VIDEOS

Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC) is proud to recognize and honor the invaluable work of our friends and leaders in the public safety communications community at the inaugural Interop Gala! Join us for a special evening during this year’s Interoperability Institute as we express our heartfelt gratitude for the selfless service and unwavering commitment of those dedicated to keeping our community safe. KEYNOTE We are honored to welcome Joe Wassel, Executive Director of First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) as guest and keynote speaker for the event. Joe will deliver a keynote address including insights into public safety communication advancements and "The Future of FirstNet." HONOREES Thomas Gonzalez, Deputy Statewide Interoperability Coordinator-Texas Department of Public Safety Greg Jurrens, Director, Public Safety Technology-Harris County Universal Services Karla Jurrens, Director, Office of the Texas Statewide Interoperability Coordinator, Innovation & Data Office, Texas Department of Public Safety Kelli Merriweather, Executive Director (retired), Commission on State Emergency Communications (CSEC) Thomas Randall, Senior Public Safety Advisor, First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) PERFORMANCES The Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets Ross Volunteer Company will be present to salute the honorees. Formed in 1887, the company, which serves as the official honor guard of the governor of Texas, is composed of junior and senior cadets from the Texas A&M University. The company is the oldest honor guard and drill team of its kind in Texas, The evening will also feature entertainment from the High Flyin', Death Defyin' Fightin' Texas Aggie Wranglers! The Aggie Wranglers are the premier Country-Western dance team in the world. As a University-Sponsored level organization here at Texas A&M, the Aggie Wranglers devote time and resources to the mission of spreading love for Texas A&M and two-steppin' through teaching, performing and volunteering at events.

Thank you for joining us at the 2024 Interoperability Institute hosted by the Texas A&M Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center. After Action Review (AAR) and Closing Remarks presented by Michael Fox, TAMU ITEC Executive Director Venue - Disaster City, College Station, Texas

Welcome to Day 3 of the 2024 Interoperability Institute hosted by the Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC). Panel: Resilient Communications (PACE) Moderator: Charlie Guddemi Charles (Charlie) Guddemi is the District of Columbia’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency’s (HSEMA) Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC). He is responsible for coordinating interoperability and communications projects involving voice, data, and video. Charlie chairs the District’s Interoperable Communications Committee (ICC) and Cellular Industry/WiFi Provider Working Group. He serves as the secretary for the Statewide Interoperability Executives Council (SIEC), is a member of the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC) and current co-chair of FEMA’s Region III Regional Emergency Communications Coordinators Working Group (RECCWG). He also participates on several Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) committees and working groups. Charlie Guddemi joined HSEMA after a 25-year career with the United States Park Police (USPP). His assignments included working in Washington, D.C., New York Field Office, San Francisco Field Office, and the National Park Service Northeast Regional Headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He achieved the rank of Deputy Chief serving as the Commander of the Services Division. During his USPP career, Charlie worked six Presidential inaugurations, including serving as the principle planner and Executive Steering Committee member for the United States Park Police 2013 Inauguration. After the September 11, 2001, attacks, Charlie designed and implemented the multiplex, defense in depth, multi-jurisdictional, security plan for the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island Immigration Museum located in New York Harbor. In 2008, he was awarded the first ever Department of the Interior, Office of Law Enforcement and Security, Excellence in Security Award for his efforts in safeguarding the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Complex. Panelist: Red Grasso Red Grasso is the Director of the First Responder Emerging Technologies (FirstTech) Program at the State of North Carolina. After serving in AmeriCorps, he spent a decade as a firefighter in North Carolina before moving into the technologies and working to deploy a regional P25 radio system in Missouri. Focusing on public safety communications, he has served in many roles at different levels of government including disaster response at the local, state, and federal levels. His bachelor’s degree is in Emergency and Disaster Management and is a graduate of the Community Preparedness and Disaster Management program at UNC-CH. Red is also responsible for the communications system at the annual Burning Man event in Nevada. Panelist: John Contestabile John M. Contestabile is the Director of Public Safety Solutions at Skyline Technology Solutions. He works closely with the public safety community providing consulting services and developing solutions to meet their operational needs. These solutions can involve cyber security, video interoperability, communications and network operations. He joined Skyline in 2019 after 10 years with Johns Hopkins University - Applied Physics Lab where he was the Program Manager for Homeland Security/Emergency Response Systems. Panelist: Earl Struble Earl is currently in his 19th year with Verizon and is the Associate Director of Verizon Frontline Crisis Response leading a team responding to 12 states in the southern part of the US. With over 30 years of experience in the wireless telecommunications industry, Earl has committed his career towards creating and implementing his vision for public/private partnerships when responding to emergencies or disasters. In his current position with Verizon, Earl has had many active roles with crisis events including hurricanes, tornadoes, active shooters, wildfires, missing person searches and more, and uses this experience to educate local, county, state, and federal governments on how to improve mission critical communications and logistics for public safety and our first responders. Earl is also in his second term as a NC911 board member, enabling him to help guide the State of North Carolina's strategic initiatives around emergency response. Panelist: Budge Currier Since 2011 Budge has served with the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). In his current role, Budge is responsible for the statewide public safety radio systems and microwave network that supports state agencies, the 9-1-1 system that supports 438 Public Safety Answering Points with over 27 million 9-1-1 calls per year, the 9-8-8 system, and the Emergency Communications Division. Budge also serves as the California Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC). Venue - Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) at RELLIS

