GITEC heads to Annapolis

The Government Information Technology Council is moving its annual meeting to Annapolis, Md. The organization is looking to revitalize and recharge, and focus more directly on innovation, says GITEC's new president Sean Kelley.  Moving the conference from downtown Baltimore to the more intimate locale across the bay is emblematic of organizational brand Kelley is trying to foster.

"We don't want to compete with other organizations. We're not trying to grab new territory. We love our space -- which is very intimate," Kelley said. He's expecting a 50-50 split between government and non-government at the April retreat, and expects the size of the conference to be a manageable 450 attendees.

"That's where we want to be -- that niche, intimate group. GITEC to me is a close and intimate group that really works well together," Kelley said.

Kelley, the Deputy CIO for account management for benefits and veteran experience at the Department of Veterans Affairs, was selected to lead the 34-year-old organization in August. Chad Sheridan, CIO at the Risk Management Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is GITEC's new vice president.  The organization has always been government-led, but supported by industry.

"We understand the day-to-day pain of the constant churn and change that goes on in Washington, D.C., and in government, and we want to make it better," Kelley said. He's looking to focus the April event and the organization more generally on forward-looking innovation. "We want to help government executives stay ahead of that change," he said, "and always look at where we need to be in the next three to five years, and how we can help."