The Buzz with ACT-IAC

ACT-IAC

Welcome to The Buzz with ACT-IAC – your source for the hot topics and top issues affecting the federal technology market. Join us each week to hear insights from government and industry leaders, stay informed on the topics facing government, gain access to thought leadership and valuable reports. Subscribe to follow us on your favorite podcast platform.

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Top 10 The Buzz with ACT-IAC Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Buzz with ACT-IAC episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Buzz with ACT-IAC for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Buzz with ACT-IAC episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

ICYMI: The Experiences of Minority Women in Leadership

The Buzz with ACT-IAC

04/20/22 • 40 min

This week, the Buzz presents a recording from our virtual 2022 Women in Leadership forum.
In this session, a group of experienced female leaders of color in the government IT sector came together to discuss their career trajectories, the unique experiences and obstacles they have faced in those careers, how they've managed their work-life balance, and their perspectives on diversity in the workforce.
Panelists:

Natasha Rountree (Moderator), Senior Advisor for Equity Policy and Governance, Office of Equal Rights, FEMA
Win Chang, Solution Engineering Director, Oracle
Dr. Loretta Christensen, MBA, MSJ, FACS, Chief Medical Officer, Indian Health Service, HHS
Samantha Deshommes, Chief Regulatory Coordination Division, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.
Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.
Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate.
Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

ICYMI: The New Employer-Employee Compact

The Buzz with ACT-IAC

09/27/23 • 57 min

This week, The Buzz presents a session from our first ever Future Evolution of the Workforce Forum.

For decades, the Government has competed with private industry for talent by offering what were generally perceived to be better benefits, job stability, improved working environments and a greater sense of fulfillment via a sense of purpose built around agency mission. Unfortunately, workers entering the job force today do not universally perceive government employment as offering those benefits.
New entrants into the job market have a very different perception of their government than previous generations, and new ideas about the relationships between employers and employees, and about how work fits into their lives and lifestyles. Agencies failing to recognize and address those changes will not succeed in attracting, hiring, or retaining the world-class workforce they need to accomplish their missions.
This panel will discuss the expectations of new entrants to the job market and what OMB, GSA and some agencies are doing to meet them.
Speakers:
Joe Paiva (Moderator) - Creator and Host of Federal News Network's "A Deeper Look"
Javier Inclán - Assistant Inspector General for Management and CIO at the National Science Foundation OIG
Rocio Bauer - Deputy Assistant Secretary of Army (Data, Engineering and Software)
Tony Brannum -Associate CIO at USDA

Rejuvenating the Civil Service

The Buzz with ACT-IAC

01/05/23 • 23 min

Much like the government's legacy IT systems, the federal workforce has grown a bit long in the tooth. Based on OPM data collected in 2017, it is estimated that roughly 30% of the federal workforce will be eligible for retirement this year. In addition, more than 70% of the federal civil service is older than 40, and fewer than 1 in 10 are younger than 30.
For the federal government to provide effective services and confront the challenges of today, it must build a workforce that is skilled, energetic, and technologically savvy - none of which can be accomplished without the help of younger Americans, few of which currently choose to make careers in the public sector.
This week on the Buzz, we're looking at how to change that, as well as hearing perspectives from some young civil servants on federal employment.
Guests:
Michelle Amante - Vice President of Federal Workforce Programs at the Partnership for Public Service
Brianna Stinsman - 2022 USAID Payne Fellow
Railyn Moyers - Digital Content Specialist at the GSA
Resources for this episode:

Find all open federal jobs at https://www.usajobs.gov/
Pew Research Centers Data on Gen Z

A Federal Quantum Primer with Tim Gilday and Sabina Sokol

The Buzz with ACT-IAC

02/16/23 • 27 min

Even for those with significant experience in the technology field, the concept of quantum computing can feel intimidating. After all, it is a field involving the notoriously complex theories governing subatomic particles, the physical engineering challenges of supercomputer construction, and the higher-level mathematics of computer cryptography.
And if that sentence made your head spin, then this episode of The Buzz might be a good place to start. The potential applications of quantum computing make it an area of research for the federal government, and while the technology is still in its infancy, we should be prepared for what it may bring in the near future.
So to help us understand why quantum computing matters, we're joined by Tim Gilday and Sabina Sokol, Industry Chair and Resource Management & Education Advisor, respectively, for ACT-IAC's Quantum Knowledge Group.
Resources:
Quantum Panel from Emerging Tech Conference 2022
Sabina's Briefing on Federal Quantum Cyber Guidance
Learn more at Girls in Quantum
Register for the 2023 Emerging Technology Conference from May 7th - 9th!
Use code EARLYBIRD for $75 off registration until February 28th.

The Tax Software We Deserve with Gabriel Zucker

The Buzz with ACT-IAC

04/06/23 • 42 min

With 2023’s tax deadline fast approaching, our thoughts turn once again to the peculiarities of America’s filing system. Instead of the IRS interacting directly with the public for annual tax preparation, private companies facilitate electronic filing in the United States, a service that is supposed to be provided to most Americans free of charge.

Yet while more than 70% of Americans qualify for free, software-guided tax filing, only 3% end up using it. This means that not only are many filers spending extra time and money when they shouldn’t have to, but they may also be missing out on government benefits and tax breaks to which they are entitled.

But that may soon change. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act directed $15 million to the IRS to study how they could design and implement their own free tax filing software and provide an alternative to the free file program. That report is due next month, but in the meantime, we’re going to take at look at what this IRS system could look like and how that might improve the way the IRS interacts with the public.

