Panel: Protests
Time: 9:00 – 9:50
Name: Kevin P. Mullen
Title: Partner and Government Contracts Group Co-chair
Employer: Morrison & Foerster

Kevin Mullen is Co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Government Contracts & Public Procurement practice. Mr. Mullen has broad experience in Government contracts matters including agency procurements, bid protests, subcontracting, teaming relationships, contract performance issues, intellectual property issues, compliance matters, due diligence for mergers and acquisitions, and procurement fraud matters. He represents clients in the preparation and litigation of contract adjustment claims and contract terminations. Mr. Mullen has handled more than 250 bid protest cases, representing protesters and contract awardees before the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, as well as federal agency and state protest forums.

Panel: Protests
Time: 9:00 – 9:50
Name: Amy O’Sullivan
Title: Partner
Employer: Crowell & Moring

Amy O’Sullivan is a partner in Crowell & Moring LLP’s Washington, D.C. office. Her practice involves a mix of litigation, transactional work, investigations, and counseling for corporate clients of all sizes and levels of experience as government contractors. On the litigation side, she has represented corporate clients in bid protests (agency level, GAO, ODRA, Court of Federal Claims, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as state and local bid protests in numerous jurisdictions), size and status protests before the U.S. Small Business Administration, claims litigation, Defense Base Act claims litigation, civil and criminal investigations, and complex commercial litigation.

Panel: Protests
Time: 9:00 – 9:50
Name: Kenneth (Ken) Patton
Title: Managing Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law
Employer: Government Accountability Office

Kenneth Patton serves as a Managing Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law in the Office of the General Counsel of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Prior to GAO, Mr. Patton worked for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). At HHS, he litigated bid protests and resolved contract disputes for the National Institutes of Health. Mr. Patton also served as a U.S. Army Judge Advocate, trying military criminal cases and litigating government contract cases. Mr. Patton is a 1991 graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. and a 1988 graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA.

Panel: Protests
Time: 9:00 – 9:50
Name: Jason A. “Jay” Carey
Title: Partner
Employer: Covington & Burling

Jason Carey represents government contractors in litigation, counsels them regarding a wide range of formation and compliance matters, and defends them in investigations by federal and state governments.

Recognized by Chambers as one of the nation’s top bid protest lawyers, Mr. Carey represents clients before the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Court of Federal Claims, and state tribunals across the country. He litigates protests involving complex procurements often worth billions of dollars, across a wide range of industries — aerospace and defense; biotechnology; health care; cybersecurity; information technology; telecommunications; and others.

Mr. Carey also counsels clients on government contracts law and regulation, with an emphasis on matters related to the formation of government contracts. He counsels clients extensively on organizational conflicts of interest, strategies for protecting intellectual property, grants, cooperative agreements, and “Other Transaction Authority” agreements with the government.

Panel: Fraud & Enforcement
Time: 10:00 – 10:50
Name: Andy Liu
Title: Partner
Employer: Nichols Liu

Andy Liu focuses on the representation of corporate and individual clients in all phases of criminal and civil matters including internal investigations, compliance counseling, federal grand jury investigations, False Claims Act litigation (including retaliation allegations) and other complex civil litigation and criminal proceedings. He has represented individuals and corporations in matters involving government procurement fraud, health care fraud, price fixing, kickbacks, bribery, public corruption, conflict of interest laws, and other areas. He has written and presented extensively on the False Claims Act and other issues.

Prior to co-founding Nichols Liu, Andy was General Counsel of the Social Security Administration, a Partner at Crowell & Moring LLP, and a Trial Attorney with the United States Department of Justice.  He was twice awarded the Department of Justice’s Special Achievement Award. Andy is active in Bar activities, having served as a board member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C. Area and as vice-chair of the Committee for Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity for the ABA’s Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and on the Board of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, and has also served as a member and chair of the Board of the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center.

