DFMI Huntsville – Sessions and Speaker Details
Welcome and Opening Keynote: LTG Bennett
Advanced Technology to the Rescue
Jared Terry; Susannah Kiehl
The speakers will discuss and spotlight how AI technology can increase efficiency gathering and responding to evidential matter (EM) requests from an auditor. They will present a proof of concept model in real time. It provides detailed information to management related to the quality of the EM. Such technology will facilitate the Department of War’s goal of utilizing advanced technological solutions in achieving and sustaining a financial statement audit opinion. This capability is an FY27 goal as defined by the Secretary of War, that is available now.
From Improper Payments to Insight: Modernizing Payment Integrity
Jason Venner, Paul Gass, Erika Correll, Alyssa Fusisi
Defense financial managers are under unprecedented pressure to protect every dollar, prove compliance continuously, and deliver real‑time insight to leaders. Yet payment integrity efforts across many DoW organizations still rely on periodic sampling, manual reviews, and after‑the‑fact audits—leaving costly blind spots for fraud, waste, and abuse in civilian pay, military pay, contract/vendor payments, travel, and other disbursement streams. This panel will demonstrate how DoW organizations can strengthen and fully operationalize payment integrity as a core component of OMB Circular A‑123, transforming it from a compliance exercise into a proactive, data‑driven control environment. Drawing on lessons from audit, DFAS operations, and large‑scale ERP modernization, panelists will show how automating continuous control monitoring and advanced analytics can be embedded across the end‑to‑end payment lifecycle—from master data and obligation processing through disbursement and post‑payment review. Using real examples and anonymized metrics, we will illustrate how organizations have identified high‑risk transactions, reduced improper payments, accelerated remediation of control weaknesses, and strengthened auditability. The session will primarily use a moderated panel discussion format, augmented by brief audience fact polls to reveal misconceptions and highlight the measurable impact that an effective control program can have on payment integrity. Attendees will leave with concrete strategies to start small—automating one control, one reconciliation, or one high‑risk payment stream—and then scale toward a mature, sustainable payment integrity program aligned with A‑123, audit readiness, and PPBE reform.
OUSW(C) Panel
The New FM Leader’s Playbook: Agility, Trust, and Mission Focus
Col. Michael Mai, Michael Mehrman, Donald Michael ‘Mike’ Cook, Tom Steffens
Defense Financial Management leaders are being asked to do more than ever—modernize systems, sustain audit progress, manage constrained resources, and lead a workforce facing unprecedented change and fatigue. For the next generation of FM leaders, resilience is no longer optional; it is a mission requirement. This moderated panel brings together senior DoW Financial Management leaders and practitioners to explore how innovation—across technology, processes, and leadership approaches—can be intentionally leveraged to build organizational resilience and drive measurable efficiency. Drawing on real-world experience, panelists will discuss how leaders can maintain workforce engagement, build trust, and sustain performance amid continuous disruption. The session emphasizes practical leadership tools over theory, highlighting how innovation enables smarter workload management, better decision-making, and mission focus under pressure. Attendees will leave with actionable insights on how resilient leadership behaviors and innovative practices reinforce one another across the Defense Financial Management community.
Turning Financial Data into Decision Advantage: Modernizing Defense Financial Management
Andrea Fisher, Candice Kinn
Defense financial management is at a critical inflection point. Legacy processes, fragmented systems, and manual controls are no longer sufficient to meet the demands of auditability, operational agility, and mission readiness. This panel explores how financial leaders can transform complexity into clarity by leveraging real-time insight into how work actually gets done. Drawing on her leadership within Army Financial Management and Comptroller, Ms. Candice Kinn will discuss the practical challenges of driving financial modernization across diverse missions and commands—and what success looks like beyond simply “passing the audit.” Moderated by Ms. Andrea Fisher, the conversation will focus on how process intelligence enables financial managers to see end-to-end execution, pinpoint root causes of inefficiency or noncompliance, and shift from reactive problem-solving to proactive performance management—unlocking both audit confidence and operational value.
Aligning Data Management, Digital Transformation, and AI Strategy for Optimal Impact
COL (Ret.) Doug McInvale, PhD; George Culver; Michael Buckley
Digital Transformation is as much about culture change as it is technical innovation, and this talk will address key issues and lessons learned in managing this journey. Managing large amounts of data in rapidly evolving technical environments impacts every aspect of the mission. A central theme of this panel will be connecting relevant digital transformation aspects in various domains, such as finance, business, and logistics data.
In this session, we will share examples of challenges and how we overcame them using enterprise data management and leading data platforms such as Army Vantage. Based on our experience doing it for Army clients, we will offer information technology and warfighting considerations for LLMs, RAG-based, Generative, and Agentic AI tools. We will also identify strategies, and policies to more efficiently and effectively optimize data to support strategic decisions.
Attendees will:
– Learn key definitions and principles with operationalizing data management, digital transformation and AI in an enterprise.
– Gain strategic insights through lessons learned from real-world efforts to employ data management, and AI tools in an Army environment.
– Understand what Army Vantage is and ways that it has been used to create more data-centric approaches and solutions.
Examples and use cases will be used to illuminate the points presented. We will present slides (and a possible demo from Vantage AI Platform) in a style suitable for a general audience from novice to expert and allow time for quality Q&A.
Army Panel
Business Acumen for Better Outcomes
Brian Schultz
This session focuses on the importance of developing Business Acumen (BA) skills for all functional areas and career fields in DoW! These skills are crucial for the workforce to maintain DoW’s competitive advantage with peer and near-peer adversaries. BA is also critical for members of the acquisition workforce when interacting with industry and other key stakeholders in the acquisition of systems and services. The workshop will define the essential BA skills, how they can be used in everyday situations, and how to grow these skills which are vital for acquisition transformation.
