Executive Innovation Series

The Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration and the Regulatory Studies Center presents the Executive Innovation Series. Topics are spotlighting focus areas on data governance, energy, program evaluation, professional development, and more.

Upcoming Events

Emerging Trends in Regulation (and Deregulation)

Please join the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration and the GW Regulatory Studies Center for the first webinar in our new Executive Innovation Series. “Emerging Trends in Regulation (and Deregulation)” is a timely and insightful webinar featuring Professors William Yeatman, a leading expert on administrative law, and Susan Dudley, one of the nation’s foremost authorities on regulatory process.

Join us on Thursday, June 25 from 1 - 2pm.

Register here.

Emerging Trends in Regulation (and Deregulation) Panelists: Image

Will Yeatman
Will Yeatman is deputy director of the GW Regulatory Studies Center. A lawyer, he has spent almost two decades working on federal regulatory policy at public policy organizations and public interest law firms. Yeatman has testified many times before Congress and state legislatures, and his scholarly work has appeared in such academic journals as Georgetown Law Journal, Administrative Law Review, and the (forthcoming) Catholic University Law Review. His popular writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, and Bloomberg. Yeatman holds a BA in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia, an MA in international studies from the Denver University Graduate School of International Studies, and a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 2004 to 2006 in Kyrgyzstan. He is a member of the Washington, DC Bar.

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Susan Dudley
Susan E. Dudley is founder and director of the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center and a distinguished professor of practice in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. She is a senior fellow with the Administrative Conference of the United States, an elected fellow and former president of the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis, a member of the Federalist Society’s administrative law and regulation practice group and former chair of its Regulatory Transparency Project regulatory process working group. From April 2007 through January 2009, Dudley served as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, responsible for the review of executive branch regulations and information collection, the development and implementation of government-wide policies in the areas of information policy, privacy, statistical policy, and international regulatory cooperation.

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Kathy Newcomer
Kathryn Newcomer is the director and a professor in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University. She was founding director of the Trachtenberg School in 2003 and served as its director for 12 years, starting back as director in 2025. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. She served as president of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) in 2017 and served as president of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) for 2006–2007. Kathryn has published over ten books, including: Research Handbook on Program Evaluation (2024), Evidence-building and Evaluation in Government (2022), Engagement for Equitable Outcomes: A Practitioner’s Playbook (2022), Federal Inspectors General: Truth Seekers in Turbulent Times (2020), and The Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation (4th edition (2015), and dozens of articles. She earned her B.S. in education and an M.A. in political science from the University of Kansas, and her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Iowa.

Executive Innovation Series: Public Sector Leadership in the Age of AI

The panelists, Cynthia Pierre, Frank Digiammarino, Garrett Kephart, and Kathryn Newcomer, will discuss the role of public sector leaders in embracing changes connected to AI while attending to risk as well. Speakers will highlight the readiness layers that leaders must enable — including data, trust, and governance - to ensure that AI improves public value safely, repeatedly, and at scale. They will also highlight the tradeoffs between sustainability in public actions and embracing AI, and how leaders can effectively lead such unprecedented change efforts within their agencies.

This event will take place on Tuesday, July 9 at 12pm. Register here.

Executive Innovation Series: Public Sector Leadership in the Age of AI Panelists

Cynthia Pierre

Cynthia G. Pierre is currently serving her second stint as Chief Operating Officer for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She also was the Chief Operating Officer for the EEOC during the Obama administration. Her total federal career has spanned 37 years including eight years as Regional Director and National Enforcement Director for the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. Prior to joining the federal government, Dr. Pierre worked in international development for a nonprofit, working extensively in West Africa, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. Dr. Pierre also currently is an Adjunct Professor at The University of Maryland Global Campus and Professorial Lecturer at The George Washington University where she teaches courses on leadership, intercultural communications, and diversity and inclusion.

Frank Digiammarino

Frank DiGiammarino is currently CEO of NOW Matters, LLC. Most recently, he was an Executive Vice President leading Booz Allen’s Tech Exploration business with an emphasis on scouting emerging technology companies, partnering broadly to expand sales, customer channels, and delivery supply chains, and driving internal and external venture decisions across the firm’s technology agenda. Frank also led the Chief Technology Office’s (CTO) Corporate Venturing Investment Committee, which, along with the CTO Innovation Council, was designed to provide internal and external reviews of and launch new capability investments.

Garrett Kephart

A trusted climate and sustainability strategist and seasoned consulting executive, Garrett Kephart is President of Earth Finance, Inc. He has experience designing and implementing new business models for climate action, energy transition, and sustainability solutions for corporations, nonprofits, foundations, governments, and entrepreneurs. Garrett began his 20+ year consulting career in Washington, DC with the Cadmus Group Air and Water Quality Practices and subsequently with Deloitte Consulting’s Energy, Resources and Sustainability practices. He founded Point B’s Sustainability program and launched its Corporate Strategy, Climate, Sustainability, and Social Impact practices. Garrett works with clients from more than a dozen industries bridge strategy and execution through a combination of creativity, data-driven insights, human-centered design and agile methods.

Kathryn Newcomer

Kathryn Newcomer is the director and a professor in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University. She was founding director of the Trachtenberg School in 2003 and served as its director for 12 years, starting back as director in 2025. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. She served as president of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) in 2017 and served as president of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) for 2006–2007.