Michele Thomas

Chief Information Security Officer
NHTSA

Michele has 22 years of Federal service. During that time she had an 8-year break in service in the Dot-Com community. Her advanced experience encompasses Cybersecurity, the government’s CDM Program, Identity Management, Directory Services, Digital and Electronic Signatures, and PKI. Michele has been a Project Manager, Program Manager, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief Information Security Officer. Her Federal experience includes DOD, Treasury, Energy, USDA, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Michele is married with two children. She lives in Montgomery County, MD.

Day Two: Thursday, August 22, 2019

Thursday, August 22nd, 2019

9:40 AM Embracing the Privacy Imperative- Navigating Regulations and Requirements

Companies must navigate complex and rapidly evolving data privacy regulations and compliance requirements. Various state, national and global regulations along with high profile breaches have made consumers look deeper at which data they share and with whom. The panel will explore the evolving patchwork of privacy and security regulations and how they affect big data, Artificial Intelligence, advertising and litigation. In this discussion, explore the emerging world of privacy with data as a currency. Look at who owns and controls the flow and use of data. This session will discuss planning, preparedness and response to evolving compliance requirements including operational, strategic and proactive communications.

In this session:

· Integrating privacy by design

· Empowering privacy in enterprise risk management

Determining which state regulations to apply

Day Three: Friday, August 23, 2019

Friday, August 23rd, 2019

8:30 AM Women In IT

When it comes to the lack of women in technology fields, the focus often turns to what about technology fields keeps women from participating and what can be done to encourage women to join the cyber security and other information technology professions. With the ongoing digital transformation within society, the number of unfilled cybersecurity positions is only going to increase. What can be done to encourage, attract, mentor and train, as well advance future leaders in the technology landscape?

In this session:

Addressing the gender gap in C-suite technology roles
A look at data surrounding women’s representation in IT
Effective ways to support workforce diversity and inclusion