Joseph Cassano, CPA and Director at KPMG LLP,  has over 15 years’ experience in State and Local Government Regulatory Compliance and Auditing. In this period, Joseph has continuously served the State of New York in leading compliance reviews and performance audits for various aspects of the Medicaid program. As KPMG’s Lead Director in the space of Medicaid Program Integrity, Joseph has also worked with State Medicaid agencies around the strategy and technology-based approach to detecting and preventing Medicaid Fraud, Waste, and Abuse. Additionally, Joseph has led strategy and compliance engagements related to other programs with significant Federal and State funding. Throughout the years serving State clients as Lead Engagement Director and Technical Lead for these projects, Joseph has focused on the employment of enabling technology, including automation, to significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of audit, compliance, and analytical procedures and inform leadership decisions.

Michael Dudley is a lawyer with over 30 years of experience specializing in international investigations ranging from fraud and corruption to sexual exploitation and abuse.  He has particular expertise with investigation interviewing, including minors, cognition and the neuroscience of deception and digital forensics.  He regularly provides investigation training for civilians, police and military investigators, oversight personnel and international sanctions monitors.  Mr. Dudley is the Principal Deputy Director of the United Nations Investigations Division and holds a BA, JD and LLM. 

Heather Dunahoo is an Assistant Director in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Forensic Audits and Investigative Service team where she guides engagements aimed at helping estimate, prevent, and detect fraud, waste, and abuse across the government. Her work spans agencies such as the Departments of Defense, Housing and Urban Development, State, and Agriculture. She has conducted work looking at a variety of programs and activities with increased risk of fraud such as disability programs, Medicare and Medicaid, disaster response, and contracting. She helped guide the development of GAO’s Antifraud Resource and its estimate of government-wide fraud.

In her over 20-year federal career, Heather has also worked in GAO’s Financial Management and Assurance team focused on improper payments and contracting financial management. She also served as the Assistant Inspector General for Audit at the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board. Heather earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Virginia Tech and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Drummond Kahn trains professionals from his 33 years of government audit experience.  An accomplished trainer and faculty member in two graduate schools, Drummond joined the auditing profession in 1990. His auditing roles include Chief of Audit Services for the Oregon Department of Transportation, Director of Audit Services for the City of Portland, and State Audit Administrator for the Oregon Secretary of State Audits Division. Drummond began his career serving in the U.S. Government Accountability Office. 

He served as National President of the Association of Local Government Auditors (2012-13), received AGA's Frank Greathouse Distinguished Leadership Award and served as a member and chaired the Comptroller General's Advisory Council on Government Auditing Standards (2009-2022). The IIA’s American Center for Government Auditing recognized Drummond as one of the 15 Most Influential Professionals in Government Auditing.  He served on the Governmental Accounting Standards Board’s Task Force on Economic Condition Reporting.   Drummond holds a Master's degree from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor's degree from Whitman College.   He is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Government Financial Manager, and Certified Government Audit Professional.

He has trained auditors extensively in North America and overseas, speaking to groups ranging from Association of Government Accountants and Institute of Internal Auditors chapters and conferences to Lanzhou University and Nanjing Audit University (China), and the Reims Management School (France).  He has presented to regional, national, and international conferences and has extensive experience presenting to professionals on topics including ethics and investigations, performance auditing and audit writing, and reporting.

Colin May has over 20 years of federal law enforcement and compliance experience to enhance organizational integrity and mitigate risk. He has served as a Special Agent with two agencies, a Bankruptcy Auditor, and an Assistant Director in the Office of Investigation for a large Federal Inspector General’s office, Colin has multiple graduate degrees in forensic accounting, leadership, and strategic communications. He has been published in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Fraud Magazine, Fraud Insights, and other publications; Colin has presented at numerous conferences. A Certified Fraud Examiner since 2006, he also holds a faculty appointment as Professor of Forensic Studies and Criminal Justice at Stevenson University.  