DFAS Panel
Who Watches the Watchers? Strengthening Oversight and Internal Controls in Non-appropriated Fund and Working Capital Fund Programs
Recent high-profile fraud cases—including the Fort Sam Houston childcare embezzlement and other incidents within DoD Nonappropriated Fund (NAF) programs—highlight a critical vulnerability: oversight gaps. Working Capital Funds (WCF) face similar risks due to complex pricing models and high transaction volumes. This session will examine real-world fraud cases and dissect the control failures that allowed them to occur. Attendees will learn how to design and implement robust internal controls, apply continuous monitoring techniques, and strengthen oversight frameworks to prevent fraud and sustain audit readiness. The discussion will include practical strategies for risk assessment, segregation of duties, and leveraging data analytics for anomaly detection.
AMC and the Journey to an Opinion Audit
Corbin Neiberline, Kathryn VanScoy, Lindsay Sparks
The Army Materiel Command (AMC) is responsible for the Army Working Capital Fund (AWCF) and the day-to-day implementation of the financial improvement and audit readiness (FIAR) program. AMC is in pursuit of an audit opinion on the AWCF financial statements, as required by the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990 and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. The NDAA for FY24 mandates an unmodified (clean) audit opinion by December 2028. The pursuit of an audit opinion has been a long journey for the Department of War and the U.S. Army as they have undergone transformation related to implementing audit compliant systems, re-engineering business processes, and executing large data-cleanup efforts. AMC has made significant progress on this journey, as evidenced by six material weakness downgrades and four significant deficiency closures in the last three years. This program will focus on highlighting AMC’s progression on this journey, to include the use of automation and AI to take advantage of available technologies that make labor-intensive processes more efficient and create operational efficiencies to the warfighter, as well as produce more accurate and useful data to AMC and HQ Army Senior Leaders for decision making.
OSD Panel
Strengthening Defense Financial Resilience: Innovative Supply Chain Risk Management for Mission Assurance
There’s No Excuse – Understand Your Benefits & Retire Happy
Val Majewski
When it comes to your benefits & retirement, stressing out & worrying is not going to do any good. It is time to get the understanding you need to optimize your career & retire the way you want. Did you know a limited understanding of FEGLI, your Pension, Survivors Annuity, FEHB, Social Security & TSP could cost you thousands of dollars during your working career, and even larger amounts of money during your retirement? This workshop will focus on the ins & outs of your Federal Employee Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), Your Retirement Systems, & Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). You will learn how to optimize your FEGLI coverage & potentially save tens of thousands of dollars over the course of your working career. We’ll review the pension systems so can maximize what the government provides you. Regarding TSP, we’ll cover the various funds, risk tolerance, distribution options, and how to ensure your account is set up to achieve your retirement goals. American Benefits Exchange (ABX) is a proud partner of SDFM specializing in educating & training federal government employees with regards to their benefits & retirement information. ABX provides this information in a number of ways such as individual one-on-one benefits reviews, group trainings, seminars, and via our radio show / podcast titled “The Federal Retirement Show” (available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube & Soundcloud). Our goal is to ensure each person is maximizing all the government has to offer and is preparing as best they can for their future.
Third-Party Technology Risk: What Every Government Agency Should Look for in Vendor Controls
Catherine Van Hoesen, Edwen Delcid
As government financial operations increasingly rely on cloud platforms, ERPs, shared service providers, and technology-enabled vendors, agencies now play a critical role in evaluating and overseeing third-party cybersecurity risks. Participants will learn how cyber weaknesses in contractor environments can compromise sensitive data and disrupt mission-essential operations.
Leading People to Greatness in the Age of AI: A Hero’s Journey for Defense Finance Leaders
Chris Hodges
In this engaging and mission-critical session, Naval Academy graduate and former corporate executive and partner, Christopher Hodges brings his Noble Automation leadership model to life. Designed for finance professionals in defense and government contracting, this talk reframes AI adoption as a Hero’s Journey—one where people, not just platforms, determine success. Drawing on decades of leadership in military, industry, and consulting, Hodges equips attendees with tools to retain talent, avoid costly missteps, and deliver value through smart, human-centered automation. Based on his acclaimed book Noble Automation Now, this session delivers actionable insights for those charged with leading transformation where it matters most.
From Algorithms to Accountability: AI’s Impact on Financial Management
Dale Smith, Tom Constable
This session will examine the rapid evolution of AI—from generative and agentic models to enterprise integration—and its implications for the financial management (FM) community. Panelists will discuss how FM professionals engage with AI both as users and as evaluators, and why critical thinking has become the most essential human skill in an AI-enabled environment. Attendees will gain practical insights into leveraging AI responsibly while maintaining accuracy, completeness, and trust in financial operations.
How Do I Implement Financial Management Critical Thinking?
Brian Schultz
This highly interactive workshop provides an overview of critical thinking concepts and focuses on defining critical thinking and demonstrating “how to do it” in a financial management context. This skill will be critical to support the recent Acquisition Transformation Strategy. The workshop will address the need and benefits of critical thinking and then demonstrate some methods that learners can adopt to improve financial management outcomes. The session will challenge participants to assess their work situation and determine how the critical thinking methods can be adopted in their work teams and environments to improve results and job satisfaction. The workshop will also address how leaders can establish a critical thinking culture that improves organizational effectiveness.
