Episodes

Season 6: Episode 11: Applied Innovation Where it's most needed A conversation with Peter Clary, Deputy Director of Technology Services, Texas Association of Counties (TAC) and its County Information Resources Agency (CIRA)| Peter is considered a technologist, AI Enthusiast, and tech leader. He is also an innovative, strategic business leader with 25+ years of experience and a proven track record of building relationships with staff and customers to drive commercial growth. In this episode, Al...

Season 6: Episode 11: Applied Innovation Where it's most needed A conversation with Peter Clary, Deputy Director of Technology Services, Texas Association of Counties (TAC) and its County Information Resources Agency (CIRA)| Peter is considered a technologist, AI Enthusiast, and tech leader. He is also an innovative, strategic business leader with 25+ years of experience and a proven track record of building relationships with staff and customers to drive commercial growth. In this episode, Al...

Season 6: Episode 10: Community-Facing Technologies in Local Government: The Role of Chatbots A conversation with Mary Frances Coryell, Chief Revenue Officer, Citibot, Charleston, South Carolina This is part of a new series highlighting the chapters and authors of the new book, CIO Leadership for Cities & Counties – Emerging Trends and Practices, Third Edition. Mary Frances discusses how chatbots are evolving and becoming even more useful in both internal and citizen-facing applications. Mary ...

Season 6: Episode 9: The New Reality: When Technology Leadership Becomes Change Management A conversation with Rolland Kornblau, Director of Technology, City of San Bernardino With over 27 years of experience in education and local government, Rolland Kornblau shares his motivation for contributing a chapter in PTI’s new book, CIO Leadership for Cities and Counties – Emerging Trends and Practices, Revised Third Edition. You will learn what led to change management becoming one of the key areas...

Season 6: Episode 8: Accessibility in the Digital and AI Age A conversation with Don Torrez, principal of Torrez Solutions, and Co-host Mary Frances Coryell, Chief Revenue Officer at CITIBOT. Don has dedicated his expertise to helping organizations build inclusive digital experiences that are accessible to all. ADA compliance is more than a regulation – millions of people depend on it. He has spent the last two decades building meaningful partnerships that move the needle—from expanding multim...

Season 6: Episode 7: Inside “CIO Leadership for Cities and Counties” new book! A conversation with Darryl Polk, Director of Education, Public Technology Institute (PTI), with Alan Shark. Originally recorded in May 2026 as part of PTI’s Professional Development Series, which can be found on PTI’s YouTube Channel, Darryl and Alan discuss the background of how this book came to be, including the launch of the first edition, which PTI published in 2009. Today, 17 years later, the Third Edition is ...

Season 6, Episode 6: Tech Leadership – Balancing People and Technology A conversation with Angie Wright, CGCIO, Chief Technology Officer at City of Beaumont, Texas, with Co-host Mary Frances Coryell, Chief Revenue Officer, CITIBOT. Angie Wright has been with the City of Beaumont, Texas, for nearly 15 years, with the last 3.5 years serving as Chief Technology Officer. From a sales associate role at RadioShack, she moved up the network admin chain, then toward tech leadership positions of increa...

Season 6: Episode 5: AI, Organizational Leadership, and the Water Sector: The Power, Peril, and Potential of AI for Emerging Leaders A conversation with Alan Shark and Google’s NotebookLM. Why AI matters now in the water sector. In an Emerging Leaders Workshop held a few days ago in Washington, DC, sponsored by the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA), Dr. Alan R. Shark led a session, “AI, Organizational Leadership, and the Water Sector: The Power, Peril, and Potent...

Season 6: Episode 4: Overcoming AI Paralysis and the Dangers of Shadow AI A conversation with Alan Shark and Google’s NotebookLM. In a recent interview with AI Data Press, Dr. Shark discusses the growing tension between institutional caution and the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. He argues that public sector leaders are suffering from governance paralysis, remaining stagnant while waiting for flawless regulations. This hesitation leads to the rise of "shadow AI," where employees us...

Season 6: Episode 3: An Innovator in Practice – from AI accountability to improving citizen communications. A conversation with Mike Dawisha, CIO of Genesee County (MI), with Co-host Mary Frances Coryell, Chief Revenue Officer, CITIBOT. Mike Dawisha is a seasoned IT professional leader who is action-oriented and an innovator in practice. He inspires his staff to be innovators themselves and is someone with a shared vision that is what is most needed now in Genesee County. In this episode, we e...

Season 6: Episode 2: : Leading Change: How Chief Digital & Innovation Officers Are Reshaping Public Service A conversation with Crosby Burns, Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, County of Marin (CA), with Co-host Mary Frances Coryell, Chief Revenue Officer, CITIBOT. A relatively new position, Crosby shares how he is navigating the path forward, making Marin County a model of excellence through it digital services. For over a decade, before coming to Marin County, Crosby has straddled both th...

Season 6: Episode 1: AI and the Student Paradox, AI Agent, NotebookLM Explains A conversation with Alan Shark and Google’s NotebookLM We begin Season Six with a demonstration of the powerful and inventive AI Agent, NotebookLM. The “student paradox” can be explained as follows: While private and public employers increasingly demand candidates with strong proficiency in AI, higher education institutions often view these same skills as academic dishonesty. NotebookLM was designed as an experiment...