Welcome to Day 3 of the 2024 Interoperability Institute hosted by the Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC). Opening Remarks presented by Michael Fox, Executive Director, TAMU ITEC Panel: The Future of Interoperability (AI/Digital Twin/IoT) Moderator: John Merrill John Merrill currently serves as the Acting Director of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) First Responders and Detection (FRD) division as well as the Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) Apex Program Director. Leading FRD, Merrill oversees four key operating components: Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and First Responders. Under his leadership, NGFR has developed and integrated cutting-edge technologies – allowing for a timely, efficient and safe response to disasters of all sizes. Merrill has successfully established a model for the program that expands industry involvement and collaboration with the Nation’s first responders. One of his primary missions is to advocate on behalf of first responders, encouraging industry partners within the program to collaborate directly with responders on research, development, testing and evaluation and “walk a mile in their shoes.” Prior to his role as Acting Director for FRD and Director for NGFR, Merrill was formerly the senior policy and technical advisor for DHS on GPS interference, detection, mitigation and radio frequency spectrum management. He is a 28-year veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, and has worked in program and policy management; radio navigation; maritime law enforcement; search and rescue; vessel traffic services; and telecommunications. Panelist: Jian Tao Dr. Jian Tao is an Assistant Professor from the Section of Visual Computing & Computational Media in the School of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts at Texas A&M University. He is also the Director of the Digital Twin Lab and the Assistant Director for Project Development at the Texas A&M Institute of Data Science. Tao holds courtesy appointments at the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, the Department of Nuclear Engineering, and the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. Tao received his Ph.D. in Computational Astrophysics from Washington University in St. Louis in 2008 and worked on computational frameworks for numerical relativity, computational fluid dynamics, coastal modeling, and other applications at Louisiana State University before he joined Texas A&M in 2016. In 2018, Tao led the Texas A&M team to the final of both the ASC18 and SC18 student cluster competitions. He is a faculty advisor of the Texas A&M 12th Unmanned Team for the SAE/GM AutoDrive Challenge Competition and leads a project funded by the Department of Commerce to build a digital twin for the Disaster City at Texas A&M University. Tao is an NVIDIA DLI University Ambassador and XSEDE Campus Champion at Texas A&M and a contributor to the SPEC CPU 2017 benchmark suite. He currently serves as the Testbed Committee Co-Chair of the IEEE Public Safety Technology Initiative. His research interests include digital twin, numerical modeling, machine learning, data analytics, distributed computing, visualization, and workflow management. Panelist: Robin Murphy, Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue Panelist: Walt Magnussen Dr. Walt Magnussen has been in the communications industry for over 50 years since he began his career in the Air Force supporting secure voice and data systems. For the past 20 years he has directed the Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC) at Texas A&M University. The ITEC is one of the leading public safety and defense interoperability centers in the world working in Next Generation 911, 5G communications, Mission Critical Push-to-talk and several other leading edge technologies. In January, 2024 Dr. Magnussen began his two year term on the National Spectrum Consortium Executive Committee because of his leadership role in 5G wireless research. Because of his expertise he has been called on to testify before Congress, serve on FCC advisory committees and he currently sits on the DHS Safecom federal advisory committee. Venue - Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) at RELLIS