Panel: Fraud & Enforcement
Time: 10:00 – 10:50
Name: Dominique Casimir
Title: Partner
Employer: Blank Rome

Dominique Casimir is a partner in the Government Contracts Practice at Blank Rome LLP. She is a passionate advocate for companies that do business with the federal government. She helps clients in bid protest and claims litigation, high stakes suspension and debarment matters, internal investigations, prime-sub disputes and teaming agreement issues, regulatory compliance, and mergers and acquisitions. Dominique represents clients across all industry segments, including defense, information technology, health care, logistics, and professional services.

Dominique is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and has been recognized by Legal500, and was named to Bisnow’s list of Washington DC’s Top 40 Lawyers Under 40. She was also recognized by Working Mother Magazine as one of its Working Mothers of the Year for 2016.

Panel: Fraud & Enforcement
Time: 10:00 – 10:50
Name: Frederic M. Levy
Title: Partner
Employer: Covington & Burling

Frederic M. Levy, co-chair of the Government Contracts Practice Group at Covington & Burling LLP, is a leading suspension and debarment lawyer, focusing his practice on the resolution of complex compliance and ethics issues. He has successfully represented numerous high-profile corporations and individuals under investigation by the government in civil and criminal matters, including False Claims Act cases, and in suspension and debarment proceedings to ensure their continued eligibility to participate in federal programs. He has also conducted numerous internal investigations on behalf of corporate clients and advises corporations on voluntary or mandatory disclosures to federal agencies. Mr. Levy regularly counsels clients on government contract performance issues, claims and terminations, and litigates matters before the boards of contract appeals and in the Federal Circuit.

Mr. Levy is a principal editor of GUIDE TO THE MANDATORY DISCLOSURE RULE, and of THE PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE TO SUSPENSION AND DEBARMENT, 4TH EDITION. He is a vice-chair of the Debarment and Suspension Committee of the ABA Public Contract Law Section, and a former co-chair of that committee and of the Procurement Fraud Committee. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Law School.

Panel: Fraud & Enforcement
Time: 10:00 – 10:50
Name: Jessie Liu
Title: United States Attorney for the District of Columbia
Employer: Department of Justice

Jessie K. Liu is the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, Ms. Liu was an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia from 2002 to 2006, prosecuting violent crime, drug trafficking, firearms, and fraud offenses. She subsequently served in several senior positions in the U.S. Department of Justice, including as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division, Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General for national security matters, and Deputy Chief of Staff for the National Security Division. Most recently, she was Deputy General Counsel at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, advising the Secretary of the Treasury and other senior Treasury officials on national security, law enforcement, and intelligence issues.

In addition, Ms. Liu has been a partner at the law firms of Morrison & Foerster LLP and Jenner & Block LLP, where her practice focused on litigation, investigations, and compliance.

She received her A.B., summa cum laude, from Harvard University in 1995 and her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1998.

Panel: Costs, Pricing & Accounting
Time: 11:00 – 11:50
Name: Mary Karen Wills
Title: Managing Director
Employer: Berkeley Research Group

Ms. Wills is the Practice Leader for the Berkeley Research Group Government Contracts Consulting Practice. She brings over 30 years of experience in the government contracting and commercial industries. She has worked with contractors spanning virtually all industries, including aerospace, biotech, construction, defense, engineering services, health care, insurance, logistics, operations and maintenance, pharma, professional services, and software, as well as grant and cooperative agreement recipients in the not-for-profit and NGO industry. She specializes in assisting commercial companies adapt their processes, structure, and accounting for the unique requirements associated with government contracts and grants.

Ms. Wills’ experience covers a vast range of government contract accounting, administration and compliance related matters, including initial go-to market strategy development, complex cost accounting matters, and contractor litigation and investigation support.