Season 5: Episode 17: Predictions for 2026 and AI A conversation with Alan Shark and cohost Mary Frances Coryell, Chief Revenue Officer at CITIBOT In this concluding episode of Season 5, Alan shares his predictions for 2026, primarily about AI, and Mary Frances discusses changes she has witnessed firsthand in the adoption of AI in state and local government. Together, they discuss what we might expect in 2026.

Season 5: Episode 16: Pharr Out Tech Leadership with Passion and Vision A conversation with Jose Peña, Innovation & Technology Director, City of Pharr, TX In this episode, we feature Jose Peña, Innovation & Technology Director for the City of Pharr, Texas, cohosted by Mary Frances Coryell, Chief Revenue Officer at CITIBOT. Joe has done some fantastic things at the City of Pharr, which is nothing less than inspiring. He is a true leader and indeed not your typical city CIO!

Season 5: Episode 15: A Thoughtful Approach to Tech Leadership A conversation with Jeff Scheetz, CGCIO, CISM, Chief Information Officer, City of Avondale, Arizona In this episode, we feature Mary Frances Coryell from CITIBOT as our co-host. Jeff Scheetz is a well-known and highly regarded tech leader who has served as the CIO of Avondale for over eight years. Join us as we learn how Jeff has led his city into digital transformation, including the adoption of AI.

Season 5: Episode 14: A Thoughtful Approach to Tech Leadership A conversation with Joe Rivera, Director, Information Services & Telecommunication Administration, City of Laredo, Texas Having started in the private sector, Joe has demonstrated a steady progression in tech leadership and, more importantly, a track record of success. Join us as we discuss local tech and the numerous challenges that confront today’s tech leaders. In this episode, we feature Mary Frances Coryell from CITIBOT as our...

Season 5: Episode 13: Three Buckets of Concern – The Perils of Federal Data Curation A conversation with Denice Ross, Senior Fellow at the Federation of American Scientists and former U.S. Chief Data Scientist. Denice was invited to be a guest lecturer on the current state of data risks in an increasingly polarized environment for Alan’s recent MPA class. She was so well-received and did an excellent job of spelling out what appears to be the current state of data (and research) at the federal...

Season 5: Episode 12: Policy, AI, and Cybersecurity - Inseparable A conversation with Erica Shoemate, consultant, motivational speaker, and head of the EN Strategy Group. Erica is a Tech Policy Leader with extensive knowledge in cutting-edge technologies like Generative AI and AdTech. Today, she is a consultant, motivational speaker, and more, and heads the EN Strategy Group. Erica has helped organizations dismantle ineffective policies and build people-centered solutions in tech, leadership, ...

Season 5: Episode 11: State and Local Cybersecurity and Digital Risk: Strategies for Success in the Current Policy Environment A Special rebroadcast from the National Academy of Public Administration, webcast featuring Bobbie Stempfley, Jeff Greene, and Traci Doaks First aired on September 3 as a NAPA event, we present the audio portion here, given its timeliness and importance. As state and local governments face increasingly sophisticated cyber threats and rising digital risk, navigating th...

Season 5: Episode 10: Looking Back to Moving Forward – A Vision for Future Public Sector Tech Leadership A conversation with Darry Polk, Director of Education, Public Technology Institute After 36 years of public service, Darryl has assumed a new and highly influential role as Director of Education for the Public Technology Institute. Darryl began his career as a 911 police dispatcher. Having worked for the police department for some 20 years, he saw an opening for the CIO position. He thought...

Season 5: Episode 9: The Intersection of Cybersecurity and AI A conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Di Bene, Chief Information Security Officer, Loudoun County, VA. Elizabeth has demonstrated a deep understanding of cybersecurity, network security, and information security, honed over the 20 years at CACI International Inc., the U.S. Department of Justice, and the United States Marine Corps. Today, she serves as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for one of the fastest-growing counties ...

Season 5 Episode 8: GovRamp Five Years Later – Its Mission Has Never Been More Critical A conversation with Leah McGrath, Executive Director of GovRamp. Leah McGrath, recipient of the 2025 Federal 100 Award from GovExec, has served as the executive director of GovRamp (formerly StateRamp) for just over five years, and she last appeared on Sharkbytes.Net in early 2021. Much has changed since then, as the demand for cybersecurity and now AI cloud-based systems demands greater scrutiny and unders...

Season 5: Episode 7: Special Edition: Ensuring the Future of Federal Data A Special rebroadcast from the National Academy of Public Administration, webcast featuring Joel Gurin, Denice Ross, Dr. Steven Pierson, and Meeta Anand. The federal government's massive data collections, a critical national resource, are under attack from the Trump administration. Federal agencies have already removed thousands of web pages and datasets following the president’s directives on DEI, climate change, and “g...

Season 5: Episode 6: The Marriage of AI and Cybersecurity – Opportunities and Challenges Abound A conversation with Micki Boland, Lead Technologist, Check Point Software Technologies, Office of the CTO. Starting with a military career that solidified her interest in information technology, Micki Boland is a self-proclaimed global cybersecurity warrior. She is a security architect with Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. She has over 20 years of experience in ICT and security system engineer...