To help us do that, this week on the Buzz, we're joined by Gabriel Zucker, Associate Policy Director for Tax Benefits at Code for America. As a civic tech organization, they have plenty of experience thinking about and designing public sector tools to improve government services. And in this case, they’ve even designed a prototype to serve as a model for the IRS to, hopefully, emulate.
Resources:
GAO Free File Report
ProPublica's Investigation into Private Tax Prep Software
Code for America's Direct File Prototype
Code for America's Research on Simple Tax Filing

The Innovation Delusion and the Value of Maintenance with Andrew Russell and Lee Vinsel

The Buzz with ACT-IAC

02/08/23 • 54 min

"Innovation" is one of those words that has, unfortunately, been used so frequently as to almost be without meaning. What began as an economic term to describe productivity gains from technology, has morphed into a catch-all for anything new or different, regardless of whether it improves our lives or not.
The pursuit of this nebulous idea of innovation as an ultimate goal has crowded out much of the important, less exciting work that keeps our world functioning. We idolize "innovators" and "disruptors", but undervalue the simple, daily tasks of maintenance necessary for the upkeep of both our physical and digital infrastructure.
This week on The Buzz, we're joined by Andrew Russell and Lee Vinsel, authors of the book, "The Innovation Delusion" and co-founders of The Maintainers, a global research network studying the concepts of maintenance, infrastructure, repair, and the myriad forms of labor and expertise that sustain our human-built world.
More from The Maintainers at https://themaintainers.org/
Referenced in this episode:

Unpacking the EV Charger War with Andrew Russell

The Buzz with ACT-IAC

07/26/23 • 43 min

If you have a gas car, you never really need to double-check which gas station you go to when you fill up. Every gas station in North America is compatible with every personal vehicle. This standardized fuel network enables our gas-driven transportation system in a way that most of us don't notice on a day-to-day basis.
If you have an electric vehicle, though, you do notice this. Or rather, you notice that a similar network is missing. There are currently 3 different charging standards for EV's in the US, so drivers have to routinely check maps to find compatible chargers or purchase and travel with expensive adaptors. The lack of charger standardization and availability has stood as one of the larger barriers to EV adoption in the US, which currently sit at a paltry 6% of total vehicle sales.
This needs to change quickly in order to meet the ambitious goals set by the Biden administration and car manufacturers and to eliminate the use of fossil fuels as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the majority of the major US-based automakers announced this summer that they would be transitioning to Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) by 2025, opening a path to total standardization across the US EV charging network.
This week, we're diving into how and why this standardization process unfolded and why technical standards matter when it comes to technological transformation. We're joined this week by Andrew Russell, Officer-In-Charge and Professor of Science and Technology History and SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

From Intern to AI Sales: A Talk with an Associates Graduate from IBM

The Buzz with ACT-IAC

03/12/25 • 22 min

In this episode, Yohanna Baez hosts Mackenzie (Kenzie) Downes, a data and AI seller at IBM, to discuss her journey through the ACT-IAC Professional Development Associates Program. Kenzie shares her background, how she was inspired by her mother to pursue sales, and her experience working at IBM. She dives into her motivations for joining the ACT-IAC program, the skills and network she gained, and specific moments that shaped her career.

Opening the Artificial Information Floodgates with Ravit Dotan

The Buzz with ACT-IAC

06/07/23 • 44 min

This episode of The Buzz is best experienced with headphones.
With the generative AI hype cycle reaching a fever pitch, now may be a good time to step back and consider some of the potential downsides and risks of creating terabytes of text, image, sound and video at the click of a button. What will it mean to exist in an online world where the source and veracity of information is even more inscrutable than it is today?
This week, the Buzz is joined by AI ethicist and researcher Ravit Dotan, PhD. to give us some ideas on how to avoid a future rife with misinformation and mistrust as more of our information landscape becomes automated.
More on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act
More from Ravit

ICYMI: GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan on Making Government Serve the People

The Buzz with ACT-IAC

11/30/22 • 31 min

This week, The Buzz presents a keynote session from ACT-IAC's ELC 2022 Conference.
GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan joined Winnie Lin, VP of Government and Administrative Services at Peraton, to share how the GSA is helping to upgrade the federal government to improve service delivery to the American people. They discuss the Technology Modernization Fund, the President's Management Agenda, and the GSA's sustainability investments to combat resilient infrastructure.
You can get access to all of this year's ELC sessions online here: https://web.cvent.com/event/1635a9e7-5864-4abe-b742-6a3abfe9d325/summary

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FAQ

How many episodes does The Buzz with ACT-IAC have?

The Buzz with ACT-IAC currently has 168 episodes available.

What topics does The Buzz with ACT-IAC cover?

The podcast is about Leadership, Podcasts, Technology, Industry and Government.

What is the most popular episode on The Buzz with ACT-IAC?

The episode title 'Federal Insights Exchange: Workforce Modernization at the VA' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Buzz with ACT-IAC?

The average episode length on The Buzz with ACT-IAC is 39 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Buzz with ACT-IAC released?

Episodes of The Buzz with ACT-IAC are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of The Buzz with ACT-IAC?

The first episode of The Buzz with ACT-IAC was released on Apr 6, 2021.

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The Buzz with ACT-IAC

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Top 10 The Buzz with ACT-IAC Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does The Buzz with ACT-IAC have?

What topics does The Buzz with ACT-IAC cover?

What is the most popular episode on The Buzz with ACT-IAC?

What is the average episode length on The Buzz with ACT-IAC?

How often are episodes of The Buzz with ACT-IAC released?

When was the first episode of The Buzz with ACT-IAC?

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