This week on the GovNavigators Show, Adam and Robert sit down with Daniel Gaush, Acting Director of the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services Service Center at the U.S. Department of State, for a fascinating look at one of the federal government’s largest and least understood shared services operations.

Daniel explains how the ICASS system coordinates administrative support for more than 300 federal entities across embassies and consulates worldwide, everything from HR and motor pools to security, facilities, and logistics. He shares stories from a 24-year career spanning Morocco, China, Afghanistan, and Washington, including negotiating trade agreements, touring a Chinese nuclear reactor, and managing support operations in wartime environments.

The conversation explores the promise and pain points of shared services: balancing costs, managing interagency consensus, handling global crises, and adapting to major structural changes, such as the integration of USAID functions into the State Department. Daniel also reflects on the unique culture of the Foreign Service and offers advice for the next generation of Americans considering international public service careers.

Show Notes:

• Final Report from The President’s Council to Assess the Federal
  Emergency Management Agency

What's on the GovNavigators' Radar?

• May 13: House Oversight & Government Reform Committee Hearing: DoW Financial Management: Examining Progress and New Audit Approaches 

• May 14: House Oversight & Government Reform Hearing: Reducing America’s National Debt: Rooting Out Federal Waste, Fraud, and Overregulation 

• May 14-15: ACT-IAC’s Emerging Technology & Innovation Summit

This week on the GovNavigators Show, Adam and Robert sit down with the GovNavigator Network's Josh Martin, former Chief Data Officer for the State of Indiana turned founder and AI practitioner, for a candid, highly practical conversation about what AI can (and can't!) do in government today.

Josh shares how he’s building AI-powered tools to solve real-world problems, like instantly preparing for vendor meetings or streamlining procurement reviews, and explains why AI’s biggest value isn’t replacing people, but accelerating decision-making. He also offers a clear-eyed warning: agencies that over-automate without human oversight risk serious errors, hallucinations, and reputational damage.

We dive into how governments can responsibly adopt AI, the importance of understanding data and prompting, and why “personal responsibility” is the missing ingredient in most AI strategies. Josh also reflects on his transition out of government, what he misses, and where he sees the biggest opportunities for innovation across the public sector.

Show Notes:

• Partial DHS funding measure passed

• House Oversight advances nine anti-fraud bills

• DoW strikes new AI deal with major companies

• New EO pushing fixed-price contracting

What's on the GovNavigators' Radar?

• May 2-4: Professional Services Council Annual Conference

• May 5: AGA’s Performance Counts Summit

• May 6: Service to America Medals

• May 14-15: ACT-IAC’s Emerging Technology & Innovation Summit

This week on the GovNavigators Show, hosts Adam and Robert sit down with Dr. Amanda Cash of the Data Foundation and Dr. Adita Karkera of Deloitte to unpack the latest Federal Chief Data Officer (CDO) Survey and what it reveals about the state of data, AI, and capacity across government.

Drawing on six years of survey data, Amanda and Adita explain how the federal CDO role has evolved since the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act and why today’s environment may be the most challenging yet. With more than half of CDOs operating with five or fewer staff, agencies are being pushed to do more with less, even as expectations around AI, data governance, and transparency continue to rise.

The conversation explores the growing overlap between Chief Data Officers and Chief AI Officers, the risks and opportunities of combining those roles, and how agencies can use AI to compensate for workforce gaps. They also highlight the critical role of the federal CDO Council in enabling collaboration and scaling best practices across government.

This week on The GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam are joined by Drew Friedman, reporter at Federal News Network and nominee for the ECHO Award for Best Government Management Journalist. Drew pulls back the curtain on what it's like to cover the federal workforce in one of the most turbulent periods in recent memory.

The conversation covers the shifting landscape of federal hiring, including OPM's push toward skills-based hiring in the IT space, the latest on Schedule F's successor, and the growing body of litigation challenging the administration's workforce actions, as well as budget issues, and the administration's push to shrink the federal real estate footprint. Drew also reflects on what it takes to keep up with stories this big, and why the Federal News Network team's collaborative approach has been essential to staying on top of it all.

This week on the GovNavigators Show, Adam and Robert sit down with GovNavigators Network member Jason Robertson, former regional CFO and senior leader at the U.S. Forest Service, for a conversation on what happens when government systems face real disruption.

