Speaker Biographies

James G. Huse, Former Inspector General, Social Security Administration
Andrew B. Maner, Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Paul C. Light, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies and Director, Center for Public Service, The Brookings Institution
N. Anthony Calhoun, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, The Government of the District of Columbia
Bettina Gregory, Veteran News Correspondent, ABC News
Natwar M. Gandhi, Chief Financial Officer, The Government of the District of Columbia
Joanna Crane, Identity Theft Program Manager, U.S. Federal Trade Commission
Nancy A. Valley, Partner, KPMG LLP
Joseph L. Kull, Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Edward A. Flynn, Secretary, Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety
Karen S. Evans, Administrator of E-Government and Information Technology, U.S. Office of Management and Budget
Helene Heller, Senior Director, Project & Information Management, NYC Housing Authority
Edward L. Long, Chief Financial Officer, Fairfax County Government
Paul A. Tibbits, Director, Department of Defense, Business Management and Modernization Program
Patrick P. O'Carroll, Inspector General, Social Security Administration
Ernest Blackwelder, Senior Vice President, Business Force, Business Executives for National Security (BENS)


James G. Huse, Former Inspector General, Social Security Administration
James G. Huse, Jr., a consultant on homeland security, emergency management, law enforcement, and identity fraud served as the presidential appointed and U.S. Senate confirmed, Inspector General of Social Security.  Mr. Huse also held the positions of Deputy Inspector General, and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations.  Prior to these appointments, Mr. Huse was a Special Agent in the United States Secret Service for 25 years, rising to the position of Assistant Director.  During his Secret Service career, Mr. Huse also served as Special Agent-in-Charge of the Detroit Field Office and held other supervisory assignments in the Office of Inspection, and the Washington Field Office.

Mr. Huse was also assigned as the Liaison Officer to the Department of Justice, and to protective duties at the White House and many presidential election campaigns.  In 1995, Mr. Huse received a Special Award from the Secretary of the Treasury for his role as the Secret Service official in charge of the White House Security Review.

Prior to his Secret Service career, Mr. Huse served over 5 years as a commissioned officer in the United States Army with two combat tours in the former Republic of South Vietnam.

Mr. Huse is a native of Medford, Massachusetts and is a 1965 graduate of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Throughout his public service career in the federal government and military, Mr. Huse has received numerous awards for meritorious service.

Andrew B. Maner, Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Andrew Maner was appointed by President George W. Bush in January 2004 as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  As the CFO, Mr. Maner is responsible for all budget, finance and accounting, strategic planning and evaluation, GAO liaison, bankcard programs, and financial systems for the Department.  He is also responsible for the on-going integration of all those functions within the new Department.  DHS is the third largest cabinet agency in government with over 180,000 employees and a budget of nearly $40 billion.

Prior to his present appointment, Mr. Maner served as the Chief of Staff to Commissioner Robert C. Bonner at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  In that capacity he was the Commissioner's principal operating officer on enforcement, trade, finance, budget, transition, and management issues.  Mr. Maner also served as the Director of CBP's Transition Management Office (TMO).  The TMO led CBP's complex operations and mission support merger between portions of the former U.S. Customs, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Agricultural Plant Health Inspection Service and the U.S. Border Patrol and included over 42,000 employees within dozens of functions.

Previously, Mr. Maner served as a Vice President at ICG Commerce where he led the company's capital raising and partnership efforts and later its central region sales and operations.  He was also a partner with Aligne, Inc., and held positions at the Chicago Board of Trade and in the Financial Institutions Group at A.T. Kearney.

Mr. Maner served in the first Bush Administration in the White House Press Office and later accompanied former President Bush to Houston, Texas to serve as Director of Press and Political Affairs for the former President and Mrs. Bush.  He later served as Special Assistant to the United Nations Envoy to Somalia in Mogadishu where he assisted with political, military, financial and trade development efforts.

Mr. Maner is a graduate of Purdue University (B.A.) and J.L. Kellogg School of Management (MBA).  He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Julie and two sons, Cole and Alexander.

Paul C. Light, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies and Director, Center for Public Service, The Brookings Institution

Paul C. Light is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Public Service at the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University.  He earned  his B.A. with highest honors, summa cum laude from Macalester College in 1975, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in political science in 1980.  He has taught at the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Minnesota, and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.  

