Our Leaders

Mary McKnight, CEO
Mary has diverse experience exploring all facets of organizational change through digital transformation. She became CEO of Next Phase Solutions in 2018. Her ability to focus on detail while simultaneously exploring the big picture provides executive direction to the team.
SPECIALIZATION: Digital Modernization
YEARS IN INDUSTRY: 15
EDUCATION: University of Central Florida
CURRENTLY LEARNING: Elixir and Kotlin
CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Transitioning an entire school system from paper to digital.
CERTIFICATIONS/CLEARANCES: Certified Scrum Master / Federal Secret Clearance
FAVORITE QUOTE: “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” — Amelia Earhart

David Godiksen, President
A small business owner since 1997, David has spent his career learning what people need and helping them get it. He implemented paperless solutions for over 15 state/local governments in Florida during the early 2000s. David brings a depth of knowledge of the industry and commitment to people that sets him apart from other solution providers.
SPECIALIZATION: Streamlining business processes for simplicity and user experience
YEARS IN INDUSTRY: 28
EDUCATION: Syracuse University
CURRENTLY LEARNING: Hyperconnected Public Services
CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Completing my first state level enterprise-wide ECM solution for the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). It was the first large scale project delivered on-time and on-budget to the Commonwealth in 13 years.
CERTIFICATIONS/CLEARANCES: CDIA / Federal Secret Clearance
FAVORITE QUOTE: “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau

Vince Hanson, Vice President of Sales
Vince joins Next Phase Solutions with 20 years of leadership experience with enterprise software, professional services integration, and software-as-a-service companies. He is a change agent in recognizing customer’s needs, leading organizations to respond with solutions that drive value, and unifying teams to execute on strategic vision.
SPECIALIZATION: Integrating low-code platforms to unify mission critical data
YEARS IN INDUSTRY: 25
EDUCATION: University of Central Florida
CURRENTLY LEARNING: Anything as a Service (XaaS)
CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Creating and launching new ideas from whiteboard concepts to customer ready solutions being distributed across the globe.
CERTIFICATIONS/CLEARANCES: Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer / Federal Secret Clearance
FAVORITE QUOTE: “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

Sam Wilsey, Vice President of Solutions
Sam is responsible for the delivery of innovative solutions to customers that help drive efficiency and process improvements. His deep desire to help others has focused his career on leading teams to produce better outcomes for customers through digital transformation, process automation, and application integration.
SPECIALIZATION: Leading skilled, nimble, customer-first teams
YEARS IN INDUSTRY: 17
EDUCATION: Geneva College
CURRENTLY LEARNING: Augmenting solutions with the cloud as a foundation for innovation
CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Overseeing the solution delivery of the digital claims solution for Deepwater Horizon
CERTIFICATIONS/CLEARANCES: MCP/CDIA+/CJIS / Federal Secret Clearance
FAVORITE QUOTE: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

Gabriel Russo, Director of Data Engineering
Gabe has implemented systems to manage, transform and leverage data since 2004. His desire to deliver excellence and his technical acuity coalesce into an unrelenting force which helps create exceptional outcomes for Next Phase customers.
SPECIALIZATION: Systems mechanization
YEARS IN INDUSTRY: 18
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Business Administration in I.T.
CURRENTLY LEARNING: RPA platforms and Azure AI technologies
CAREER HIGHLIGHT: The privilege to partner with respected peers in the pursuit of achieving individual goals through a common vision.
CERTIFICATIONS/CLEARANCES: MCSE Data Management and Analytics, Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert / Federal Secret Clearance
FAVORITE QUOTE: “Much like online index operations, serverless cloud technology isn’t all rainbows and unicorns.”
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