Jennifer Paperman has been with the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) since June 1999, when she started as a staff auditor with the Division of State Government Accountability (SGA). She is currently the Quality Assurance Manager with SGA. In that position, she is responsible for ensuring that SGA auditors understand and can apply generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS) to their work and for verifying that all SGA audits complied with GAGAS. She oversees a team of internal reviewers, as well as providing training and guidance to SGA auditors. 

In addition to her audit work, Jennifer regularly presents on topics such as auditing and government auditing standards, work paper preparation, information analysis and statistical sampling to SGA staff. She also presents these topics to other units of OSC and to outside groups.

Jennifer earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and two master’s degrees – public administration (with a concentration in public finance) and accounting – all from SUNY Albany. She is a Certified Public Accountant. Jennifer is a member of the Association of Government Accountants (AGA), and currently serves as an officer of the AGA New York Capital Chapter and as the Chair of the AGA Professional Ethics Board at the national level. Jennifer is married and has a son and a daughter. If Jennifer had free time, she would spend it cross-stitching, scrapbooking, and playing tabletop games (especially miniatures).
 

Alan Saquella is a distinguished security and investigations expert with an impressive three-decade career spanning both corporate and public sectors. Currently serving as a dedicated full-time professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's College of Business, Security, and Intelligence, Alan brings a wealth of experience to the classroom. His commitment to cultivating the next generation of security, intelligence, and fraud examiners is evident in his passionate teaching and mentorship.

Before his academic role, Alan held a pivotal position as the Security Operations and Investigations Director at Cox Communications, a national telecommunications company. Leading a team of certified fraud examiners, investigators, and security professionals, he spearheaded investigations into internal and external white-collar and corporate crimes against and within the corporation. Over the course of his tenure, Alan and his team successfully investigated tens of thousands of crimes, solidifying his reputation as a seasoned professional in the field.
Alan's influence extends beyond the classroom, marked by his prolific contributions to literature. He has authored numerous papers and articles covering essential topics such as business security, employee safety, and internal fraud prevention. His expertise has garnered attention from prominent media outlets, leading to interviews, podcasts, and speaking engagements on various aspects of white-collar crime, investigations, and related subjects.
In September 2023, Alan co-authored the book "Security Investigations: A Professional's Guide," further establishing his authority in the industry. This book stands as a testament to his commitment to sharing knowledge and insights with fellow professionals.

While Alan's primary focus is academia, he actively contributes to the industry by providing strategic guidance on security, safety, and fraud prevention to diverse organizations. As a member of the Identity Theft Advisory Board, he engages in community outreach, advocates for prevention strategies, and champions best practices in areas such as business identity theft, fraud prevention, child identification theft, and internet safety and security.

Alan's academic background includes master's and bachelor's degrees in law enforcement and administration from Northern Arizona University. He holds memberships in esteemed professional associations, including the American Society for Industrial Security, the American Polygraph Association, and Infra-Gard. His credentials are further reinforced by his status as a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) and a Certified Polygraph Examiner (CPE).

Dr. Sterling Thomas is GAO’s Chief Scientist in Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics. 

Prior to joining GAO, he was the Chief Scientist at Noblis, a Reston, VA based research institute overseeing their applied research programs for the past 13 years. Sterling has also served as a principal investigator for research programs funded by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity. His work has included creating new methods regarding synthetic biology, strategies for decoupling qubits for improving error correction in quantum computing, methods for using artificial intelligence to detect decentralized coordinated cyber-attacks, and network-based optimization algorithms to detect abnormalities in public equities markets. 

He also worked with the institute’s executive council to develop their five- and ten-year research strategy. Sterling also served as the Deputy Chief Technology Officer and collaborated with the institute’s professional development department to create data science and cyber analytics training programs in partnership with George Mason University (GMU) and George Washington University. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at GMU, sits on the Dean’s Advisory Board at GMU’s College of Engineering and Computing, along with sitting on Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Biological Data Science Advisory Board.

