Panel 2: The Critical Chain Reaction
Panel 2: The Critical Chain Reaction: Mapping Dependencies and Challenging Assumptions serves as the bridge, translating the risks identified in Panel 1 into a tangible discussion of systemic vulnerabilities and planning blind spots.
Every major event runs on a complex, interconnected web of systems, yet rarely is the full chain of critical dependencies mapped and tested.
This session drills down on the "what if" scenarios, challenging common assumptions that underpin security and resilience planning.
WHAT IF SCENARIOS...
Using the backdrop of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics, panelists will dissect the hidden linkages between public infrastructure (power, water, transportation), event-specific technology (ticketing, venue comms), and third-party vendors.
Public Infrastructure
Event-specific technology
Third-Party Vendors
Topics covered include:
- Identifying assumptions that we use that might affect our ability to respond to incidents - technical, regulatory, and real world;
- How to confront cognitive biases in planning;
- What happens when regulatory frameworks conflict with operational necessity; and
- The role of supply chain integrity in event security resilience.
PANEL 2 SPEAKERS
Nick Reese - Moderator
Co-Founder and COO,
Frontier Foundry
- Read Nick Reese's Bio
Nick Reese most recently served as the first ever Director of Emerging Technology Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where he advised the White House and senior Cabinet officials on national security implications of emerging technologies.
He is the author of the DHS AI Strategy, DHS’s Post-Quantum Cryptographic Transition Roadmap, and the 2022 DHS Space Policy. He was also the lead DHS representative for the development of Space Policy Directive-5, National Security Memorandum-10, the National Space Policy, and Executive Order 13960.
A noted expert in cyber operations, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and outer space, he currently holds a faculty position at New York University teaching graduate courses related to emerging technology and geopolitics. He is also a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council at George Washington University.
Mr. Reese has a 20+ year career in the U.S. Military, Intelligence Community & Homeland Security with a focus on operations and bringing technical solutions to high stakes national security challenges.
From the front lines of the War on Terror to building Quantum Computing Policy he has been an instrumental actor in protecting our nation with an eye both on today and the future. Mr. Reese is a graduate of Saint Leo University and Old Dominion University. He lives in the Washington D.C. area with his wife and their dog.
Tatyana Bolton
Principal & Head of Cybersecurity Practice, Monument Advocacy
- Read Tatyana Bolton's Bio
Tatyana is a principal at Monument Advocacy and an accomplished cybersecurity and policy professional with extensive experience in both the private and public sectors. She leads the firm’s cybersecurity practice.
Throughout her career, Tatyana has been a leading voice in shaping cybersecurity policy at the intersection of technology, government, and national security, with a focus on creating secure, resilient systems for both the public and private sectors. She previously held the role of Senior Security Policy Manager at Google’s Security Center of Excellence in Washington, DC, where she proposed, managed, and helped launch a $60M Cyber Clinics investment. Before joining Google, Tatyana served as the Director of the Cybersecurity & Emerging Threats program at the R Street Institute, where she was instrumental in driving fundraising efforts, exceeding the program’s fundraising target by 20 percent.
Tatyana holds a Master of Foreign Service degree in Security Studies from Georgetown University, where she graduated cum laude. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Political Science from The Ohio State University, graduating magna cum laude.
Patrick Kelly
Director, Law Enforcement & Homeland Security, Booz Allen Hamilton
- Read Patrick Kelly's Bio
Patrick M. Kelly brings more than three decades of combined federal law enforcement, counterterrorism, and homeland security experience to his role as Director of Law Enforcement & Homeland Security at Booz Allen. A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent and U.S. Marine Corps Officer, Mr. Kelly has spent his career serving at the intersection of national security and law enforcement operations, combating global drug trafficking networks, transnational organized crime, and terrorism threats to the United States and its allies.
As a DEA Special Agent, in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Mr. Kelly was temporarily assigned as a U.S. Federal Air Marshal, flying armed missions in defense of the homeland, including high-threat flights in and out of the National Capital Region and in support of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. This experience deepened his commitment to aviation security and interagency cooperation during one of the most challenging periods in modern American history.
Following his Air Marshal service, Mr. Kelly served as the Southwest Border Tunnel Task Force (TTF) Commander, leading interagency efforts to detect and investigate cross-border tunnels originating in Mexico and terminating in the United States, operations that represented a direct and ongoing threat to national security. In this capacity, he oversaw the development and deployment of cutting-edge tunnel detection technologies and coordinated complex joint investigations between the DEA, DHS, DoD, and Mexican counterparts. Mr. Kelly later served as Chief of Staff to the DEA Chief of Operations and as Chief of Congressional & Public Affairs, where he helped shape strategic policy, operational priorities, and congressional engagement for the agency’s global mission.
He was subsequently assigned to the DEA Special Operations Division (SOD), where he served in the Counter Narco-Terrorism Operations Center (CNTOC), a joint interagency task force focused on identifying, disrupting, and dismantling terrorist organizations that finance or enable operations through narcotics trafficking. Mr. Kelly later represented DEA at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Joint Terrorism Task Force (NJTTF) as DEA’s Senior Liaison, advancing intelligence sharing and operational coordination between the DEA, FBI, and the broader intelligence community.
Today, as Booz Allen’s Director of Law Enforcement & Homeland Security, Mr. Kelly leads technology modernization and mission-analytics programs supporting the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and other federal law enforcement agencies. His work focuses on integrating data analytics, artificial intelligence, and investigative technologies to enhance counterterrorism, counter-narcotics, and public safety missions across the interagency enterprise.
Mr. Kelly’s career reflects a lifelong dedication to protecting the Nation from evolving threats, bridging the tactical realities of counterterrorism operations with the strategic innovation required to safeguard the homeland in an increasingly complex global environment.
Michele Iversen
Principal and Head of Geopolitical & Regulatory Risk, The Chertoff Group
- Read Michele Iversen's Bio
Michele Iversen is a cybersecurity and information technology supply chain expert. At The Chertoff Group she supports clients in the areas of geopolitical and supply chain risk management including Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence engagements.
Prior to joining the Chertoff Group, Ms. Iversen served as Director of Risk Assessment and Operational Integration at the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) where she specialized in cyber risk and vulnerability assessments, security engineering, 5G/Next G cybersecurity, Information Communications Technology Supply Chain Risk Management and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Ms. Iversen has held senior IT and Cybersecurity positions in the Intelligence Community (IC) and the Federal civilian sector. Ms. Iversen served with the Central Intelligence Agency’s Cybersecurity Division and served as the Chief of System Security Engineering at the National Security Agency.
Ms. Iversen served as the Chief Information Officer for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) where she was responsible for the Agency’s classified and unclassified technology systems and for providing technical expertise for the Board’s oversight and advisory functions. She developed the Agency’s plan in response to the President’s Executive Order 13800, Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure Ms. Iversen also served as the Agency’s Senior Agency Official for Privacy.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Iversen served with the National Security Agency where her positions included Chief of System Security Engineering, Department of Defense Cyber Defense Architect, Branch Chief in Tailored Access Operations, and as an Information Systems Security Engineer for joint Intelligence Community Programs.
Ms. Iversen is a retired Army Signal Corps officer who helped establish the Joint Task Force for Computer Network Defense (JTF-CND), served as the Chief of the Army’s Computer Emergency Response Team in Southwest Asia, and as a Deputy Operations Officer for the Cyber National Mission Force within U.S. Cyber Command.
Ms. Iversen earned her B.A. in Communications at Iowa State University. She is a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executive Fellows Program.