The building blocks to modernize federal networks

Allen Hill is the Director of the Office of Telecommunications Services, Office of Information Technology Category (ITC), in GSA's Federal Acquisition Service (FAS). The Federal Acquisition Service provides buying platforms and acquisition services to Federal, DoD, State and Local governments for a broad range of items from office supplies to motor vehicles to information technology and telecommunications products and services.

As the Director of Telecommunication Services, Allen is responsible for a portfolio of contracts that provide government agencies with a diverse set of telecommunications services valued at over $3 billion annually. These offerings include Networx, Connections II, Custom SATCOM Solutions (CS2) and Custom SATCOM Solutions-Small Business (CS2-SB), Wireless FSSI and Managed Mobility, Federal Relay services for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, and over 80 local telecommunications services contracts. Mr. Hill is also responsible for the Network Services 2020 Strategy to include Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS): replacement for Networx, and for program leadership across GSA's 11 Regional Network Services organizations.

Allen came to ITC from the Department of Education where he served as the Director, Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). During his 5 years with ED's OCIO, Allen led the strategic planning, policy development, and executive management of all Information Technology (IT), Management (IM) and Assurance (IA) systems. He oversaw $50M+ in IT support services contracts, including those related to network, mobile, and security. His work has helped ensure that millions of students and thousands of schools throughout the nation receive their funds.

Previously, Allen served as the Director of Pacific Operations at CACI and Senior Technical Advisor with Verizon Business working with the Defense Information System Agency (DISA). He also has 20 years of experience with the US Air Force.

Allen's certifications include Senior-Level Federal Acquisition Certification (FAC) for Program and Project Managers (PPM), Management Professional from the Project Management Institute, and Certified Information Systems Security Professional.

Allen received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Science in Information Technology Project Management and Leadership from Capella University.

Howard Spira was named the Chief Information Officer of the Export-Import Bank of the United States in December 2014. He was promoted to Senior Vice President at the Bank in October of 2016.

Howard comes to the Export-Import Bank from the United States Treasury where he led the technology team for the Office of Financial Stability – the team at Treasury that ran the TARP.

Prior to his federal service, Howard was a senior IT executive in the financial services industry with an extensive background in international and domestic commercial finance. He brings to ExIm a wealth of industry technology experience.

Howard’s responsibilities include overseeing the complete information technology portfolio that support’s the Bank's $100 billion portfolio including infrastructure, networks and telecoms, application development, program management, information security, data and reporting, and records management. In addition, his area serves as the agency's representative for Open Data, Privacy and Records.

Mr. Spira holds a BS from Cornell University’s school of Agriculture and Life Sciences and an MBA from Cornell’s Johnson School of Business.

Adviser to the CIO in planning and coordination of IT vision, strategy, architecture and innovation management

23+ years of experience in Information Technology, including Enterprise Architecture, Solution Architecture, IT Transformation, Enterprise Modernization, Cloud Computing, Emerging Technologies

Certifications:
ITIL® V3, PMP, COBIT 5, CSPO, Sun Certifications, Oracle Certifications

Zain Ahmed is vice president of sales at CenturyLink for civilian agencies and the company’s law enforcement practice within the U.S. federal government. In this capacity, Zain leads a team of business professionals delivering innovative network, cloud computing, cyber security and IT mission support services with an emphasis on best-in-class solutions and customer experience via GSA’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract and other contract vehicles.

Zain has successfully led a broad range of organizations during his career, which includes 15 years of experience supporting government agencies with IT solutions. Most recently, he served as senior director of CenturyLink’s federal civilian practice. He previously served as client executive for the law enforcement vertical, where he led an organization responsible for the sales and service of the LAN managed service that generated substantial value for both customers and the company.

Prior to joining CenturyLink, Zain founded an international IT recycling business based out of Dubai. Before his own venture, he spent eight years at Verizon in various roles within the federal markets division supporting government agencies.

Zain holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Jason Miller is an executive editor and reporter with Federal News Radio. As executive editor, Jason helps direct the news coverage of the station and works with reporters to ensure a broad range of coverage of federal technology, procurement, finance and human resource news.As a reporter, Jason focuses mainly on technology and procurement issues, including cybersecurity, e-government and acquisition policies and programs.