Professional Access Roundtable: February 23

February 23, 2024

Our "Professional Access Roundtables” allow current and prospective students, alumni, and employers to connect and network while discussing hot topics within their professions and disciplines. These small-group, semi-structured conversations are designed to catalyze an exchange of ideas and experience to enhance students’ professional development and build community.

Roundtable discussions are led by experienced alumni and employment partner professionals, who craft an initial set of thought-provoking questions shared with students in advance. This allows attendees to prepare for and make the most of these exciting conversations. It also gives discussion leaders the ability to efficiently broaden and deepen students’ understanding of the discussion topics.

At our Professional Access Roundtable events, attendees not only benefit from meeting experts in their field but also grow their professional network by meeting others who share a common interest in a particular profession and industry. Discussion leaders from our alumni and employment partner community enjoy the opportunity to support, connect, and develop the next generation of leaders in their field.

These events aim to inspire, educate, and connect you to a world of possibilities, ensuring that your journey through the multifaceted terrain of professions and industries is nothing short of transformative.

Discussion Leader Biographies

Tiara Beatty

Editor, Multiplatform Content
National Geographic

Tiara Beatty is an experienced content professional with a background in journalism and book publishing. She has managed the development and publication of 70 books, two of which were awarded by the Textbook and Academic Authors Association. Skilled in editing, writing, manuscript development, research, and reporting, Tiara focuses on creating content that connects with audiences. She is currently an editor for National Geographic History magazine.

Susan David Carevic

Sr. Technical Program Manager
Amazon AWS

Susan David Carevic has over 25 years of experience in the field of information technology, but she did not start in IT and her career path has not been linear. Susan’s career took off in the field of refugee resettlement, supporting the US refugee program where she worked in operations before moving into IT product management. When she began working at the World Bank, she switched from supporting relatively small programs to large systems. At the World Bank, she had the opportunity to support internal IT systems and learn about an endless variety of fields from the breadth of work that they do. After founding a Blockchain lab at the World Bank, Susan had the opportunity to innovate with many different internal teams to see how technology could be used to improve Bank operations or in the context of international development. Susan David Carevic spent her last few years at the World Bank building out the prototype, community support, and vision for what is now called the Climate Action Data Trust which is a blockchain-based shared register of carbon market transactional information, building a bridge between voluntary and compliance markets. Currently, she is the Technical Project Manager creating the roadmap and vision for AWS Supply Chain Sustainability, where we are focusing first on sharing sustainability and compliance data between supply chain partners.

Lucian Niemeyer

CEO
NADSCO Tech

Over three decades, The Honorable Lucian Niemeyer has served in the White House, the Pentagon, and in Congress providing budget, policy, and management leadership for U.S. national security programs. While at the Pentagon, he served as an Assistant Secretary of Defense responsible for the largest real estate portfolio in the world with over a trillion dollars in assets. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of NADSCO LLC a technology management company bridging the gap between real estate, telecommunications, and technology providers to accelerate development and deployment of revolutionary digital, wireless, and building technologies into scaled market adoption at low cost and a high ROI. He also leads Building Cyber Security, a private sector, non-profit organization enhancing global safety through the development of cyber security protections for the built environment. In this role, he applies his expertise and experience to the nexus of facilities, real estate, and technology to mitigate the risk and impacts to society from the growing threat of cyber incidents.

Linet Khoranian

Business Development Manager
Noble Supply

Linet Khoranian is a Business Development Manager with Noble Supply supporting the U.S. Department of Defense with C5ISR technology. Noble Supply is a government prime on the DLA/SOE contract and competes in several domains including Aerospace, C5ISR, CBRNE, EXPED, MRO and Tactical. Noble’s fully integrated supply chain management system includes logistics and technical support, procurement, inventory, and distribution management. Linet specifically supports the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and Space Force, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Air Force and Defense Health Agencies. More recently, Linet is assisting the U.S. Navy develop Starshield Optimization and Subscription Management in efforts of optimizing the NOC.Her expertise lies in developing technologies with trusted partners and integrators, shortening the logistics pipeline, and streamlining the procurement process. Linet is a believer that technology ultimately results in progress and is passionate about creating opportunities with customers/partners who are underserved and introducing emerging trends. Prior to joining Noble, Linet was an Account Director in support of the DoD with Lumen Technologies, a global network carrier. During her tenure at Lumen, she earned President’s Club and multiple sales awards for her creative technology solutioning and procurement expertise.Her career spans working with OEMs, VARS, resellers and integrators all within the government space. Linet came to the States as a displaced refugee during her high school years. She gives back to her community by assisting displaced refugees from her homeland of Armenia. At the end of 2020, during the 45 Day War, she and her daughter flew to Armenia to assist displaced families and wounded soldiers. She is also a Sunday School teacher at her local Armenian Church in D.C. where she is inspired by the young minds of our future. Linet earned two degrees from GWU, a BBA in International Business and an MBA in finance and marketing.

