The Public Sector Show by TechTables

Joe Toste

The Conversations Public Sector CIOs Can't Have Anywhere Else. The real conversations—from security theater to AI slop—that 250K+ public sector leaders have tuned into. You won't find these conversations at conferences (or LinkedIn). techtables.substack.com

  1. #228: Ithaca College & Omnissa on Nebula, ICare Team & 150 Students Who Almost Slipped Through

    23H AGO

    #228: Ithaca College & Omnissa on Nebula, ICare Team & 150 Students Who Almost Slipped Through

    Episode Summary In this episode, Dave Weil from Ithaca College and Mark Richards from Omnissa explore how a small liberal arts IT team built an AI tool that freed up 150 at-risk student meetings - and why human-to-human connection has to stay at the center of any real AI strategy. Featuring Dave Weil is Senior Vice President of Strategic Services and Initiatives at Ithaca College - overseeing HR, IT, Analytics, and AI, and a longtime contributor to EDUCAUSE leadership development including the Senior Director Institute and the EDUCAUSE Leaders Academy. Mark Richards is Senior Manager at Omnissa - formerly the end user computing division of VMware, now an independent company with over 30 years of experience designing and implementing endpoint and virtual desktop solutions across higher education and public sector. Episode Highlights - AI cut ICare research from an hour to a minute - and freed 150 student meetings - “We don’t lead technology, we lead people that lead the technology” - Dave Weil - Virtual labs turning physical computer rooms into classrooms at community colleges - The Four Rights: right person, right seat, right things, right time - Patch management is still your biggest security gap in higher ed Listen now: YouTube x Apple x Spotify Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can connect with TechTables: 1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox. Join now: https://www.techtables.com/ 2. 🤝 TechTables CIO Communities for Local Government A private, vendor-free network where public sector CIOs share what’s actually working Members get: - 2x National Retreats (facilitated by Info-Tech Research Group & Gartner) - 4x CIO Virtual Roundtables  - Monthly “Behind the Mic” intelligence briefing doc Apply to Join → https://techtables.com/communities-local-government 3. 🤝 The Better Together Virtual Series The narrative-driven series bringing together industry partners and public sector CXOs. Discover the compelling stories that unfold when we stop working in silos and start building together. »»» Email joe@techtables.com to learn more. Platinum Newsletter Sponsor: Missed out on Info-Tech LIVE in New Orleans? No worries, you can join TechTables & Info-Tech Research Group at Info-Tech LIVE 2026 - Las Vegas (June 9 - 11, 2026)! Gold Newsletter Sponsor: SentinelOne - Learn how SentinelOne empowers this state to stay secure. Verizon Frontline -The advanced network that keeps first responders connected when it matters most. Carahsoft - The Trusted Public Sector IT Solutions Provider™, supports government agencies and education/healthcare markets. Contact your Carahsoft rep today to access special discount pricing exclusively through the TechTables + Carahsoft partnership! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techtables.substack.com

    34 min
  2. #227: UCSB, Virginia Tech & Cisco ThousandEyes on Leading IT Before the Problems Find You

    MAR 18

    #227: UCSB, Virginia Tech & Cisco ThousandEyes on Leading IT Before the Problems Find You