Welcome to Day 2 of the 2024 Interoperability Institute hosted by the Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC). Panel: The Role of Standards in Interoperability Moderator: Jeremy Hill Jeremy Hill is an esteemed professional with over twenty-five years of dedicated service in Public Safety, where he has established himself as a subject matter expert on 9-1-1 and NG9-1-1. His extensive experience includes seven years as an Emergency Communication Center director and over fifteen years as a Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP) Instructor, where he has consistently demonstrated his expertise in this field of public safety. Additionally, Jeremy's role as the past president of TX-APCO and as an APCO Executive Council representative from '21 to '23 showcases his commitment to advancing the industry on both state and national levels. His proficiency extends beyond operational knowledge, as he is also an Emotional Intelligence (EI) practitioner through Multi-Health Systems (MHS), further enriching his skill set. Throughout his career, Jeremy has effectively taught classes and courses at various prestigious institutions such as Navigator, NENA, APCO, and has participated on various panel discussions across the country, solidifying his reputation as a respected voice within the public safety community. After his career with the Amarillo Fire Department, Jeremy is now using his public safety expertise serving as a Public Safety Advisor for the Office of Public Safety Communications (OPSC) inside of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Panelist: Harald Ludwig Harald Ludwig is chair of TCCA’s Technical Forum and Managing Director of Arico Technologies. He has more than 25 years of experience in the professional mobile radio industry and with mission- and safety-critical systems. His expertise covers the fields of system and application design, test and integration, tender specifications writing and bid evaluation, training, international standardization, interoperability and conformance testing and command and control systems. Harald is, on behalf of TCCA, active in global mission critical broadband testing and certification initiatives, including with the Global Certification Forum (GCF), and as Technical Expert for the ETSI MCX and FRMCS Plugtests™. He is involved in international mission critical broadband research projects such as MCOP (mission critical open platform), MCS-TaaSting (mission critical conformance tester), and the BroadWay project. Harald provides consultancy, training and project management services for the professional mobile radio industry. He holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical/Communications Engineering from the Vienna University of Technology. Panelist: Ian Carpenter Ian Carpenter, CEO of Valid8, is an experienced and innovative entrepreneur in telecommunications, Mission Critical and network testing industries. During the past twenty-five years as CEO, Ian has remained at the forefront of testing and verifying next generation telecommunications and public safety test tools. His depth and breadth of expertise regarding network protocols and test challenges, have resulted in Valid8 providing innovative solutions addressing emerging technology challenges for companies around the globe. Overseeing the evolution of the Valid8 testing technology to a single solution for testing networks and devices for performance, load and conformance; Ian Carpenter provides both a strong business acumen and technical expertise for companies looking for cost effective and efficient testing solutions. He has a BEng in Information Systems Engineering from the University of Surrey. Panelist: Kurt Sernett Kurt Sernett most recently graduated with a Master of International Affairs degree from The Bush School of Government and Public Service in May 2023, and he also received a Certificate in Business from Mays Business School and a Certificate in Cybersecurity Policy from The Bush School. During his two years at The Bush School, Kurt conducted research on cybersecurity policy and global governance, and he has extensively studied the nuance of U.S.-China relations. In the Economic Statecraft Program at The Bush School, Kurt has examined how China asserts its influence and power in the digital world. Prior to coming to Texas A&M, Kurt interned for the Iowa Governor’s Office and graduated summa cum laude with Emerging Scholar Honors designation from Central College (Pella, Iowa) as a triple major in Political Science, Communication Studies, and Spanish. Panelist: Thomas Gilbert, Radio System Manager, BVCOG Panelist: Jeff Telford, Chief Product Officer, Juvare Venue - Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) at RELLIS

