KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Senator Katie Fry Hester
Leader in Cybersecurity and Technology Policy
Maryland State Senate

Senator Katie Fry Hester is serving her second term in the Maryland State Senate representing Maryland’s 9th district, which includes parts of Howard and Montgomery Counties. She serves as the Senate Deputy Majority Whip, Seante Chair of the Rules Committee, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology and Biotechnology, a member of the Education, Energy and Environment Committee, and subcommittee Chair for the Energy Committee. During her first term, Senator Hester passed over 30 pieces of bipartisan legislation by bringing together diverse groups of experts, advocates, and legislators to collaborate on public policy with an emphasis on cybersecurity, renewable energy, mental and behavioral health, agriculture, and environmental resilience.

Before entering public service in 2018, Senator Hester spent 20 years working on sustainable development, Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting, stakeholder engagement, and strategic planning to solve large, complex problems. She has advised Fortune 500 companies, governments, communities, and non-profits on creating win-win partnerships.

Senator Hester graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering and is a Professionally Accredited Partnership Broker. She lives in Howard County with her husband and two daughters.

Khoi Nguyen
Command Acquisition Executive (CAE), Senior Procurement Executive (SPE), Director, Cyber Acquisition and Technology Directorate (J9)
United States Cyber Command

Khoi T. Nguyen, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Command Acquisition Executive and Director for the Cyber Acquisition and Technology Directorate (J9) for U.S. Cyber Command, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Mr. Nguyen is responsible for establishing command acquisition and procurement policy and guidance, managing cyber programs, and providing functional support in the areas of systems engineering, management, configuration, logistics, financial management, procurement, contracting, and testing and evaluation of developed or acquired solutions in excess of $1.2 billion annually.

Mr. Nguyen enlisted in the Virginia Army National Guard as an Infantryman in 1989. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1994 and was commissioned in the U.S. Army the same year. He began his career as a Sapper Platoon Leader in 2nd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, Korea. Following 2nd ID, he was Platoon Leader and Executive Officer in B Co, 317th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Georgia. He commanded C Co, 5th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. After command, he was hand-picked to be a small group leader, Engineer Captain’s Career Course. He transitioned to Army Acquisition in 2006 and was assigned as the Chief Systems and Security Engineer for the Global Command and Control System at the Defense Information Systems Agency. His last assignment prior to retirement from the U.S. Army was as a Program Manager for a fleet of airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance platforms supporting combat operations in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan.

Mr. Nguyen retired from active duty in 2014 as a Lieutenant Colonel. He was appointed to the Senior Level in September 2020 and Senior Executive Service in May 2023. Prior to his current position, he served as the Technical Director for U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command.

EDUCATION
1994 Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
2000 Master of Science, Engineering Management, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Mo.
2006 Master of Business Administration, Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park 2012 CISO Graduate Certificate, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. 2019 Harvard University Senior Executive Fellows program, Cambridge, Mass.
2020 American University Key Executive Leadership Program, Washington, D.C.

CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. 2006–2010 Chief, Systems and Security Engineering Branch, GCCS-J, Fort George G. Meade, Md.
2. 2010–2011 Assistant Product Manager, PdM CREW, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
3. 2011–2014 Program Manager for multiple Army Programs (Raven Fire, ODI, TENCAP) Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
4. 2015–2016 Chief, GEOINT Branch, DCGS-A, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
5. 2016–2020 Deputy Product Manager, Product Manager Information Warfare, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
6. 2020–2023 Technical Director, MARFORCYBER, Fort George G. Meade, Md.
7. 2023–present, CAE/J9, U.S. Cyber Command, Fort George G. Meade, Md.

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster
U.S. Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS
Certified Information Systems Security Professional
Information Systems Security Architecture Professional
DAWIA PM level III, IT level II
Project Management Professional
(Current as of June 2023)

Tammy Griffith
Deputy Director BM&A and Senior Acquisition Executive (SAE)
National Security Agency

Tammy Griffith is the Deputy Director of Business Management & Acquisition and the Senior Acquisition Executive at the National Security Agency. She is responsible for delivering major acquisitions and ensuring the acquisition process is followed consistently and appropriately. She develops and maintains strategic relationships with acquisition stakeholders across NSA, the Department of Defense, and Intelligence Community. Tammy also develops relationships with industry leaders, ensuring there is a healthy industrial base capable of meeting NSA’s unique needs.

Tammy holds a B.S. in Business Management from the University of Maryland/University College.

Brian K. Leyda
Procurement Services Executive (Acting)
Director (Acting), DITCO
Defense Information Systems Agency

Brian Leyda is the Procurement Services Executive (Acting) at the Defense Information Systems Agency, where he provides executive leadership and strategic guidance for the procurement of information technology, cyber, cloud and telecommunications for the Department of War. Leyda is dual-hatted as the Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization Director where he oversees a portfolio of contracts that obligated more than $8.2 billion on contracts in fiscal year 2025, and where he manages a contract portfolio valued at more than $42 billion

In these roles, he is responsible for management and oversight of all organization functions. He serves as principal advisor to the DISA director, deputy director, senior procurement executive, and the agency for all matters related to procurement and contracting. He provides executive oversight for strategic planning and execution of contract policy and operations at contracting offices in the National Capital Region, Illinois, Hawaii and Germany.

Leyda came to federal service mid-career after working in the private sector in a variety of roles and across organizations of all sizes. In 2009, he joined Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Grounds as a Price/Cost Analyst. In 2012, Leyda began over a decade of service with Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). He served in a number of roles before being selected in 2019 as the Division Chief/Chief of Contracting Office of DITCO Europe. In this role, he served in Stuttgart Germany where he had oversight of a telecommunications portfolio that provided mission-critical services in Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia. Leyda returned to DISA HQ in 2022 as the Technical Director/Civilian Deputy (Acting) for the Procurement Services Directorate (PSD) where he was tasked with finding efficiencies in the federal procurement process through streamlining, and acquisition accelerators.

Between 2023 and 2025, Leyda worked at NASA as the Deputy Director (Policy) in the Office of Procurement at Goddard Space Flight Center and as the Division Director of Corporate Services at USPTO. He rejoined DISA in December of 2025 as the Vice Procurement Services Executive.

Leyda holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in History from Towson University and a Master of Business Administration Degree from the University of Baltimore. He is Level III certified in contracting and Level II Certified in both program management and cyber procurement. Additionally, he is a 2023 graduate of the Excellence in Government Fellows program.

(Current as of March 2026)