Below are our moderators for the panel discussions.

Please also view the separate listings for our speakers and workshop presenters.

Moderator Bios

BJ Davis Rowe
Georgia Institute of Technology
Associate Professor, School of Public Policy

Brenda J. D. Rowe, Ph.D., MPA, MSW is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology where she teaches Health Policy, Public Management, and State and Local Government Structure, Systems and Processes. Her research interests include health reform legislation, community participatory research, and the use of data in public decision making and planning. She is a strong proponent of experiential learning and continually seeks to expose students to real world practitioners and opportunities to apply classroom experiences in the real world of public administration and management. Her public service included federal and local government in a variety of policy and programming positions. She has also worked with a number of research firms such as Macro International; Westat; Mathematica Policy Research; and The Urban Institute. She is a proponent of multi-indicator analysis and knowledge management for decision making; a proven project and program manager, and a public policy specialist, translating policy into programs and services to meet compelling needs. As a strategic planner, she has worked with both the private and public sectors facilitating planned “strategic” change, with a focus on creating win-win outcomes. Her public service work has been based on the use of multiple strategies deployed in multiple sectors simultaneously; engagement of diverse stakeholders; and capacity building. Through her visionary leadership; Georgia received its first discretionary grant funding for prevention increasing federal funding for prevention services and programs across the state by over 75%. Through astute attention to sound management practices, she built the states capacity to a staff of 16, mentored 3 SAMHSA paid Fellows and assured Georgia’s compliance with all required conditions of funding. Several initiatives were born under her leadership including the Underage Drinking Prevention Initiative with its nationally recognized video (www.samhsa.gov) a billboard campaign targeting parents; the Georgia Alliance for Drug Endangered Children; development of GA’s first Epidemiological Profile and Social Indicator Study; and creation of the Military Fact Book (www.dbhdd.georgia.gov). Her work in organizational design and structuring crosses multiple spheres with attention to promoting organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

Through her consulting firm, Consulting and Technical Assistance Services (CATAS), Dr. Rowe has provided consulting services for the US Department of Health and Human Services’, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Health Resource Services Administration (HRSA); Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia; Winston Salem State University; Research and Training Associates of Overland Park, Kansas; The Boys and Girls Clubs of America-National Headquarters, Atlanta, GA; The Beaumont Foundation, Digital Equity Program; the Channing Bete Corporation; and Hallmark Marketing Corporation.

She has also served as Assistant Professor of Public Policy and/or Public Administration at a number of universities, including The University of Maryland, The University of Kansas, Atlanta University, Troy University and Central Michigan University.

An accomplished speaker who delivers messages with passion, cultural relevance and sensitivity and who engages participants in her interactive workshop presentations, Dr. Rowe offers a plethora of workshop topics and keynote addresses. She has been an invited speaker for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the US Department of Education as well as a host of other organizations and associations. Her work “in the trenches” of reducing child abuse and neglect in households impacted by substance abuse during the early 90’s was noted as one the most effective strategies in the nation. Her “Army Brat” perspective offers a global, multicultural context to socio-political, economic, public policy and organizational issues as well as a strong empathy for difficulties faced by the children and families our military forces. She is a proponent of the resilience of military kids as models for other youth. Dr. Rowe is a strong believer that outcomes drive sustainability in our current climate of high needs and depleted resources.

A strong believer in giving back, she has sponsored children from developing nations since 1998 currently supporting a young Haitian youth.

Reginald DesRoches
Georgia Institute of Technology
Professor and Associate Chair, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Reginald DesRoches is a Professor and Associate Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His primary research interests are design of buildings and critical infrastructure under earthquake engineering, seismic risk assessment of lifeline systems, and application of innovative materials in rehabilitation of structures. He has published over 180 articles in the general area of structural and earthquake engineering. Dr. DesRoches has served as Chair of the ASCE Seismic Effects Committee (2006-2010), and Chair of the executive committee of the Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering (2010). He is currently a member of the executive committee of the National Academy of Sciences Disasters Roundtable, and is on the Board for the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI). Dr. DesRoches has been a key technical leader in the U.S. response to the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. He has taken eight trips to Haiti since the earthquake, including a trip where he led a group of 28 engineers, architects, city planners, and social scientists, to study the impact of the earthquake with the goal of informing the Haitian government on effective ways to rebuild Haiti to be more resilient and sustainable. Dr. DesRoches was a recipient of the 2001 NSF CAREER Award, and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2002. The PECASE award is the highest honor bestowed upon scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers. Most recently, he was a recipient of the 2007 ASCE Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, the Georgia Tech Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Advisor Award (2010), and the Georgia Tech ANAK Award (2008) for outstanding research, teaching, and service. Dr. DesRoches was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and grew up in Queens, NY. He earned his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Masters of Science in Civil Engineering, and PhD in Structural Engineering – all at the University of California, Berkeley.

Cindy Hallberlin
Gifts In Kind International
President and CEO

Currently, Cindy Hallberlin is the President and CEO of Gifts In Kind International which is the leading nonprofit in product philanthropy bringing corporate America together with the nonprofit world to help people in need. Cindy oversaw the transformation of Gifts In Kind into an online catalog with the capacity to reach thousand’s more charities. She is also responsible for rebranding the organization which has expanded its reach in both Corporate America and the communities it serves.

Prior to joining Gifts In Kind, Cindy served as the Chief Ethics, Diversity and Accountability Officer with U.S. Foodservice. Following a $1 billion fraud, she contributed to the cultural transformation of U.S. Foodservice by developing exceptional ethics training and awareness programs, a risk assessment strategy and a model code of conduct. In 2008, she developed the first nationwide corporate philanthropy program at U.S. Foodservice aimed at eradicating hunger in the United States. This program, Full Plates Full Lives, raised more than $4 million in cash and product donations for Feeding America.

Prior to joining U.S. Foodservice, Cindy developed and successfully managed the U.S. Postal Service’s REDRESS employment mediation program, which successfully resolved more than 80 percent of discrimination claims and resulted in $60 million in cost avoidance.

Cindy holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a law degree from Antioch University.

Michael Ross
Aidmatrix
Vice President of Delivery

Mr. Ross holds the title of Vice President, Delivery responsible for all of Aidmatrix technology development, product delivery, systems management, as well as architecture formation and budget implementation. He has managed many large Availability and Disaster Recovery projects, most recently as Director of Product Management at Lakeview Technology. He also has extensive experience with the integration of High Availability software in J.D. Edwards World and One World ERP solution environments.

Prior to Lakeview, Mr. Ross served as the Enterprise Technology Specialist for DeVry Inc. and as an Operations/Project manager with Graward General Inc., giving him first-hand knowledge of the demanding realities of managing all aspects of IT operations, from implementing 50,000 node WANs to managing the architecture, planning and capital budgeting for multi-platform technology investments.

Mr. Ross received his Bachelor of Science degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He holds many IT industry credentials and is a Certified Business Continuity Professional.