Welcome to Day 2 of the 2024 Interoperability Institute hosted by the Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC). Panel: AI3 Innovation in Public Safety Moderator: Ray Ivie CAPTAIN Ray Ivie, USN (Ret) Director, TEEX Testing & Innovation Center Ray Ivie leads the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) Testing & Innovation Center. His team assesses technologies, conducts problem solving summits and facilitates research for the First Responder, Homeland Security and Public Safety communities. Prior to joining the TEEX staff, Mr. Ivie retired from an extensive career in the defense and intelligence industries where, as a senior executive, he was responsible for program management, business development and research & development. His experience includes technology innovation in the Intelligence, DoD, and Homeland Security C4ISR communities; signals analysis; and cyber security systems and services. Mr. Ivie was a President for LGS Innovations (Former Bell Labs-Federal) and recently retired as an SVP/General Manager for CACI International. In this capacity, Ivie led 3 business divisions providing enterprise and mission network engineering, operations, and cybersecurity with staff worldwide supporting Intelligence and Defense communities. Prior to LGS Innovations, he served in program director and business development positions at General Dynamics, BAE Systems and L-3 Communications focusing on C4ISR technologies and solutions. Mr. Ivie served in the United States Navy as a naval aviator, retiring as a CAPTAIN with over 2500 flight hours and 686 carrier landings, flying 16 types of military aircraft. He flew in multiple combat operations and commanded an S-3B squadron during combat operations in the Persian Gulf and Adriatic Sea. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has published interviews with industry and government regarding Public Safety technologies, C4ISR, and cyber security. In addition to his TEEX duties, he is a Hollingsworth leadership instructor for Texas A&M University’s Corps of Cadets; serves as a member/participant in the FBI InfraGard and DHS’s CISA public/private alert team organizations; and lectures at the Bush School of Government and Public Service. Ivie is a graduate of Texas A&M University and the US Naval War College. Panelist: Alison Kahn Alison Kahn has been serving the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado since 2015. She is currently the project lead for the Mission Critical Voice Quality of Experience project within PSCR. This role has allowed her to delve deep into the intricacies of public safety voice communication, ensuring that critical information is relayed effectively and efficiently. Alison has also collaborated with government, industry, and academia, conducting research related to Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for public safety and how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to efficiently access this data in mission-critical scenarios. Her research continues to explore how information and communications can be optimized to enhance public safety situational awareness. Panelist: Viji Raveendran, Senior Director, Qualcomm Panelist: Tomi Fadipe Tomi is a Global Vertical Strategy Lead at Zebra Technologies responsible for the development of Zebra's industry strategy for Public Safety & Utilities. Panelist: Bethel Quick Bethel Quick is a mechanical engineer specializing in the management of projects and people from a psychological perspective. She has over 10 years of psychology experience, 15 years experience in mechanical engineering, and 20 years experience in management. As a Marine Corps veteran, she is passionate about managing and improving tactical, operational, and strategic capabilities. Panelist: David Kaniss, Lead Engineer, Engineering Dynamics Panelist: Godfrey Nolan Godfrey Nolan serves as the President of RIIS LLC, a company specializing in the development of mobile applications with a focus on drone technology. In addition to his role in the corporate sector, Nolan contributes to the academic world as a lecturer at Lawrence Technological University, Trine University, and Kettering University, where he shares his expertise in technology and development with students. He is also the author of six books that explore Agile development practices and mobile app security, providing practical guidance and insights into these important areas of the tech industry. Through his work in both the business and academic sectors, Nolan seeks to advance understanding and application of technology in practical scenarios. Panelist: John Crissman, Computer Scientist, U.S. Army DEVCOM Venue - Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) at RELLIS

Welcome to Day 2 of the 2024 Interoperability Institute hosted by the Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC). Panel: Identity Credentialing and Access Management (ICAM) Moderator: Gary Wilks, TDEM Panelist: Michael Grubb Mike Grubb is the Section Chief of Special Projects at the Texas Division of Emergency Management. One of those projects is the implementation of the PIV-I program to improve identity credentialing and access management in Texas. Panelist: Matthew Moyer Matt Moyer is a Senior Research Scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), the non-profit applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). His research focuses on trusted information sharing, with a specialization in Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) and trust management. Most recently, he has led the development, maturation, and piloting of the trustmark framework, which is a novel approach for managing trusted information sharing relationships within large, diverse communities in a manner that is rigorous, agile, and scalable. He has collaborated extensively with the U.S. public safety and justice community and others. Sponsors of his research have included the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, U.S. Dept. of Justice, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Panelist: Sam Dibrell Sam Dibrell, Jr. serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the non-profit Foundation for Trusted Identity. With over 28 years of entrepreneurial business, public safety and technology experience, Sam is established as a versatile leader in both emergency operations and corporate environments. Alongside his 20-year tenure in the fire service and 11 years as a Volunteer Fire Chief, Sam has led numerous successful projects, including the development and integration of Identity, Credentialing, and Access Management programs in healthcare, emergency management, and enterprise environments. Panelist: Craig Wilson Craig A. Wilson serves as the FEMA Cybersecurity Identity Credential and Access Management (ICAM) and Communication Security (COMSEC) subject matter expert and director. As a senior IT and Cybersecurity professional, Mr. Wilson has lead FEMA in numerous leadership positions; to include providing oversight to over 100 Federal employees and contract support staff while obtaining and managing multi-million-dollar budgets aimed to provide cybersecurity operational readiness for both unclassified and classified complex mission essential FEMA systems. Panelist: Jonathan Prisby Jon Prisby currently serves as the Lead of the Biometric and Identity Technology Center (BI-TC) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate. Venue - Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) at RELLIS