    Featuring Josh Bright is Associate Vice Chancellor for IT and CIO at UC Santa Barbara - a returning guest from Episode 200, now 18 months into a campus-wide IT strategy that his provost cited as a model for cross-silo collaboration. Dwane Sterling is VP for Enterprise Solutions and Enabling Technologies at Virginia Tech - five months in from six years as CIO at Skidmore College, where he helped replace 90% of the institution’s infrastructure and applications. JJ Mahon leads the higher education team for Cisco ThousandEyes across the U.S. - a former Army helicopter pilot, high school math teacher, and French horn player who now focuses on proactive digital experience monitoring at scale. Timestamps (0:00) Josh Bright, UCSB - from service function to IT strategy success 12 months later (3:30) Dwane Sterling, Virginia Tech - the listening tour and what shocked him in the first 90 days (6:00) Communication as a scalpel, not a rock - Dwane on why IT leaders need to wield it differently (7:30) JJ Mahon, Cisco ThousandEyes - shifting IT from cost center to campus catalyst (9:00) Seeing the smoke before the fire - JJ on the case for proactive monitoring over reactive ticketing (11:00) Josh Bright - UCSB's AI community of practice and building on AWS Bedrock (14:00) Dwane Sterling - Virginia Tech's vision for safe application development and AI security (18:00) Josh Bright - putting his leadership team through the Moore Leadership Program and what changed a year later (24:00) JJ Mahon - common operating language as the breakthrough for breaking down IT silos (26:30) Closing advice - "Leaders rise to the level of their collaboration" Listen now: YouTube x Apple x Spotify Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can connect with TechTables: 1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox. Join now: https://www.techtables.com/ 2. 🤝 TechTables CIO Communities for Local Government A private, vendor-free network where public sector CIOs share what’s actually working Members get: - 2x National Retreats (facilitated by Info-Tech Research Group & Gartner) - 4x CIO Virtual Roundtables  - Monthly “Behind the Mic” intelligence briefing doc Apply to Join → https://techtables.com/communities-local-government 3. 🤝 The Better Together Virtual Series The narrative-driven series bringing together industry partners and public sector CXOs. Discover the compelling stories that unfold when we stop working in silos and start building together. »»» Email joe@techtables.com to learn more. Platinum Newsletter Sponsor: Missed out on Info-Tech LIVE in New Orleans? No worries, you can join TechTables & Info-Tech Research Group at Info-Tech LIVE 2026 - Las Vegas (June 9 - 11, 2026)! Gold Newsletter Sponsor: SentinelOne - Learn how SentinelOne empowers this state to stay secure. Verizon Frontline -The advanced network that keeps first responders connected when it matters most. Carahsoft - The Trusted Public Sector IT Solutions Provider™, supports government agencies and education/healthcare markets. Contact your Carahsoft rep today to access special discount pricing exclusively through the TechTables + Carahsoft partnership! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techtables.substack.com

    28 min
  3. #226: ASU, Cloudflare & IDC on AI Governance in the Higher Ed Wild West

    MAR 17

    #226: ASU, Cloudflare & IDC on AI Governance in the Higher Ed Wild West

    In this EDUCAUSE episode, Lester Godsey from Arizona State University, Dan Kent from Cloudflare, and Matthew Leger from IDC break down why most institutions are still in the AI Wild West - and what it actually takes to govern, secure, and scale AI across a campus before agentic systems make the problem exponentially harder. Featuring Lester Godsey is Chief Information Security Officer at Arizona State University - back at ASU after 30 years, having previously served as CISO at Maricopa County where he led cybersecurity through the 2020 and 2024 elections. Matthew Leger is Senior Research Manager at IDC covering worldwide education and EdTech digital strategies - previously an academic researcher at Harvard Kennedy School and administrator at SUNY Albany, with over a decade across nearly every seat in higher education minus professor (though it’s on the list). : ) Dan Kent is Field CTO at Cloudflare - focused on helping public sector customers navigate emerging technologies, with 18 years working alongside higher education organizations and five kids who between them have given him more higher ed exposure than most. Timestamps (2:40) The Higher Ed AI Wild West - Matt on aimless experimentation, siloed adoption, and why coordination is the real governance problem (5:45) ASU's Create AI Platform - Lester on the walled garden approach, 50+ LLMs, and the internal ethical AI engine built before he arrived (8:00) AI in 2025 is where cloud was in 2010 - Dan on why undefined terminology is creating fear in boardrooms and legislatures (10:00) Agentic AI is the biggest security concern - Dan on why giving agency to a machine is a fundamentally different risk than generative AI (17:00) Shadow AI is just shadow IT - Lester reframes the governance problem and walks through ASU's nuanced three-tier DeepSeek response (22:00) Less than 50% have a data governance plan - Dan on what he's hearing from public sector customers on AI readiness (27:00) Declining trust in higher ed - Matt on whether the ROI skepticism is real and how AI can help institutions demonstrate value (30:40) ASU's student-led SOC - Lester on training the next generation of analysts with agentic AI and security orchestration (33:00) Final takes - AI as a security tool, tabletop exercises for AI threats, and why today's students will shape AI's ethical future Listen now: YouTube x Apple x Spotify Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can connect with TechTables: 1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox. Join now: https://www.techtables.com/ 2. 🤝 TechTables CIO Communities for Local Government A private, vendor-free network where public sector CIOs share what’s actually working Members get: - 2x National Retreats (facilitated by Info-Tech Research Group & Gartner) - 4x CIO Virtual Roundtables  - Monthly “Behind the Mic” intelligence briefing doc Apply to Join → https://techtables.com/communities-local-government 3. 🤝 The Better Together Virtual Series The narrative-driven series bringing together industry partners and public sector CXOs. Discover the compelling stories that unfold when we stop working in silos and start building together. »»» Email joe@techtables.com to learn more. Platinum Newsletter Sponsor: Missed out on Info-Tech LIVE in New Orleans? No worries, you can join TechTables & Info-Tech Research Group at Info-Tech LIVE 2026 - Las Vegas (June 9 - 11, 2026)! Gold Newsletter Sponsor: SentinelOne - Learn how SentinelOne empowers this state to stay secure. Verizon Frontline -The advanced network that keeps first responders connected when it matters most. Carahsoft - The Trusted Public Sector IT Solutions Provider™, supports government agencies and education/healthcare markets. Contact your Carahsoft rep today to access special discount pricing exclusively through the TechTables + Carahsoft partnership! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techtables.substack.com

