Ottawa Chapter: From Zero Trust to AI Trust

Description

For years in government, Zero Trust has focused on a simple question: who can access what. As AI moves from experimentation into real use, that question is evolving.

This session is a candid conversation with Chad Tetreault, Field Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Federal at Zscaler, drawing on his experience putting AI systems into production in the U.S. federal government. Together, we’ll explore what it really means to apply an AI Zero Trust mindset as organizations move from policy to practice.

The conversation will touch on four areas leaders are navigating today:

• Transparency
  Understanding when AI is in use, how it works, and how to eliminate “AI in secret,” including shadow AI.
• Accountability
  Moving beyond policy to real ownership, oversight, and ongoing evaluation so automated systems remain trustworthy over time.
• Risk Management
  Identifying and addressing AI-specific risks such as model security, bias, and adversarial threats before systems go live.
• Human Oversight
  Designing systems where humans are meaningfully involved, supported by clear workflows, data lineage, and enforceable guardrails.

You’ll walk away with:

• A clearer understanding of how Zero Trust thinking applies to AI, not just networks and users
• Practical insight into what it takes to move AI from policy to production responsibly
• A leadership-level perspective on supporting AI innovation while managing risk and

Speaker: Chad Tetreault, Field Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Federal at Zscaler

In his role as Field CTO Chad provides technical guidance and leadership for the Public Sector Go-To-Market (GTM) team and their customers. His strategic vision and unwavering commitment to technological advancement coupled with his past experience in government leadership roles, provides Zscaler customers a proven, trusted advisor for their digital transformation efforts

Prior to Zscaler, Chad served as Deputy Chief Technology Officer and Deputy Chief Artificial Intelligence Official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS),   where he led transformative digital modernization efforts that redefine government technology capabilities. He spearheaded a pivotal Secretary of Homeland Security GenAI pilot, delivering breakthrough AI solutions including synthetic human-like officer training systems, Neural Machine Translation capabilities, and Model Context Protocol services with comprehensive AI security governance and guardrails. Additionally, he contributed operational insights to the DHS Generative AI Public Sector Playbook, helping establish the framework for responsible AI governance across federal agencies.

Throughout his twenty plus years of federal service, Chad has consistently built high-performing teams, established cloud-native engineering programs, and championed continuous improvement methodologies that help position USCIS as a leader in digital government innovation. 

Agenda

6:00 - 7:00pm – Arrival & Networking Reception

7:00 - 8:00pm – Presentation – Q & A

8:00 - 8:30pm – Networking

Hors d’oeuvres & Beverages to be served

Open to CIOCAN Members & their *Qualified Non-Member Guests (*CIO/CISO/Senior IT Executive in a Leadership Role)

Thank you to our sponsor!