Welcome to Day 2 of the 2024 Interoperability Institute hosted by the Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC). Panel: Information Sharing Framework (ISF) Moderator: Rob Dew Rob Dew, serves as the Senior Technologist Advisor for Emergency Communications within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) since July 2018. In this capacity, Rob provides overall technical advisement on design, development, testing, and deployment of priority and interoperability of Next Generation Network Priority Services (NGN-PS), Wireless Priority Service (WPS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) transition to 5G, secure data exchange and Internet-of-Things (loT) capabilities for emergency communications stakeholders. Previous to this assignment, he served as a Wireless Broadband Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Electronics Engineer in the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) providing engineering and managerial leadership, governance and policy, consultation, and expertise to emergency communications for National Security and Emergency Preparedness (NS/EP) personnel and Public Safety first responders and stakeholders with guidance, research, development, test, and evaluation of wireline and wireless broadband networks. Panelist: Paul Fitzgerald Paul H. Fitzgerald was elected Story County Sheriff in November of 1992, taking office on January 1, 1993. Prior to being elected Sheriff, he served as a member of the Waterloo, Iowa Police Department for fifteen years serving in a variety of positions including: Patrol Officer, Detective, Field Training Officer, Tactical Team Member, Firearms Instructor, Patrol Supervisor, Public Relations Officer and Public Information Officer. During his years of service with the Waterloo Police Department, he also taught for eleven years in the Police Science Program at Hawkeye Institute of Technology, now known as Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa. Panelist: Karla Jurrens Karla Jurrens, an employee of the Texas Department of Public Safety since 2009 is the Texas Statewide Interoperability Coordinator. She has been involved in the operational and technical aspects of communications since earning her B.S. in Engineering Technology degree from Kansas State University. Ms. Jurrens began working with law enforcement after joining the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas in 2006. She has assisted agencies across the state with technical issues and supported the statewide efforts for communications planning. She is a certified Project Management Professional, and a Certified Engineering Technologist and an Amateur Radio Extra Class Operator, KB5KJ. Panelist: Ravi Tallury, Amazon Web Services Panelist: John Contestabile John M. Contestabile is the Director of Public Safety Solutions at Skyline Technology Solutions. He works closely with the public safety community providing consulting services and developing solutions to meet their operational needs. These solutions can involve cyber security, video interoperability, communications and network operations. Panelist: Phil Beckett, C3HIE Panelist: Jeff Telford, Chief Product Officer, Juvare Venue - Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) at RELLIS