    36 min
  4. #225: CSU, UT System & Palo Alto Networks on AI Access, Cybersecurity at Scale & the CSU Promise

    MAR 12

    #225: CSU, UT System & Palo Alto Networks on AI Access, Cybersecurity at Scale & the CSU Promise

    In this EDUCAUSE episode, Ed Clark from CSU, William Huang from UT System, and Chuck Romero from Palo Alto Networks break down what it actually takes to close the AI divide across 460,000 students — and why browser security is now the front line. Featuring Ed Clark is CIO at the California State University System — overseeing technology for 22 universities and 460,000 students, teaching Information Systems at Cal State Fullerton, and co-leading California's AI Workforce Acceleration Board alongside Governor Newsom's office and top AI companies. William Huang is Deputy Chief Information Officer at the University of Texas System — leading IT strategy across 13 campuses serving 260,000 students and 160,000 clinicians, faculty, and staff, including a landmark merger of UT San Antonio's academic and health institutions. Chuck Romero is Solutions Consultant Leader at Palo Alto Networks — focused exclusively on education systems in California, with a team of former higher ed practitioners helping institutions secure AI access at scale through browser-level security. Timestamps (1:00) AI and the digital divide — why CSU gave ChatGPT to all 460,000 students (3:00) Scaling cybersecurity across 500,000+ endpoints — why browser-level security is the new front line (6:00) AI data risk and prompt injection — what happens to data once it's inside the model (8:00) UT System's footprint — 13 campuses, 260,000 students, and the UT San Antonio merger (12:00) Governance, risk & compliance during campus consolidations — cybersecurity as a foundation, not an afterthought (13:00) Inside the AI Workforce Acceleration Board — how CSU brought together OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA & faculty (18:00) Micro internships and the CSU Promise — a career path for all 460,000 students, not just the top 1% (25:00) Leadership lessons — clarity of mission, collaboration across 22 universities, and growing the next generation (33:00) Teaching while being CIO — Ed Clark on faculty resistance, Cal State Fullerton, and what students actually need Listen now: YouTube x Apple x Spotify Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can connect with TechTables: 1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox. Join now: https://www.techtables.com/ 2. 🤝 TechTables CIO Communities for Local Government A private, vendor-free network where public sector CIOs share what’s actually working Members get: - 2x National Retreats (facilitated by Info-Tech Research Group & Gartner) - 4x CIO Virtual Roundtables  - Monthly “Behind the Mic” intelligence briefing doc Apply to Join → https://techtables.com/communities-local-government 3. 🤝 The Better Together Virtual Series The narrative-driven series bringing together industry partners and public sector CXOs. Discover the compelling stories that unfold when we stop working in silos and start building together. »»» Email joe@techtables.com to learn more. Platinum Newsletter Sponsor: Missed out on Info-Tech LIVE in New Orleans? No worries, you can join TechTables & Info-Tech Research Group at Info-Tech LIVE 2026 - Las Vegas (June 9 - 11, 2026)! Gold Newsletter Sponsor: SentinelOne - Learn how SentinelOne empowers this state to stay secure. Verizon Frontline -The advanced network that keeps first responders connected when it matters most. Carahsoft - The Trusted Public Sector IT Solutions Provider™, supports government agencies and education/healthcare markets. Contact your Carahsoft rep today to access special discount pricing exclusively through the TechTables + Carahsoft partnership! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techtables.substack.com

