Federal Identity Forum & Expo Planning Committee

Dr. Larry Nadel
Electronics Engineer
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Larry Nadel retired from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on July 1. He looks forward to remaining engaged as a NIST volunteer Guest Researcher. As an Electronics Engineer with the NIST Information Technology Laboratory, he led the Steering Committee and was Programs Coordinator for the grassroots NIST Artificial Intelligence (AI) Community of Interest, to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration among the group’s 250+ NIST staff members and across NIST. He explored how US and global approaches and guidelines for the ethical and trustworthy use of AI and Machine Learning can be applied to the measurement and understanding of biometric identification technology. Previously, as a Fellow at Noblis, Larry applied his expertise in full life-cycle systems engineering, imaging, biometric identification, and standards development; and led various analysis, R&D, and standardization projects in the homeland security, law enforcement, and healthcare domains. He began his career as a Biomedical Engineer with the National Institutes of Health, where he designed hardware and software to advance patient monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment. Dr. Nadel is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). He earned a PhD in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering from The Ohio State University.

Ryan Triplett
Management Analyst
Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency

Ryan Triplett is a Management Analyst at the Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency (DFBA), a Field Operating Agency under the Department of the Army. DFBA, a component of the U.S. Army’s Office of Provost Marshal General (OPMG), executes the responsibilities of the Executive Agent for DoD Forensics and Biometrics on behalf of the Secretary of the Army. Mr. Triplett’s current responsibilities include leading the standardization efforts of the DoD Executive Agent for Defense Forensics and Biometrics Enterprises. He serves as the primary DoD voting member to INCITS M1 biometric standards development organization, U.S. representative to ISO/IEC SC37 biometric standards body, and ISO TC 272 forensics standards body. Mr. Triplett also serves as custodian of NATO Standardization Agreement 4715 Biometric Data Interchange as well as editor of the DoD Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification. Mr. Triplett is co-chair of the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) Biometrics Domain. He also chairs both the DoD Forensic and Biometric Standards Working Group and the DoD and IC Joint Enterprise Standards Committee’s Forensic and Biometric Technical Working Group. Previously Mr. Triplett served as a Systems Engineering and Technical Assistant (SETA) to the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate where he provided supervisory technical and programmatic activities in the planning, execution and governance of multiple biometrics and forensics projects and programs to meet component driven requirements. He was responsible for the successful initiation, planning, design, execution, monitoring, controlling and closure of a broad range of inter-disciplinary programs such as Rapid DNA, Digital Forensics, Non-Cooperative Biometrics, Video Analytics and Media Exploitation, Non-Traditional Fingerprint Evaluations, Mobile Biometrics, Backend Attribute Exchange, Identity Management and Data Privacy. Mr. Triplett is an IEEE Certified Biometric Professional. He received dual B.S. engineering degrees from West Virginia University in Electrical Engineering and Biometric Systems Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration from West Virginia University. He also holds an Identity Leadership Program Certificate from University of Texas at Austin.

Erica Bombard
Unit Chief
Programs Research and Standards Unit

Ms. Erica Bombard is the Unit Chief for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Programs Research and Standards Unit (PRSU) in the Global Law Enforcement Support Section with a mission to advance biometric and identity management capabilities through data science, research, and testing. Ms. Bombard began her career with Lockheed Martin in 2004, as a Systems Engineer, after receiving her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at West Virginia University and Master of Science in Systems Engineering at George Washington University. In 2007, she accepted a position with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where she was a Project Manager and Branch Chief for several satellite acquisition and data exploitation software development efforts. In 2015, she became a CIA liaison with the FBI where she leveraged her Intel experience to enable biometric technology development and data sharing. In 2017, she accepted a permanent position with the FBI which ultimately led to her current Unit Chief assignment.

Phil Lam
Executive Director of Identity
GSA

Phil Lam is the Executive Director of Identity and leads the Identity Portfolio ​in the Technology Transformation Services (TTS) within GSA. The Identity Portfolio aims to implement and promote identity as a shared service across government with the goal of improving constituent access to government services. Prior to joining TTS, Phil was the Vice President of Risk Product Strategy at Early Warning Services. While there he was responsible for creating and implementing an industry-level strategy for identity. With over 10 years of experience, Phil has worked as management consultant, product development leader and strategist. In 2013, he served on a White House initiative to promote trusted digital identities, where he led government investments in innovative technologies on strong authentication, identity verification, and privacy preserving architectures. Phil has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Northwestern University and a Master of Business Administration from Purdue University.

Kimberly Weissman
Senior Communication Specialist
DHS/U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Entry/Exit

Kimberly Weissman serves as the Senior Communication Advisor for the Biometric Entry/Exit program at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). She advises CBP senior leadership who oversee the Entry/Exit program on communication strategies and outreach. With more than 20 years of federal service specializing in Public Affairs and stakeholder outreach, she has spent the majority of her career educating and informing various audiences, including the press, public, and key stakeholders, about the benefits of expanding facial comparison technology into the travel process through public-private partnerships to further secure and enhance the customer experience.

