CYBERSECURITY COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT TEXAS
LOCATION:
August 20-21, 2019 – Buena Vista Theater, Buena Vista Building, University of Texas-San Antonio Downtown Campus, San Antonio, Texas
DESCRIPTION:
The CyberTexas Foundation’s conference, Tradeshow Exhibit and Job Fair will be held August 20-21. The theme is “Cybersecurity Communities Throughout Texas.” While the focus is on Texas communities, the information will have universal appeal and applications for organizations and communities nationwide.
Attendees will gain the knowledge needed to successfully navigate the cyber ecosystem through networking events, educational seminars, keynote addresses from industry, senior government and international thought leaders. Attendees will also have the ability to visit the exhibit area to meet their favorite vendors and meet new ones as well as attend a job fair if they wish.
CyberTexas Foundation is collaborating with the ISAO SO this year and will host our conference back-to-back with the third Annual International Information Sharing Conference (IISC), hosted by the Information Sharing and Analysis Organization Standards Organization (ISAO SO), this August 21-22, 2019, in San Antonio, Texas! The two-day IISC event will again welcome cybersecurity information sharing and analysis organizations from around the world to address information sharing issues affecting the information sharing ecosystem and its impact on communities locally, regionally, nationally and abroad. The 2019 theme is “Information Sharing in Communities”. This conference is open to all as well.
ATTENDEES:
Note: Conference guests interested in attending both the International Information Sharing Conference and CyberTexas Foundation’s Conference & Tradeshow Exhibit will receive an early bird registration discount. The combined conference will be three days (August 20-22, 2019).
For more information about registration, Please click HERE
EXPO & SPONSORS:
In conjunction with the conference, there will be a vendor hall showcasing our sponsor’s latest products and services. For more information please contact Michelle Jackson at [email protected].
About CyberTexas:
Started in 2001, following the 1999 first meeting of area leaders, CyberTexas in San Antonio has been an industry pillar, championing the development of cyber careers within the Lone Star state. In that time, the CyberTexas Foundation has had an enormous impact on San Antonio’s Cyber ecosystem development. Under CTF’s leadership, in 2012, San Antonio was designated as a CyberPatriot Center of Excellence. The Conference serves as an annual meeting point for all those involved in the day-to-day development of the cyber ecosystem within the area. With 700+ attendees, spanning the scope of private industry, academia and government, the conference is supported by CyberTexas Foundation supporters, Air Force STEM, Rackspace, SecureLogix, IPSecure, the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Cybersecurity San Antonio, Alamo Chapter of AFCEA, Alamo-ISSA, SA TecoSystem, TecBloc, UTSA-CIAS, UTSA-NSCC, SASTEMIC as well as a myriad of colleges (five of which have earned a designation as NSA/DHS Centers of Academic Excellence for Information Assurance Education). For more information, please visit www.cybertexas.org.
CyberTexas Conference Speakers
Fredrick Hall is from Baltimore, Maryland and joined the US Army shortly after graduating
high school. His job in the Army was Information Systems Operator. He worked at many
different levels in information technology (I.T.): helpdesk technician, system administrator,
domain administrator, firewall engineer, exchange administrator, and domain/enterprise
administrator. He has been stationed in the United Kingdom, Mons, Belgium at NATO Supreme
Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (S.H.A.P.E.), The US Army War College, Fort Sam
Houston, and South Korea.
In his civilian career Fredrick has been a network defense operator, worked in cyber operations,
enterprise administrator, and currently as a network engineer. In his off time, he is a merit badge
counselor for Boy Scouts of America for Digital Technology and Cyber Safety. Fredrick
volunteers as a CyberPatriot coach for Medina Valley High School, Warren High School’s
AFJROTC, and through the Hondo Public Library in Hondo, Texas and also teaches
the CyberPatriot CyberGenrations cyber safety course for senior citizens. He is a member on the
Texas CS Task Force and WeTeach_CS program of The University of Texas at Austin’s Center
for STEM Education and a member of the Texas Education Agency’s Information Technology
Advisory Council.
Dr. Joan P. Mileski is a tenured Professor in Maritime Administration and of Marine Science
and the Head of the Maritime Administration Department at Texas A & M University at
Galveston (TAMUG). She holds a PhD in International Management Studies from the University
of Texas at Dallas, a M.S. in Taxation from Pace University and B.B.A in Accounting from the
University of Notre Dame. She has transportation experience with Union Tank Car Corporation.
She has also been a Certified Public Accountant for 40 years. She has been awarded several
grants including from the U.S. and Texas Department of Transportation and DHS, has teaching
and international research awards, and publishes in Research in Transportation Business &
Management, Maritime Business Review, Marine Policy, Maritime Policy and Management,
Maritime Economics and Logistics, World Maritime University Journal of Maritime Affairs,
Ocean Yearbook, and the Asian Journal of Shipping. Her research activities currently include
the impact on Maritime Industry firms’ competitive strategy of maritime security regulations and
maritime cyber security and on the importance of disaster preparedness of transportation
infrastructure. She is a Fulbright research scholar alumnae, a former Professor at the World
Maritime University and past President of the Women in the Academy of International Business.
Cris DeWitt is a Senior Technical Advisor to ABS Advanced Solutions. He advises on cyber security for
operational technology. In this role, he has primarily focused on cyber security for high consequence
assets with complex automation systems, such as ports/terminals, ultradeep-water drilling rigs,
containerships, tankers, and LNG vessels. With over 25 years of professional experience in the
technology and cyber security fields, his areas of expertise include industrial control systems; control
system cyber security; operational efficiency; industrial engineering; security hardening; and cyber
governance for maritime assets.
