27th Annual International Conference 
on Digital Government Research

Collaborative Digital Transformation for Public Value Creation

DG.O 2026

University of Nebraska at Omaha
 Omaha, Nebraska, USA 
June 01-04, 2026

International Keynote - Dr. M. Jae Moon: AI-Driven Government and Public Sector Innovations: Opportunities and Challenges
National Keynote - Dr. Theresa A. Pardo: Transforming the Research University: An AI Roadmap
Metro and State Keynote - Dr. Derek Kruse: Public Sector Partnerships: Maximizing Value in the New Normal
 Cybersecurity Keynote - Dr. Gurpreet Dhillon: Collective Intelligence and Collective Security: Reimagining Public Values in the Digital World
Feature Event - Tribute to Dr. Soon Ae Chun

INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE SPEAKER - DR. M. JAE MOON

MJAEMOON

M. Jae Moon (Ph.D. in Public Administration, Syracuse University, 1998)

AI-DRIVEN GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATIONS: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

M. Jae Moon is the Underwood Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Management and Director of the Institute for Future Government at Yonsei University. He currently serves as Co-Chair (with the Prime Minister) of the National Public Data Strategy Committee and as Chair of the Planning and Evaluation Committee of the National Research Council of Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences under the Prime Minister’s Office, South Korea. Internationally, he serves as an expert member of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) and the Knowledge Council of the World Cities Summit. Professor Moon is an elected Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). He was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people in digital government by Apolitical. He received the Order of Service Merit (Red Stripe) from the Government of South Korea in recognition of his contributions to public-sector innovation. He is also a recipient of the Donald C. Stone Award and the Mosher and Mosher Award from the American Society for Public Administration.

Dr. Moon’s Google Scholar citation count is 14,000+

NATIONAL KEYNOTE SPEAKER - DR. THERESA A. PARDO

Theresa Pardo

Theresa A. Pardo (PhD in Information Science, University at Albany, SUNY, 1998)

TRANSFORMING THE RESEARCH UNIVERSITY: AN AI ROADMAP

Theresa A. Pardo serves as Associate Vice President for Research at the University at Albany, State University of New York. She also serves as a Special Assistant to the President, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Technology in Government, a Full Research Professor in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy and an affiliate faculty College of Emergency Services, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity. Pardo is a past President of the Digital Government Society, a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and has been recognized with the University at Albany Distinguished Alumni Award, the Digital Government Society Distinguished Service Award, the University at Albany Excellence in Teaching Award, the Rockefeller College Distinguished Service Award and was twice named by Apolitical as a Top 100 Influencer in Digital Government. Pardo has received numerous publication awards and is ranked among the world’s top 2 percent of scientists in Elsevier’s 2026 Stanford University Report.

Dr. Pardo's Google Scholar citation count is 25,000+

METRO AND STATE PANEL KEYNOTE - DR. DEREK KRUSE

Derek Kruse Headshot - 2026

CIO of the Douglas County – City of Omaha Technology Commission (DOTComm)

PUBLIC SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS: MAXIMIZING VALUE IN THE NEW NORMAL

Derek Kruse has over 25 years of organizational leadership experience. He has held leadership positions in Fortune 500 companies, the nonprofit sector, government and higher education. Derek is the Chief Information Officer for the Douglas Omaha Technology Commission (DOTComm), which serves the technology needs of the City of Omaha and Douglas County in Nebraska. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Creighton University in the fields of strategy and entrepreneurship.

He recently launched Exponential Mindfulness to help people harness the power they already have by using simple tools to overcome challenges and build resilience for compounding growth.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University, an MBA from Emory's Goizueta Business School, and a DBA from Creighton's Heider College of Business. He also holds a certificate in Strategy Execution for Public Leadership from Harvard and a certificate in Mindful Leadership from Spirit Rock.

CYBERSECURITY KEYNOTE - DR. GURPREET DHILLON

Dhillon_G

Gurpreet Dhillon (PhD in Information Systems, London School of Economics and Political Science, 1995)

COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE AND COLLECTIVE SECURITY: REIMAGINING PUBLIC VALUES IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

Professor Gurpreet Dhillon is the John Becker Dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Professor of Management and Professor of Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis. Previously he was the G. Brint Ryan Endowed Chair of Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity at the University of North Texas, USA. He earned his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, UK, and in 2019, received an Honorary Doctorate from Örebro University, Sweden. A distinguished scholar, Professor Dhillon has authored more than a dozen books, including a best-selling cybersecurity graduate textbook, and has published over 100 research papers. His expertise has been widely recognized, with his research featured in leading media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Business Week, CNN, NBC News, and NPR. Globally acknowledged for his contributions to the field, Professor Dhillon is listed among the top 2% of researchers in his discipline by Stanford University and ranks in the top 0.05% of scholars according to Scholar GPS. Additionally, he holds the 29th position as a top scholar in Information Security, reflecting his significant impact over the course of his career.

TRIBUTE TO DR. SOON AE CHUN

Dr. Soon Ae Chun

It is with profound sadness that we remember our colleague and friend, Dr. Soon Ae Chun.

A visionary scholar and generous leader in digital government research, Dr. Chun devoted her career to advancing the study of information systems, cybersecurity, data integration, and digital governance. As Professor and Director of the Information Systems and Informatics program at the College of Staten Island (CUNY), and through her roles at the CUNY Graduate Center, she mentored generations of students while leading pioneering research, including the NSF-supported iSecure Lab.

For more than two decades, Soon shaped the Digital Government community through her extraordinary service to the Digital Government Society — as Board member, Conference Chair, Program Chair, President, founder of ACM Digital Government: Research and Practice, and most recently as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Government Information Quarterly. Her leadership helped define and strengthen our field.

Beyond her many accomplishments, Soon had a rare gift for bringing people together. She uplifted junior scholars, supported colleagues with sincerity and grace, and built community wherever she went. Her scholarship, leadership, and kindness will continue to inspire us and shape digital government research for years to come.