Welcome to Day 2 of the 2024 Interoperability Institute hosted by the Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC). Opening Remarks presented by Tim Green, Director of George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex Major General (Ret.) Tim Green became Director of the George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex (BCDC) on March 21, 2022, after serving the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) as Strategic Advisor for National Security Initiatives at the Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) the previous three years. He joined TEES following over 30 years of service in the United States Air Force, where his final position was the Director of Civil Engineers at Headquarters Air Force in Washington, DC. In that capacity he supported 51,000 military and civilian engineers, enabling military operations at 183 bases around the world. Tim is a results-oriented executive with demonstrated success in managing large multidisciplinary organizations. During much of his final 16 years in the Air Force he was responsible for overall strategy, and technical and financial performances of various organizations and specialty areas. Immediately upon joining TEES he led the proposal development team, that within three months, established the initial $65M five-year Cooperative Agreement between Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) and the United States Army Futures Command. This agreement is the cornerstone for the creation of the BCDC. Tim holds the following academic credentials: B.S., Civil Engineering (Texas A&M University [TAMU]); M.S., Civil Engineering (TAMU); M.A., Military Operational Art (Air Command and Staff College/Air University); Defense University). M.A., National Security Strategy (National War College/National) Panel: End-to-End Communications/NG9-1-1 A discussion on the standards, governance, and use cases shaping the future of emergency communication. The panel will start by exploring the history and foundational standards of Next Generation 9-1-1.  The NG9-1-1 Interoperability Task Force will serve as a primary case study that conveys the functions, current challenges, and future opportunities of NG9-1-1. The efforts across the Steering Committee, Finance, Governance, and Technical Committee in collaboration with TAMU ITEC and DHS’ scope of work will be highlighted. Lastly, the use cases for end-to-end communications, from the caller to the first responder will be discussed, including advanced data and multi-media capabilities. Moderator: Michael Fox, Executive Director, TAMU ITEC Panelist: Brandon Abley Brandon Abley is Director of Technology for NENA: The 9-1-1 Association. In this capacity he works with a community of experts in the development of NENA technical standards and advises, educates and advocates on technical issues for the emergency calling community. He represents the United States, public safety and 9-1-1 with a variety of standards development and advocacy bodies, including ATIS, ETSI, IETF and EENA. Prior to working with NENA, Mr. Abley worked in the public safety communications field as a technology consultant, served as a senior public safety communications official for the state of Minnesota and was a telecommunications specialist for the US National Park Service. Panelist: Brian Tegtmeyer Brian Tegtmeyer, ENP (Emergency Number Professional) is the National 911 Program Coordinator at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of EMS (OEMS), where he is responsible for improving 911’s ability to impact highway safety and continually advancing 911 through collaboration and support of nationwide. He has more than 28 years of experience in public safety communications at the local, state and national level. Panelist: Budge Currier Since 2011 Budge has served with the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). In his current role, Budge is responsible for the statewide public safety radio systems and microwave network that supports state agencies, the 9-1-1 system that supports 438 Public Safety Answering Points with over 27 million 9-1-1 calls per year, the 9-8-8 system, and the Emergency Communications Division. Budge also serves as the California Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC). Panelist: Fabricio Velez Fabricio Velez, currently serving as the Senior Director of Industry Standards and Technology Innovation at INdigital, brings over two decades of experience in telecommunications network design and solution development. His last ten years have been dedicated to advancing the field of Public Safety Communications Networks, focusing on the innovation and adoption of emerging technologies. Venue - Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) at RELLIS

Welcome to Day 1 of the 2024 Interoperability Institute hosted by the Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC). Presentation by Gold Sponsor, Contec Speaker: Kevin Lytle, CEO, Syllego Speaker: David Sprinzen, VP Partnerships, Vantiq Speaker: Steve Cercone, Safe Cities Global Speaker: Brad Jens, VP Sales and Marketing, Contec Venue - Texas A&M University Annenberg Presidential Conference Center

Welcome to Day 1 of the 2024 Interoperability Institute hosted by the Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC). Moderator: Jim Holthaus Jim Holthaus is currently a consultant with the US Department of Justice serving as a Wireless and Mobility Subject Matter Expert.  Jim has been active in the development of Land Mobile Radio products since 1993 and has been the Chair of numerous TIA Technical Committees formulating the P25 Suite of Radio Standards.  He is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a member of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), Vice Chair of the P25 Technology Interest Group (PTIG) and Chair of the Telecommunications Industry Association Private Radio Section.  Panelist: Sridhar Kowdley, DHS S&T Panelist: Sanjay Gowda, Verizon Panelist: John Chaney, City of Irving, IT Communications Manager Panelist: Harish Negalaguli, Motorola Solutions, Head of Advanced Technologies and Standards Venue - Texas A&M University Annenberg Presidential Conference Center

Welcome to Day 1 of the 2024 Interoperability Institute hosted by the Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC). Opening Remarks presented by Michael Fox, ITEC Executive Director, Walt Magnussen, ITEC Head of Research Development, and Henry Fadamiro, Texas A&M University Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives. Keynote Speaker, Daniel Cotter, Executive Director DHS S&T Dan Cotter is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Office of Science and Engineering (OSE) in the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), U.S. Department of Homeland Security  (DHS). In this role, he leads the advancement of science and technology to support the homeland security mission. His responsibilities included overseeing seven technology centers, and providing requirements generation, standards, systems engineering, test and evaluation, to support to DHS research and acquisition programs.  Prior to joining S&T he served as the DHS Chief Technology Officer from 2007 - 2012 and as the DHS Geospatial Management Officer from 2005 - 2007. As a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 1983 – 1995, Dan developed and led programs applying emerging technologies to address a wide range of scientific, engineering and technical challenges faced by the National Flood Insurance Program and for disaster mitigation, response and recovery.  In 2018 he received the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive. He has significant experience in policy formulation, working on and leading high-level intergovernmental committees, including at the White House level and collaboration with Congress. Venue - Texas A&M University Annenberg Presidential Conference Center