The terms innovation and government are oftentimes considered at odds with one another. Given the expansive policy and bureaucracy that both create structure yet also appears, at least on the surface, to stifle new ideas and development, rarely do we think of innovation as part of the greater government enterprise goal set. Yet historically, nearly 60 percent of US innovation stems from government ideas, actions, and research. Expanding these goals is not only expected into the future, but national security, development, and safety demand it. Accordingly, several innovation cells across both the Department of Defense as well as the other departments have been developed and continue to grow.
This webinar will focus on sharing the latest trends, actions, and goals of these innovative networks and leaders. Listeners will gain a deep understanding of how their work can be enhanced as well as how they can contribute to this thought leadership enterprise.
Primary Capability Covered: Future Readiness
Participation in this event, either live or recorded, can be reported for one (1) professional development point toward initial certification or recertification requirements for the APTD or CPTD credential.
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Dr. J.J. Walcutt is a scientist, innovator, and learning engineer that specializes in talent development and strategic reform across education, military, and government. She served in the U.S. Government as the Director of Innovation at the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative under the Office of the Secretary of Defense and as a Human Innovation Fellow under the Office of Personnel Management. During her tenure in the government, she helped define the interoperable digital backbone required for training, education, and talent development across the military, intelligence, and greater security sector. She also designed an open innovation model for re-imagining the executive branch to promote talent development and retention. In her role at the Pentagon, Dr. Walcutt focused on promoting the science of learning through her service as a U.S. Delegate to NATO, Partnership for Peace, and as a national and international keynote speaker. In her role as a Human Innovation Fellow, she used the science of human centered design to recommend improved governmental communication structures with the American people to promote innovative problem solving. In this role, she provided keynote speeches nationally regarding innovation across, and transformation of, the federal government. Dr. Walcutt has over 20 years of experience in research and development for training and education with specific interests in improving educational systems to promote talent development, knowledge management, and decision making under stress.
Dr. Marina Theodotou serves as the Executive Director of the Defense Innovation Board (DIB) at the United States Department of Defense. As Executive Director, Dr. Theodotou serves as a principal advisor on Innovation to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this capacity, she is responsible for exercising direction, planning, management, and coordinationof the Defense Innovation Board. As such, she provides direction on critical Defense Innovation Board issues and special programs of interest to the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. As the Designated Federal Officer Dr. Theodotou is also responsible for ensuring that the Defense Innovation Board operations are conducted according to all applicable laws and regulations. Prior to thisrole, Dr. Theodotou served as organizational change expert at the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) where she led crossfunctional teams to design, develop, and deliver innovative initiativesto empower and inspire the workforce to out-think and out-innovate the adversary including TEDxDAU, now DAU’s flagship, annual learning evening reaching over 6,000 registrants; DAU Web Events reaching over 90,000 workforce members, and Innovate to Win which enables the workforce to own their innovation journeys though self-assessment, a personal innovation readiness report, and a personalized, curated, learning
pathway.
Karen Fray bridges the gap between people and tech with finesse. She has been called a talent whisperer, having recruited, led, and mentored countless talent of all levels to success. On the tech front, Karen's been in the industry and government start-up world since Netscape was a browser and AOL was everything. Now, she's channeling her love for developing talent into the tech world, combining her people-centric approach with her technological acumen to drive impactful change in organizations.
Prior to joining the At the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), Karen was the National Service Portfolio Director with the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) where her role was creating pathways of service of non-traditional talent. She later held the role of Chief of Staff for NSIN and later supported the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) by standing up the Defense Innovation Community of Entities (DICE) to promote harmony and collaboration amongst the DoD Innovation offices. Currently, Karen serves as the Solution and Services Lead, leading the transition of technologies from test environments to full-scale deployment. Karen will lend her expertise towards ensuring that test and experimental technologies move efficiently and at scale from sandbox to operational, maximizing their impact and value to AFRL and broader DoD community.
Karen considers it an honor to be an AF Civilian and work with an amazing team who are passionate about empowering leaders to embrace artificial intelligence, envision a future where leaders build a stronger relationship with knowledge and leverage tools like Machine Learning and AI to enhance their impact.
Karen holds a grad and undergrad in Public Administration and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). An avid traveler and food enthusiast, Karen has recently forgone the idea of working towards a PhD and instead is taking up scuba diving.
Mr. Hingtgen serves as the Innovation Hub Chief in the Chief Technology Office (CTO) of the United States Department of Agriculture. In this role, he is responsible for managing the innovation process inside USDA, identifies strategies, business opportunities and new technologies and then develops new capabilities and architectures with partners, to serve those opportunities.
Prior to his tenure at the CTO, Mr. Hingtgen served as the Branch Chief for the United States Department of Agriculture - Rural Development (USDA-RD) in the Solution Delivery Division. In this role he manages a team of government application software developers. In addition, he also concurrently served as the Branch Chief for the Data Engineering branch for a period of 7 months.
Before USDA-RD , Mr. Hingtgen served as the Software Team Chief for the Defense Contract Management Agency’s (DCMA) Phoenix Contract Management Office (CMO). DCMA provides contract administration services for the Department of Defense, other federal organizations, and international partners, and is an essential part of the acquisition process from pre-award to sustainment. Mr. Hingtgen served DCMA for over 10 years in numerous areas pertaining to defense contract administration at both the field and headquarters staff level.
Mr. Hingtgen specializes in information technology, software acquisition management, and quality assurance. Within his tenure at DCMA, as the Mobility Program Manager, he oversaw the planning, implementation, and execution of the agency’s strategic vision for mobility in support of DCMA’s 13,000+ personnel. Mr. Hingtgen also led the Department of Defense and DCMA efforts, together with U.S. Customs, in creating an Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system Single Window concept to streamline import and export reporting between 39 government agencies and associated trade partners.
Mr. Hingtgen’s military experience includes serving as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. Mr. Hingtgen’s civilian deployment experience includes serving as a Quality Assurance Specialist for DCMA’s Contingency Contract Administration Support (CCAS) during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2012. During his deployment, he provided contractor oversight for the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP). Mr. Hingtgen was recognized for his efforts and received the Exceptional Civilian Service award for diligence and attention to detail for the prevention of food borne illness, and significant contractor oversight for frequent power distribution problems that plagued his area of operation.
Mr. Hingtgen earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and B.S. in Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Phoenix. He is also a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program from Graduate School USA.
