PANEL DISCUSSION

Intuition vs. Analytics: Predictive Perspectives and the New Decision Dynamic

• Linda Combs, former Controller, US Office of Management and Budget
• Paul Quander, Director, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia
• Jodi Blomberg, Technical Architect, SAS
• Keith Rohwer, Network Security Section Head, US Naval Research Lab

This interactive panel discussion will delve into government performance management on a practical, real-world level.

Government executives, technology experts and industry thought leaders will lead an interactive conversation about how government organizations can proactively address performance management in new ways.

• How can analytics help you develop and execute a five- or 10-year plan, demonstrating significant, ongoing performance improvement?
• How can you visualize and analyze performance information to better understand and predict your next step?
• What does "Super Crunching" mean to your organization, and can it translate into better performance measures?

PANELISTS

Linda Combs, former Controller
US Office of Management and Budget

Linda Combs is an expert on what works in running large organizations with big budgets and big problems. She knows what leaders of large organizations must do to gain control, be more efficient and be effective. She also knows what individuals must do to keep organizations on track and get results.

Combs' wisdom and insight on business, government, politics and education come from her three decades of experience in these areas.

Combs recently left her position as Controller of the United States, serving in the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget. As Controller, she worked on the widest possible range of issues at the highest levels of government. She was responsible for almost $3 trillion in audits each year.

Her accomplishments as Controller include:

• Every federal department now completes audits within 45 days – down from five months.
• Nineteen of the largest 24 departments get clean audits.
• Improper payments were reduced by $9 billion.
• $4.5 billion of unneeded real property was disposed.
• She successfully recruited top level CFOs for departments and assisted in their Senate confirmations.

Before Combs became Controller, she served three United States presidents in five presidential appointments confirmed by the United States Senate. Combs has served as Chief Financial Officer and other executive level management positions at the departments of Education, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Treasury, and at the Environmental Protection Agency.

A native of Granite Falls, NC, Combs earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Appalachian State University and a doctorate in educational administration from Virginia Tech. She is a graduate of the Program for Senior Managers in Government at Harvard University. She was honored with several awards from the president of the United States, an honorary doctorate from Gardner-Webb University, and numerous other awards.

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Paul Quander, Director
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia

Paul Quander assumed the role as the first Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency in 2002. Prior to being appointed to this role by President George W. Bush, Quander served as Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia, where he was the Chief of the Seventh District Major Crimes Homicide Section; the Deputy Director for the DC Department of Corrections; and in various positions with the DC Office of the Corporation Counsel. Quander began his professional career working for Neighborhood Legal Services.

Quander holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Virginia State University and a JD from Howard University School of Law. He has received numerous awards, including the Corporation Counsel Award for Sustained Superior Performance and the Special Achievement Award from the US Department of Justice. He was also named to the US Department of Justice Senior Litigation Counsel.

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Jodi Blomberg, Technical Architect
SAS

Jodi Blomberg is a Technical Architect specializing in analytics at SAS. She has more than 10 years of data mining and mathematical modeling experience along with seven years of SAS^® experience. Her expertise is in data transformation, statistical analysis, data mining, optimization and time series forecasting.

In her role at SAS, Blomberg acts as technical lead for the sales and marketing of analytical solutions, including technical presentations, proposal development and scoping of consulting service engagements.

In her consulting role, she has designed and developed data mining models for various government agencies, including models to predict child support payment delinquency for state governments, automate text mining classification for an aeronautical manufacturer, detect fraud for Medicaid and generate hypotheses on the effects of multiple vaccinations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has also built optimization models for various government agencies, including supply chain logistics models for the Department of Defense, linear programming models to maximize Air Force training budgets, and ambulance placement for the city of San Francisco.

Blomberg obtained a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado. Prior to joining SAS, Blomberg worked as a data mining consultant for the telecommunications industry predicting consumer behavior, a decision support consultant for a government agency, and an analyst for a management consulting firm specializing in healthcare.

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Keith Rohwer
Section Head, Network Security Section
US Naval Research Lab
Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command

Keith Rohwer is the Section Head of the Network Security Section at US Naval Research Lab (NRL) in support of Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command (NCDOC). He has worked at NRL for nine years and has participated in a number of highly visible NCDOC-US Navy-US Marine Corps network security projects.

Rohwer has more than 11 years of experience in the IT and security-related fields in direct support of the US Navy. He holds a bachelor's degree in oceanography from the University of Washington.

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Contact Tabitha.Alexander@sas.com with any questions.