Selected Work
Measuring AI Capability Boundaries
An AI system can give a convincing answer without demonstrating dependable capability. This work examines how performance changes with the prompt, available evidence, uncertainty, refusal behavior, and the constraints of a cybersecurity task. The question is what remains reliable across those variations—and what a finite evaluation can reasonably support.
Focus: Evidence use, prompt sensitivity, uncertainty, and safe defensive assistance.
Agent Operations Platform
Useful agent systems need an operating model around the model itself. This project brings together policy enforcement, approval steps, worker coordination, memory, triggers, and observability. Its design questions concern the boundaries of automated action: what an agent may do, when a person must review it, and how a decision can be traced afterward.
Focus: Permissions, human approval, auditability, and operational control.
Legislative Decision Support
A prediction is more useful when a reader can examine its supporting evidence and understand its uncertainty. This Virginia-focused project connects forecasts with confidence, ranked drivers, and signals that indicate a departure from the expected pattern. The purpose is to help a person investigate a result and exercise judgment with clearer context.
Focus: Explainable forecasts, evidence, confidence, and deviation signals.
Representation Reliability Research
Patterns in learned representations can look meaningful without supporting a dependable conclusion. This research explores which measurements capture useful structure, which readouts remain reliable, and where an apparent relationship stops generalizing. The emphasis is on connecting a measurement to a specific claim and stating the limits of that claim.
Focus: Measurement reliability, generalization, and the boundaries of inference.
Homeflow
Homeflow applies ideas about transparent rules and accountable automation to a private family chore application. The design brings together flexible availability, fairness recommendations, parent controls, and a record of actions. Its practical question is how software can support household coordination while keeping the rules understandable and decisions reviewable.
Focus: Transparent coordination, flexible scheduling, and human control.
Interviews and Media
Conversations and coverage on public technology leadership, AI, cybersecurity, and resilient services.
Data Governance and Executive Decisions
StateScoop · May 28, 2026
A conversation with Colin Wood about how cybersecurity leadership connects with data governance, modernization, and decisions across government.
Putting AI to Work in Government
Public Sector Network · 2026
An interview on practical AI adoption, government efficiency, distributed data protection, and the coordination needed to keep public services resilient.
AI’s Changing Cybersecurity Role
StateTech · October 11, 2024
An interview on how AI is changing cyber threats and creating practical opportunities for defenders through anomaly detection and summarization.
Connecting Security Visibility and Operations
CyberScoop · April 10, 2024
A discussion with Christopher Fielder about visibility across endpoints, networks, and cloud services, stronger security operations, and collaboration.
Produced by Scoop News Group and CyberScoop; underwritten by Arctic Wolf Networks.
Selected Coverage and Other Videos
- Identity, Cloud Access, and Zero Trust
Coverage featuring my perspective on Virginia’s shared identity foundation, single sign-on, cloud integration, and the next steps toward zero trust. Read the coverage - Connecting Cybersecurity to Agency Missions
Reporting from a NASCIO leadership panel on explaining cybersecurity priorities through the services and risks that matter to decision-makers. Read the coverage - Agentic AI in Public Service
A video featuring multiple state leaders on agentic AI, meaningful use cases, data quality, and human review. Watch the video - Protecting Critical Infrastructure
A video featuring multiple state leaders on shared responsibility, security tools, and ongoing training for critical infrastructure protection. Watch the video - Privacy, Transparency, and Secure Collaboration
Coverage of my remarks on balancing encryption, government transparency, and secure collaboration. Read the coverage
Selected Speaking Engagements
Conversations on public-sector technology, cybersecurity, AI, and trust. Selected conferences, university seminars, webinars, and podcast appearances from the last five years, presented newest first.
- COVITS 2026
General session welcome
Cloud evolution, cybersecurity resilience, and responsible adoption of AI in government. Event details - Cybersecurity Modernization Summit
Role of Cyber Leaders in Data Efforts
A conversation on data governance, protection, modernization, and executive decisions. Event details · Watch the conversation - NASCIO Midyear Conference
Panel discussion: The Business of Cybersecurity
Connecting cybersecurity priorities to agency missions and the risks that matter to decision-makers. Panel coverage - VCU Cybersecurity Speaker Series
Putting Cybersecurity in Context: Learning Meaning from Behavior
Behavioral cybersecurity and the relationships between events that reveal attacker intent. Event details - VCU — L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
Artificial Intelligence and Public Trust
A discussion and Q&A with Christopher Whyte on government AI, ethical governance, and public responsibility. Event details - Government Cybersecurity Showcase Virginia
Keynote: Future-Proofing Cybersecurity: Embracing Zero Trust Architectures and AI Governance in 2025
An opening keynote on cybersecurity readiness, zero trust, and AI governance. Event details - Billington State and Local CyberSecurity Summit
Speaker
Cybersecurity leadership alongside state, county, and city technology leaders. Event details - Gov Identity Summit
Speaker
Public-sector identity management and security. Event details - Public Sector Network — Government Cybersecurity Roadshow Virginia
Government keynote
Cybersecurity strategies for protecting critical infrastructure and data assets. Event agenda - Splunk GovSummit
Speaker
A public-sector gathering focused on cyber strategy, resilience, and government security operations. Event details - Government Technology Webinar
Driving Progress: Putting the Brakes on Cyber Risks
Panel discussion on collaboration between IT and operational technology to protect transportation infrastructure. Event details - rvatech CyberConVA
The Future of Business is Cyber: Risk Leaders Driving Business Directions
A discussion of the connection between cybersecurity risk and business leadership. Event details - Splunk GovSummit 2022
Speaker
A discussion of zero trust, data analytics, dashboards, and security decision-making. Event coverage - VCU Cybersecurity Career Panel
Panelist
Career perspectives from cybersecurity practitioners. Event program - FedInsider — State Cybersecurity Discussion
Panel discussion
Zero-trust implementation and the privacy questions facing state governments. Discussion coverage - Forcepoint — To the Point Cybersecurity
Podcast guest: What’s the Security Tipping Point?
An interview on ransomware, critical infrastructure, and the challenges facing state and local security teams. Listen and read the transcript
For speaking invitations, get in touch with the topic, audience, format, and proposed dates.
Images below illustrate the themes of the work.
