SACRAMENTO, CA | MAY 24 – 25
California serves.
Our state provides unique, mission-critical capabilities for the armed forces that must be preserved and strengthened if America is to maintain its position of leadership in a rapidly changing world.
Home to the world’s most valuable network of air, sea and land ranges, California’s national security installations have prepared generations of American service members for conflicts around the world and provide a critical staging ground for current actions.
The state’s defense infrastructure also provides the essential ingredients necessary to transform and strengthen national defense power for the new century. California offers the best combination of technology, industry and academia in support of military needs both today and in the future. In addition to the Naval Postgraduate School, seven of the top 25 research universities are in California, and they all provide critical contributions to national security. America’s best-trained and most experienced aerospace and technology workforce lives and works here and we as a state recognize that the past few years have highlighted critical issues here that are common across the bases, communities and workforce that require prompt attention to reinforce these valuable defense networks.
The 2023 California Defense Leadership Summit is presented by ADC and the California Governor’s Military Council.
Keynote Speakers
MG Matthew Beevers
Acting, the Adjutant General, California Military Department
Mario A. Diaz
Deputy Under Secretary of the Army
Chief Master Sergeant Willie Frazier
Senior Enlisted Leader, Space Systems Command, US Space Force
Brigadier General Matthew Higer
412 Test Wing, Edwards Air Force Base
Dee Dee Myers
Director, Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)
RADM Andrew Sugimoto
Commander, 11th District, U.S. Coast Guard
Brigadier General Jason G. Woodworth
Commanding General, Marine Corps Installations – West
Featured Speakers
Jose Anaya
Dean of El Camino College’s Community Advancement Division and the Business Training Center
Alethea Arguilez
Executive Director, First Five San Diego
Ivan Bolden
Chief of Army Partnerships
Shivani Bose-Varela
California Grants Portal Project Manager California State Library
Vice Admiral Jody A. Breckenridge
Director of Strategic Transformation and Assistant Commandant for Human Resources at U.S. Coast Guard
Ben Chida
Chief Deputy Cabinet Secretary, Office of the Governor
Colonel Jason Clarke
Garrison Commander, Fort Irwin, US Army
Captain Dwight Clemons
Chief of Staff, NRSW
Wade Crowfoot
Secretary, Natural Resources Agency
Kelli May Douglas
Pacific Southwest Regional Liaison, Defense – State Liaison Office
Tom Ducker
Homeland Security Division Critical Infrastructure, California Office of Emergency Services
Rick Hern
Partnership Broker, Air Force Community Partnerships
Willie A. Hopkins, Jr.
City Manager, City of Barstow
Kimberly Kirchmeyer
Department of Consumer Affairs Director
Louis Littleton
Director, Western Regional Office, Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation
Clare Mendelsohn
Deputy Secretary of Public Policy, CAL EPA
Mark Merrifield
Director, Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation, Scripps Institute of Oceanography
Fred Meurer
Councilmember, Governor’s Military Council
Amy Miller
Grants Manager, Office of Planning and Research
John D. Moreno, P.E., SES
Programs Director, USACE South Pacific Division
Jesse M Najera
Superintendent, Silver Valley USD
Meg O’Grady
Senior Vice President, Military and Government Programs National University
Colonel Gregory Pace
Marine Corps Logistics Base – Barstow
Sandy Person
Executive Director, Travis Community Consortium
John Pope
Executive Director, Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR)
Rachel Posner Ross
DoD Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer
Eldon Regua, MG(R), USA
Member, Governor’s Military Council
Brigadier General (P) Derek M. Salmi
Commander, 60th Air Mobility Wing, Travis Air Force Base
Mary Vixie Sandy
Commission on Teacher Credentialing
Nancy Vogel
Deputy Secretary for Water, California Natural Resources Agency
Hannah Walker
Associate Deputy Director for the California Transportation Commission
Colonel Mia Walsh
Commander, Space Base Delta 3 (formerly LA Air Force Base), US Space Force
Colonel Daniel M. Whitley
Commanding Officer, Headquarters & Support Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Agenda
Wednesday, May 24
3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 25
7:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Registration Open
7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
Grand Nave Foyer, Lower Level, Self-service
8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
8:45 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Networking Break 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Networking Break 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
12:00 p.m. – 12:15 p.m. Networking Break 12:15 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. Lunch Buffet Service Grand Nave Foyer, Lower Level 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
1:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Networking Break 1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Networking Break 3:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
4:45 p.m. Summit ends
Register
Pre-registration for the California Defense Leadership Summit has closed. Onsite registration will be available.
Sponsorship
Sponsoring the 2023 California Defense Leadership Summit is an excellent way to promote your brand with key leaders at the community, state and national levels. Sponsorships include complimentary registrations, the opportunity to be involved in one of our sessions and more.
For more information, please contact Maggie McAlexander at mmcalexander@defensecommunities.org.
Event Location
Sheraton Grand Sacramento
1230 J St, Sacramento, CA 95814
Take advantage of exclusive group rates at the event hotel.
Sheraton Grand Sacramento
Event Sponsors