    39 min
  5. #224: UCLA, Vanderbilt & Ericsson on 5G vs Wi-Fi on Campus

    MAR 6

    #224: UCLA, Vanderbilt & Ericsson on 5G vs Wi-Fi on Campus

    In this EDUCAUSE episode, leaders from UCLA, Vanderbilt, and Ericsson break down the 5G vs WiFi campus debate and what it means for the future of higher education networking. Featuring Joe Way is the Executive Director of Digital Spaces at UCLA and co-founder of HETMA BC Hatchett is the Director of Classroom Technology at Vanderbilt University and co-founder of HETMA Ben Moebes is a Director of Public Sector at Ericsson Timestamps (1:00) Vanderbilt classroom technology — BC Hatchett introduces HETMA and managing campus learning spaces (4:05) Vanderbilt’s satellite campus challenge — delivering the same experience 2,000 miles away (6:00) 5G vs Wi-Fi on campus — why cellular connectivity fills gaps Wi-Fi was never designed for (8:50) When classrooms start thinking — UCLA’s AI vision for higher education (11:00) A day in the life of a UCLA student — mapping every digital interaction on campus (13:40) Faculty as catalysts, not content deliverers — the future of teaching (17:05) One cable, one button — simplifying classroom technology (19:10) The blue-light safety problem — why 20–60% of campus emergency phones may fail (21:45) AI-powered campus safety — why humans can’t watch every camera (27:00) Connectivity everywhere — UCLA, Olympic Village planning, and the future of smart campuses Listen now: YouTube x Apple x Spotify Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can connect with TechTables: 1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox. Join now: https://www.techtables.com/ 2. 🤝 TechTables CIO Communities for Local Government A private, vendor-free network where public sector CIOs share what’s actually working Members get: - 2x National Retreats (facilitated by Info-Tech Research Group & Gartner) - 4x CIO Virtual Roundtables  - Monthly “Behind the Mic” intelligence briefing doc Apply to Join → https://techtables.com/communities-local-government 3. 🤝 The Better Together Virtual Series The narrative-driven series bringing together industry partners and public sector CXOs. Discover the compelling stories that unfold when we stop working in silos and start building together. »»» Email joe@techtables.com to learn more. Platinum Newsletter Sponsor: Missed out on Info-Tech LIVE in New Orleans? No worries, you can join TechTables & Info-Tech Research Group at Info-Tech LIVE 2026 - Las Vegas (June 9 - 11, 2026)! Gold Newsletter Sponsor: SentinelOne - Learn how SentinelOne empowers this state to stay secure. Verizon Frontline -The advanced network that keeps first responders connected when it matters most. Carahsoft - The Trusted Public Sector IT Solutions Provider™, supports government agencies and education/healthcare markets. Contact your Carahsoft rep today to access special discount pricing exclusively through the TechTables + Carahsoft partnership! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techtables.substack.com

    30 min
  6. #223: Maricopa Community Colleges, Dell & NVIDIA on AI Workforce Development

    MAR 2

    #223: Maricopa Community Colleges, Dell & NVIDIA on AI Workforce Development

    In this EDUCAUSE episode, leaders from Maricopa Community Colleges, Dell, and NVIDIA break down what's actually broken in higher ed workforce pipelines — and what applied AI can do to fix it. Featuring Jess Evans is the Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer at Maricopa Community Colleges — founding member of the National AI Consortium alongside Miami-Dade and Houston Community Colleges, leading AI strategy across 10 colleges and 185,000+ students with one metric driving everything: student employability. Adrienne Garber is the Chief Technology and Innovation Strategist at Dell Technologies for Higher Education — covering 17 states with a decade at Columbia University spanning roles as researcher, faculty member, student, and now strategic vendor partner. Marie Breedlove is a Segment Sales leader at NVIDIA — working across all OEM partners and industries with a front-row view of where agentic AI, physical AI, and robotics are heading and what community colleges can uniquely do with NVIDIA's full-stack platform. Timestamps (1:00) Introductions — Maricopa, Dell & NVIDIA live at EDUCAUSE (2:00) The student who almost skipped Python — and why it matters (7:00) Students in shelters calling into Zoom — the real digital equity problem (13:00) People think AI just happened — NVIDIA's 30-year history in higher ed (17:00) Agentic AI, physical AI, and robotics — what community colleges must prepare for (24:00) Reducing FUD across 10 colleges — Maricopa's AI Resource Center (33:00) Under $100 a credit hour, zero debt, job-ready — the community college case (38:00) Maricopa students running a real SOC for Homeland Security (40:00) Empathy across the aisle — researcher, vendor, teacher, and student in one person (45:00) The National AI Consortium February conference — come to Miami Listen now: YouTube x Apple x Spotify Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can connect with TechTables: 1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox. Join now: https://www.techtables.com/  2. 🤝 Join the TechTables CIO Communities for Local Government A private, vendor-free network where public sector CIOs share what’s actually working Members get: - 2x National Retreats (facilitated by Info-Tech Research Group & Gartner) - 4x CIO Virtual Roundtables  - Monthly “Behind the Mic” intelligence briefing doc Apply to Join → https://techtables.com/communities-local-government 3. 🤝 The Better Together Virtual Series The narrative-driven series bringing together industry partners and public sector CXOs. Discover the compelling stories that unfold when we stop working in silos and start building together. »»» Email joe@techtables.com to learn more. Platinum Newsletter Sponsor: Missed out on Info-Tech LIVE in New Orleans? No worries, you can join TechTables & Info-Tech Research Group at Info-Tech LIVE 2026 - Las Vegas (June 9 - 11, 2026)! Gold Newsletter Sponsor: SentinelOne - Learn how SentinelOne empowers this state to stay secure. Verizon Frontline -The advanced network that keeps first responders connected when it matters most. Carahsoft - The Trusted Public Sector IT Solutions Provider™, supports government agencies and education/healthcare markets. Contact your Carahsoft rep today to access special discount pricing exclusively through the TechTables + Carahsoft partnership! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techtables.substack.com