Before joining New York University, Light served as the Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he founded the Center for Public Service in 1999.  Light also served as Vice President and Director of Governmental Studies from 1999 until 2002.  Before joining Brookings, he was Director of the Public Policy Program at the Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia from 1995-1998.

Light took his first academic appointment as an assistant professor at the University of Virginia in 1980.  He left the university to accept an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship in 1982-1983, under which he served with Rep. Barber B. Conable, Jr. and the John Glenn presidential campaign.  After spending the following year as a Guest Scholar with the Brookings Institution, he joined the National Academy of Public Administration as Director of Studies where he was responsible for strengthening the Academy's research program.  In 1987, he returned to Capitol Hill as a senior staffer with Senator Glenn’s Governmental Affairs Committee.  Light left the committee staff in 1988 to become associate dean and professor of public affairs at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute. 

In the months between the two assignments, Light served as Senior Adviser to the National Commission on the Public Service, chaired by former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker.  He accepted an identical role under the National Commission on the State and Local Public Service, chaired by former Mississippi Governor William Winter, in 1992.  Light drafted each commission’s final report.  He is currently senior adviser to the second National Commission on the Public Service, also chaired by Paul Volcker.

Light has written nineteen books, including The President's Agenda, Vice Presidential Power, the award-winning Artful Work: The Politics of Social Security Reform, Thickening Government: Federal Hierarchy and the Diffusion of Accountability, The Tides of Reform: Making Government Work, 1945-1999, The New Public Service, Making Nonprofits Work, Pathways to Nonprofit Excellence, and, most recently, Government’s Greatest Achievements.  Light’s latest books are Sustaining Nonprofit Excellence: The Case for Capacity Building—and the Evidence to Support It (Brookings, 2004),and The Four Pillars of High Performance (McGraw Hill, 2005).

N. Anthony Calhoun, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, The Government of the District of Columbia

Mr. Calhoun is Treasurer and Deputy Chief Financial Officer for the District of Columbia.  He is responsible for all of the banking, borrowing, payments, pensions and investing for the District, which has a budget of $6.5 billion.  In addition, he also administers the College Savings Plan and the Unclaimed Property Office.

Prior to joining the District, Mr. Calhoun received a 1993 Presidential appointment as Chief Financial Officer for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; a federal corporation that provides insurance for 40,000 defined Benefit Pension Plans nationwide that covers about 43 million workers.

On March 14, 2000, Mr. Calhoun received a Donald L. Scantlebury Memorial Award for distinguished leadership in financial management improvement in the public sector from the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program.  This is the highest award given to a financial manager in the government.  He was recognized for his leadership in improving financial management of the retirement benefits of millions of Americans.

He has extensive experience as a financial executive in both the public and private sectors.  Prior to joining PBGC, he served as Controller for the District of Columbia Government.  During his tenure, he was elected President of the National Association of State Controllers and Vice President of the National Association of State Auditors Comptrollers and Treasurers.  Prior to that, he held various financial management positions with the International accounting firm of Touché Ross, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and J.C. Penney & Co.

Mr. Calhoun is a Certified Government Financial Manager, and holds a B.S. degree from Howard University and a MBA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.

Bettina Gregory, Veteran News Correspondent, ABC News

A senior correspondent with ABC News for over 25 years, Dr. Bettina Gregory has covered the White House, the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, the Federal Regulatory agencies (including the Food and Drug Administration), the O.J. Simpson trial, and the 2000 post-Presidential Election controversy. She retired from the network in the spring of 2001.

Her reports have appeared on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, Good Morning America, and Nightline.  She has also appeared as a guest on Nightline to discuss the issues she covers.

From 1995-2000, she was chief anchor for ABC Radio’s live coverage of special events.  She anchored live coverage of the millennium celebrations around the world, John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane crash, as well as the sex scandals involving President Clinton.  In 1999 she co-anchored live coverage of President Clinton’s Impeachment Trial with Carole Simpson and Cokie Roberts, which was broadcast on television and radio simultaneously.  She has also anchored live coverage of both the Republican and Democratic 1996 and 2000 National Conventions. Dr. Gregory has anchored live coverage of the Election Night results, Presidential news conferences, Princess Diana’s funeral, and the entire O.J. Simpson trial.

Dr. Gregory has also worked as a television magazine reporter contributing reports to Lifetime Magazine.  She has written and narrated biographies such as that of Gloria Steinem for the show entitled Biography on the Arts and Entertainment Cable Channel.

