AI Day in the Capital

Morning Keynote Speaker: Sergio Ortega, Business Development & Sales Lead, AI/ML/Generative AI, Worldwide Public Sector - State and Local Governments, AWS

Sergio Ortega is an executive with a diverse background in strategy, product and service launch, and customer/partner-focused roles. He has over 20 years of experience in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Analytics and diverse Public Sector industries. Sergio is skilled at driving organizational excellence and creating cultures that focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect. Sergio has 15+ years of experience in cloud computing, PaaS, SaaS, solution selling, and industry selling. He is also experienced in program and Go to Market management and has a passion for solving customer and partner pain points and taking concepts from inception through solutions development and final delivery.

In his most recent role, Sergio is the Business Development Lead AI/ML WW Public Sector for the SLG at Amazon Web Services. Prior to this, Sergio was the Metaverse, IoT, Light Edge Azure Engineering Global GTM and Ecosystem Lead for Microsoft Corporation. He was responsible for developing and executing go-to-market strategies across global geographies and industries, and for defining, building, and implementing effective and targeted programs to accelerate broad-based sales and business development activities for Metaverse, Light Edge, and IoT services. Sergio also served as Microsoft’s global AI and Machine Learning solutions and services strategist for the Government Industry and their verticals worldwide, and as Microsoft’s global Advanced Analytics solutions strategist for the Government Industry and their verticals worldwide. In both of these roles, Sergio designed and executed Go to Market and sales strategies for Enterprise Customers and Partners for the different regions around the globe, and positioned Microsoft as an essential, respected technology and business partner for these organizations. Sergio was the global solutions SME at Microsoft Corp for National Security, Defense, Law Enforcement and Justice.

Afternoon Keynote Speaker: Maria Gervais, General Manager for the Aerospace Defense Government Business Unit, SynthBee

Lieutenant General Maria Gervais is an accomplished senior executive whose leadership, training, and workforce development skills were refined during 36+ years of Army service. Serving at all echelons and in diverse positions has provided her strong backgrounds in problem solving, training, leader development, education, finance, and budget, along with Army requirements and acquisition processes.

Wajeeha Hazoor Bajwa, Assistant in Research and Senior Editor at the FSU Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences.

Dr. Wajeeha Hazoor Bajwa is an Assistant in Research and Senior Editor at the FSU Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. She specializes in research development at higher educational institutions. Her current work focuses on ethically applying AI in research development and grant writing processes. She is also a PI on a project to contextualize AI in learning for out-of-school children in the Global South.

Jonathan Fozard, Associate Vice President & Chief Information Officer of FSU

Jonathan Fozard serves as Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Florida State University. Jonathan leads the FSU teams responsible for advancing technology and innovation across academics, research, athletics, advancement, medical, communications, engagement, security, and administrative areas. He also oversees the Northwest Regional Data Center, Florida Virtual Campus, and Florida’s State Data Center. Recently confirmed by the Florida Senate, he also serves on the Governor’s Technology Modernization Council, championing technology and artificial intelligence advancements across the state.

Rich Harper, Partner-in-Charge at Baker Botts New York

Rich Harper advises and litigates on behalf of some of the world's most sophisticated technology, media, and entertainment companies. He leads litigation teams in business tort and breach of contract disputes, ranging from trade secret litigation to business defamation claims for clients such as PepsiCo and Formula 1 Racing. Within the business tort field, Harper has built a leading national practice in fiduciary duty and securities litigation, having represented the company and/or directors of Liberty Media, NASCAR, Starz, and Charter Communications.

Ruben Harris, CEO of OutRival AI

Ruben Harris is the Co-Founder and CEO of OutRival, an AI platform transforming Customer Experience with Conversational AI, starting with Admissions Teams in Higher Education. OutRival empowers customer experience teams to innovate with AI, enabling them to create and deploy AI solutions that fuel growth, enhance customer experiences, and reimagine business potential.

Saif Ishoof, Founder at Lab22c

Saif is the Founder and Managing Partner of Lab22c, one of Miami’s fastest-growing consulting agencies for entrepreneurs, businesses, organizations, tech, and Web 3.0. Ishoof has been recognized with several prestigious distinctions, including: a Presidential Leadership Scholar, a German Marshall Fund scholar, an MCCJ Silver Medallion winner, and an Inaugural Presidential Innovation Fellow at Miami Dade College.

Caryn Lavernia, Vice President and Senior Partner at Lab22c

Caryn Lavernia serves as Vice President and Senior Partner at Lab22c where she supports partners in scaling teams, enhancing culture, and building meaningful partnerships.

Ben Odom, Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs at NASCAR

Ben Odom ('04) is the Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs at NASCAR. Odom brings experience from previous roles at International Speedway Corporation (ISC). Ben Odom is a double Seminole and former graduate assistant for the university’s football program. He now teaches at FSU and serves on several boards at FSU Law.

Yaacov Petscher, Associate Dean of Research at the FSU College of Social Work

Dr. Yaacov Petscher is a Professor of Social Work at Florida State University, an Associate Director of the Florida Center for Reading Research, and the Director the Quantitative Methodology and Innovation Division at FCRR. Petscher's work is focused on measurement, causal modeling, the study of individual differences in reading using complex methodologies, and the development of screening assessments and computer adaptive tests.

Ronak Ray, Co-Founder of modInsight and modCounsel

Ronak Ray is a veteran of professional services and technology companies with more than a decade in supporting each of these industries on scaling for pre-IPO success. Ray started his career in advisory roles across finance, risk management and legal.

Lauren Scholz, McConnaughhay and Rissman Professor of Law at FSU College of Law

Professor Lauren Scholz’s work focuses on the intersection of technology, contract law, and privacy. Her work has been published in many influential law reviews, including William & Mary Law Review, Iowa Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, Cardozo Law Review, and University of Chicago Law Review Online.

Emily Cabrera, Associate General Counsel at IRG Ventures

Emily Cabrera is Associate General Counsel at IRG Ventures, where she leads legal strategy for AI-enabled products across insurance, fintech, and emerging technology businesses. Cabrera specializes in translating complex AI governance and regulatory risk into practical decision frameworks for executive teams and boards. She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law, is licensed by the Florida Bar, and speaks and advises on AI governance, data security, privacy, and legal risk.