    47 min
  7. #222: ASU, UCSB & Tanium on Why AI Efficiency Isn't Enough in Higher Ed

    FEB 26

    #222: ASU, UCSB & Tanium on Why AI Efficiency Isn't Enough in Higher Ed

    In this EDUCAUSE episode, Kyle Bowen from Arizona State University, Joe Sabado from UC Santa Barbara, and Doug Thompson from Tanium make the case that efficiency was never supposed to be the finish line — and break down what responsible AI adoption actually looks like when it connects to the mission. Featuring Kyle Bowen is the Deputy Chief Information Officer at Arizona State University leading AI strategy across one of America’s largest and most digitally active universities — overseeing the Create AI platform, an AI Innovation Challenge that has funded 700 projects, and ASU’s first Agentic AI and Student Experience conference drawing 600 attendees from around the world. Joe Sabado is the Deputy CIO at UC Santa Barbara leading a team of 65 across student and financial information systems, data governance, and an AI community of practice he co-founded — and outside of UCSB he runs Campus AI Exchange and has built an eight-pillar responsible AI framework that higher ed institutions are already using as a practical guide. Doug Thompson is the Chief Education Architect at Tanium bringing 15+ years of higher ed experience to help institutions get real-time visibility into the endpoint complexity that underpins both cybersecurity and AI readiness — with a front-row view of how higher ed IT is slowly but genuinely shifting toward enterprise-scale thinking. Timestamps (2:00) AI efficiency isn't the end goal — Joe Sabado on evidence-based adoption (5:00) Campus AI Framework — UCSB's eight-pillar responsible AI adoption model (7:00) ASU's Agentic AI & Student Experience Conference — 600 attendees, global reach (10:00) Endpoint explosion in higher ed — how Tanium gives CISOs real-time visibility (17:00) ASU's Create AI platform — 50+ LLMs, built for secure enterprise AI (23:00) UT Arlington transformation — Tanium case study on visibility and scale (26:00) Beyond efficiency — Joe Sabado on AI and human flourishing (30:00) AI Innovation Challenge — how ASU funded 700 projects in 18 months (38:00) What higher ed leaders are getting wrong about their first AI move (42:00) Innovation IS keeping the lights on — Kyle Bowen challenges the premise Listen now: YouTube x Apple x Spotify Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can connect with TechTables: 1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox. Join now: https://www.techtables.com/  2. 🤝 Join the TechTables CIO Communities for Local Government A private, vendor-free network where public sector CIOs share what’s actually working Members get: 2x National Retreats (facilitated by Info-Tech Research Group & Gartner) 4x CIO Virtual Roundtables  Monthly “Behind the Mic” intelligence briefing doc Apply to Join → https://techtables.com/communities-local-government 3. 🤝 The Better Together Virtual Series The narrative-driven series bringing together industry partners and public sector CXOs. Discover the compelling stories that unfold when we stop working in silos and start building together. »»» Email joe@techtables.com to learn more. Platinum Newsletter Sponsor: Missed out on Info-Tech LIVE in New Orleans? No worries, you can join TechTables & Info-Tech Research Group at Info-Tech LIVE 2026 - Las Vegas (June 9 - 11, 2026)! Gold Newsletter Sponsor: SentinelOne - Learn how SentinelOne empowers this state to stay secure. Verizon Frontline -The advanced network that keeps first responders connected when it matters most. Carahsoft - The Trusted Public Sector IT Solutions Provider™, supports government agencies and education/healthcare markets. Contact your Carahsoft rep today to access special discount pricing exclusively through the TechTables + Carahsoft partnership! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techtables.substack.com