Success for Finance Transformation with Successful Change Management
Brandee Bible
Chief Financial Officers in federal agencies face a host of mounting challenges. While the public sector environment has its own unique complexities, many of these hurdles—constrained budgets, aging legacy systems, increasing regulatory demands, and the need for data-driven decisions—are similar to those the world’s leading companies successfully overcome every day with the right strategies and modern solutions.
From Data to Decisions: Driving Innovation with ADVANA and Power BI
Harlee Scordo
ADVANA is the Department of Defense’s NextGen data platform, but unlocking its strategic value requires innovative approaches that many organizations are still developing. This session empowers participants to confidently connect Microsoft Power BI to ADVANA and transform complex financial data into clear, actionable intelligence that supports resilient decision-making. Attendees will learn from real-world implementations how to overcome common integration challenges and design dashboards that not only look impressive but genuinely inform leadership and drive efficiency. We will demonstrate the end-to-end ADVANA-to-Power BI process, including secure connection methods, scalable data extraction practices, and performance optimization techniques designed for high-volume defense environments. Participants will gain exposure to advanced Power BI capabilities such as custom DAX calculations for financial metrics and interactive dashboard design that communicates insights with clarity and purpose. This session addresses the critical gap between ADVANA’s powerful potential and practical, everyday application. Attendees will leave equipped with skills and strategies to champion data-driven innovation across their organizations, positioning themselves as future-focused leaders who strengthen operational resilience through better information, smarter automation, and informed financial management practices.
Joint Transportation Management System (JTMS): Achieving Auditability, Optimizing Resources, and Empowering the Warfighter Through Integrated Transportation Financials
Tiffany Gildon
Ms. Tiffany N. Gildon, Chief Financial Functional for the Joint Transportation Management System (JTMS) Joint Program Office at U.S. Transportation Command, will present on how JTMS is addressing long-standing gaps between transportation and financial management across the Department of Defense. A career Civil Service financial management professional with more than 20 years of experience, Ms. Gildon is leading the financial functional requirements for the development and implementation of JTMS.
This briefing will highlight why integrating transportation and financial processes is critical as the Department works toward auditability and operates under increasingly constrained budgets. JTMS is a key DoD initiative designed to improve transparency, enable timely and accurate execution of transportation funds, and support mission effectiveness.
Revolutionizing Data-Informed Decision Making in Defense Financial Management
Michael Greenberg
Defense financial managers are under increasing pressure to deliver faster, more transparent, and more defensible decisions, but the path from raw data to actionable insight remains fragmented. This session will focus on the central question facing today’s organizations: How can defense institutions build a practical, repeatable, data-informed decision-making framework? We will examine the persistent challenges that hinder this shift, including siloed systems, inconsistent data standards, limited enterprise visibility, and the growing complexity of prioritizing resources in contested and constrained environments. The panel will demonstrate that a structured decision framework is the key to improving financial decision quality across the DoD. Participants will explore practical, scalable approaches for designing and operationalizing such a framework. Discussion will highlight methods for improving decision workflows, integrating authoritative data sources, and establishing repeatable evaluation criteria that strengthen transparency and defensibility. The panel will also examine collaboration practices that connect financial, programmatic, and operational communities, enabling organizations to align funding choices with mission outcomes while responding more effectively to emerging constraints. Attendees will leave with actionable steps they can immediately apply to improve decision rigor and organizational agility. The session will outline emerging trends in data governance, performance alignment, and continuous planning—core components of Strategic Planning & Organizational Performance. Whether supporting programming, budgeting, execution, audit readiness, or cost analysis, participants will gain practical techniques to elevate decision quality, reduce cycle time, and better align resources to mission priorities across all services.
Wash, Rinse, Repeat: Leading with Resilience Through Continuous DisruptionTransition Break
Erika Correll, Kathryn VanScoy, Travis M. Ogletree, PMP
Discover how resilient leaders adapt, reset, and re-energize teams amid disruption—transforming uncertainty into momentum for lasting performance.
Closing Session: Chip Fulghum Leading Through Adversity
This session focuses on leading through challenging times and how leaders can persist, lead with purpose, and turn adversity into opportunity. Learning Objectives:
Strengthen leaders’ ability to guide their organization forward during adversity
Understand the importance of culture and its key ingredients that sustain it during challenging times.
More about our speakers:
Andrea Fisher is the Department of War Account Director at Celonis, where she partners with senior leaders to drive process intelligence and operational transformation. She brings a diverse background spanning large management consulting firms and hands-on experience in small business environments. Andrea serves on the editorial board for the Society of Defense Financial Management (SDFM) and frequently moderates panels on process intelligence, system modernization, and audit readiness. She is a proud graduate of the University of Maryland. Outside of work, Andrea is a military spouse and the mom of four incredible kids.Mr.
Brian Schultz is a Professor of Program Management and Executive Coach at Warfighting Acquisition University, Capital Northeast Region at Ft Belvoir, VA. He teaches program management courses and workshops and is the course manager for ACQ 315 (Understanding Industry) and WSM 014 (Acquisition Strategy Development Workshop).
Prior to his current assignment, Brian served as a Program Manager (PM) in the Air Force and in defense industry. He has presented at several conferences and authored multiple articles for the Defense Acquisition Magazine, including topics related to acquisition reform, rapid acquisition, financial management reform, critical thinking, and high performing teams. A previous article, “How Critical Is Critical Thinking?” addresses this same topic.
