The GovNavigators Show

This week on The GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam are joined by Rob Bocek, Chief Commercial Officer at Virtualitics, for a conversation on how artificial intelligence is reshaping defense readiness.
Drawing on his wide experience from Navy Special Warfare to Microsoft, Rob explains how AI can help the Department of Defense move beyond fragmented data and toward faster, more informed decision-making. We explore how these tools surface hidden readiness gaps, improve situational awareness, and support leaders operating in high-stakes, time-sensitive environments.
Rob also walks through how Virtualitics is helping defense leaders make sense of massive, fragmented datasets, using AI-powered analytics to surface hidden risks, identify readiness gaps, and support faster, more confident decision-making. He explains how their approach emphasizes explainable AI, enabling operators and commanders to trust and act on insights in real time.
Show Notes:
DHS budget conflict continues
DoW's $200B supplemental request
Fraud Task Force EO
HR shared services push
GSA to establish Acquisition QSMO
What's on the GovNavigators' Radar:
Mar 24:
The Hill and Valley Forum
Mar 25: 
House Oversight Committee hearing: “Doing More with Less: Eliminating Duplicative Programs”

This week on the GovNavigators Show, we're joined by Joel Hinzman, one of the most seasoned voices in government technology and policy, and a member of the GovNavigators Network. Joel has been walking the halls of Congress and the executive branch longer than most, and his career reads like a history of modern government IT. He helped move the House of Representatives onto the internet, put the Starr Report online (and yes, crashed the servers doing it), and spent years at GSA overseeing IT modernization and acquisition policy, before heading to Oracle.
In this conversation, Joel breaks down where Congress still struggles with technology, why AI is the next big test for Capitol Hill, and what the sweeping changes at GSA mean for companies trying to do business with the federal government. He also shares what he's up to now, helping clients navigate procurement, budgets, government affairs strategy, and how to actually turn lobbying relationships into business results.
Show Notes:
OMB Circular A‑123
New Cyber Strategy
Proposal for Federal AI Commission
What's on the GovNavigators' Radar:
Mar 17
AGA Technology & Transformation Summit
Mar 19
RSM Webinar on AI Governance and Responsible Adoption in Government
Mar 26
PRAC’s Grantus Fraudus
Mar 27
ACT-IAC AI Hackathon

This week on The GovNavigators Show, Robert and Adam welcome Wynn Coggins, former Acting Secretary of Commerce and now Chief Growth Officer at Management Science and Innovation, for a candid conversation on leadership forged through crisis, transition, and 35 years of federal service.
Wynn shares the lessons she's carried from her early days as a patent examiner through navigating COVID at the Department of Commerce, serving as Acting Deputy Secretary, and landing in the private sector at Deloitte before her current role. The throughline: surround yourself with people who challenge you, park your ego at the door, and build a culture where failing fast is a feature, not a flaw.
Robert and Adam also cover the week's big news: the introduction of the Federal Loan System Modernization Act of 2026, a bill that would finally bring a single platform to manage the government's sprawling loan portfolio, and the escalating standoff between the Department of Defense and Anthropic, which has now prompted the White House to direct agencies to cancel contracts with the AI company. Plus: Microsoft's major takedown of a global phishing operation responsible for 30 million fraudulent emails a month.
Show Notes:
Federal Loan System Modernization Act of 2026
Check out the The Lending Brief Podcast's new home
What's on the GovNavigators' Radar:
Mar 12, 2026
AFCEA NOVA Naval IT Day
Mar 17, 2026
AGA Technology and Transformation Summit
Apr 22, 2026
ACT-IAC Emerging Tech Demo Day (rescheduled from March 18)

This week on The GovNavigators Show, Robert Shea and Adam Hughes sit down with Deep Grewal, Vice President of Public Sector at MinIO, to unpack the findings of a new survey on the federal government’s AI readiness, and why so many agencies are still stuck in the pilot phase.
While AI ambition is everywhere, Deep explains that the real bottleneck is in data management. From lineage and governance to infrastructure, portability, and total cost of ownership, the conversation makes the case that the unglamorous foundational work will determine which agencies actually scale AI and which remain in perpetual experimentation.
They dig into the tension between cloud-first and cloud-smart, the rise of hybrid and sovereign architectures, the GPU and storage crunch, and why AI must become a mission-wide capability rather than a bolt-on “innovation project.” Deep also lays out a practical checklist for moving to enterprise AI: get your data house in order, modernize infrastructure, upskill the workforce, establish governance, and prove the ROI.
If you’re trying to move from AI pilots to real production, this episode is your roadmap. 
Show Notes:
MinIO's Federal AI Readiness Gap
Anthropic's stand-off
One man's big bet against DOGE
What's on the GovNavigators' Radar:
Mar 4, 2026
Alliance for Digital Innovation’s Understanding OneGov: Discussions with GSA Leadership
Mar 5, 2026
The MUST ATTEND Driving Government Efficiency Summit
Mar 11, 2026 
Data Foundation event on Treasury’s Do Not Pay
Mar 19, 2026 
RSM Webinar: AI Governance and Responsible Adoption in Government

This special episode of The GovNavigators Show features a live conversation with Socure’s Jordan Burris, former chief of staff to the Federal CIO, recorded at the Government Executive Federal Technology Priorities Conference.
Jordan lays out a stark warning: modern fraud is not a series of isolated schemes, it’s an industrialized, AI-enabled ecosystem operating at global scale. He explains how adversaries are using the same large language models, automation, and data-sharing techniques as legitimate organizations to defeat traditional identity controls in days instead of months, creating what he calls a “zero-day” environment for fraud.
The discussion explores why long-standing federal fraud defenses are being outpaced, how commercial sectors have pulled ahead, and what agencies can do now to measure risk, modernize verification, and collaborate across silos. With hundreds of billions of dollars at stake each year, Jordan argues the government must move faster, test new approaches, and learn from industries already fighting these threats in real time.
If you care about improper payments, digital service delivery, customer experience, or cybersecurity, this is a roadmap for how identity has become the front line.
Show Notes:
USA Today's story on Socure's age verification work
Supreme Court rules against the administration's tariffs
ICYMI: upcoming changes to 8(a)
What's on the GovNavigators' Radar:
Feb 24, 2026:
Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Hearing on Security Clearances
State of the Union Address
Mar 4, 2026:
Alliance for Digital Innovation’s Understanding OneGov: Discussions with GSA Leadership
Mar 5, 2026:
Driving Government Efficiency Summit