Artificial intelligence – whether classical, generative, agentic, and wherever the newest models take us next – has become the dominant force behind improving government technology, network security, mission success, and citizen service delivery.
And driving that wave forward is the latest generation of AI practitioners, developers, and visionary thinkers who are leading the way in tapping into the technology’s potential to benefit us all.
That’s why MeriTalk is delighted to honor the 2025 class of AI Honors Award Winners – the 30 women and men working across government and industry right now to bring AI to bear in shaping the ongoing revolution in government IT service.
Each of the 2025 AI Honors Award winners was nominated by their peers for outstanding work in putting AI tech to work for government missions. A few of them are familiar to many of us, but most are the fresh talent emerging into the technology limelight.
“This year’s honorees are turning the buzz of AI into real-world progress across government,” said Caroline Boyd, principal, government programs at MeriTalk. “They’re redefining what’s possible and we’re proud to spotlight their work in driving innovation and impact.”
Please join us at Tech Tonic on July 17 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Morton’s the Steakhouse in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the winners who will receive their awards in person. Drop us an RSVP today and join in the celebration at the Happiest Hour in Govt IT.
Here are the 30 AI Honors Award winners for 2025:
Government:
Togai Andrews, Chief Information Security Officer, Bureau of Engraving and Printing;
Taka Ariga, former Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and Chief Data Officer, Office of Personnel Management;
Dean Ball, Senior Policy Advisor, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy;
Gabe Chiulli, Chief Technology Officer, U.S. Army Enterprise Cloud Management Agency;
Susan Davenport, Chief Data Officer and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, U.S. Air Force;
Leonel Garciga, Chief Information Officer, U.S. Army;
J. Matt Gilkeson, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Data Officer, and Artificial Intelligence Officer for Information Technology, Transportation Security Administration;
Mike Horton, Acting Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, Department of Transportation;
Lt. Col. Chuck Kubik, GigEagle Strategy and Product Lead, U.S. Air Force;
Douglas Matty, Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer, Department of Defense;
Matheus Passos, Chief Architect and Responsible Artificial Intelligence Official, Department of Commerce;
Lakshmi Raman, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency;
Dr. Reza Rashidi, Acting Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Internal Revenue Service;
Nael Samha, Executive Director, Targeting and Analysis Systems Program Directorate, U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
Thomas Shedd, Director, Technology Transformation Services, and Deputy Commissioner, Federal Acquisition Service, General Services Administration; Department of Labor;
Zach Whitman, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and Chief Data Scientist, General Services Administration; and
Morgan Zimmerman, Artificial Intelligence Policy Analyst, Office of Management and Budget, Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer.
Industry:
Jonathan Alboum, Federal Chief Technology Officer, ServiceNow;
Nicolas Chaillan, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Ask Sage;
Brandy Durham, Vice President, Data and Artificial Intelligence Practice, ManTech;
John Dvorak, Chief Technology Officer, Public Sector, Red Hat;
Burnie Legette, Solution Architect, Artificial Intelligence and Data Operationalization, Intel Corporation;
Amanda Levay, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Redactable;
Krishna Narayanaswamy, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, Netskope;
Vimesh Patel, Chief Technology Advisor, Federal, World Wide Technology;
Bill Rowan, Vice President, Public Sector, Splunk, a Cisco Company;
Ryan Simpson, Chief Technologist, Public Sector, NVIDIA;
Josh Slattery, Vice President, Technology Sales, Vertosoft;
Chris “CT” Thomas, Technical Director, Global Defense, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Systems, Dell Technologies; and
Chris Townsend, Global Vice President, Public Sector, Elastic.