State of GovTech 2026

Experts compare frameworks state and local governments are using to evaluate, pilot, and scale AI adoption — what's working, what's stalling, and how to choose a model that fits your organization's size and risk tolerance.

Jai Saini — Director of AI, GenAI, and Agentic AI, State of North Dakota

Joseph Cazier — Clinical Professor, Department of Information Systems, Arizona State University

Kate Garman Burns — Director of State and Local Innovation, Federation of American Scientists

Saf Rabah — Founder & CEO, Govstream.ai

Most govtech spending goes to the application layer — a new system, a new skin on the same problem, another five-year contract. Almost nobody looks at the layer underneath, where the actual tech debt lives. This session makes the case that the data you already own, sitting in systems you've already paid for, can solve more problems than the next procurement will. Bring your data challenges for live workshopping with the panelists.

Seth Poor — Co-Founder and COO, Phoenician, LLC

Jared Bodily — Co-Founder and CTO, Phoenician, LLC

Andy Atencio — Director of Information Services, University Park, TX

Jason Tashea — National Center for State Courts

What does a 'Claude-pilled' company actually look like?  Everyone says they're "AI-native." Almost nobody can show you the receipts. Starbridge COO Jordan Kindler and CRO Matt Stinson can — and they're bringing all of them.  Together, the power duo will walk through how they got an 100+ person organization to actually run on AI: the exact integrations, the real prompts, and the tools used every day across GTM, Ops, and Customer Success.  No theory, no hype - just the playbook, including the messy parts of getting a whole team to change how they work.  This is the session people will be quoting in the hallway afterward. Bring questions!

Matt Stinson — Chief Revenue Officer, Starbridge

A panel of key TXShare agency CIOs on the real-world experience of cooperative purchasing — what it solves, where it's still friction, and what other jurisdictions should know before joining a co-op.

TTim Howell — CIO, North Central Texas Council of Governments

Andy Atencio — Director of Information Services, University Park, TX

OOmar Rodriguez — CIO, McKinney, TX

Jonathan Blackman — Assistant Director of Administration, North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG)/TXShare

A hands-on workshop for suppliers and buyers to discuss and collaborate on better, more efficient contracting. Led by Civic Marketplace and Partners for the Public Good.

Brian Funderburk — Vice President - Agencies, Civic Marketplace

Alex Lis-Perlis — Public Sector Technology Associate, Partners for the Public Good

Mel Reeder — Director of Agency Engagement, Civic Marketplace

A hands-on workshop on the data foundations that make AI initiatives actually work: data quality and governance, and the newest models and best practices for getting your data AI-ready before you pilot anything.

Johanna Yi — Founder, For People

Taka Ariga — Senior Director, Center for Data Policy

Matt Sokol — Chief Data Officer, District of Columbia

Six rapid-fire ~7-minute talks from practitioners on innovation in action. Includes: 1. TBA speaker on bottom-up, change-management-driven innovation. 2. David Hall on Emergency Preparedness Planning for Cities 3. Michael Baskin on using AI to run emergency simulations with your teams. 4. Ben Molin on Building SNAP Screener and SNAP payment error rate reductions. 5. Brian Whittaker on Creating Cultures of Public-service Appreciation

David Hall — Disaster Recovery Architect, City of Tulsa

Michael Baskin — Chief Innovation Officer, Montgomery County

Ben Molin — Founder, SNAP Screener

Brian Whittaker — Founder, Executive Director, Humans of Public Service

Gregg Pavlik — LastCall Media

Live pitches from CivStart's 2026 startup cohort, showcasing new govtech products to a room of government buyers and investors.

Hillary Orr — Deputy Director, Transportation, Alexandria, VA

Rita Reynolds — Director of Public Sector, CAI

Thao Hill — Co-Founder & CEO, Govinity

Eyal Feder-Levy — CEo, ZenCity