Ms. Candice M. Kinn was appointed as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller on 12 May 2025. She advises Army senior leadership on all matters related to financial management and comptrollership, with an emphasis on financial statement audit, risk management and internal controls, internal review, financial information management systems, and financial operations. She supports the development and oversight of the Army’s multi-hundred-billion-dollar budget and leads enterprise-wide efforts to modernize financial and asset management systems and improve financial stewardship. Ms. Kinn brings over 20 years of experience leading complex financial, technical, and strategic transformation initiatives, with a focus on the Department of Defense since 2008. She has provided executive-level leadership in defense financial management, audit remediation, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and system integration for a broad range of military departments and agencies, including the Department of the Army, Department of the Air Force, Department of the Navy, Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), and Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).
Ms. Cathy Van Hoesen currently serves as Deputy Director of Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) Indianapolis, a position she assumed in January 2025. In this role, she oversees day-to-day operations of the federal government’s third-largest building and leads more than 4,100 federal employees worldwide delivering finance and accounting services to the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Veterans Administration, and 26 other defense agencies. Previously, Cathy was Director of Finance Standards and Customer Services, where she championed efficiency and standardization across pay and disbursement functions affecting military personnel, federal civilians, retirees, annuitants and managed transactions totaling over $579 billion annually. Before that, as Director of Financial Management, she oversaw a working capital fund budget exceeding $1.4 billion and managed the agency’s cash position, revenue and billing, and capital investments. Cathy began her federal career as a budget analyst with the Department of the Navy, contributing to offices including Navy Comptroller and the Future Aircraft Carrier Program. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Public Affairs from Indiana University Bloomington, with a focus on policy studies.
Mr. Colonel (COL) Michael R. Mai serves as the Military Deputy, G-8, and Acting Chief of the Army Working Capital Fund (AWCF) for Army Materiel Command (AMC) at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. In this role, he oversees the budgeting, execution, and audit compliance of approximately $13 billion annually in AWCF resources supporting Army industrial operations and supply management. As Military Deputy, he also assists the AMC G-8 in the formulation and execution of an annual budget exceeding $55 billion across General Fund and Working Capital Fund activities.
With 25 years of active-duty service, COL Mai has held a wide range of tactical, operational, and strategic assignments across the Department of the Army. His previous roles include Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command; Director, Strategic Operations and Integration Cell, ASA(FM&C); Executive to the Army Budget Office Planning, Programming, and Budgeting Committee; Program Budget Officer, Army Budget Office; Operations Comptroller in Afghanistan; Commander, 9th Financial Management Company; and multiple senior logistics and financial management positions at the Pentagon and in deployed environments.
COL Mai was commissioned in 2000 as a Field Artillery officer from the United States Military Academy, earning a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Systems Engineering. He holds a Master of Business Administration from California State University, San Jose, and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from The Eisenhower School, National Defense University.
In addition to his military career, COL Mai served three tours in the Army World Class Athlete Program as an elite hammer thrower. He represented Team USA at multiple international competitions, including the IAAF World Championships and the Pan-American Games, where he earned a silver medal, and was a top-ten nationally ranked athlete for a decade.
Mr. Corbin Neiberline is an Audit Partner in KPMG’s Federal Practice based in Washington, D.C. With over 25 years of dedicated experience, he specializes in providing financial statement audit and performance improvement advisory services to some of the largest and most complex federal departments and agencies. Corbin possesses deep technical expertise in the standards that govern federal financial reporting. He has led numerous audits in accordance with Government Auditing Standards (the Yellow Book) and OMB Bulletin No. 24-02, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statements. His extensive experience encompasses the authoritative guidance issued by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Leveraging his strong federal and technology base, Corbin offers clients meaningful insights to navigate their most pressing accountability and reporting challenges. His work has been instrumental in helping agencies enhance their financial operations and meet their mission-critical objectives. Corbin is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he remains actively involved as a lead campus recruiter and a member of the Smith School Dean’s Advisory Board. He also serves as the Board Treasurer for the Northern Virginia Science Center and is the Vice President of Practice GNP for the American Accounting Association.
Mr. Dale Smith currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of the NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center and possesses more than 30 years of combined military and civilian experience in financial management, digital transformation, resource allocation, and organizational leadership. Before this position, Dale served as Executive Director and senior PPBE subject matter expert in the digital transformation arm of a large defense contractor from 2023-25, where he advised Federal clients on digital transformation efforts in the financial management space. Having been appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2022, Dale served as the Director of Resource Management at the Department of the Army, Office of the G-4 from 2022-23. In this capacity, he led the Sustainment Program Evaluation Group (SS PEG) and managed all logistics and sustainment resources and oversaw the financial performance of the Army’s Organic Industrial Base. From 2018 to 2021, Dale served as DCoS, G-8 for the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM), where he led efforts to improve audit readiness, streamline acquisition management, and expand analytic capabilities to support critical Army sustainment programs. Dale also previously served as the Business Manager for Army Contracting Command—Redstone from 2016-18. Dale began his Army career in 1993 serving first as an armor officer before transitioning to comptroller in 2004. Over his 22-year military career, he held a wide range of resource management and leadership positions, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2015. Dale holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy. He has been recognized for both military and civilian service, earning awards including the Army Civilian Superior Service Medal, Army Civilian Meritorious Service Medal, and Bronze Star Medal (1 OLC). Dale was also recognized as AMCOM’s AUSA Civilian Employee of the Year (2016 and 2021).
