The State of AI in the Granite State

{ "name": "The State of AI in the Granite State", "description": "Artificial intelligence is transforming industries and economies globally and \nhere at home in New Hampshire. The question for business leaders who don\u2019t \nwant to be outpaced by those who are adopting AI technologies is twofold:\u00a0\n\n * How can leaders understand AI\u2019s incredible potential and its current\n pitfalls?\n * How can leaders harness AI ethically and responsibly?\n\nThis seminar will call on the nitty-gritty, real world experiences of leaders \ndoing the work right now, and examine it through the ethical, philosophical \nlens of the Center for Ethics in Society.\u00a0\n\n.... Register here \u2192 [1]\n\n\/*Note: t**his event was originally scheduled for 12\/3 but was postponed to \n12\/10 due to a snowstorm*\/\n\n.. *Meet the Speakers:*\n\n*Cameron G. Shilling* (Keynote Speaker) founded and chairs the Cybersecurity \nand Privacy Group at McLane Middleton. The group of six professionals have \ndeveloped a breadth and depth of expertise superior to many firms with a \nnational presence. Over 20 plus years, Cam and his colleagues have provided \ncyber, privacy and AI risk management advice and incident response services \nto businesses, professional services firms, health care providers, financial \ninstitutions, schools, non-profits, and many other organizations throughout \nNew England, along the East Coast, nationally, and internationally. Cam is \nroutinely featured as an expert in cyber, privacy and AI in regional and \nnational media. In recognition of his leadership in this field, Cam has \nreceived the Business in Excellence Award from the N.H. Business Review, the \nGo To Cyber Lawyer Award from Mass Lawyers Weekly, and the Northeast \nTrailblazer Award from American Lawyer Association. Cam also serves on the \nAdvisory Board of the International Associate of Privacy Professionals.\n\n*Steve Leone* has been publisher of the Concord Monitor and Vice President of \nNews for the Monitor\u2019s parent company, Newspapers of New England, since \n2020. He was named editor of the Monitor in 2014 and prior to that was editor \nof its sister publication in Peterborough. He has also been a reporter or \neditor at daily newspapers in Newport, RI; Portland, Maine; Lynchburg, \nVirginia; and Santa Rosa, California. During his first days in the industry, \nhe learned how to use a pica pole to measure photos and how to use a \nproportion wheel to design a newspaper page. He also remembers hearing a \nleader in his news organization say that the internet was a fad.\n\n*Chris Toppin* serves as Chief Services Officer at Mainstay Technologies, \nwhere he leads technical support services for businesses across New Hampshire \nand beyond. With over 25 years in Information Technology and nearly a decade \nin IT leadership, Chris has become a recognized expert in artificial \nintelligence implementation for business environments.\n\n*Leo Schrantz* serves as Vestmark\u2019s Chief AI & Innovation Officer. In this \nrole, he is responsible for shaping and executing the firm\u2019s artificial \nintelligence and innovation agenda, ensuring that transformative technologies \nare implemented in ways that are impactful, efficient, and scalable. Before \njoining Vestmark, Leo was a management consultant at Bain & Company, advising \nclients on strategy, operations, and commercial due diligence. Earlier, he \nworked at Accenture Federal Services, supporting government agencies in \nleveraging analytics to drive operational improvement. He also served as a \nrifleman in the U.S. Marine Corps, including a tour in Afghanistan from 2010 \nto 2011.\n\nFunding for the Ethics in Governance programs comes from a $2 million \nendowment created by the N.H. Secretary of State's Office and the Center for \nPublic Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship awarded to Saint Anselm \nCollege in 2013. The Endowment was created from a settlement reached between \nthe New Hampshire Securities Bureau and Tyco International, LTD in 2002 and \nis administered by the University of New Hampshire Foundation.\n\n*Ernesto Burden*\u00a0(panel moderator) is a vice president at Yankee Publishing \nand publisher of Yankee\u2019s New Hampshire Group. He has spent his career at \nthe intersection of publishing, digital transformation, and marketing, \nhelping both publishers and advertisers maximize the visibility of their \nstories. He has served as vice president of digital for Newspapers of New \nEngland (NNE), group publisher at PennWell, vice president of digital media \nfor The Telegraph and NH.com and related sites, as well as digital media \ndirector for the Rutland Herald and Times Argus newspapers in Vermont. \nEarlier in his career, he was online editor for The Telegraph and NH.com, and \na print editor and reporter with both daily and weekly newspapers.\n\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n\n[1] https:\/\/lp.constantcontactpages.com\/ev\/reg\/ptsykn8?mode=preview&source_id=956e4f09-6c3c-419e-b404-678a3a74c031&source_type=em&c=${Contact.encryptedContactId}\n", "startDate": "2025-12-10", "startTime": "08:00", "endDate": "2025-12-10", "endTime": "11:30", "label": "Add to Calendar", "options": [ "Apple", "Google", "iCal", "Microsoft365", "MicrosoftTeams", "Outlook.com", "Yahoo" ], "timeZone": "America\/New_York", "trigger": "click", "listStyle": "modal", "iCalFileName": "anselm-event-26501", "location": "New Hampshire Institute of Politics" }