Her biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton won the Ace Cable Award as the best documentary of 1994.  It was updated in 1997 for the former First Lady’s 50th birthday.

Dr. Gregory has won many journalism awards.  One of her TV specials on defense contractors won the National Headliners Award for Outstanding Investigative Reporting by a TV Network.  TV Guide included Dr. Gregory in its list of the “Top Ten Investigative Reporters in Television News” and in 1995, Dr. Gregory won the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for her daily wrap-ups on the O.J. Simpson trial.

She has a Ph D in Clinical Psychology from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and was the recipient of the "Distinction Award in Comprehensive Examinations in Assessment and Clinical Interpretation" in August, 2002. Currently she is Host of "The American Family" on the Goodlife TV Network - a weekly talk show on solutions to family crises.

Dr. Gregory is also Resident Psychologist at the Capitol Hill Center for Family and Individual Therapy in Washington, DC and teaches Oral Communication at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland Executive Masters' Degree Program

An entertaining and informative speaker, Gregory can discuss the role of the media in popular culture and the current political climate. She is also an excellent moderator of panel discussions on political, healthcare, and regulatory issues.

Natwar M. Gandhi, Chief Financial Officer, The Government of the District of Columbia

Natwar M. Gandhi, Ph.D., is Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the District of Columbia, and is responsible for the city’s finances, including its approximately $6 billion operating budget and its bond obligations. Gandhi was nominated to this position by Mayor Anthony A. Williams and appointed on June 7, 2000. On Nov. 6, 2001, the Council of the District of Columbia unanimously approved the Mayor’s nomination of Gandhi to a new five-year term as CFO.

Gandhi’s first challenge was to steer the District’s finances in such a way that it could meet the major requirement for ending the congressionally mandated control period: four years of balanced budgets. On Oct. 1, 2001, the D.C. Financial Authority was dissolved and the city’s elected leaders again became solely responsible for the administration of the District.  In the years since the return of home rule, Gandhi has built on the District’s financial progress by securing rating upgrades for the city’s general obligation bonds from the major rating agencies.

Prior to this appointment, Gandhi served as Deputy Chief Financial Officer for Tax and Revenue, leading an organization that administers the District of Columbia’s tax laws and annually collects more than $3 billion in local revenues. 

Prior to his appointment to OTR, Gandhi served as Associate Director of Tax Policy and Administration for the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), where he managed major research projects involving financial and tax policy analysis and testified on tax issues before congressional and state legislative committees. In 1990, Gandhi served as a special assistant to New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio, where he studied the state pension system and advised on changes in its funding.

Gandhi has received numerous awards including GAO’s Distinguished Service and Meritorious Service Awards, as well as the Achievement of the Year Award from the Association of Government Accountants (National and Washington, D.C. chapter). He also received the year 2000 President’s Award from the Greater Washington Society of CPA’s. Gandhi holds a doctorate in accounting from Louisiana State University, a master’s degree in business administration from Atlanta University, and an L.L.B and B.Com. in accounting from the University of Bombay.

Joanna Crane, Identity Theft Program Manager, U.S. Federal Trade Commission

Joanna Crane is the Program Manager for the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft Program.  She is responsible for overseeing the FTC’s implementation of its responsibilities under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 and coordinating the FTC’s efforts to assist consumers who are victims of identity theft and support law enforcement in combating this crime.  Prior to working on the Identity Theft Program, Ms. Crane brought enforcement actions against various fraudulent business practices, including cases involving billing fraud by 900-number telephone service providers, and deceptive earnings claims by fraudulent “business opportunity” sellers.

Nancy A. Valley, Partner, KPMG LLP

Nancy Valley, Partner, is a National Sector Leader for KPMG LLP’s Public Services practice, including federal, state and local government, HERON, and other non-profit sectors.  Nancy is devoted exclusively to providing services to state and local governments. Nancy has been with KPMG for 17 years, following five years’ experience in finance roles, ultimately Controller, in a large local government.  Nancy began her career at KPMG in the audit practice and is currently in the Risk and Advisory Services (RAS) practice. She has been a key leader in the successful growth of RAS in state and local government.

Nancy has been a Partner for nine years, and she serves as the overall Lead Partner for New York State, an Americas Account. Nancy is actively involved in assisting client service and target pursuit teams in state and local government, and she works with the federal government team to identify synergies in RAS service offerings.

Nancy is a Certified Public Accountant licensed to practice in the State of New York and Certified Governmental Financial Manager.  Nancy is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants; New York State Government Finance Officers Association; GFOA Certificate of Achievement Committee; Association of Government Accountants and the American Accounting Association.

