategies (2018-20), Hu-manity (2018-20), Unibap AB (2018-2022), Virtru (2019-2025), ElevateU.work (2019-), AI co (2019-), quantum materials co (2020-), stealth space sat co (2020-), stealth biomedical co (2021-). Advisor to Guardians.AI counter-disinfo in 2018. Chief Strategy Officer for MapLarge.com (2018-20) & Board Chair for pro-privacy collaboration platform (2020-) including successful exits. Investor in fintech & biotech startups. 2025: Invited expert witness to Congress for public hearing on AI. Stimson: Named a Distinguished Fellow with bipartisan Stimson Center focused on data, AI, tech, and global impact, 2021-present; Co-Chair (starting 2021) and now Chair of the Accelerator, Loomis Council (2024-present). Keynoter to U.S. Space Force, Air Force, Harvard Medical, NASA; Distinguished Fellow to Business Executives in Nat'l Security & industry advisor to two banks & State Dept 2021-present. Atlantic Council: Executive Director for successful bipartisan Commission on the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data: www.atlanticcouncil.org/geotechreport achieved endorsements by two U.S. Senators and two U.S. Reps plus industry accolades in Europe, Australia, & Asia. Report hand-delivered to both the U.S. President and Speaker of the House in 2021. Commission completed in 2021, transitioned to Distinguished Fellow role with AC for 2021 & 2022.
Leader: Recognized as an Industry Genius & "Global Executive Who Matters" by HMG Strategy (2023-present); "Leader Who Cares" by 5th Element focused on leading data, AI, and org transformations. Named Expert with MIT Horizon in 2024; Visiting Executive Coach at Harvard in 2015. Guest lecturer at global executive events with MIT, Harvard, CMU, GMU, Georgetown, & Univ. of Oxford on tech leadership since 2007-present. Selected as a Marshall Memorial Fellow for 2017-18 to Europe on issues of Trans-Atlantic concern. Selected as Eisenhower Fellow to Taiwan & Australia in 2015 on strategies for IoT and AI. Expert advisor to United Nations & Five-Time Invited Speaker at Davos-WEF. MIT & Harvard: Executive Keynoter at MIT on AI+Disruption & at Harvard on Org Decision Making in an Exponential Era & "Change Agents in Exponential Times" to Harvard ExecEd participants with Leadership in a Networked World Program. One of few paid guest lecturers at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government to C-level executives for "21st Leadership Decision Making" course in partnership w/ Dr. Jennifer Lerner starting in 2015. Invited to give keynote at Harvard University & Nat'l Assoc. of State Chief Administrators. Advisor to Forbes Ignite & NDIA Special Ops starting in 2018. Co-authored major research study that warned of countering disinformation in public service and crises in 2020 due to erosion of USG workforce & autonomy of non-partisan Senior Executives with former Chair of the National Intelligence Council in 2018-2019. Humans & Machines: Executive keynoter & Senior Fellow at Institute for Human-Machine Cognition focused on more people-centered AI, 2018-present. Named to Social Data Science Board at Oxford in 2018. Worked with subset of Marshall Memorial Fellows to organize 1st-ever participatory, cyber-crisis executive exercises at GLOBSEC in 2019. Named adjunct Faculty Member at Singularity University (2017-present), CMU, & GMU for expertise in Disruption, Leadership, and Global Impact.
WEF: Named top "24 Americans Who Are Changing the World" by Business Insider & a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Invited 5x Speaker at Davos in 2024. Invited to join WEF's Global Future Councils starting in 2020 as a leading executive expert in data, tech, biotech, AI, & space. Also invited to advise Forbes and join The Explorer's Club as a fellow member reserved for distinguished experts directly contributing to scientific knowledge. Invited to film address to ASU's counter-disinformation workshop in 2019 & present on countering 'polarizing social wedges' in open societies before Dept of Defense in 2018. Invited panelist & speaker at launch of WEF's Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Fran in 2017. Keynotes: Invited keynoter to Fortune 500s, NATO, UN, SxSW. Forbes, TEDx events and several global forums on leading change in turbulent environments. Keynoted to CEOs, EVPs, & Senior-level audiences in India, Denmark, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Belgium, & Vietnam. Gave public & private executive keynotes to banks, businesses, and tech companies at multiple international events. Multiple surveys ranked as a gifted communicator & “most engaging keynotes” by attendees. Advisor to & regular guest on CxOTalk.com live interviews with Fortune 500 and C-Suite executive starting in 2014. Invited keynoter at international events and Consumer Electronics Show, “Suits and Spooks", & innovation events; emcee for “Next Gen Public Service Awards” for multiple years. Invited to give 2019 United Nations Keynote on future of AI, IoT & tech. Executive Boards: Elected to Board of Directors for the Senior Executives Association (SEA), also named lifetime member in 2011. Named to serve on NSquare Board tackling nuclear challenges (2018-present) & fulfilled two terms to non-profit National Leadership Council of Society for Science and the Public (2015-2023). Named to Board of AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassadors in 2018; ATARC's Industry Advisory Board in 2021.
