Behind every smart system and digital breakthrough is a team that dares to ask what if? We turn complexity into clarity—together
Executive Leadership
Jon Mitchell
CEO/CTO
Illlumination Works and its employees are Jon’s second family and this company is absolutely his heart and soul. He tries every day to instill the passion for getting things done, which has had a trickle-down effect within the company.
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Hugh Bolton
President
Hugh guides strategic goals, identifies growth opportunities, evaluates market forecasts and long-term trends, gathers competitive intelligence, assesses cross-functional business processes, and pushes business model innovation.
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Jan Turkelson
Senior Vice President
Jan is a leader dedicated to high quality results and innovation for our clients. With over 20 years of DoD experience, her expertise spans a wide range of technology and business transformation solutions at the project and enterprise level.
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Gary Telles
VP Commercial
Gary brings more than 25 years of raw programming and data experience in the commercial industry, leading projects for data management, big data, BI/DW, data quality, and analytics. Gary’s mantra is to implement IT solutions better than anyone else.
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Janette Steets
Associate VP Defense
Janette is a strategic leader with a focus on delivering excellence for our clients. She brings 20+ years of experience in scientific research and data science and specializes in turning data into actional information.
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Directors, Practice & CoE Leads
Dan Marion
Director of Defense Strategy & BD
Dan has more than 30 years of experience across strategy, operations, and business development, helping government organizations apply data and technology to address complex mission challenges.
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John Tribble
Director of Data Science
John has 18+ years of experience in data science and focuses on growing data science capabilities across the enterprise, staying on top of trends and key innovations, and ensuring alignment with present and future client needs.
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Dan Harner
Director of Software & Cloud Engineering
Dan brings more 30+ years of experience creating and delivering end-to-end data and software solutions. He leads our software and cloud practice and consistently shapes innovative, customer-focused solutions that drive results.
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Janet Schreiber
Director of Operations
Janet has 15+ years of experience in financial management and timekeeping and 7 years of experience in HR. She oversees all aspects of office operations while also serving as the company’s Finance Manager.
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Cathy Claude
Director of Marketing
Cathy brings expertice in content creation, graphic design, and digital marketing, working directly with executive leadership, sales, delivery, recruiting and operations to build Illumination Works’ brand both internally and externally.
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Samantha Dunseith
Director of Contracts
Samantha leads the company’s contracting function, ensuring sound business practices, regulatory compliance, and strong partnerships that support strategic objectives.
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Jeff Blakley
Data Engineering Practice Lead
Jeff brings 30+ years of experience in IT and has deep experience with large-scale database and data warehouse projects where SQL optimization, report design, and requirements gathering are critical.
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Heather Puffenbarger
Business Agility Practice Lead
Heather has 14 years of experience bringing project and product management to technical innovations. She leads our business agility practice, aligning strategy, execution, and continuous improvement.
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Doug Mooney
Computer Vision CoE Lead
Doug has 20+ years of experience in data science and leads ILW’s Computer Vision CoE where he champions inventive, result-driven solutions tailored to customer needs.
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Lillian Thistlethwaite
NLP CoE Lead
Lillian has 12 years of experience in data science and leads ILW’s Natural Language Processing CoE where she helps drive the strategy, development, and delivery of advanced NLP and AI solutions.
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Srini Anand
AI Acceleration CoE Lead
Srini has 25+ years of experience at the intersection of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence. He provides strategic leadership that enables organizations to accelerate innovation, modernize operations, and realize the full value of AI-driven transformation.
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Greg Williams
Cloud Engineering CoE Lead
Greg has 15+ years of experience designing and deploying complex cloud-based systems. He leads our cloud engineering CoE to advance innovative, scalable cloud solutions that enhance performance, strengthen security, and streamline delivery.
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Driven by Purpose — Powered by Values
Our vision is to be the first choice for customers seeking innovative solutions. We’re on a mission to attract, empower, and retain top talent—people who are passionate about making a real difference in our customers’ businesses. Since 2006, our core values have shaped not just our success, but the way we work together every day. They’re the foundation of a culture driven by purpose, collaboration, and a commitment to doing things the right way.
» We Are Decision Makers
- Confident in our abilities
- Able to change a decision based off factors
- Correct when plans aren’t working
» We Are Focused
- Aware of our customers and their needs
- Exceed customers expectations
- Strive to add additional value
» We Are Reliable
- Demonstrate integrity
- Committed to high ethical standards
- Take responsibility
» We Are Committed
- Live our corporate values in our work
- Create enthusiasm in our teams and goals
- Contribute to team goals, and lending a hand when necessary
» We Strive to be the Best
- We are not satisfied with “good enough”
- Each person brings something to the team
- Stay abreast of technical developments
» We Are Accountable
- Admit our mistakes and take responsibility
- Do not blame others
- Seek feedback and accept constructive criticism
» We Are Open Minded
- Be flexible and inclusive
- Open to new ideas, and changes to environment
- Value everyone’s opinions and solutions