Nancy received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Russell Sage College and is a lifetime resident of the Albany, New York area.

Joseph L. Kull, Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Joseph Kull is currently a Director of Federal Financial Management Services at  PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Washington Federal Practice. 

Mr. Kull joined PwC with almost 36 years of financial management experience, including almost 32 years of Federal service.  He was a member of the US Government’s Senior Executive Service [SES] for almost 20 years, and has extensive professional credentials and experience in budget, performance, and financial management. 

Before retiring from Federal service, Mr. Kull was the former Deputy Comptroller for  Federal Financial Management within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  He was responsible for financial, systems, auditing and grants management activities for all Federal agencies.  He was a key architect of the ‘Improving Financial Management’ component of the President’s Management Agenda and the executive Scorecard. 

His Federal career includes over 20 years hands-on experience as the CFO and Budget Director at 2 Federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation.  He has testified before Congress on budget matters, taught accounting at the college level for 17 years, and was a member of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board..  

He began his career as an auditor in the New York office of Arthur Andersen & Co.

Mr. Kull received a B.S. from Mount Saint  Mary’s College in Maryland and has an MBA from George Mason University in Virginia.  He is a CPA, a CGFM, and a member of the AGA and the AICPA.

Mr. Kull has received numerous awards including the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive Service Award and the JFMIP Donald L. Scantlebury award for distinguished leadership in 1997.

Edward A. Flynn, Secretary, Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety

Edward A. Flynn was appointed Secretary of Public Safety by Governor Mitt Romney in January 2003.  Secretary Flynn is responsible for the management of a variety public safety agencies, boards, and commissions including the Massachusetts State Police, the Department of Correction, the National Guard, the Department of Fire Services, and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. Secretary Flynn also serves as the chief adviser to the Governor on homeland security.   The Executive Office of Public Safety is responsible for administering a budget of more than $1 billion, and employs more than 10,000 people. 

Secretary Flynn comes to this position with over 32 years of law enforcement experience.  Prior to his appointment as Secretary of Public Safety, he served for five years as the Chief of Police in Arlington County, Virginia.  In his capacity as Chief, Secretary Flynn was instrumental in the recovery effort at the Pentagon after the September 11 terrorist attack, and this past fall, he participated in the sniper shootings investigation in the Washington DC area. 

His early career was spent in the Jersey City Police Department, where he served for 15 years, rising to the rank of Inspector.  He has been the Chief of Police in Braintree, Massachusetts, where he was credited with modernizing the department.  He subsequently became Chief of Police in Chelsea, Massachusetts, where he helped lead the city out of state-imposed receivership to designation as an “All American City.”

Secretary Flynn is a past member of the board of directors for the Police Executive Research Forum and is a recipient of the prestigious Gary Hayes Memorial Award for Police Leadership.  He is on the board of directors of the national bi-partisan anti-crime organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids and is a member of the Administration of Justice Advisory Committee at George Mason University.

He holds a B.A. in history from LaSalle University in Philadelphia, a Masters degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and completed all course work in the Ph.D. program in criminal justice from the City University in New York.  Chief Flynn is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the National Executive Institute and was a National Institute of Justice Pickett Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Karen S. Evans, Administrator of E-Government and Information Technology, U.S. Office of Management and Budget

Karen Evans is the Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government and Information Technology (IT) at the Office of Management and Budget. In this role, she oversees implementation of IT throughout the Federal government including advising the Director on the performance of IT investments, overseeing the development of enterprise architectures within and across agencies, directing the activities of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Council, and overseeing the usage of the E-Government Fund to support interagency partnerships and innovation. She also has responsibilities in the areas of capital planning and investment control, information security, privacy, accessibility of IT for persons with disabilities, and access to, dissemination of, and preservation of government information.

Prior to becoming Administrator, Ms. Evans was the Chief Information Officer for the Department of Energy. There she was responsible for the design, implementation, and continuing successful operation of Information Technology (IT) programs and initiatives throughout the Department and its offices. During this time, Ms. Evans was also the Vice-Chairman of the Federal Chief Information Officers Council. Elected to this post in December 2002, she coordinated the Council's efforts in developing federal IT programs and improving agency information resource practices.