PCI: Accepted an invitation from co-creator of TCP/IP, Vint Cerf, to become Executive Director for the People Centered Internet coalition, coordinated strategic partnerships & program management with World Bank and IEEE to provide support, expertise, and potential funding for demonstration projects that measurably improve people's lives using the Internet. Invited to Co- Chair AI Governance, Big Data, and Ethics Summit in D.C. in 2019. PCI projects included connectivity for underserved populations, healthcare, disaster response, education, counter-disinformation, and entrepreneurship. Led meaningful innovation in challenging, thorny human and technical environments by offering to be non- partisan "human flak jacket" and take any friction for teams willing to think and act outside the box to deliver results differently and better. Atlantic Council: Invited in late 2019 to become Founder and Inaugural Senior Director for a new global GeoTech Commission & Center launched successfully despite pandemic. Led GeoTech Commission & Center's bipartisan vision scaling from concept to $3 million by 2021 in revenue as a non-profit amid COVID-19. Oversaw strategic partnerships, business planning, and financial execution focused on producing 50+ live GeoTech Hours. Collaborated on 12-month study on AI & China in Jan 2021 & report of SolarWinds-related exploits in Mar 2021. Hosted several “tech for good” events & analyses of tech and geopolitical trends, including AgriTechAction in Nov 2020 and a new conference with the Embassy of Finland on “data for good”. Assembled a global network of Senior Fellows & Action Council members committed to illuminating for world leaders how new tech and data can benefit people, prosperity, and peace. Outside AC Senior Director role, also served on multiple Boards of Directors involving data, bio, commercial space, disruptive tech & counter-disinformation efforts. Won a $1.35m State Dept award to train leaders around the world on AI & geopolitics.
CFR: Named a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in 2014 focused on international issues intersecting with disruptive technologies and socioeconomic impacts. Served as a senior consultant to multiple groups on how technology impacts communities and societies invited visiting associate and speaker on “Creating a Cybersecurity Commons” at the University of Oxford’s Global Cyber Capacity Centre starting in 2013. Graduation speaker on “New Opportunities and New Challenges” at Emory University. Organizer of regular informal, non-attribution brainstorm sessions of “big thinkers” on how globally to advance public safety, security, freedoms, & prosperity from 2010-the start of COVID-19. DoD: Senior consultant to the U.S. Department of Defense starting in 2018, focused primarily on increasing overall adaptability of military services, strategic partnerships, business planning, and risk management for potential 'bad day' scenarios for the Navy & Marines, also advised Air Force, Army, and U.S. Special Operations. Mentored, coached, emceed annual events for Young Government Leaders & NextGenGovt.com for 7+ years. Awarded Next Gen Public Service Leadership award in 2016 and prestigious Arthur S. Flemming award for leadership. Human Rights: Worked with international standards development orgs on data sharing, protection, and interoperability standards starting in 2010. Invited to Co-Chair an IEEE Committee focused on Artificial Intelligence, automated systems, & innovative policies globally for 2016-2017. Invited to join startup efforts of Hu-manity.org and champion data freedom of choice as Chief Philanthropy Officer and Senior Fellow. Directed social impact and outreach efforts of movement to create more equitable, pluralistic, data societies in which all of us have Choice and Continuous Consent regarding our data. Keynoter at an MIT Summit; gave public address to data scientists on how they can play a role as positive “change agents” to help improve our world.