Sterling’s contributions have been recognized across industry including by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for best paper utilizing machine learning methods in detecting breast cancer, and at his former institute where he received the Science and Technology Achievement award. He has also been awarded four patents and has multiple pending patent applications. Sterling earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Life Sciences from VCU, a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University, and Bachelor of Science from Old Dominion University.
 

Pamela Van Dort is the Associate Inspector General for Infrastructure and Grant Oversight at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of Inspector General (OIG). In this role, she serves as a key advisor to the Inspector General and senior leadership and as a liaison with the Department on grant and infrastructure matters. She works with investigators, auditors, evaluators, counsel, and data scientists to help the OIG achieve its mission and strategic goals related to grant oversight. 

Prior to joining DOI OIG, Pamela served as the Acting Deputy Inspector General at AmeriCorps OIG, a grant-making agency focused on community service and volunteerism. In this role, she was involved in all aspects of the office’s management, operations, and strategy, to include development and direction of audits and investigations, overseeing a robust IT function, liaising with agency counterparts, and providing strategic advice to the Acting Inspector General. She previously served as Acting Counsel to the Inspector General at AmeriCorps OIG on a six-month detail. Prior to her time at AmeriCorps OIG, Pam served as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Inspector General for Investigation and Director of Grant Oversight Strategy at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development OIG. As Senior Advisor, Pam participated in all substantive aspects of strategy, operations, policy, training, personnel matters, outreach, and communications for HUD OIG’s 185-person Office of Investigation. As Director of Grant Oversight Strategy, she collaborated with leadership and staff across HUD OIG on a broad range of issues, including oversight planning and strategy, outreach, and training. Pamela also spent a decade as an Investigative Attorney at the National Science Foundation OIG.

She regularly presents to the federal grantee community, government agencies, and other stakeholders on common fraud schemes, best practices, red flags, and proactive investigations. Pamela co-facilitates the 600-member interagency Grant Fraud Working Group, which is chaired by Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Previously, Pamela spent time in private practice focused on complex business litigation. She received her Juris Doctor degree from The George Washington University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hope College in Michigan. She is a Certified Fraud Examiner.
 

Leonard W. Vona is the CEO of Fraud Auditing. He is a forensic accountant with more than 40 years of diversified auditing and forensic accounting experience, including a distinguished 18-year private industry career.  His firm advises clients in areas of litigation support, fraud risk, fraud data analytics and fraud auditing.

Mr. Vona is the author of three books published by Wiley, Fraud Risk Assessment: Building a Fraud Audit Program and The Fraud Audit: Responding to the Risk of Fraud in Core Business Systems, Fraud Data Analytics Methodology: The Fraud Scenario Approach to Uncovering Fraud. Wiley has referred to Mr. Vona as a worldwide renowned authority on internal fraud risk. Mr. Vona lectures nationally and internationally on fraud risk assessments, fraud investigation, fraud prevention and detection, and fraud schemes perpetrated on companies. Mr. Vona has provided more than 1,500 days of fraud training to organizations around the world.  Mr. Vona publishes one of top-rated blogs on fraud auditing.
 

Michael is the Chief Information Security Officer, and Vice President of Information Security and Assurance Services at Garnet River LLC. He spends his time assisting clients with information security policy, architecture, and operations.  He is the founding Director of Cyber Security Programs at the School of Professional and Continuing Education at the Sage Colleges in Albany New York.  As a contractor, he served as the CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) of the Capital Region BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services.)  He is also a security advisor and served as acting chief architect to the New York State Office of the State Comptroller.

Michael did a stint as the CISO for the New York State Office of Information Technology Services where he oversaw the NYS Office of Information Technology Services Enterprise Information Security Office (EISO), an organization charged with overseeing and coordinating security services provided to State agencies. These services also included incident response, secure architecture, security operations center, policy and standards development, and cluster security services.