Kay Turner
Chief Digital Identity Advisor of FinCEN
U.S. Department of the Treasury

Kay Turner is the Chief Digital Identity Advisor of the Financial Crimes Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. She joined in June of 2021 to lead FinCEN’s digital identity related efforts. Her contributions include leading the FDIC FinCEN Digital Identity Tech Sprint focused on solutions to measure the effectiveness of digital identity proofing and hosting digital identity focused Innovation Hours. Previously, she served as project coordinator for Treasury’s $10 billion Capital Projects Fund, part of the American Rescue Plan’s efforts to implement capital projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring. Kay served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury, where, among other things, she worked with him and the Federal Reserve to design and implement the $600 billion Main Street Lending Program. Kay also advised the Counselor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on digital payments, as well as helped formulate the design and implement a system-scale digital cash transfer plan to boost economic growth. Kay first served Treasury as a Senior Financial Analyst on European banks, and then as an Economist and Asian Digital Payment and Identity Expert. She counseled the Secretary on India’s digital payment and identity policies, guided the Department on China’s payment innovation and investments, and played an instrumental role in the U.S.-India Financial Regulatory Dialogues. Before joining Treasury, Kay was Managing Director at a large U.S. financial institution in London where she financed emerging technology companies and emerging markets corporates through various cycles. Kay is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and the University of North Carolina.

Zack Martin
Senior Policy Advisor
Venable and the Better Identity Coalition

Zack Martin is a trusted advisor for clients across the cybersecurity ecosystem. Zack brings experience in the digital identity, cybersecurity, healthcare information technology (IT), and payment markets to the Privacy Group. A Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), he has in-depth knowledge of identity and access management (IAM), authentication, biometrics, and public sector challenges with identity systems. Prior to joining Venable, Zack advised clients of a global consulting firm on cybersecurity, digital identity, and policy. As an IAM and cybersecurity policy advisor, he has helped clients in the public and private sectors navigate cybersecurity procedures and solve digital identity challenges. Zack has written multiple white papers and articles on citizen identity, identity proofing, authentication, authorization, and self-sovereign identity. He has also presented at cybersecurity events, garnering support from and building relationships with government officials and industry executives alike.

Ryan Howells
Principal
Leavitt Partners

Ryan Howells is a Principal at Leavitt Partners based out of the Washington, D.C. office. Ryan works with the White House, the Administration, Congress, and the World Economic Forum on health care policy, identity, and interoperability issues. He currently helps lead the CARIN Alliance, a multi-sector, public-private, HL7® FHIR® accelerator program focused on giving consumers digital access to their health information. Ryan is a member of the CMS Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA) board, Carequality Steering Committee, ONC’s FAST identity tiger team, and the VCI.org SMART Health Cards steering committee. He also serves as on the board of multiple health care companies. Ryan has an MHA from the University of Southern California, where he was a dean’s merit scholar. He also holds a BA degree in English from BYU and is a Project Management Professional (PMP). He and his wife Alison live with their five children in Athens, GA.

Michael King
Associate Professor
Harris Institute for Assured Information, Florida Institute of Technology

Accomplished scientific research/program management professional with 10+ years of service to the United States Government (USG), recognized for demonstrating vision, persistence, and drive in the creation and management of advanced research programs in biometrics and identity science. Recognized Subject Matter Expert (SME) in biometrics and identity intelligence; invited to brief the Director of National Intelligence, Congressional staffers and science advisors, Defense Science Board, Army Science Board, and Intelligence Science Board on matters pertaining to biometrics and identity intelligence.

Duane Blackburn
S&T Policy Lead, Center for Data-Driven Policy
MITRE

More than 20 years of experience leading interagency and public-private teams in the development of federal policies and strategies that are objective, nonpartisan, data-driven, actionable, and measurable. Finalist for a 2002 Service to America Medal, established an interagency team that received the 2009 National Intelligence Certificate of Distinction and was the executive producer of an outreach team that received a 2012 Communicator Award of Excellence from the International Academy of Visual Arts. One of twelve individuals whose leadership approach was studied by the Partnership for Public Service to identify the critical attributes found within the nation’s highest-performing public servants. Led the development and implementation of government-wide S&T strategies on a variety of subjects through the National Science and Technology Council. Influenced the conceptualization and oversight of national policies and federal systems throughout the formative stages of the nation’s homeland security enterprise. Longtime consensus-builder and mentor in the field of biometrics and identity, having led federal activities as the community matured into serving a foundational role in critical homeland and national security operations.

Ben Smith
Manager, Homeland Security
AFCEA International