Jason shares insights from his two decades in federal service, including managing wildfire funding, overseeing recreation and land use across multiple states, and navigating the complex financial realities of public land management. He breaks down how wildfire policy, procurement, and interagency coordination are evolving, and why looming fire risks and structural changes are colliding in real time.

Now in the private sector, Jason offers a candid view into the massive workforce and knowledge gaps emerging across agencies, and the opportunities those gaps create for new models of support, consulting, and innovation. From shifting procurement pathways to rethinking how agencies deliver on their missions, we explore how disruption is reshaping the federal landscape.

This week on the GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam sit down with Max Spitzer, former Assistant Parliamentarian in the U.S. House of Representatives, for a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most misunderstood offices in Congress. Max explains how the House Parliamentarian keeps the chamber running day to day, from advising the presiding officer in real time to shaping precedent that governs how legislation moves. He shares stories from the House floor, including high-pressure moments during the 2008 financial crisis!

The conversation also dives into the mechanics of power in the House: how rules actually work, why the Rules Committee can override almost anything, and what would happen if control of the House flipped mid-Congress. Max also offers a candid take on congressional dysfunction, and why fixing the rules, not just the Speaker, may be the key to reform.

Show Notes:

• OMB's FY27 budget proposal

• OMB's new memo requiring IT spending data

• GAO's emerging tech risks

• Federal buildings fail to reach occupancy benchmark

What's on the GovNavigators' Horizon:

• Apr 7: Federal Cybersecurity Executive Summit (GovExec, Optiv, ClearShark, Carasoft)

• Apr 8: ACT-IAC Contact Center Summit

• Apr 13–14: AGA DC Chapter Spring Meeting

• Apr 15: Carasoft's AI-Powered Government Solutions Event

This week on the GovNavigators Show, Adam and Robert sit down with Ryan Hoesing, Chief of Staff for FedRAMP, and Nicole Thompson, Security Director, for a deep dive into one of the most consequential federal IT programs undergoing transformation today.

Ryan and Nicole walk through the sweeping changes to the FedRAMP program and explain what the new “FedRAMP 20x” approach means for agencies and industry. They unpack the shift from authorization to certification, the move toward continuous and machine-readable security data, and why redefining FedRAMP’s role is critical to making cloud adoption actually work across government.

Show Notes:

• Continued DHS appropriations uncertainty

• Launch of VP Vance's anti-fraud taskforce

• New DEI EO

What's on the GovNavigators' Radar:

• Mar 31: Oracle Federal Forum

• Apr 8: ACT-IAC Contact Center Summit

This week on The GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam are joined by Rob Bocek, Chief Commercial Officer at Virtualitics, for a conversation on how artificial intelligence is reshaping defense readiness.

Drawing on his wide experience from Navy Special Warfare to Microsoft, Rob explains how AI can help the Department of Defense move beyond fragmented data and toward faster, more informed decision-making. We explore how these tools surface hidden readiness gaps, improve situational awareness, and support leaders operating in high-stakes, time-sensitive environments.

Rob also walks through how Virtualitics is helping defense leaders make sense of massive, fragmented datasets, using AI-powered analytics to surface hidden risks, identify readiness gaps, and support faster, more confident decision-making. He explains how their approach emphasizes explainable AI, enabling operators and commanders to trust and act on insights in real time.

This week on the GovNavigators Show, we're joined by Joel Hinzman, one of the most seasoned voices in government technology and policy, and a member of the GovNavigators Network. Joel has been walking the halls of Congress and the executive branch longer than most, and his career reads like a history of modern government IT. He helped move the House of Representatives onto the internet, put the Starr Report online (and yes, crashed the servers doing it), and spent years at GSA overseeing IT modernization and acquisition policy, before heading to Oracle.

In this conversation, Joel breaks down where Congress still struggles with technology, why AI is the next big test for Capitol Hill, and what the sweeping changes at GSA mean for companies trying to do business with the federal government. He also shares what he's up to now, helping clients navigate procurement, budgets, government affairs strategy, and how to actually turn lobbying relationships into business results.

This week on The GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam welcome Wynn Coggins, former Acting Secretary of Commerce and now Chief Growth Officer at Management Science and Innovation, for a candid conversation on leadership forged through crisis, transition, and 35 years of federal service.