Joshua Pena

Director, Public Affairs
US Marine Corps

Joshua Pena currently serves as a Communication Strategy and Operations Director for the United States Marine Corps. This position falls under the occupational field of Public Relations and Communication. He has 11+ years of experience in strategic communication planning, executive-level consultation, PR and marketing campaign development, and crisis communication. Additionally, Joshua has experience in legislative and diplomatic affairs communication support. He earned a Masters degree in Mass Communication and Media Studies from San Diego State University.

Crises Communication Experience:

Senior Leadership Misconduct
Federal-Level Punitive Actions
Operational and Training Deaths
Congressional and White House Inquiries

External Communication Campaigns:

Military technology experimentation and acquisition
Military operations in foreign environments
Organization modernization
Presidential visits

Internal Communication Campaigns:

Changes to organizational training requirements and policies
Diversity and Integration

Nick Reese

Co-Founder and COO
Frontier Foundry

Nick Reese most recently served as the first ever Director of Emerging Technology Policy at the US Department of Homeland Security where he advised the White House and senior Cabinet officials on national security implications of emerging technologies. He is the author of the DHS AI Strategy, DHS’s Post-Quantum Cryptographic Transition Roadmap, and the 2022 DHS Space Policy. He was also the lead DHS representative for the development of Space Policy Directive-5, National Security Memorandum-10, the National Space Policy, and Executive Order 13960. A noted expert in cyber operations, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and outer space, he currently holds a faculty position at New York University teaching graduate courses related to emerging technology and geopolitics. He is also a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Board at George Washington University. Mr. Reese has 20+ year career in the US Military, Intelligence Community & Homeland Security with a focus on operations and bringing technical solutions to high-stakes national security challenges. From the front lines of the War on Terror to building Quantum Computing Policy he has been an instrumental actor in protecting our nation with an eye both on today and the future. Mr. Reese is a graduate of Saint Leo University and Old Dominion University. He lives in the Washington DC area with his wife and their dog.

Brent Riddle

Chief, Coordination Section
Fairfax County Department of Transportation

Brent Riddle is a transportation and urban planning executive with more than two decades of experience. He has worked in the private sector, with every level of government, as well as in the non-profit think tank sector. Mr. Riddle currently works for the Fairfax County Department of Transportation where he is the Chief of the Coordination Section. In this capacity, Mr. Riddle manages a team of transportation planners and the intergovernmental coordination activities of the department with regional, state, and federal actors. Mr. Riddle also serves as the primary liaison with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Mr. Riddle looks forward to discussing topics such as the importance of regional coordination and its impact on project implementation, economic development, place making, and quality of life.

Karissa Samuelson

Paralegal I
Williams & Connolly LLP

Karissa Samuelson grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and graduated from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, with a BA in Communication in 2021. Knowing she wanted to pursue a career as a paralegal, she enrolled in GWU’s College of Professional Studies and completed the program remotely, while simultaneously working as an Intake Specialist at Colorado Legal Services. She received her Graduate Certificate in Paralegal Studies in 2022. Shortly thereafter, Karissa was hired by one of the nation’s most renowned and selective law firms, Williams & Connolly LLP, as an entry-level paralegal. Karissa has recently celebrated her first anniversary as a paralegal at the firm and as a DC resident.

Scott Smith

Cybersecurity Practice Lead
Ernst & Young (EY)

Mr. Smith is a Partner/Principal in the Consulting practice of Ernst & Young (EY) LLP. Mr. Smith leads the Cybersecurity practice for the Government and Public Sector. He has 25+ years leading engagements with Commercial, Federal and State and Local agencies. Mr. Smith has a proven track record of successfully leading complex programs providing support ranging from cybersecurity, full life-cycle systems integration, infrastructure operations, application development, and IT strategy. Mr. Smith has been featured in multiple industry forums to include WJLA/Channel 7 Govt Matters and Federal News Radio. He has been an author on numerous topics such as identity and access management, security analytics, and machine learning. His long history of successfully supporting agencies has enabled him to become a trusted advisor and deliver long lasting, transformative impacts to his clients. In 2023, Mr. Smith was named a Cyber Defender Award winner from MeriTalk and the “Cybersecurity Executive of the Year” from Washington Exec. Mr. Smith received his Bachelor of Science from Duke University and a certificate in Business Administration from Georgetown University. He also has earned multiple certifications to include Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Project Management Professional (PMP), Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Agile development, and User Experience/Service design. Prior to consulting, Mr. Smith served in the US Navy as an Intelligence and Surface Warfare officer. Mr. Smith is an Advisory Board Member at the George Washington University Cybersecurity College of Professional Studies, and he is on the board at the USO supporting veteran initiatives.