Join the ACT-IAC IT Management and Modernization COI member meeting to hear a briefing from the Pilots to Production project team.
The project team published their report entitled "Pilots to Production: Integrated Findings and Case Studies" which explores the challenges and success factors in transitioning technology pilot projects to full-scale production within government agencies. Many pilots fail not due to technical issues, but rather insufficient governance, security, stakeholder commitment, and well-defined change management processes.
The team will present their research including common challenges such as scope creep and resource volatility. It emphasizes the importance of strong executive sponsorship, clear objectives and key metrics, human-centered solutions, and effective risk management as critical success factors. They will present best practice recommendations for standardized governance, embedded cybersecurity, product-centric teams and robust change management to ensure scalable solutions and sustainable positive impact on operations and areas for future research.
Presenters:
- Gabrielle Davidsen, Senior Director, Digital Innovation and Transformation, SAIC
- Chineme Aghazu, Principal Consultant, Soling Consulting
- Lisa Wetzel, Founder and CEO, Vikint
About the Presenters:
Gabrielle Davidsen is a digital transformation executive and organizational change strategist whose work centers on modernizing complex enterprise systems within the federal government and defense sectors. She is a multidisciplinary leader operating at the intersection of technology, mission readiness, and human-centered change.
With over two decades of experience spanning defense agencies, federal programs, and leading consulting firms, Gabrielle Davidsen has guided billion-dollar transformation initiatives impacting hundreds of thousands of end-users. Her work emphasizes IT modernization, organizational change management, and the strategic alignment of technology investments to mission-critical priorities. She has advised Senior Executive Service leaders, shaped Congressional mandate-aligned programs, and championed workforce engagement across complex, geographically dispersed environments.
Gabrielle is currently pursuing a PhD in Business Administration and is an alumna of Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) and Georgetown University (SFS). A credentialed practitioner, she holds certifications in PMP, ITIL 4, SAFe 6.0, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and Prosci ADKAR, and continues to explore interdisciplinary approaches to digital innovation and enterprise transformation.
She can be found on LinkedIn: Gabrielle Davidsen, PMP | LinkedIn
Chineme Aghazu is a technology entrepreneur and systems thinker whose current work explores how complex systems expose early signals of risk. She is a technology generalist and multidisciplinary strategist working across innovation and enterprise systems.
Her research and professional work focus on identifying structural patterns, dependencies, vulnerabilities, and cascading effects that can reveal hidden systemic weaknesses across large-scale environments.
With over twenty-five years of experience spanning technology systems, government programs, and emerging innovation initiatives, Chineme Aghazu examines how frameworks for early risk identification and intervention can be applied across domains such as digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, and health systems. Her work emphasizes resilience, systems architecture, and the value of cross-domain insight in understanding complex risks.
Chineme Aghazu is a lifelong learner and an alumna of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management in Boston, MA. Through her studies and work, she continues to explore interdisciplinary approaches to anticipating and mitigating systemic disruption.
She can be found on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chinemeaghazu
Lisa Wetzel, MHR, is a transformative entrepreneur and executive leader with more than 25 years of experience guiding complex technical and business initiatives across industry and the federal government. Her work centers on advancing digital transformation, process automation, and mission‑critical communications to help organizations modernize how they operate and deliver results. Over the past 18 years, she has partnered with more than 50 organizations to digitalize workflows, strengthen operational performance, and align technology with mission outcomes.
As both a strategist and practitioner, Lisa has designed and implemented solutions across a wide range of federal programs, contributing to modernization efforts that span IT service delivery, organizational readiness, and enterprise‑level transformation. She currently serves as CEO of Vikint Inc., an operations optimization and communications firm that supports organizations in improving performance, collaboration, and mission execution. In this role, she has led teams across 18 federal contracts over the past six years, supporting IT programs, digital initiatives, and organizational change efforts.
Lisa holds a Master’s degree in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Political Science from American University. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration while continuing research focused on organizational transformation, digitalization, and the integration of AI into modern work systems.
LinkedIn Profile: Lisa Wetzel, MHR | LinkedIn
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