W105: Leading in the New Reality — How Mastering Smaller Budgets, Fewer Staff and Emerging Technologies Like AI Are Key to Success

  • Room: Ballroom B
  • Session Number:W105
Wednesday,February 18, 2026:9:55 AM -10:45 AM

Speaker(s)

Moderator
Teresa Hunter
Vice President
MIL Corporation
Speaker
Daniel Werfel
Johns Hopkins University

Description

Public sector agencies are operating in a new reality of tighter budgets, fewer staff members and fast-moving technologies like AI and automation. This session explores how agency leaders can prioritize investments, redesign work and responsibly apply new tools to protect mission delivery, strengthen controls and support the workforce in a constrained environment.



Key Takeaways

• Constraints are a design challenge, not a dead end.
• Agency leaders can use smaller budgets and leaner teams to sharpen priorities, simplify work and stop low-value activities.
• AI is a capacity multiplier, not a magic fix; when applied to the right problems with the right safeguards, emerging technology can free people to focus on higher-value work.
• The most successful agency leaders connect mission, risk, people and technology — making deliberate choices that sustain performance in a demanding environment.

Learning Objectives

Explore the new operating reality for public sector organizations, including budget constraints, staffing pressures and rapid advances in AI and automation. Identify where scarce dollars, time and talent should be focused to protect mission-critical operations, financial stewardship and audit readiness. Evaluate practical use cases for AI and emerging technologies and the risks and limitations they must manage.