As a Senior Manager at Williams Adley, Mr. Edwen Delcid leads a team of talented IT professionals performing information systems security and assurance audits. Edwen has more than 6 years of experience performing IT risk assessments, Service Organization Control assessments, and IT general control reviews. In addition to his client responsibilities, Edwen is assisting in the development of the Cybersecurity Risk Services (CRS) service line. Prior to joining Williams Adley, Edwen started his career at BDO, where he served clients across various industries including financial services, government, healthcare, nonprofit, and technology. Edwen has a B.S. degree in Accounting from the University of Maryland College Park and is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). He is actively involved in ISACA.
Erika Correll, CPA, CISA, CGFM, CFE, PMP, CDPSE, is the Director of Strategic Growth at Andrew Morgan, with more than 18 years of experience supporting federal agencies and mission-driven organizations in strengthening financial management, risk posture, and organizational resilience. She brings deep expertise in enterprise risk management, internal controls, audit readiness, and leadership through continuous disruption. A frequent speaker and industry contributor, Erika has been published in the Armed Forces Comptroller Journal and AGA Journal. She serves as Vice Chair of SDFM’s Small Business Committee and is actively involved in advancing the defense financial management community. Her work is grounded in practical leadership, adaptability, and building resilient teams that sustain performance in dynamic environments.
George Culver is an Associate Director with the Defense and Security sector specializing in technical leadership of Data Analytics and Digital Transformation teams. He oversees engagements across Guidehouse’s acquisition portfolio and currently serves as the Data Analytics Team Lead for PEO Aviation Office of the Chief Information Officer. George has more than 24 years of combined data analysis and leadership experience in the civil space and defense industrial base sectors.
As a former Program Manager and Technical Lead within industry, he is experienced in leading complex advanced analytics programs including data engineering, data visualization and system administration of U.S. Army logistics data. He personally delivered the Army’s first integrated daily readiness dashboards fusing ground and aviation fleets. He has conducted numerous system engineering and cost studies supporting a wide variety of NASA launch programs, including the Space Launch System, Constellation Program and 3rd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicles.
George holds a Master’s in Systems Engineering (emphasis in Modeling & Simulation) from University of Alabama in Huntsvile and a Master’s in Business Administration (emphasis in Economics) from the Auburn University in Montgomery. He was awarded his Bachelor’s Degree in Space Operations from the Air Force Academy where he was also was Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and served 8 yrs of service in Active Duty and in the Tennessee Air National Guard. Through his professional career he has been earned numerous data science credentials including Tableau Desktop Certified Professional and HackerRank SQL Intermediate and Python certificates.
George is married and has 3 sons and 1 daughter, and currently resides in Madison, Alabama where he is active in his church and in the community.
Ms. Harlee Scordo is a backend developer and Power Platform Innovator at Teksouth for Air Education Training Command Financial Management, specializing in data analysis and system optimization. With a deep understanding of both technical and analytical aspects, she is adept at troubleshooting and enhancing systems using R, alongside designing and developing cutting-edge Power App solutions for government and commercial clients. Harlee ensures every project is both high-quality and efficient, meeting all compliance standards while driving innovation. Her extensive experience spans financial reporting systems and dashboard creation, where she utilizes Power BI to craft dynamic, interactive reports that empower government clients to make data-driven decisions. Harlee is passionate about leveraging Power Apps to streamline business processes, offering tips and tricks to improve usability, automate tasks, and optimize workflows for maximum impact. Having previously built up the Air Traffic Control simulation & training program, Harlee brings a wealth of practical knowledge, alongside a strong commitment to continuous learning. She is currently expanding her expertise in Neuroscience and Data Science. Through collaborative teamwork and agile prototyping, Harlee’s focus is on delivering robust, innovative solutions that solve complex problems efficiently while engaging and educating others on the art of the possible.
Howard D. McInvale (Doug) serves as a Director of Defense, Diplomacy, & Intelligence at Guidehouse, Inc., an integrated commercial and public sector consulting firm headquartered in McLean, VA. Doug leads Guidehouse Huntsville, AL office activities supporting numerous Army and DoD clients in the areas of Modernization, Acquisition, and Sustainment (MAS). His teams of experts address contemporary challenges in Digital Transformation, Supply Chain Risk Management, Predictive Analytics, Process Improvement, Fleet Management, and Artificial Intelligence. In his current role, Dr. McInvale applies his career of military experience as an Army officer and his intelligence experience as Distinguished Visiting Professor for Operations Research Technology at the National Security Agency, to deliver enterprise-level data solutions for sophisticated operational and acquisition organizations that support the Warfighter. An expert in system of systems engineering and mathematics, Doug is passionate about helping strategic partners foster more data-centric approaches and optimize their business goals.
Prior to his tenure with Guidehouse, Dr. McInvale worked as a Principal Operations Research Analyst & Space Engineer for a Federally Funded Research and Development Corporation (FFRDC) where he led Digital Transformation activities for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Dr. McInvale is an award-winning researcher with 15 peer-reviewed scholarly journal publications and 50 professional talks. Doug is a retired Army Colonel with 27-years on active-duty. He is a graduate of West Point and an Airborne Ranger with duties in combat and at the Pentagon and positions of leadership from Infantry Commander to Academy Professor. Doug is a credentialed Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt (MBB) from the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE). His advanced degrees are an M.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech and an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Systems Engineering and Decision Science from Vanderbilt University. Doug and his wife, Amy, have three children and reside in Madison, AL.
Jason Venner is a Solutions Sales Director and enterprise risk subject matter expert at Diligent. He helps organizations modernize and strengthen their approach to risk, compliance, internal controls, and audit using data-driven insights and automation from the Diligent One platform. Jason brings over 25 years of experience as a practitioner, having held leadership roles across audit, risk, and compliance functions in both the public and private sectors. He began his career supporting complex risk programs for U.S. defense and national security agencies, before moving into senior roles at Amtrak and WMATA, where he helped advance enterprise risk and internal control initiatives in transportation. He has also worked in public accounting and consulting, giving him a unique perspective on risk across industries.
