Over the past 19 years I have held a variety of IT and cybersecurity roles which has provided me with diverse and unique experience. While I have always enjoyed working with technology, I started full-time in 2003 while I was a police officer after founding the first-ever high-tech crimes unit in my region. That technology-focused unit later evolved to a regional, multi-jurisdictional FBI cybercrime task force that I commanded for seven years. I successfully obtained ASCLD/LAB accreditation for our digital forensics lab and was the only such accredited lab at the time in the U.S. I held the positions of detective, sergeant, and finally lieutenant during my tenure. While in law enforcement I testified on hundreds of occasions, including as an expert witness in state and federal court in the area of cybercrime and digital forensics.
I left my law enforcement career to pursue a full-time opportunity in cybersecurity with Northrop Grumman, working as the deputy chief information security officer (CISO) of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) part of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration. The NNSS is a highly secure 1360 square-mile area located about 65 miles away from Las Vegas and is part of the nuclear weapons enterprise. The NNSS provides arms control, emergency response, counterterrorism, weapons testing, nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear stockpile stewardship, and special technology development among other national security significant missions and has classified and unclassified networks spanning the globe. I eventually became the CISO and then later the chief information officer (CIO), responsible for all IT and cybersecurity for the national security focused agency.
After five years at the NNSS, I went to work for Gartner (NYSE:IT), the world’s leading research and advisory firm. As an Executive Partner in Gartner’s federal region, I was a trusted advisor to a portfolio of federal civilian and U.S. Department of Defense senior executives by coaching, partnering, equipping, and challenging them to achieve their mission critical priorities. Using my personal experience and the depth of Gartner’s research and experts, I helped clients shape organizational strategy, meet and exceed business/mission objectives, recruit and retain talent, reduce risk, lead through change, drive innovation, implement cybersecurity best practices, and undergo digital transformations. While at Gartner, I was identified as a leader across Executive Partners globally, and frequently requested to help other executive advisors globally in the area of providing valuable consultations, facilitation, and presentations.
Currently, I serve as the Senior Vice President of Operations & Security Services for the Center for Internet Security (CIS). In this role, I provide executive leadership for OSS while focusing on the mission of improving the cybersecurity posture of state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) government organizations. I am responsible for planning, developing, and executing OSS products and services, some of which include the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC), US Cyber Challenge, our 24×7 Security Operations Center, the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), digital forensics, vulnerability management, classified and unclassified cyber threat intelligence, and the cyber research program.
Nothing beats real-world experience, but formal education is important too. That is why I have my Master of Science Degree in Information Security Assurance, over 2050 hours of training, and obtained the following certifications: CAWFE, CEH, CFCE, CHFI, CISSP, CNDA, DFCP, GCFA, GCIA, and GSEC.
While I enjoy my work very much, the most important things to me are my faith and my family. I have been blessed to be married to my wife for the past 22 years and we have two beautiful daughters.
Thank you very much for stopping by!
**The content and opinions on this website are mine and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of my current or former employers**