Panel: Costs, Pricing & Accounting
Time: 11:00 – 11:50
Name: Paul Pompeo
Title: Partner
Employer: Arnold & Porter

Paul Pompeo counsels a wide range of companies in contract formation, performance, and compliance. Much of his practice focuses on accounting, cost and pricing: Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), the Truthful Cost or Pricing Data Act (formerly TINA), Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) cost principles, and Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audits. He also represents clients in dispute resolution: claims, appeals (before the ASBCA, CBCA, and Court of Federal Claims), and alternative dispute resolution (ADR), as well as bid protests and Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) overrides. He has successfully represented contractors in precedent-setting CAS cases, many involving benefits issues, litigated a seminal Limitation of Cost clause case, and litigated a series of cases establishing law fundamental to the statute of limitations. He is included in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for Government Contracts.

Panel: Costs, Pricing & Accounting
Time: 11:00 – 11:50
Name: Brent Calhoon
Title: Partner
Employer: Baker Tilly

Brent Calhoon is a partner with Baker Tilly’s Government Contractor Advisory Services practice in Tysons Corner, VA.  For more than 25 years, he has advised clients and their outside counsel on cost accounting and compliance matters related to FAR, DFARS, CAS, TINA, OMB Uniform Administrative Guidance, and other contract accounting and pricing rules.  He is an outspoken advocate for improving the regulatory compliance and audit/oversight environment, and focuses his practice on helping contractors and the Government “get to yes” in connection with complex compliance matters.  Brent earned his B.S. in Accounting from Virginia Tech, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Panel: Costs, Pricing & Accounting
Time: 11:00 – 11:50
Name: Greg Bingham
Title: President
Employer: The Kenrich Group

Greg Bingham is a Partner and Co-Lead of the Government Contracts Group at The Kenrich Group, An HKA Company.  He has over 33 years of experience in the field of business consulting, primarily for Government and Construction Contractors.  Greg is also an Adjunct Professor in the George Washington University where he teaches Pricing and Cost Issues in Government Contracts (GCON 6506), a graduate level course in the Masters of Science in Government Contracts program.

Panel: Industry Trends
Time: 12:00 – 12:30
Name: Robert Nichols
Title: Partner
Employer: Nichols Liu

Robert Nichols helps government contractors solve complex legal problems and achieve their desired business solutions. Robert has led several of the highest-profile matters in the industry, from a $10.5 billion bid protest at the Court of Federal Claims, to lawsuits arising from the Cuban government’s imprisonment of a contractor for espionage, to managing parallel investigations by two Agency Offices of Inspector General, two Suspension and Debarment Officials, the Department of Justice, and a Congressional oversight committee.

Prior to founding Nichols Liu, Robert was a partner and co-chair of the Government Contracts group at Covington & Burling, where he helped lead and grow the practice to over fifty attorneys. He also has been a partner at Crowell & Moring and served both at the White House and as a Judge Advocate General at the Army Corps of Engineers.

Robert has been recognized as a top lawyer by Chambers USA, Law360, Legal 500, and Super Lawyers.

Panel: Industry Trends
Time: 12:00 – 12:30
Name: Susan Gabay
Title: Managing Director
Employer: Houlihan Lokey

Ms. Gabay is a Managing Director in Houlihan Lokey’s Aerospace, Defense & Government practice, overseeing the firm’s government services and defense technology clients. She has 20 years of Wall Street and investment banking experience focused primarily on advising middle-market companies in the aerospace, defense, and government services markets. Over the course of her career, Ms. Gabay has completed more than 50 M&A transactions. She is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.

Ms. Gabay was a Co-Founder and Managing Director with Bluestone Capital Partners prior to its merger with Houlihan Lokey in 2017. Before co-founding Bluestone, she was a Senior Vice President with BB&T Capital Markets | Windsor Group for nearly 10 years and previously worked with Goldman Sachs Group in New York.

Ms. Gabay has advised middle-market businesses in their sales to industry leaders such as Huntington Ingalls, CACI International, Raytheon, General Dynamics, KeyW Corp., and Triumph Group and to private equity groups such as Veritas Capital and Cerberus Capital Management. She also has extensive divestiture experience and has advised Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders such as Babcock International Group, Marsh & McLennan Companies, CACI International, and ManTech International in middle-market divestiture assignments.