Today, Jason works with large commercial enterprises and federal agencies, including those requiring FedRAMP-secure environments to help risk leaders evolve their programs from static risk registers and compliance checklists to real-time, analytics-driven insights that support faster, more confident decision-making. He holds the RIMS-CRMP-FED credential and a COSO ERM Certificate, and is recognized for helping organizations align risk strategies to performance, resilience, and mission outcomes.
Kathryn VanScoy has been with AMC since July 2008 and is currently the Division Chief of the Audit Readiness Division. Ms. VanScoy enlisted in the Army as an accounting specialist after high school and spent time in the DC area, Germany, and Fort Hood. She joined the federal service as a GS-1 summer hire and has worked various positions with Army, DoDEA, DFAS and private industry. Her goal in her current role is to drive Army audit success through efficient and effective communication, standardized business processes, and effective management of audit priorities. Her wide variety of experience provides a solid foundation for not only understanding the complexities of the audit environment but also understanding the criticality of collaborative solutions to challenging remediation efforts. Ms. VanScoy’s college education includes a BS from the University of Central Texas and an M.B.A. from Long Island University. Additional training includes Army Acquisition Corp Level 3 Certification in Business Financial Management, Level 3 DoD Financial Management Certification, and Certified Defense Financial Manager-Acquisition.
Lindsay Sparks is a seasoned professional with over 20 years in the management consulting field, known for providing professional financial management and audit support services to the Federal Government. Lindsay manages the Guidehouse Huntsville, AL office, which employees approximately 180 personnel with an office outside of Redstone Arsenal Gate 9. Lindsay manages the Army and Special Operations financial management portfolios with over $35M in annual revenue and is a leader in the Defense, Diplomacy and Intelligence portfolio with close to $1B in annual revenue. Lindsay has support the Army, Navy, Office of Secretary of War (Comptroller), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and several other Defense Agencies in their pursuit of a financial statement audit. Lindsay is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds a Bachelors of Science in Accountancy from James Madison University. Lindsay is active in her community youth sports programs and is a Board member of the Women’s Economic Development Council (WEDC) Foundation.
Michael Buckley is a Managing Consultant with the Defense and Security sector leading teams deploying data analytics and AI solutions to clients in the Army. He manages engagements across Guidehouse’s Army Aviation portfolio, including PEO Aviation and AMCOM. Michael has more than 16 years of leadership and analytics experience in the military and defense industry.
Michael’s projects are currently developing deep analytical insights to their clients in the Army Vantage platform. By leveraging ERP system data to engineer highly accurate and robust datasets the teams are able to project data in Vantage Apps and Power BI visuals that has enabled leaders an ability to make critical decisions within short time cycles. His teams are now leveraging AI and LLMs resident in these platforms to move their clients into a new era of rapid results and action.
Michael was awarded his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the Citadel where he was also was Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and served 6 yrs of service on Active Duty in Germany and Fort Drum, NY. Throughout his career he has been earned several awards for merit and achievement.
Michael is married to his wife of 10 years, has 3 sons, and currently resides in Madison, Alabama. He is active in coaching their youth sports including baseball and football.
Mr. Michael C. Mehrman is a seasoned financial management executive with extensive experience across the U.S. Department of Defense. He retired as Deputy Director and Senior Advisor for Army Budget in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), where he was responsible for overseeing the formulation, presentation, and execution of the Army’s budget and ensuring effective stewardship of resources across the enterprise.
Previously, Mr. Mehrman was selected to serve as the first Chief Financial Officer for the Army National Guard. In this role, he led financial planning and execution of appropriated funds supporting payroll, readiness, and sustainment programs across 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia. His leadership helped strengthen financial oversight and consistency across the National Guard enterprise.
Mr. Mehrman’s career also includes senior financial leadership positions within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller) at the Pentagon, as well as assignments at several major commands. In addition, he served as Chief Financial Officer for the Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy Office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, supporting critical programs for recovering service members and their families.
He holds a Bachelor of Science from Northeastern University and a Master of Business Administration from Western New England College. His executive education includes the Center for Creative Leadership, the Federal Executive Institute, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He currently serves as a Senior Financial Management Advisor and is a member of the Management Concepts Financial Management Advisory Board.
Mr. Mike Cook has been a member of the Senior Executive Service since June 2020. He currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Resource Management, G-8 for the U.S. Army Materiel Command. In this position, he has a key role in managing the Command’s day-to-day resource operations and responsible for the formulation and execution of an annual budget of over $55 billion, which is comprised of Appropriated Funds and Army Working Capital Fund activity. Mr. Cook directs, controls and monitors work through six division chiefs with a staff totaling 100.
Previously, he served as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Resource Management, G-8 for the U.S. Army Materiel Command, Huntsville, AL. Mr. Cook completed a 28-year service as an Army officer before beginning his career as a Department of the Army Civilian. His significant financial management assignments while on active duty included: Comptroller, 20th Engineer BDE (ABN); Comptroller, U.S. Army War Reserve, Qatar; Program Analyst, XVIII Corps (ABN); Comptroller, 3/160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR); Executive Officer to the Director, Army Budget Office (ABO); Deputy Division Chief, OMA Current-Year Execution, ABO; G-8, 1st Cavalry Division; Director, Resource Management, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Executive Officer to the Military Deputy, ASA(FM&C), and G-8, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC).
