2026 FORUM Disruptive Tech Awards-SOLD OUT
Schedule
Tue Mar 17 2026 at 01:30 pm to 06:00 pm
UTC-04:00Location
Crystal Gateway Marriott | Arlington, VA
About this Event
THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION WAITS FOR NO ONE.
While everyone else is still scheduling the meeting to plan the meeting, a new breed of doers has already shipped the product, rewritten the playbook, and blown the old model to pieces.
They don't ask permission. They don't wait for the next budget cycle. They build.
Welcome to the 2026 Disruptive Tech Summit & Awards Ceremony — where the government technology community's most fearless innovators take the stage, and the only thing louder than the applause is the impact they're already making.
This isn't a conference. It's a reckoning.
We're talking about the leaders who looked at a decades-old federal system and said "not good enough" — then actually did something about it. The engineers, executives, and visionaries who turned bureaucratic friction into rocket fuel. The ones who launched when others were still debating, who modernized when it was easier to maintain, who disrupted when disruption was the only rational choice.
They didn't wait for permission. They didn't ask if it was possible. They made it happen.
At the Disruptive Tech Summit, we celebrate that energy. We amplify it. We put it in a room with hundreds of the most forward-thinking minds in the federal technology ecosystem and watch what happens when doers find each other.
Because here's the truth: roadmaps don't transform government. People do.
Come ready to be challenged. Come ready to be inspired. Come ready to leave with your hair on fire and a list of people you need to call on Monday morning.
The future of public sector technology isn't coming. It's already here.
The only question is whether you're building it — or watching from the sidelines.
Event Agenda:
1:00 Registration
1:30 Welcome Remarks, Alexa Tsui, CEO FORUM
1:35 Mike Derrios, Executive Director, George Mason University, Costello College of Business
1:40 DEMO: Anthropic, Bryanna Tucci, Public Sector GTM
1:55 DEMO: Palantir, Caroline Evans, Engineering Lead, Federal Health
2:10 Awards: Change Agents
2:15 DEMO: Google Public Sector, Chris Hein, Field CTO
2:30 Awards: Programs
2:35 DEMO: OpenAI, Lauren Oliphant, Solutions Engineer
2:50 DEMO: Microsoft Federal, James Province, Director of Cybersecurity, Compliance, Risk, and Data Security Solution Engineer Team
3:05 Digitalnet.ai Introduce Keynote Speaker
3:10 Keynote Speaker: Patrick Newbold, Chief Information Officer of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
3:25 DEMO: Visual Connections, Fred Deese, CEO
3:40 Closing Remarks, Alexa Tsui, CEO FORUM
3:45-6 pm Demo Lounge
Keynote Speaker:
Patrick Newbold is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Director of the Office of Information Technology, where he leads the technology strategy and operations supporting one of the largest and most complex healthcare enterprises in the world. In this role, he is responsible for aligning technology, cybersecurity, and digital services with CMS’s mission to serve millions of beneficiaries, providers, and partners nationwide.
Patrick brings a distinguished record of senior federal leadership spanning healthcare, space, and defense. Prior to joining CMS, he served at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as Deputy CIO for Strategy, overseeing enterprise IT strategy, business operations, and customer engagement. He previously held senior leadership roles at the Social Security Administration (SSA), including Chief Information Officer, where he was the agency’s most senior technology executive responsible for information technology, software engineering, and cybersecurity risk management and operations. At SSA, he also co-founded the Office of Transformation and helped drive agency-wide digital modernization efforts focused on improving service delivery and organizational performance.
Earlier in his career, Patrick served as Deputy Chief Information Officer and Director of Enterprise Information Technology for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he was the principal advisor to the CIO on IT policy, governance, and operations and led IT service delivery for more than 37,000 users.
Across his career, Patrick has been a consistent advocate for modernizing government through practical, mission-driven use of technology, strengthening digital services, improving resilience and security, and enabling better outcomes through data and innovation. In 2024, he received the Service to the Citizen Award in recognition of his leadership in using innovation and data to break down organizational barriers. He has also been named a 2026 Fed 100 Award winner. Since 2023, Patrick has served on the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) Board, where he helps evaluate and guide federal agency modernization proposals under the Modernizing Government Technology Act.
Featured Speaker:
Mike Derrios is a strategic leader and expert in government acquisition with 30 years of federal, military, and private sector experience. He serves as the Executive Director for the Greg & Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting in the Costello College of Business at George Mason University where he oversees research, education and training, and collaboration across government, industry, and academia to drive innovation in the $800 billion government contracting sector.
He is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Senior Procurement Executive for the U.S. Department of State, where he led all global procurement and grant operations for America’s foreign diplomacy and national security mission, managing an annual spend of $15 billion and a workforce of 1500 across 270 embassies and consulates. Previously, Mike served as the Head of Contracting Activity for the United States Coast Guard. In that role he led a $3.5 billion annual portfolio to recapitalize assets, saved a shipyard from bankruptcy to preserve the $10 billion Offshore Patrol Cutter program, and drove partnership with the U.S. Navy to build America’s first icebreaking vessel in 40 years.
A plank holder for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Mike helped to establish the new agency after the 9/11 tragedies and led the nationwide deployment of passenger and carry-on baggage screening equipment, valued at $5 billion, across 429 U.S. airports. He also served as the program director for expansion of TSA PreCheck®, launching a program that enrolls millions of Americans for expedited airport screening through a public-private partnership model.
As a senior business consultant at CACI, Mike helped to replace legacy contract writing systems for 20,000 procurement professionals across the Department of Defense. Starting his career as a Contract Specialist in the United States Air Force, Mike has been passionate about mission support ever since. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Workforce Education & Development from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Demos by:
- Anthropic
- Palantir
- Google Public Sector
- OpenAI
- Microsoft
Getting to the event:
Within 2 miles from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and connected to Crystal City Metro Station via underground access.
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Thank you to our sponsors:
Where is it happening?
Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Richmond Highway, Arlington, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 392.88



















