What began in 2021 as a first-of-its-kind gathering for recruiters in the national security space has quickly become a fixture on the cleared-talent calendar. The inaugural ClearanceJobs Connect brought government and industry leaders together to discuss candidate scarcity, employer branding, recruiter burnout and the emerging Trusted Workforce 2.0 framework. By 2022, attendance had nearly tripled to more than 200 people, and the event had added distinct afternoon tracks for recruiting and security professionals.
The program has continued to evolve with the market. In 2023, conversations ranged from pay transparency and proposal recruiting to veteran and cyber hiring. The 2024 keynote put a memorable emphasis on “people first, mission always,” while the fifth Reston gathering in 2025 explored technical recruiting, leadership, AI, talent development, legal concerns and the practical use of recruiting data. Reston remains the flagship of a series that now reaches four cities, but its purpose is unchanged: to give the people responsible for building the cleared workforce a place to compare notes, hear directly from experts and strengthen the relationships behind the mission.
That history sets the stage for ClearanceJobs Connect 2026, scheduled for October 15–16 at the Carahsoft office in Reston, VA. The two-day agenda combines cleared recruiting strategy, security-policy updates, leadership lessons, emerging technology and practical training. For talent acquisition professionals supporting the national security community, the result is a concentrated look at both the pressures shaping today’s market and the practices likely to define what comes next.
Day One: Recruiting Strategy, Leadership and Workforce Readiness
The first day begins with registration, coffee and breakfast before a 9 a.m. keynote from Katie Arrington, security and quantum technology evangelist at IonQ. Art Zeile, CEO of DHI Group, then presents “Connect Next,” followed by a security clearance policy update.
The late-morning program turns toward leadership and organizational change. A session on “Leadership + Pivots,” will be moderated by ClearanceJobs Policy Advisory Board member Jamie Jones Miller. ClearanceJobs President Alex Schildt follows before lunch.
In the afternoon, attendees can expect parallel programming that reflects how closely recruiting, workforce management and security now intersect.
One set of sessions focuses on recruiting and talent strategy. “Adversity to Advantage” brings together NVIDIA senior technology executive Liz Schweigert, Four Corners Analysis founder and CEO Jon Rosenwasser, and Enabled Intelligence Chairman and CEO Peter Kant. A panel on recruiting for the intelligence community features former CIA human-capital leader Mike Mears; former CIA and Northrop Grumman security executive Mary Rose McCaffery; Renee Novakoff, deputy director of defense intelligence in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security; and Vetting Konsultants President Valerie Kerben.
Later sessions get even more tactical. Mount Indie founder Tommy Weinert will lead “Recruiting Tactics 2026,” and the day’s program includes a live recording of The Unredacted Podcast.
A second afternoon track examines the systems and responsibilities surrounding the workforce. Metrics That Matter: How to Bring Data Into the Recruiting Conversation will kick off this break out. A veteran mental-health session features Kristin Sargent, Aaron Knowles and Phoebe Wells, broadening the definition of workforce support beyond the point of transition. Mark Chase, head of product and engineering at ClearanceJobs, will address “CMMC for Recruiters,” while Kali Luthra of 757 Defend and Wayfinder Strategies founder and CEO Luke Shabro will discuss regional approaches to defense-sector growth and innovation.
The first day closes with the Secret Squirrel Awards and “ClearanceJobs + Cocktails,” an open-bar networking reception designed to keep the day’s conversations going in a less formal setting. Including a very special screening of Iron Butterfly’s award winning documentary, The Power We Hold.
Day Two: Clearance Policy, Security Leadership and Practical Training
The second day shifts more of the spotlight to the policy and security issues that affect cleared hiring. The main program opens with a DCSA session. Amber Nicholas Romero of AWS will later address generative AI in the intelligence community.
After the morning break, a chief security officer panel brings together Charlie Sowell of SE&M Solutions, Mike Londregan of Google Public Sector and Michelle Lambiasi of SAIC. Additional sessions cover suitability and identity assurance, including “Trust but Verify—Background Checks and Identity Validation in the Cleared Workforce.” Perry Russell-Hunter, director of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals, is also scheduled to speak. Ellen Knight, senior director in the Executive Office of the President, will lead a session on understanding classification and working with the National Security Council.
Running alongside the main agenda is a series of five user-training sessions. For current ClearanceJobs customers, those workshops offer a chance to move from broad strategy to hands-on application and make fuller use of the platform’s tools.
Why This Year’s Program Matters
The 2026 agenda stands out for the breadth of the issues it connects. AI appears in both recruiting and the clearance process. CMMC is framed not only as a compliance concern, but as something recruiters need to understand. Sessions on veteran mental health, leadership through change and adversity acknowledge the human pressures facing a workforce built around demanding missions. Meanwhile, panels on intelligence-community recruiting, background checks, suitability and classification keep the program grounded in the rules and realities unique to cleared work.
That mix is the value proposition of Connect. Cleared hiring rarely fits inside a conventional recruiting playbook: talent acquisition teams must contend with limited candidate pools, lengthy vetting requirements, contract timelines, evolving security standards and intense competition for specialized skills. The Reston agenda creates room for recruiters, security leaders, government officials and industry executives to examine those challenges together.
From a single regional conference in 2021 to the flagship stop in a four-city series, ClearanceJobs Connect has grown alongside the community it serves. This year’s Reston program suggests the next phase will be defined by convergence: recruiting and security, people and technology, policy and practice. For the professionals tasked with finding and supporting the talent that safeguards the nation, those conversations are increasingly impossible, and unwise, to separate.
A Five-Year Flashback and a Chance to Win
To celebrate five years since the inaugural event, ClearanceJobs is inviting members of the community to take a trip down memory lane. Browse the ClearanceJobs Connect 2021 photo album and look closely: if you find a photo of yourself, you win a ticket to this year’s Connect in Reston.
To claim your ticket, email Phoebe Wells at phoebe.wells@clearancejobs.com and include the photo in which you appear.