Panel: Industry Trends
Time: 12:00 – 12:30
Name: Whit Cobb
Title: General Counsel
Employer: PAE

Whit Cobb was appointed to the role of general counsel of PAE in February 2012. In this position, Cobb provides legal advice to the company’s leadership and oversees the company’s legal staff, including PAE’s International Trade Compliance Office. Cobb is also responsible for maintaining the proper compliance environment for the organization, including through PAE’s Office of Ethics and Business Conduct.
Prior to joining PAE, Cobb served as the deputy general counsel of BAE Systems, Inc. for eight years and as deputy general counsel (legal counsel) of the Department of Defense for three years. Prior to his service with the Department of Defense, Cobb was a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Jenner & Block, where he focused on government contracts and telecommunications issues. Before this role, Cobb was the judicial fellow at the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.

From 1991 to 1995, he served on active duty in the U.S. Army as an attorney in the Army General Counsel’s Office, where he worked on intelligence and classified program issues. He graduated summa cum laude from Duke University, which he attended on an ROTC scholarship. Cobb, a 1990 graduate of Yale Law School, was executive editor of the Yale Law Journal.

Panel: Cybersecurity and Intellectual Property
Time: 1:00 – 1:50
Name: Nicole Owren-Wiest
Title: Partner
Employer: Crowell & Moring

Nicole Owren-Wiest is a partner with Crowell & Moring’s Government Contracts Group and leads the Group’s cost accounting practice. With almost 20 years’ experience, Nicole advises contractors of all sizes across numerous industry segments, including many of the top defense government contractors and small businesses preparing to perform their first federal contract, and is a recognized leader in government contract cost accounting and intellectual property rights in government contracts. As a business-oriented thought leader in practice management, Nicole is a certified Legal Lean Sigma Institute (LLSI) Yellow Belt and is Chambers USA listed for government contracts.

Panel: Cybersecurity and Intellectual Property
Time: 1:00 – 1:50
Name: Fern Lavallee
Title: Partner
Employer: Jones Day

Fernand A. Lavallee is a Partner at Jones Day. Mr. Lavallee’s practice focuses on government contracts law and litigation, with a special emphasis on high technology issues and intellectual property in government contracts. He regularly counsels on all aspects of federal, state and local procurement matters, and litigates cases before various federal and state courts, as well as the Boards of Contract Appeals and the Government Accountability Office.

He serves as a Vice Chair of the American Bar Association Public Contracts Law Section, Intellectual Property Committee, and is active in the community, serving on the Boards of charitable organizations committed to excellence in education and special education.

Mr. Lavallee is a graduate of Georgetown University and the College of William & Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law, where he was on the Law Review.

Panel: Cybersecurity and Intellectual Property
Time: 1:00 – 1:50
Name: Daniel Graham
Title: Partner
Employer: Vinson & Elkins

Daniel Graham is the Vice-Chair of V&E’s Government Contracts practice group and serves as the hiring partner for V&E’s Washington, D.C. office. Highly regarded in government contracts litigation, Dan has nearly two decades of experience assisting clients on bid protests, Contract Dispute Act appeals, prime and subcontractor disputes, and commercial litigation for clients across industry sectors. Among others, Dan advises clients on government cost accounting and allowability matters, including compliance with the Cost Accounting Standards and the FAR cost principles, as well as resolving cost impacts associated with changes in a contractor’s cost accounting practices.

