Overview

Stories from the trenches are similar across the nation: Agencies are hemorrhaging security talent as skilled employees leave public service for big paydays with private companies – and low starting salaries, shrinking benefits, and cumbersome hiring practices are making it tough for many agencies to attract replacements.

Government Technology is bringing together innovative government leaders on May 16, 2023 at 10 AM PT/1 PM ET to share how they are addressing the critical issue of building security teams for the future.

This session will explore:

How agencies are adjusting salary structures, job requirements and hiring practices
Ideas for marketing agency missions to potential employees
The best practices for connecting with new talent pools
How to upskill existing staff for new roles
How agencies can augment short-handed teams using managed services and contract staff

Speakers

Ben Gherezgiher

Chief Information Security Officer, State of Oregon

Ben is the State's Chief Information Security Officer and also is Oregon's Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for FirstNet. Ben represents the Department of Administrative Services on the State Interoperability Executive Council.

Lester Godsey

Interim Chief Information Officer for Maricopa County, AZ

Lester is the interim Chief Information Officer for Maricopa County, AZ, the fourth most populous county in the United States. Prior to his acting role he was the Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer With twenty-eight years of higher education and local government IT experience, Lester has spoken at local, state, and national conferences on topics ranging from telecommunications to project management to cybersecurity and data. Lester has taught at the collegiate level for over twelve years in the areas of technology, business, project management, and cybersecurity. The author of numerous trade journal and online magazine articles, he is CISM and PMP certified as well as holding a BA in Music and a MS in Technology, both from Arizona State University. As one of Government Technology’s 2021 ‘Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers’, he is currently focused on the impact of social media from a cyber and kinetic security perspective.

Dan Lohrmann — Moderator

Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government

During his distinguished career, Dan has served global organizations in the public and private sectors in a variety of executive leadership capacities, receiving numerous national awards including: CSO of the Year, Public Official of the Year and Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leader. Lohrmann led Michigan government’s cybersecurity and technology infrastructure teams from May 2002 – August 2014, including enterprise-wide Chief Security Officer (CSO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) roles in Michigan. He works with cybersecurity technology companies to provide insights and long-term strategic support. Dan is a Senior Fellow with the Center for Digital Government and a contributor to Government Technology magazine. Dan currently serves as Field CISO for the public sector at Presidio. He is the co-author of Cyber Mayday and the Day After: A Leader's Guide to Preparing, Managing, and Recovering from Inevitable Business Disruptions, published by Wiley in November, 2021. He is also the author of two earlier books: Virtual Integrity: Faithfully Navigating the Brave New Web and BYOD For You: The Guide to Bring Your Own Device to Work.

Webinar

The Human Side of Security: Addressing the Talent Gap