Wynn shares the lessons she's carried from her early days as a patent examiner through navigating COVID at the Department of Commerce, serving as Acting Deputy Secretary, and landing in the private sector at Deloitte before her current role. The throughline: surround yourself with people who challenge you, park your ego at the door, and build a culture where failing fast is a feature, not a flaw.

Robert and Adam also cover the week's big news: the introduction of the Federal Loan System Modernization Act of 2026, a bill that would finally bring a single platform to manage the government's sprawling loan portfolio, and the escalating standoff between the Department of Defense and Anthropic, which has now prompted the White House to direct agencies to cancel contracts with the AI company. Plus: Microsoft's major takedown of a global phishing operation responsible for 30 million fraudulent emails a month.

This week on The GovNavigators Show, Robert Shea and Adam Hughes sit down with Deep Grewal, Vice President of Public Sector at MinIO, to unpack the findings of a new survey on the federal government’s AI readiness, and why so many agencies are still stuck in the pilot phase.

While AI ambition is everywhere, Deep explains that the real bottleneck is in data management. From lineage and governance to infrastructure, portability, and total cost of ownership, the conversation makes the case that the unglamorous foundational work will determine which agencies actually scale AI and which remain in perpetual experimentation.

They dig into the tension between cloud-first and cloud-smart, the rise of hybrid and sovereign architectures, the GPU and storage crunch, and why AI must become a mission-wide capability rather than a bolt-on “innovation project.” Deep also lays out a practical checklist for moving to enterprise AI: get your data house in order, modernize infrastructure, upskill the workforce, establish governance, and prove the ROI.

If you’re trying to move from AI pilots to real production, this episode is your roadmap.

This special episode of The GovNavigators Show features a live conversation with Socure’s Jordan Burris, former chief of staff to the Federal CIO, recorded at the Government Executive Federal Technology Priorities Conference.

Jordan lays out a stark warning: modern fraud is not a series of isolated schemes, it’s an industrialized, AI-enabled ecosystem operating at global scale. He explains how adversaries are using the same large language models, automation, and data-sharing techniques as legitimate organizations to defeat traditional identity controls in days instead of months, creating what he calls a “zero-day” environment for fraud.

The discussion explores why long-standing federal fraud defenses are being outpaced, how commercial sectors have pulled ahead, and what agencies can do now to measure risk, modernize verification, and collaborate across silos. With hundreds of billions of dollars at stake each year, Jordan argues the government must move faster, test new approaches, and learn from industries already fighting these threats in real time.

If you care about improper payments, digital service delivery, customer experience, or cybersecurity, this is a roadmap for how identity has become the front line.

In this special President’s Day pop-up episode, the GovNavigators break down a fast-moving week in federal management and policy. They unpack the latest partial shutdown and what it really means for DHS employees, travelers, and the long-term outlook for TSA, along with the state of negotiations between the White House and Congress.

The conversation turns to the Congressional Budget Office’s new long-term deficit projection, the Small Business Administration’s termination of more than 150 8(a) contracts and what it signals for the federal contracting community, and a notable Washington Post release of a searchable database of federal AI use cases, and what it says about the government’s progress (and remaining challenges) in making data usable.

This week on The GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam are joined by Venice Goodwine, former CIO of the Department of the Air Force and current CIO and Product Owner at Arlo Solutions, for a candid conversation about leadership, culture, and change across government. 

Venice reflects on a remarkable career spanning more than three decades of active-duty and reserve service, senior executive roles at the Department of Agriculture and the Air Force, and hands-on leadership across nearly every military service. She shares how navigating wildly different organizational cultures shaped her leadership style, why mission understanding matters more than titles, and what it really takes to modernize enterprise IT at scale.

The discussion also dives into major accomplishments, including IT-as-a-service transformations, cybersecurity improvements, early GenAI experimentation inside DoD, and lessons learned from retiring (twice!) and choosing to keep contributing. Venice closes with advice for today’s public servants navigating uncertainty, efficiency mandates, and cultural resistance, emphasizing curiosity, coalition-building, and keeping the end mission in mind.

This week on The GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam are joined by Venice Goodwine, former CIO of the Department of the Air Force and current CIO and Product Owner at Arlo Solutions, for a candid conversation about leadership, culture, and change across government. 

Venice reflects on a remarkable career spanning more than three decades of active-duty and reserve service, senior executive roles at the Department of Agriculture and the Air Force, and hands-on leadership across nearly every military service. She shares how navigating wildly different organizational cultures shaped her leadership style, why mission understanding matters more than titles, and what it really takes to modernize enterprise IT at scale.

