Dr. Michael Barton is a Parsons Fellow and Chairman of the ITEA Board of Directors. He has worked on Aberdeen Proving Ground since 2001, ten years supporting the Army Test and Evaluation Command and the last ten with the Army Research Laboratory working in large-scale data analytics, high-performance computing, and outreach to test and evaluation and other stakeholders. Dr. Barton’s career is in physics-based modeling and simulation with six years as an aerospace consultant, twelve years as a contractor supporting the Air Force at the Arnold Engineering Developmental Complex in Tennessee and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Glenn Research Center in Ohio; and the first 4 years of his career with The Boeing Company in Seattle. He received Bachelor of Science and Ph.D. degrees in engineering science and mechanics from The University of Tennessee-Knoxville and a Master of Engineering degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from The University of Washington.

Short Biography – coming soon.

Short Biography – coming soon.

Dr. Laura Freeman is a Research Professor of Statistics and serves as the Deputy Director of the Virginia Tech National Security Institute. Her research leverages experimental methods in the domains of cyber-physical systems, data science, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning to address critical challenges in national security. She develops new methods for test and evaluation focusing on emerging system technology. She also serves as the Assistant Dean for Research for the College of Science. Previously, Dr. Freeman was the Assistant Director of the Operational Evaluation Division at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Dr. Freeman has served twice (2018 and 2022) as the Senior Technical Advisor to the Director Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E). Dr. Freeman served as Editor-in-Chief of the International Test and Evaluation (ITEA) Journal from 2020-2024 and transitioned the Journal to an online offering with options for peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Freeman has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, a M.S. in Statistics and a Ph.D. in Statistics, all from Virginia Tech. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and a Founding Fellow of ITEA.

Dr. Malcolm Tutty has served in the Royal Australian Air Force, Public Service and Industry in a multitude of test, operations, engineering, staff, project management and command roles. This includes being a flight test armament engineer at Aircraft Research and Development Unit, an aircraft stores compatibility engineer and section chief while on exchange with the USAF 3246 Test Wing for Gulf War I, the AP-3C Chief Engineer at Tenix, a program director for joint US-AS R&D collaboration, a project manager/director for over $760m of guided weapons, Director of both Aircraft Stores Compatibility Engineering Agency and the Woomera Test Range, and being launch authority for two hypersonic firings into space. He is currently serving as a research fellow at the RAAF’s Air and Space Power Centre’s Doctrine Modernisation Program and is Managing Director of Jaime Australia Pty Ltd and (very recently) JAIME AMERICA, LLC. He has degrees in electronics, systems engineering and T&E, and a PhD in complex adaptive systems. He has been included in the Who’s Who for Science and Engineering and a Fellow of both the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Institution of Engineers for over two decades and was recently made a Founding Fellow of ITEA.

Dr Keith Joiner [PhD, MSc, MMgmt, BEng, CPEng, CPPD, F.ITEA] was an Air Force aeronautical engineer, project manager, and teacher for 30 years, culminating in his last four years as Australia’s all-domain Director General of Test and Evaluation (Group Captain). He has led trials on satellites, ships, land vehicles, missiles, drones, aircraft, helicopters, artillery, soldier protection, ammunition storage, base security, rifles, ICT, counter-IED, counter-CBRNE, and subsea capabilities. He was awarded a U.S. Meritorious Service Medal (Iraq 2009), an Australian Conspicuous Service Cross (2014), and was commended twice by Service Chiefs (2001, 2023), with the Australian award and commendations involving conduct, leadership and policy of T&E. In the last decade at the University of New South Wales, he has authored over 120 peer-reviewed articles and graduated over nine doctoral students. His research and teaching of efficient test design, aircraft design, governance of capabilities, and assurance processes for AI-enabled and cyber-resilient systems. He has served as a reserve officer for ten years, including as Chair of the Multi-Lateral Five-Eyes (US, UK, AS, CA, NZ) Cybersecurity Assessment and Test Working Group (2020-2025) culminating in a project agreement for allied cybersecurity T&E. In 2024 he was an adjunct Associate Professor for Old Dominion University in Virginia teaching Model-Based Systems Engineering for their Fall Semester. For ITEA he has served as a Board member (2023-2026) and Chief Editor ITEA Journal of Testing (2024-2026).