Panel: Cybersecurity and Intellectual Property
Time: 1:00 – 1:50
Name: Emile Monette
Title: Director of Value Chain Security
Employer: Synopsys, Inc

Emile Monette is the Director of Value Chain Security at Synopsys, Inc. Mr. Monette has unique experience in the fields of cybersecurity and procurement, including service at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the Department of Homeland Security, Director of Government-wide Cybersecurity, Resilience, and Risk at the U.S. General Services Administration, Senior Advisor in the Executive Office of the President, Professional Staff Member with the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and as an active duty Air Force officer. Mr. Monette earned a Juris Doctor from the George Washington University Law School and a Bachelor of Science, Cum Laude, from San Diego State University, and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Panel: Claims, Disputes, & Terminations
Time: 2:00 – 2:50
Name: Richard Rector
Title: Partner
Employer: DLA Piper

Rich Rector co-chairs DLA Piper’s Global Government Contracting sector and chairs the firm’s US Government Contracts practice. He has over 30 years of experience in federal, state, and local procurement issues, and he regularly litigates contract actions and bid protests for contractors and subcontractors. He also counsels clients on a broad range of public procurement matters, including investigations and disclosures, audits and cost disputes, commercial-item contracting, and compliance with procurement integrity and ethics laws.

Mr. Rector is a winner of the 2016 Burton Award for distinguished legal writing for a Briefing Paper that he co-authored on bid protests. He has been recognized in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business since 2006 when Government Contracts practitioners were first ranked. Mr. Rector also has been recognized by The International Who’s Who of Public Procurement Lawyers, the Washingtonian magazine, and Washington SmartCEO as a top US procurement lawyer.

Mr. Rector has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Bar Association (2005-2011), as Co-Chair of the Federal Division of the ABA Section of Public Contract Law (2013-2017), and as a Council Member for the ABA Section of Public Contract Law (2004-2007). He also has served as Chair or Co-Chair of the following ABA committees: International Procurement (2017-2019); State and Local Legislative & Regulation Coordination (2010-2011); Emerging Issues (2003-2004); Regulatory Coordinating (2000-2003); and Contract Claims and Disputes Resolution (1997-2000). From 1994 to 1997, Mr. Rector was Managing Editor of the Public Contract Law Journal.

Mr. Rector received his J.D. in 1987 and his B.A. in 1981 from the University of Maryland.

Panel: Claims, Disputes, & Terminations
Time: 2:00 – 2:50
Name: Paul Khoury
Title: Partner
Employer: Wiley Rein

Paul F. Khoury is a partner in the Government Contracts Practice at Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, D.C.. He counsels and represents government contractors in solicitation review, multiple award schedule contracting, state and local procurements, subcontracting, teaming agreements, corporate transactions, bid protests, terminations, contract disputes litigation, compliance reviews, mandatory disclosures, inspector general investigations, and False Claims Act actions. Paul is regularly rated as one of the country’s “Leading Lawyers” in his field by Chambers USA, which commends him as “a fantastic bid protest attorney”. Paul was also chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee from 1998 to 2014.

Panel: Claims, Disputes, & Terminations
Time: 2:00 – 2:50
Name: Judge Jeri Somers
Title: Judge
Employer: Civilian Board of Contract Appeals

Judge Jeri K. Somers is the Chief Judge (Chair) of the United States Civilian Board of Contract Appeals. In addition to managing the CBCA, Judge Somers carries a full docket, and presides over trials involving multi-million dollar contract disputes arising from all civilian Federal agencies. Judge Somers also served in the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate, retiring in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserves. In her last assignment, she served as a Military Trial Judge, where she heard felony and misdemeanor cases involving military defendants. These cases included complex drug cases, cases involving criminal uses of the internet, sexual assaults, theft, and other cases involving a wide variety of crimes.

Judge Somers is currently an Adjunct Professor with George Washington University School of Law, where she teaches, among other courses, the Government Contracts Experiential Learning Court – Moot Court, Formation; Formation of Government Contracts; and Government Lawyering. In addition, she is an Adjunct Professor with the American University Washington College of Law, where she teaches Government Contracts – Performance.

Judge Somers earned her J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law and her B.A. in Biology from George Mason University. She holds bar memberships in Virginia and the District of Columbia, serves as a board member the Virginia Bar Association, a board member for the Arlington Food Assistance Center, as well as on the Girl Scout Women’s Advisory Board for the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital.