Previously, Michael was Chief Information Officer and Managing Director of Information Technology for Global Technology Services, a consulting firm in Richmond, Virginia, providing Information Security Services to both private and federal government customers. Prior to that, Michael served the U.S. Federal Reserve as their Senior Information Security Architect, where he developed and published security architectures and designs, and advised Senior Federal Reserve Officers and management on security technologies and practices. In this capacity, he functioned as the advisor to the Chief Technology Officer of the Federal Reserve Board on Information Security issues.  In addition, he was the Vice President for Information Security for Bank of America, and served as an Information Security specialist on the bank’s worldwide intrusion prevention system deployment. 

Michael brings over 35 years of information security experience, dating back to RACF (Resource Access Control Facility) implementation on mainframe computers.  He has provided technical expertise and hands-on implementation assistance to both government and business in the areas of Identity Management, Perimeter Security, Patch Management, general security policy, and security communications.  Michael has been involved in the Open Source community since 1994 and is an advocate for Standards Based software for securing environments while controlling costs.

Since the 1980’s Michael has been a member of the Masonic fraternity.  He has served as Master of his lodge, High Priest of his Royal Arch Chapter, and is currently a Grand Chaplain of the State of NY.  

Michael has a degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY and holds several industry recognized certifications, including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Scrum Master (CSM). He is the husband of MaryAnn, and the father of David and Katriel.

Jim Wiggins is a seasoned IT and cybersecurity expert with over 28 years of industry experience, 23 of which have been dedicated to information security. He is the Founder and CEO of Securible, LLC, a Washington, DC-based cybersecurity 
training and consulting firm specializing in practical, forward-thinking solutions. Through Securible, Jim has championed innovative approaches to address emerging threats, ensure regulatory compliance, and harness the power of Artificial 
Intelligence in IT audit, cybersecurity, governance and privacy. Throughout his distinguished career, Jim has trained well over 20,000 IT and cyber professionals, underscoring his commitment to education and the advancement of the field. 

In addition to his leadership at Securible, Jim also serves as the Founder and CEO of the Federal IT Security Institute (FITSI), a 501(c)(6) non-profit certification body accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) under ISO 17024:2012. FITSI provides role-based cybersecurity certifications designed to fortify the U.S. federal cybersecurity workforce. 

Enhancing his contributions to the cybersecurity community, Jim hosts a TV show in the Washington, DC area called Cybersecurity Today. The program offers expert insights, in-depth analysis, and the latest updates on cybersecurity trends and threats, further establishing his role as a prominent thought leader in the industry. 

Recognized as a Federal 100 award recipient in 2019 and the Federal Information Systems Security Educators’ Association (FISSEA) “Educator of the Year” in 2011, Jim is widely respected for his commitment to elevating cybersecurity education. 

In the rapidly evolving arena of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Jim has directly trained well over 1,000 IT and cyber professionals on generative AI fundamentals through intensive sessions with the Department of the Interior’s University, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the National Risk Management Center (NRMC) within CISA, and the Greater Washington DC Chapter of ISACA. He leverages AI-driven tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Dalle, Midjourney, and Copilot to translate complex concepts into practical, governance-focused applications. 

Below is the list of credentials Jim currently holds: 
• Cybersecurity: CISM, CISA, CRISC, CDPSE, CISSP, ISSEP, CGRC (CAP), SCNA, SCNP, IAM, IEM, SSCP, CEH, ECSA, CHFI, LPT, TICSA, CIWSA, Security+, and FITSP-M. 

• Information Technology: MCITP, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCSA, MCDST, Server+, Network+, A+. 

• Project Management: PMP (Project Management Professional). 

• Education: ICE-CCP (I.C.E. Certified Credentialing Professional). 

Jim is currently working on a Master’s Degree in Education from George Washington University with a concentration in Assessment, Testing, and Measurement (sometimes called psychometrics).