Before joining Energy, she was Director, Information Resources Management Division, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., where she was responsible for the management and successful operation of the Information Technology program. OJP's bureaus and offices provide funding opportunities for initiatives such as Safe Schools, Safe Start Program, Community Prosecution, Native American Tribal Courts and other programs of high local, state and national interest. Key accomplishments included the implementation of an on-line grants management system to process grants from discretionary, formula and large block grants programs, to streamlining capabilities to ensure for the expeditious processing of claims benefits to families of public safety officers after the September 11th attacks.

She is a 20 year veteran of Government service with responsibilities ranging from GS-2 to SES, working with several agencies, including the National Park Services, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) of the Department of Agriculture.

Prior to joining OJP, she served as the Assistant Director for Information Services at DOJ headquarters, where she successfully managed Internet resources for the Department, including electronic mail services and security. While at FmHA, she served as the acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Management Information Systems, Deputy Director for the Applications Management Division and the Chief of Emerging Technology, where she managed the implementation on a nationwide basis, from inception to continuing operations of several critical automation systems.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and a Master of Business Administration degree from West Virginia University.

Helene Heller, Senior Director, Project & Information Management, NYC Housing Authority

Helene Heller is responsible for designing and directing the enterprise-wide project management lifecycle and discipline which includes IT governance, the identification of the Authority’s Enterprise Information Technology initiatives in support of key business priorities, and business case justification and measurement. Additionally, Ms. Heller imports/exports best practices, particularly in the area of cross-boundary integration, and supervises the Information Management Department (IMD). IMD is responsible for eForms, knowledge management, vital records retention, and a best-in-class micrographics function.

Prior to returning to City government, Ms. Heller spent three years as an Internet business strategist in Cisco System’s Northeast U.S. Area. As a member of the Internet Business Solutions Group public sector team, she was focused on accelerating State and local Government, K-12, and higher education institutions’ success using Internet solutions to deliver services to a diverse set of customers.

Ms. Heller served 16 years in local government, solving operational problems and implementing substantive change in service delivery, business practices and IT governance.  Her last position with the City of New York, during this period, was as Executive Director of the NYC Office of New Media. This office was created in 1996 to introduce the Web as an effective business channel to bring government services to its customers.  In this role, Ms. Heller was responsible for developing the first centrally managed local government portal, nyc.gov.  During her tenure with the NYC mayoralty, Ms. Heller also established the Mayor’s Council on New Media, a public-private partnership. Ms. Heller has lectured internationally on portal management and customer service through electronic access to government.

Ms. Heller is a member of the Board of the National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council, a Member of the Advisory Board of the Worldwide Organization of Webmasters, a former Chair of the Information Technology Committee of the National Association of Purchasing Management – New York Affiliate, a member of the Project Management Institute, and the New York Software Industry Association.  Volunteer activities include serving as an iMentor, and Chief of Logistics and Governmental Relations, Member of the Board, for the Battery Park City Community Emergency Response Team.

Edward L. Long, Chief Financial Officer, Fairfax County Government

Edward L. Long, Jr., Chief Financial Officer, joined Fairfax County Government in 1977 as a Budget Analyst.  He served as a Senior Budget Analyst from 1980 to 1983 and as Assistant Director from 1983 to 1989.  He was appointed Budget Director in October 1989 and Chief Financial Officer in 1997.  In his capacity as Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Long oversees the financial operations of the County including the Departments of Management and Budget, Finance, Tax Administration, Purchasing and Supply Management and Human Resources.  He also has a liaison relationship with the Retirement System and the Office of Internal Audit.

Mr. Long has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Emory & Henry College and a Master’s Degree in Urban Studies from the University of Maryland at College Park.  He has been selected by the President of the Government Finance Officers Association to serve a three-year term on the Standing Committee of Governmental Budgeting and Management beginning in January 2003.  This committee serves as a forum for the exchange of information about emerging issues, concepts and techniques in public budgeting and management.  He has served on the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board and is active and has held offices in numerous professional organizations in the Northern Virginia region.  Mr. Long is an adjunct professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, where he teaches public budgeting and finance.

Mr. Long is a frequent guest lecturer on local government finance at various local universities and is a national trainer for the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.  In 1993 Mr. Long was recognized by the Washington Metropolitan Government Finance Officers Association with the Anna Lee Berman Award for Outstanding Leadership in Government Finance.  Mr. Long is a graduate of Leadership Fairfax Class of 1989.