Mr. Cook was recognized with the ASA(FM&C) Comptroller of the Year (Army command level) and Military Capstone award in 2014. He was recognized as the military recipient of the McCall Award for Distinguished Service by the Syracuse University in 2015. He is a Certified Defense Financial Manager, with Acquisition specialty (CDFM-A), has achieved Level 3 DoD Financial Management Certification and is a Level 3 Certified Acquisition Professional in Business Financial Management.
Paul Gass is currently the Senior Director for the Federal and Defense segment at Diligent, a global GRC SaaS leader, providing GRC solution consulting and partnership across strategy, risk, audit, compliance, and data analytics. Prior to joining Diligent, Paul served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for CSCI Consulting, leading the establishment and expansion of technology solutions and services. Paul served as a Senior Executive Service member for nearly eight years in the Department of Defense. Most recently, he served as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). He led the DFAS Information Technology landscape with expenditures of nearly $425 million per year and provided leadership for the development, sustainment, and cybersecurity of systems (80+), automated solutions, hardware, software, and infrastructure supporting the global DFAS mission. Paul formerly served as the Deputy Director for the Indianapolis Operations Network of nearly 4,500 federal employees at 52 locations across the world. He managed day-to-day operations providing a range of finance and accounting services to the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, and 31 Defense Agencies and federal entities, to include military and civilian payroll, field level and departmental accounting, audit support, collections and disbursing, debt collections, travel pay, and vendor pay. He provided direct leadership over financial reporting for 50% of the DoD budget and one of the largest payroll operations in the world, paying 2.7 million personnel more than $153 billion annually. Leading up to his operations role, Paul served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Director of Resource Management for DFAS. He was responsible for the development, management, and direction of finance and accounting policy. He oversaw a comprehensive resource management program and business operating results for the agency’s $1.4 billion annual budget while also supporting the DFAS financial statement audit requirements and fiscal services. Paul also served in other government financial and budget leadership roles and as a Senior Financial Management Consultant and Project Manager in the private industry of the Defense sector. Before beginning work in the Financial Management industry, Paul served as an Attack Aviation Officer and pilot in the U.S. Army for eight years. Paul was selected into the Senior Executive Service in April of 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Business Administration degree from Troy University. He is a Senior Executive Fellow of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and has served on numerous advisory boards for non-profit organizations.
Mr. Scott Heitmann is the Acting Chief Technology Officer for the United States Department of the Air Force, where he leads enterprise-wide IT modernization and cyber initiatives across the Department. With more than 20 years of civil service experience, Scott’s career began in 1996 at the 38th Engineering Installation Wing at Tinker AFB. Over the years he has served in several roles spanning network administration, information security, mission support, technical leadership, and command of Special Missions Teams — providing him a broad operational and technical foundation. As Department of the Air Force Chief Technology Officer, Scott spearheads multiple high-impact efforts, including the transition of over 500,000 systems to modern cloud-based platforms in record time, the “Shrink the AFNET” initiative to accelerate Zero-Trust adoption, and deployment of cyber defense capabilities across networks. He is widely respected for driving innovation, improving cyber resilience, and enabling the Air Force to meet evolving mission demands.
Susannah Kiehl, CPA, CGFM, CGMA is a Director at Lynch Consultants, LLC as the lead of the Financial Advanced Solution Team (FAST) and Audit service lines. Ms. Kiehl also serves as the account partner for the Defense Logistics Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard. Prior to Lynch Consultants, she was a Managing Director at KPMG LLP with more than 21 years of experience performing financial statement audits, examinations, AUP engagements, and advisory support services to Federal agencies. She serves as the SDFM Mt. Vernon Chapter President and as the SDFM Washington Chapter PDI Facilities Chair.
Ms. Tiffany N. Gildon serves as the Chief Financial Functional for the Joint Transportation Management System (JTMS) Joint Program Office within the Directorate of Acquisition at United States Transportation Command. A career Civil Service professional with more than 20 years of experience in Department of Defense financial management, Ms. Gildon is the financial subject matter expert leading the definition, development, and implementation of the financial functional requirements for the JTMS program. Her work sits at the intersection of acquisition, financial management, and enterprise systems critical to supporting global transportation operations.
Ms. Gildon is presenting on JTMS because of her direct role in addressing one of the DoD’s most persistent challenges: fragmented transportation and financial business processes spread across numerous legacy IT systems. These stove piped systems hinder timely reconciliation, transparency, and auditability of transportation-related financial transactions. JTMS is designed to resolve this gap by fusing transportation and financial processes through business reform and the implementation of an enterprise-level solution, enabling accurate and timely recording of commitments, obligations, and expenditures. This topic is especially important now as the Department faces shrinking budgets and a mandated requirement to achieve auditability.
Mr. Thomas Constable is the Director of Defense Programs at Syracuse University’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management, where he administers financial management education and training in service to the Department of War and others across the public sector workforce.
