March 24, 2026 | 11:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m.| Rayburn Foyer
Join PSC members on Capitol Hill for an interactive day focused on helping policymakers and staff understand the rapidly evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in national security.
This event will allow industry partners to showcase how they are developing and integrating responsible AI as a mission enabler—strengthening situational awareness and threat detection, accelerating decision-making, and improving operational readiness and response across complex and diverse mission environments. Leading federal contractors will have the opportunity to demonstrate and discuss how cutting-edge applications are transforming defense, intelligence, homeland security, space, and energy communities.
This is a unique chance to share implementation challenges, regulatory considerations, and inform legislative perspectives while building relationships with key decision-makers shaping national security policy.
Table and Compendium Click here to view space layout
Steve Harris became Vice President for Defense and Intelligence at the Professional Services Council (PSC) on June 9, 2025.
He brings more than 28 years of federal service, including positions at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD), along with extensive expertise in interagency collaboration, public-private partnerships, international policy, and acquisition.
Before joining PSC, Harris was a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES) and served as the Deputy Executive Assistant Director for Infrastructure Security at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). In this capacity, he led CISA’s efforts to secure the nation’s critical infrastructure in partnership with government and private-sector stakeholders. He also held several other senior roles at CISA and its predecessor organization, including Acting Executive Assistant Director for Infrastructure Security, Acting Deputy Director for CISA, Acting Assistant Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate’s (NPPD) Office of Infrastructure Protection, and Deputy Director of NPPD’s Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis.
Earlier in his career, Harris held various positions within the Department of Defense. He served as Deputy for Policy at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he developed and implemented international policy for Foreign Military Sales and security cooperation programs. He also held contracting and acquisition roles at the Naval Air Systems Command and the Navy International Programs Office.
Harris currently serves on the board of the United States Bomb Technician Association, a nonprofit that supports bomb technicians and strengthens the connection between the operational community and the technology sector to ensure tools are mission-ready and field-relevant.
His awards include the Presidential Rank Award – Meritorious Executive, the DHS Secretary’s Silver Medal for Meritorious Service, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service.
He holds a Master of Science in Management/Contract Management from the Florida Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Stephanie Kostro became President of the Professional Services Council (PSC) on June 11, 2025, where she guides PSC’s strategic direction, advocacy, and member engagement efforts across growing federal industry priorities.
Previously, she served as Executive Vice President for Policy, leading PSC's policy team in its commitment to advocating for and supporting productive collaboration between the federal government and services industry. As a recognized executive, on-air commentator, and policy expert with more than 20 years of experience in the U.S. Government and industry, she brings a wealth of knowledge in federal procurement policy and acquisition regulations, government processes and programs, and public-private partnerships.
Prior to joining PSC in 2021, Kostro was a Principal at a government relations and consulting firm where she developed and implemented policy, funding, and business development strategies for a global client base. She worked extensively with civilian, defense, diplomatic, and intelligence officials, as well as with federal departments’ oversight committees in Congress.
From 2010-2015, she was a senior fellow and director of the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a prominent national security think tank. Kostro served as a State Department contractor at U.S. Embassy Baghdad for one year, and from 2005-2008, she was a senior professional staff member and policy director on the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee. At the Pentagon from 1998-2005, she worked in a variety of offices within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, on the Joint Staff, and in embassies and missions overseas.
Kostro holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree in communication from Cornell University. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband, Rich, and their two daughters. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, gardening, and – when conditions allow – travel.
Krista Sweet has spent more than twenty years working at the intersection of law, policy, business, and government. She is currently the Vice President of Civilian Agencies for the Professional Services Council where she leads member advocacy, programs, and acquisition policy reform with federal civilian agencies, with emphasis on DHS, HHS, VA, DOE, and NASA.
Sweet has significant experience designing and planning programs that bring government and industry together to address business, acquisition, and mission challenges. She has developed and coordinated federal acquisition training programs, role play exercises, workshops, and market research sessions for various federal agencies, including DHS, FDA, CMS, NIH, DOE, NASA, EPA, DoD, GSA, IRS, FAA, and the State Department. She led the development of an Executive Tour program that brought industry to homeland security and law enforcement operations across US land, sea, and air borders to help them better understand the mission environment and technology needs of DHS and the FBI.
Prior to joining PSC in 2021, Sweet spent ten years as the Director of Policy at the Homeland Security & Defense Business Council. From 2007-2011, she worked at the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (now the Maryland Department of Emergency Management) where she led the Governor’s Emergency Management Advisory Council and advised elected and appointed senior officials across the National Capital Region on strategy, compliance, and investment decisions for more than $500 million in federal homeland security grant funds. From 2005 – 2007, Sweet was a staff attorney at the Center for Health and Homeland Security. During this time, she served as an instructor at a NATO Security through Science program on "Strengthening Public Health Preparedness for Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Threats" in Macedonia. Previously, she spent three years in private legal practice at a Baltimore civil litigation firm. She received her JD and certificate in health law from the University of Maryland School of Law and her BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
2025 PSC on the Hill
Protecting Our Borders: A Compendium of Federal Contracting Success Stories
Protecting Our Borders: A Compendium of Federal Contracting Success Stories
