Geospatial Innovation Forum Showcases Fairfax County as a Center for the Intelligence Community

(l-r) Mike Tischler, Event Co-Host; John Gustavo Blair, VP, Business Investment, FCEDA; Jackie Barbieri; George Ohanian; Dr. Didi Kuo, Event Co-Host; Rebecca Moudry, Director, Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives

On October 15, Refraction Innovation Hub in Tysons became a meeting point for the people shaping the future of geospatial innovation. Federal leaders, industry experts and emerging innovators gathered in Tysons to explore how AI and geospatial technology can help solve the nation’s toughest security challenges.

The Fairfax County Geospatial Technology Innovation Forum, co-hosted by Fairfax County’s Department of Economic Initiatives and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA), brought together leaders from the Intelligence Community, the contractors who support its missions, and the startups eager to contribute new ideas.

Leaders from three key federal agencies offered a candid look at where national security priorities are heading. Moderated by Jackie Barbieri, Founder and CEO of Whitespace, the government panel featured George Ohanian, Directorate Chief, Warfighter Support and Production Directorate within the U.S. Army Geospatial Center, US Army Corps of Engineers, Dr. Didi Kuo, Principal Deputy Director and Chief Architect, GEOINT Directorate, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Dr. Mike Tischler, Acting Associate Director for Core Science Systems (CSS) Mission Area, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The conversation addressed the questions every innovator in this space is asking: Which challenges are emerging? How can agencies adopt AI responsibly? And what does it take to bring a new technology into a federal program?

From Startup to Strategic Partner

The second panel focused on navigating the path to government work. Ronda Schrenk, CEO of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, moderated a discussion with Nick Bousquet, VP, Strategy for the Intelligence Community, GRVTY, Skip Maselli, VP, Business Growth Strategy, Vibrint, Stephanie Dockstader, Director, Imagery and Remote Sensing Solutions, Esri, and John Chao, Director, Federal Products, Seekr.

These companies all have operations in Fairfax County and have grown their business with the Intelligence Community by delivering innovative solutions and meeting the needs of our national security professionals. With so many Intelligence Community facilities and personnel in Fairfax, companies located here have the advantage of bringing their know-how and technology to agencies that can utilize them for vital national security missions.

The panelists shared practical advice on building partnerships with major contractors, earning the trust of government customers, and making the difficult move from early-stage funding to long-term federal opportunities.

(l-r) Ronda Schrenk, Nick Bousquet, Skip Maselli, Stephanie Dockstader, John Chao

Top (l-r): Chuck Conley, Trident Spatial Labs; Eddie McKulsky, HarborMind; Anmol Taploo, JivaJet; Bottom (l-r): Rami Mirsky, Raycom; Sengwon (Joe) Cho, Newtype Industries; Jai Dialani, Saiva Space.

Each gained direct access to the government and industry leaders who can help bring their ideas to the mission. One message came through clearly over the course of the day, the most successful technology addresses customer challenges and seeks to find solutions to those challenges.