Previously, he served in the Department of Defense Senior Executive Service (SES), culminating in his assignments as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for both Manpower and Reserve Affairs, and Readiness. There, he advised the senior DoD leaders on matters related to all personnel policies, reserve integration, and total force manpower and resources. He also oversaw the Department of Defense Education Activity and the Defense Commissary Agency, and was responsible for the policies and quality-of life programs for military communities and family programs, including military exchanges, MWR, family spouse advocacy, and child and youth services. Mr. Constable’s career in Comptrollership began in the Defense Comptrollership Program at Syracuse University, after which he was assigned as a program and budget analyst on the Army Staff. He later moved to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) (OUSD(C)), formulating budgets for defense-wide agencies and counterdrug activities. In 2012, he served overseas as the G8 for U.S. Army Africa. In 2015, Tom returned to OUSD(C) as the Associate Director (SES) for Military Operations, leading the team that managed Operation and Maintenance appropriations, Civilian Pay, and Working Capital Funds for the Military Services. Mr. Constable is a retired Soldier, having enlisted in the Army in 1987 and later commissioned as an officer in the Field Artillery; he retired from active duty in 2008. He received a Master’s Degrees in Business Administration and Public Administration from Syracuse University. His awards include the Legion of Merit and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service.
Mr. Thomas C. (Tom) Steffens served more than 39 years in the Department of War, including over 27 years as an Army Financial Management Officer. Appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2013, he concluded his civilian career as Deputy Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Defense (2022–2024). In this role, he served as senior advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer and other senior leaders on congressional compliance, financial operations, and initiatives to strengthen the integrity of DoD financial reporting.
Previously, Tom served for more than six years as Chief Financial Officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, overseeing budgeting, financial operations, and reporting for nearly $40 billion in annual outlays supporting Civil Works, Disaster Response, and Military Construction programs. Under his leadership, USACE achieved unmodified(clean) audit opinions throughout his tenure. He also served as Director of Accountability and Audit Readiness for the Army, leading preparation for the first Army-wide financial statement audit.
Tom retired from the Army as a Colonel after serving in senior operational, academic, and financial leadership roles across the Department of Defense. He is a recipient of the Presidential Rank Award and multiple distinguished civilian and military honors. He currently serves as a Senior Financial Management Advisor and is a member of the Management Concepts Financial Management Advisory Board.
Val Majewski As Vice President of Sales and Marketing at American Benefits Exchange, Val Majewski specializes in educating and training federal employees with regards to their benefits and retirement information. He is the host of The Federal Retirement Show podcast & author of the book titled There’s No Excuse: Your Guide to Maximizing Your Federal Employee Benefits. In his 13 years working exclusively with federal employees, his goal has been to make sure that each person he has the pleasure of working with is the best possible position as they journey through their working career & into retirement. Prior to joining the team at American Benefits Exchange, Majewski played 11 seasons as a professional baseball player, reaching the Major League level with the Baltimore Orioles in 2004. He also played in the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, and Texas Rangers organizations.
Mr. Jared Terry previously served as Army Materiel Command Chief – Resources, Acquisition, and Support. In this position he is responsible for all Headquarters Army Materiel Command (AMC) budget execution and support, along with coordinating all Acquisition policy and reform efforts within the AMC enterprise. He has also previously served Army Materiel Command Chief – Financial Operations with reasonability for oversight of all accounting, fiscal policy and financial system support to the AMC enterprise.
Prior to coming to AMC, he served as an Accountant for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), where he was responsible for the financial improvement and execution of their financial statement audits. Prior to MDA, Mr. Terry served as an Accountant and Financial Management Analyst within the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army – Financial Operations. During this tenure, Mr. Terry oversaw and assisted in the first ever financial statement audit of the Army Working Capital Fund (AWCF), the deployment of the General Fund Enterprise Business System (GFEBS), and numerous policy and regulatory updates.
Mr. Terry holds degrees in Accounting and Finance from the North Georgia College and State University and a Master of Business Administration from Brenau University. He holds the DoD Financial Management Level III and Certified Defense Financial Manager (CDFM) certifications.
Brandee Bible supports the Sales team to develop and expand our public sector industry business. During her BlackLine tenure, she has also served as Chief of Staff to the CEO and Senior Director of Strategic Innovation, working with some of our largest customers to drive their digital finance transformation journey. As a Certified Change Management Practitioner, Brandee supports both customers and internal BlackLine teams design plans to adopt necessary changes to be successful. Prior to joining BlackLine in 2018, Brandee was a BlackLine customer and led the implementation and adoption efforts at Genuine Parts Company (GPC). She worked at GPC for 13 years in various roles closely tied to improving performance for the finance and accounting organization, including Post Merger Integration, Business Process Performance, Employee Services Center, and Internal Auditor. Brandee is a graduate of the University of Alabama and holds an MBA from Mercer University.
As CEO of Endeavors, Chip Fulghum leads a faith-based, mission-driven organization with a national workforce of nearly 2,000 employees dedicated to helping people in need. Since joining the organization in 2019, Chip has led a thoughtful expansion of services – helping an average of 200,000 people annually, including thousands of veterans – across the United States and Puerto Rico.
Prior to his work in the non-profit sector, Chip dedicated 28 years to the U.S. Air Force, retiring at the rank of Colonel. After retiring from the Air Force in 2012, Chip built a successful career within the Department of Homeland Security, where he served in a variety of leadership roles that saw him recognized as a Presidential Rank Award honoree and a Distinguished Executive for his work as Deputy Under Secretary for Management at DHS.
He holds a Master of Business Administration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.Christopher Hodges is the author of Noble Automation Now, a leadership-focused guide to successful AI and automation. A Naval Academy graduate and former GE executive, Chris has over 30 years of international experience leading technology and transformation efforts for Fortune 500s, defense contractors, and government organizations. He has held leadership roles at GE, Accenture, and Deloitte, and now speaks and advises on how to implement automation while keeping people engaged, valued, and mission-focused. His unique Hero’s Journey approach helps leaders retain top talent, reduce risk, and drive measurable results—especially in high-stakes environments like defense, finance, and government operations.