Paul A. Tibbits, Director, Department of Defense, Business Management and Modernization Program

Paul A. Tibbits, M.D., currently serves as the Director for the Business Management Modernization Program, as well as for the Business Modernization and Systems Integration (BMSI) Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). In this capacity, he is responsible for the transformation and modernization of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) business and financial processes. He oversees efforts that will result in the institution of a comprehensive initiative known as the Business Enterprise Architecture (BEA). In addition, he supports DoD with policy guidance and technical expertise for programs and systems designed to promote and enhance business management throughout DoD.

Preceding his present position, Dr. Tibbits served as the principal and founding member of MAPA Ventures; a consultancy dedicated to increasing client revenues, profitability, valuations, and market positioning through the integration of strategic and business planning, partnership and alliance development, and strategic marketing. While with MAPA Ventures, Dr. Tibbits served as the lead consultant to the Bush Administration’s Presidential Task Force to Improve Healthcare for Our Nation’s Veterans.

Before founding MAPA Ventures, Dr. Tibbits served in a number of positions spanning a 26-year career with the U.S. Navy. As the special assistant for Program Integration, Dr. Tibbits gained approval for a medical combat support Information Technology program and set the program baseline for the Federal initiative for interoperability between DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Tibbits stood up the first Program Executive Office (PEO) for Information Technology in the Military Health System (MHS) and led IT operations worldwide for all military medical installations. Earlier assignments include service as the Commanding Officer, Navy Medical Information Management Center; Deputy Executive Director, Defense Medical Information Management; Program Manager, Worldwide Composite Health Care Systems; Deputy Executive Director, Defense Medical Systems Support Center; and Director, Health Systems Evaluation; and Senior Analyst for Quality Assurance.

Dr. Tibbits holds a medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Loyola University, both in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is board-certified in internal medicine and cardiology and qualified in Undersea Medicine. He is a Defense Acquisition Professional (DAWIA Level III) and Member of the Navy Acquisition Corps.

Patrick P. O'Carroll, Inspector General, Social Security Administration

Patrick P. O'Carroll, Jr. currently serves as the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration (SSA).  He was appointed as SSA’s third Inspector General on November 24, 2004.

In FY 2004, the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG's) investigators reported over $261 million in investigative accomplishments through SSA recoveries, restitution, fines, settlements, and judgments and projected savings. OIG auditors issued 105 reports with recommendations identifying over $465 million in Federal funds that could be put to better use and $1.5 billion in questioned costs. And OIG’s attorneys reported over $500,000 in civil monetary penalties and assessments. As a result, the OIG returned nearly $25 for every dollar invested in its operations.

Other positions Mr. O'Carroll has held at SSA OIG include Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, Assistant Inspector General for External Affairs, Special Agent-in-Charge of Congressional Affairs, and Special Agent-in-Charge of Strategic Enforcement. Prior to his SSA positions, Mr. O'Carroll had 24 years experience at the United States Secret Service.

Mr. O'Carroll received a B.S. from Mount Saint Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and a Master of Forensic Sciences from the George Washington University, Washington, DC. He also attended the National Cryptologic School, the Brookings Institute, Georgetown University, and the Kennedy School at Harvard University. Mr. O’Carroll is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Association of Government Accountants.

Throughout his Government career, Mr. O'Carroll has received numerous awards for his meritorious service, including the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive in FY 2003.

Ernest Blackwelder, Senior Vice President, Business Force, Business Executives for National Security (BENS)

Ern Blackwelder serves as Sr. Vice President of Business Executives for National Security (BENS) and is responsible for Business Force operations.  Prior to joining BENS, Mr. Blackwelder was a Principal at the Bridgespan Group, a non-profit consulting firm affiliated with Bain & Company, and led projects with BENS during 2002 and 2003 that led to the creation of the Business Force model.   The BENS Business Force mission is to implement significant new Homeland Security capabilities at the state and regional level by creating public-private partnerships that neither government nor business can create alone.

Previously, Mr. Blackwelder served as COO and a board member of ArsDigita, a venture-backed software firm in Cambridge, MA that was sold to Red Hat Corporation in 2002.  Before ArsDigita, he was CEO of an Internet healthcare start-up and division president of Vivra, Inc., a publicly traded healthcare services firm.  Mr. Blackwelder started his career as a consultant at Bain & Company, an international strategy consulting firm, was a district manager and ran mergers and acquisitions for BMC West, a publicly traded building materials distribution firm, and was CFO and a board member for his family’s farm machinery manufacturing company in Central California.