Episode Description

In this special episode of All Quiet on the Second Front, we’re bringing you a live recording from Offset 2025. Moderated by Danielle Metz, 2F Chief Policy Officer, this panel tackles a question that’s easy to say but hard to operationalize: how do we actually build trust between government and industry to deliver secure, mission-ready technology? 

Danielle is joined by Rob Nolen, Chief Technologist for DoD at AWS, Dan Garcia, Chief Information Security Officer at EnterpriseDB, and Eric Sanders, Chief Information Security Officer at DHS (I&A) and, together, they unpack the cultural and structural baggage that slows innovation—and explore what it’ll take to shift hearts, minds, and bureaucracies toward impact.

What’s Happening on the Second Front

• Building security into systems from the start (not bolting it on later)
• Measuring impact through velocity, not vanity metrics
• Risk tolerance vs. risk avoidance in government tech
• The role of policy and regulation in accelerating trust
• Why a shared language between builders, buyers, and approvers is mission-critical

About the author

Danielle Metz

Chief Policy Officer, Second Front

Danielle Metz serves as the Chief Policy Officer for Second Front Systems. She spearheads engagement efforts to advocate for new policies that enhance the deployment of software applications critical to national security missions.

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Dan Garcia

CISO at EnterpriseDB

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Eric Sanders

CISO at DHS

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Rob Nolen

Chief Technologist for DoD at AWS

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