The State of AI in the Granite State

In Person

December 10, 2025

8:00 am EST - 11:30 am EST

Location: New Hampshire Institute of Politics

Artificial intelligence is transforming industries and economies globally and here at home in New Hampshire. The question for business leaders who don’t want to be outpaced by those who are adopting AI technologies is twofold:

How can leaders understand AI’s incredible potential and its current pitfalls?
How can leaders harness AI ethically and responsibly?

This seminar will call on the nitty-gritty, real world experiences of leaders doing the work right now, and examine it through the ethical, philosophical lens of the Center for Ethics in Society.

Register here →

Note: this event was originally scheduled for 12/3 but was postponed to 12/10 due to a snowstorm

Meet the Speakers:

Cameron G. Shilling (Keynote Speaker) founded and chairs the Cybersecurity and Privacy Group at McLane Middleton. The group of six professionals have developed a breadth and depth of expertise superior to many firms with a national presence. Over 20 plus years, Cam and his colleagues have provided cyber, privacy and AI risk management advice and incident response services to businesses, professional services firms, health care providers, financial institutions, schools, non-profits, and many other organizations throughout New England, along the East Coast, nationally, and internationally. Cam is routinely featured as an expert in cyber, privacy and AI in regional and national media. In recognition of his leadership in this field, Cam has received the Business in Excellence Award from the N.H. Business Review, the Go To Cyber Lawyer Award from Mass Lawyers Weekly, and the Northeast Trailblazer Award from American Lawyer Association. Cam also serves on the Advisory Board of the International Associate of Privacy Professionals.

Steve Leone has been publisher of the Concord Monitor and Vice President of News for the Monitor’s parent company, Newspapers of New England, since 2020. He was named editor of the Monitor in 2014 and prior to that was editor of its sister publication in Peterborough. He has also been a reporter or editor at daily newspapers in Newport, RI; Portland, Maine; Lynchburg, Virginia; and Santa Rosa, California. During his first days in the industry, he learned how to use a pica pole to measure photos and how to use a proportion wheel to design a newspaper page. He also remembers hearing a leader in his news organization say that the internet was a fad.

Chris Toppin serves as Chief Services Officer at Mainstay Technologies, where he leads technical support services for businesses across New Hampshire and beyond. With over 25 years in Information Technology and nearly a decade in IT leadership, Chris has become a recognized expert in artificial intelligence implementation for business environments.

Leo Schrantz serves as Vestmark’s Chief AI & Innovation Officer. In this role, he is responsible for shaping and executing the firm’s artificial intelligence and innovation agenda, ensuring that transformative technologies are implemented in ways that are impactful, efficient, and scalable. Before joining Vestmark, Leo was a management consultant at Bain & Company, advising clients on strategy, operations, and commercial due diligence. Earlier, he worked at Accenture Federal Services, supporting government agencies in leveraging analytics to drive operational improvement. He also served as a rifleman in the U.S. Marine Corps, including a tour in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011.

Funding for the Ethics in Governance programs comes from a $2 million endowment created by the N.H. Secretary of State's Office and the Center for Public Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship awarded to Saint Anselm College in 2013. The Endowment was created from a settlement reached between the New Hampshire Securities Bureau and Tyco International, LTD in 2002 and is administered by the University of New Hampshire Foundation.

Ernesto Burden (panel moderator) is a vice president at Yankee Publishing and publisher of Yankee’s New Hampshire Group. He has spent his career at the intersection of publishing, digital transformation, and marketing, helping both publishers and advertisers maximize the visibility of their stories. He has served as vice president of digital for Newspapers of New England (NNE), group publisher at PennWell, vice president of digital media for The Telegraph and NH.com and related sites, as well as digital media director for the Rutland Herald and Times Argus newspapers in Vermont. Earlier in his career, he was online editor for The Telegraph and NH.com, and a print editor and reporter with both daily and weekly newspapers.