The discussion also dives into major accomplishments, including IT-as-a-service transformations, cybersecurity improvements, early GenAI experimentation inside DoD, and lessons learned from retiring (twice!) and choosing to keep contributing. Venice closes with advice for today’s public servants navigating uncertainty, efficiency mandates, and cultural resistance, emphasizing curiosity, coalition-building, and keeping the end mission in mind.

This week on The GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam are joined by Doug Criscitello, newly named Executive Director of the Center for U.S. Lending, to unpack what’s next for federal credit programs, and why modernization can’t wait.

Doug outlines the Center’s mission to improve how Americans access the federal government’s $5 trillion loan portfolio, from student loans and housing to small business and infrastructure finance. Additionally, we learn how the Center plans to convene agencies, Congress, lenders, and contractors, and why improving program design and performance measurement is just as important as upgrading technology.

It’s a wide-ranging discussion on what it will take to make federal lending more effective, more secure, and more user-centered, without making it “exciting for the wrong reasons.”

Show Notes:

• Appropriations Progress

• Technology Modernization Fund (TMF)

• GAO's Federal Debt Audit

What's on the GovNavigator's Radar:

Jan 27: CMS Industry Day

Jan 26-28: National Small Business Conference

This week on The GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam sit down with Jon Stehle, Director of Intergovernmental Partnerships at the Association of Government Accountants (AGA), for a discussion on the intersection of federal, state, and local government.

A former four-term Fairfax City Council member, Jon reflects on lessons learned from local office; why strategic planning matters, how regional collaboration actually works, and why many of the services people rely on are funded far beyond their own city hall. He explains how AGA helps connect practitioners across jurisdictions, from sharing best practices through citizen-centric reporting to building the next generation of government financial managers. Jon also digs into timely issues like improper payments and fraud, the importance of clear definitions and accountability, and what state and local leaders are feeling as policies and funding priorities shift in Washington.

Can't get enough of Jon and AGA? Keep an eye out for their upcoming events, including AGA's National Leadership Training and the return of its Professional Development Training conference to Washington, DC.

This week on the GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam kick off 2026 with Terry Gerton, former President and CEO of the National Academy of Public Administration and the new host of The Federal Drive on Federal News Network. Terry reflects on her transition from leading a major good-government institution to hosting a daily federal news program — and what it takes to deliver clear, fact-based conversations amid constant policy churn.

Listen along as we learn how The Federal Drive decides what matters most to federal employees, why listener feedback often shapes coverage in unexpected ways, and what Terry is watching most closely in 2026, from congressional dynamics to the growing role of the courts in federal governance.

In this special Christmas pop-up episode of the GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam close out a truly wild year in government with reflections, gratitude, and a well-earned holiday sendoff. We raise a glass to the remarkable career of Gene Dodaro, who is retiring after more than five decades of public service, including 15 years as Comptroller General of the United States. Additionally, we've got an update on all the year-end developments affecting the federal workforce, including holiday leave, pay adjustments, military compensation decisions, and the ever-present tension between appropriations law and executive branch flexibility.

We wish you all a happy holidays, and we'll see you in 2026- Mele Kalikimaka!

This week, the GovNavigators sit down with our good friend Nick Hart, President and CEO of the Data Foundation, for a wide-ranging conversation on why government data matters more than most people realize, and why it so often goes unnoticed until it’s at risk.

Nick walks through the launch of the People’s Data 100, a new initiative designed to surface and celebrate the most valuable public-sector data assets. He explains how fragile these “invisible infrastructure” systems can be, why low public engagement puts critical datasets at risk of elimination, and what it really takes — people, resources, and data hygiene — to keep high-value data usable, trustworthy, and fit for purpose.

The conversation also explores the state of data governance heading into 2026, including implementation of the Evidence Act, responsible and ethical data use, and the upcoming launch of the Data Foundation’s Evidence Act Hub, aimed at making it easier for agencies, researchers, and the public to navigate the federal evidence ecosystem.

In the news, Robert and Adam unpack the release of the administration’s long-awaited President’s Management Agenda, debate what its slimmed-down framework signals for federal priorities, and break down new developments on AI governance, federal real estate optimization, and the always-moving pieces of year-end legislation and management reform.