Panel: Claims, Disputes, & Terminations
Time: 2:00 – 2:50
Name: Robert Nichols
Title: Partner
Employer: Nichols Liu

Robert Nichols helps government contractors solve complex legal problems and achieve their desired business solutions. Robert has led several of the highest-profile matters in the industry, from a $10.5 billion bid protest at the Court of Federal Claims, to lawsuits arising from the Cuban government’s imprisonment of a contractor for espionage, to managing parallel investigations by two Agency Offices of Inspector General, two Suspension and Debarment Officials, the Department of Justice, and a Congressional oversight committee.

Prior to founding Nichols Liu, Robert was a partner and co-chair of the Government Contracts group at Covington & Burling, where he helped lead and grow the practice to over fifty attorneys. He also has been a partner at Crowell & Moring and served both at the White House and as a Judge Advocate General at the Army Corps of Engineers.

Robert has been recognized as a top lawyer by Chambers USA, Law360, Legal 500, and Super Lawyers.

Panel: Statutes, Regulations, Executive Orders & Policies
Time: 3:00 – 4:30
Name: Kara Sacilotto
Title: Partner
Employer: Wiley Rein

Kara M. Sacilotto is a partner in the Government Contracts Practice at Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, D.C.. She counsels and represents government contractors of all sizes on all aspects of government contracting. Kara’s practice focuses on representing government contractors in connection with suspension and debarment matters, both before and after exclusion from contracting, ethics and compliance matters, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) mandatory disclosure issues, and internal investigations. She also actively litigates a variety of cases from bid protests and claims to disputes between contractors. Kara just completed her term as Chair of the ABA Section of Public Contract Law.

Panel: Statutes, Regulations, Executive Orders & Policies
Time: 3:00 – 4:30
Name: Michael Schaengold
Title: Shareholder
Employer: Greenberg Traurig

Mike Schaengold is Chair of the Government Contracts and Projects Practice of Greenberg Traurig, LLP (“GT”), where he is resident in GT’s Washington, D.C. office.  Mike’s government contracts dispute and bid protest experience includes the successful litigation of major cases before the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the boards of contract appeals.  He also has substantial experience in investigations, due diligence reviews and other issues related to the acquisition, merger or sale of government contractors.

Mike serves on the Advisory Boards to The Government Contractor and PubKLaw, and on the Advisory Councils to the Court of Federal Claims and the Federal Circuit.  He has authored or co-authored more than 50 articles on government contracts, GAO, Court of Federal Claims and Federal Circuit topics.

Panel: Statutes, Regulations, Executive Orders & Policies
Time: 3:00 – 4:30
Name: Justin Chiarodo
Title: Partner
Employer: Blank Rome

Justin Chiarodo is a partner and Co-Chairs the Government Contracts Practice at Blank Rome LLP. He has spent his entire career helping government contractors successfully navigate high-stakes litigation, investigations, and regulatory matters.  His practice spans the full range of issues contractors encounter in the public sector marketplace, including bid protests, government investigations, contract claims and disputes, cost accounting and audit matters, regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions, suspension and debarment, and the False Claims Act.  Justin has represented clients across all industry segments, including leaders in the defense, information technology, health care, logistics, and professional services sectors.

Justin has been recognized by Chambers USA, Legal500, and Law360.  He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.

Panel: Statutes, Regulations, Executive Orders & Policies
Time: 3:00 – 4:30
Name: David S. Black
Title: Partner
Employer: Holland & Knight

David S. Black is a government contracts attorney and co-chair of Holland & Knight’s national Government Contracts Group, and is based in the firm’s Tysons office. Mr. Black’s practice involves serving as a trusted advisor, problem solver and advocate for federal contractors, awardees, and subcontractors in every stage of growth. He provides legal advice and representation to help his clients secure opportunities, enhance performance, mitigate risk and respond to threats. Mr. Black serves contractors and awardees in a broad array of industries, with an emphasis on innovative technology, cutting-edge products, professional services, healthcare, and research and development (including sponsored research at colleges and universities).