    45 min
  8. #221: 2026 World Cup, Fusion Teams, AI Wins, Leading Well

    12/08/2025

    #221: 2026 World Cup, Fusion Teams, AI Wins, Leading Well

    #221: Lisa Kent, Melissa Kraft, Derek Williams - 2026 World Cup, Fusion Teams, AI Wins, Leading Well Featuring Lisa Kent is the CIO & Director, City of Houston leading IT for America’s fourth-largest city as she prepares for the World Cup, consolidates Houston Police Department IT, and navigates the delicate balance between innovation and risk. Melissa Kraft is the CIO, City of Frisco managing IT for one of America’s fastest-growing cities (30% population growth) while experimenting with AI deployments on a municipal budget and timeline. Derek Williams is the Chief Technology and Innovation Strategist at Dell & former Louisiana State CIO who spent two decades in Louisiana state government culminating as State CIO, now bringing his battle tested public sector insights to help State & Local Governments navigate technology decisions—with real empathy for the scrutiny CIOs face daily. Timestamps (04:00) How Houston’s network transformation is preparing for the World Cup (10:15) Fusion teams in action — how Lisa’s approach to embedding IT with business units delivers measurable wins (12:00) Building systems that last — Derek’s cost allocation model Louisiana still uses a decade later (14:00) 40% efficiency gains with AI — Frisco’s wins in 911 training and traffic processing (18:00) The CIO role is transforming — all three guests discuss the shift from control to consultation and what it means for the next decade (24:00) Why 95% of AI projects fail — and the three critical stumbling blocks Derek sees everywhere (27:45) What NASA’s 23-year-old moon landing engineer teaches us about trusting younger technologists (38:45) What public sector teams deserve credit for — Derek’s defense of the hardest working people few appreciate (41:30) Small bets, big trust — Melissa shares her playbook for incremental innovation that wins department buy-in Connect 🤝 Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtoste/ 🐦 Connect on Twitter: https://x.com/thejoetoste 🏛️ Follow on LinkedIn Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/techtables/ 📽️ Subscribe here: ‪ https://www.youtube.com/@techtables Listen now: YouTube x Apple x Spotify Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways you can connect with TechTables: 1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox. Join now: https://www.techtables.com/ 2. 🤝 TechTables CIO Communities for Local Government Join us at our next retreat April 1st-3rd in San Antonio, TX The Exclusive Peer Group for Local Government CIOs. A peer group for 15 city and county CIOs navigating council politics, budget battles, security theater, legacy disasters. Our local government customer advisory board is led by following CIOs: Craig Hopkins, CIO, City of San Antonio & Retreat Chair Chris Chirgwin, CIO, Santa Barbara County Justin Fair, CIO, City of Garland >>> Facilitated by: Executive Partners at Info-Tech & Gartner Learn more: https://techtables.com/communities-local-government Platinum Newsletter Sponsor: Missed out on Info-Tech LIVE in New Orleans? No worries, you can join TechTables & Info-Tech Research Group at Info-Tech LIVE 2026 - Las Vegas (June 9 - 11, 2026)! Gold Newsletter Sponsor: SentinelOne - Learn how SentinelOne empowers this state to stay secure. Verizon Frontline -The advanced network that keeps first responders connected when it matters most. Carahsoft - The Trusted Public Sector IT Solutions Provider™, supports government agencies and education/healthcare markets. Contact your Carahsoft rep today to access special discount pricing exclusively through the TechTables + Carahsoft partnership! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techtables.substack.com

    44 min
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5
out of 5
25 Ratings

About

The Conversations Public Sector CIOs Can't Have Anywhere Else. The real conversations—from security theater to AI slop—that 250K+ public sector leaders have tuned into. You won't find these conversations at conferences (or LinkedIn). techtables.substack.com

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