Mr. Murphy assumed the duties of Acting Director, Office of Test and Evaluation (T&E), Department of Homeland Security in January 2025. In this role, he serves as the principal advisor on T&E matters to the Office of the Secretary, Component Heads, and the Chief Acquisition Officer, and acts as the primary liaison with external stakeholders regarding T&E activities. Mr. Murphy oversees the establishment of T&E policies, provides independent T&E assessments in support of major acquisition efforts, leads training for the DHS T&E workforce, and advances T&E practices across the Department.

Mr. Murphy brings over 23 years of experience in leading test and evaluation policy, governance, guidance, and workforce development, supporting complex and enterprise-wide initiatives. His previous federal assignments include serving with the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN), where he provided T&E expertise to the CBRN Individual Protective Program Office; serving as T&E Lead with Marine Corps Systems Command supporting Combat Support Equipment, where he received the U.S. Marine Corps Donald Roebling Award for Acquisition Innovation and Excellence; and serving as a T&E analyst within the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Developmental Test & Evaluation (DoD), where he received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service.

Prior to his civilian career, Mr. Murphy served 26 years in the U.S. Marine Corps in a variety of assignments, including infantry, artillery, reconnaissance, and other specialized roles, earning numerous awards. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Chapman University, a Master of Arts in Management, and a Master of Science in Engineering Management from National University. Mr. Murphy is a Certified Test and Evaluation Professional (CTEP) through ITEA and a Project Management Professional (PMP).

Short Biography – coming soon.

Robin Poston, Ph.D.
Associate Provost and Dean, Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, Southern Methodist University (SMU)
Professor, Cox School of Business | Research Fellow, Systems Testing Excellence Program

Dean Robin Poston leads the Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies at SMU, supporting 5,000 graduate students across more than 120 programs. She is also a Professor of Information Technology and Operations Management in the Cox School of Business and a Research Fellow with the Systems Testing Excellence Program for the FedEx Institute of Technology.

A recipient of the Memphis Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award, Dean Poston has chaired international workshops on software testing. Her research focuses on alignment between developers and testers, governance in outsourced software testing—particularly mitigating vendor silence—and evaluation practices that support agile development.

Dean Poston brings over 20 years of industry experience with organizations including KPMG Consulting, Meta Group Research, and Convergys, and she has consulted for Fortune 500 companies and federal agencies such as DHS and the Defense Information Systems Agency.

She holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. in Accounting from the University of Central Florida, and a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from Michigan State University.

Mr. Erwin Sabile is an experienced Test and Evaluation Senior (T&E) Engineer with Booz Allen Hamilton, bringing over two decades of expertise spanning Acquisition, DT&E, IT&E, OT&E, FOT&E, experimentation, and prototype testing. Raised in Virginia Beach, VA, he earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Old Dominion University, commissioning through NROTC, and later completed a Master of Arts in Defense and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Public Health Preparedness: Disaster and Bioterrorism from Pennsylvania State University.

Mr. Sabile currently supports the Air Force Test Team and has contributed to advanced experimentation efforts with the Air Force Research Laboratory and OUSD R&E. His broad portfolio includes roles with OPTEVFOR, multiple Navy PEOs, 5G program, Joint Chem-Bio initiatives, and DHS cyber tabletop exercises.In the Navy Reserve, he serves as Navy Reserve 7th Fleet’s Assessment Warfare Director, supporting a three-star commander with operational assessments across USINDOPACOM. He previously deployed to East Africa as the CJTF-HOA Assessment Lead and KLE Branch Chief and has held key leadership roles in major fleet training and certification exercises.

Mr. Sabile is President of the ITEA Hampton Roads Chapter and an active leader in national T&E events. An avid outdoorsman, he has hiked Kilimanjaro, Machu Picchu, and regularly explores Shenandoah National Park.