Josh Williams is currently the Senior Advisor for Network Defense Protection, LLC. Josh is a cyber security executive with more than 35 years of strong technical and leadership experience, in both the public and private sectors. Most recently Vice President and Chief Security Officer for global IT Infrastructure Solutions, Data Storage and Cloud Services firm headquartered in the Fort Meade, MD area. Josh conceived and is implementing the first-in-the-nation Cyber Security Apprenticeship Program. Lead the contractor team instrumental crafting the FedRAMP HIGH baseline and in attribution of the nation-state OPM hack maleficent; His Federal career culminated with command of the lead element, tactical Scientific & Technical Intelligence (S&TI) community responsible for gaining access to and exploiting captured or acquired foreign systems.
Doug Underhill is the Director of Cyber Operations for Network Defense Protection, LLC. He is also an Information Warfare Officer in the Navy Reserve and serves his community of Escambia County (Florida) as an elected County Commissioner.
Doug is a 28-year “Mustang” (prior enlisted) Officer in the US Navy, currently serving as the Commanding Officer of a Reserve Cryptologic and Intelligence unit in Greensboro, NC. Enlisting in the Navy in 1991, he rose through the ranks as an Arabic Linguist and Naval Aircrewman, conducting operations throughout the Mediterranean, Arabian Gulf, and Adriatic Seas in support of Operations DENY FLIGHT, JOINT ENDEAVOR, and SOUTHERN WATCH on airborne and surface platforms.
After Commissioning Doug was instrumental in the establishment of Navy Information Operations Command in Pensacola, and served at US Central Command, where he served as the Cryptologic Officer and dual-hatted as a Senior Intelligence Officer. He represented CENTCOM’s counter-terrorism team at numerous overseas posts and embassies in Europe and the Middle East.
In his civilian role, Doug has taught Joint Cyberspace Planning and Targeting at every Geographic Combatant Command and formed an award-winning Cyber Security team for the Department of Homeland Security. In 2014, he partnered with a local IT businessman, pulling together a large Community of Interest to create Exercise CyberThon, a unique community-wide approach to cybersecurity and cyber defense scenario modeling and simulation.
As a Commissioner, Doug leveraged DHS resources to reform the IT operations and cyber security posture of the county. Applying professional standards and national-level governance practices, he demonstrated that partnering with federal resources, State, Local, Territorial and Tribal (SLTT) governments can achieve high levels of security despite limited budgets and manpower.
Laura Torres is a TEA Statewide CTE Coordinator responsible for providing leadership for the Arts, A/V Technology, and Communications, Energy, and Information Technology career clusters to prepare students for in-demand careers in high wage occupations. She also provides project management and program support to the CTE team including resource development for the Arts, AV, and Communication, Energy, and Information Technology career clusters.
Justin Hoffman is a Lead Data Scientist at Booz Allen Hamilton. He has over 8 years of experience in the analytics field developing custom solutions and 13 years of experience in the US Army. Mr. Hoffman currently leads internal R&D for Booz Allen San Antonio in the field of applied Artificial Intelligence for Cybersecurity. He also leads the San Antonio Data Science Meetup group of over 600+ Data Professionals, holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UTSA, multiple certifications, 1 patent in Biomedical Analytics and 2 patents in Cyber AI.
Joules Webb has a passion and expertise for computing and cybersecurity education gained over twenty years of experience working in education, non-profit, and industry roles. Joules was a member of the Texas Computer Science Task force instrumental in promoting a cybersecurity pathway for secondary students. For two years in a row, Joules helped Medina Valley High School earn accolades for recruiting the largest number of female participants from a single campus in the Sans Institute GirlsGo CyberStart game and competition. Joules teaches Cybersecurity, Computer Science, and Physics at Medina Valley High School. She coaches the school’s CyberPatriot Open Division teams, UIL Computer Science team, and beginning in 2019-2020, the Science Olympiad Codebusters team. In addition, Joules serves as a code.org Computer Science Principles teacher professional development facilitator and co-PI for two NASA grants.
Jim Brazell is a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Specialist at Pearson Education. Prior to joining the company in September of 2016, he was an analyst specializing in technology-driven change related to work and education. In 2008, his essay, The Bellwether Sounds, for the National School Boards Journal was one of the first public voices proclaiming the need for U.S. education, workforce, and economic development professionals to recognize the importance of STEM to global competitiveness and security. Between 2003-2016, he delivered speeches and workshops reaching approximately 50,000 education, workforce, and economic development professionals.
During the past decade, his work includes: public policy work influencing Texas and national support for STEM and cybersecurity; catalyzing grants and public-private partnerships for STEM; performing technology forecasts for the State of Texas; designing video games for major military commands and civilian workforce initiatives; and advocating for cybersecurity programs such as CyberPatriot and San Antonio’s Information Technology and Security Academy. In 1995, Jim graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Bradley University—his focus was sociology of cyberspace. To learn more about Jim, visit http://www.jimbrazell.com.
Jessica is Director over the Platform Threat Defense team, whose purpose is to enable the security and availability of USAA’s platforms and endpoints to include web security, email gateways, antivirus, PKI and cloud technologies. She is also an information security instructor with the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) at UTSA.
Her previous roles at USAA include Manager over the Cyber Security Infrastructure team and Lead Security Analyst on the USAA Cyber Threat Operations Center (CTOC) team where she was instrumental in formalizing the CTOC hunting program and moving the CTOC to a more proactive mindset.
Prior experience includes three years serving as a team lead for an operational analysis team supporting US cyber intelligence efforts; five years of experience researching, analyzing, and writing comprehensive intelligence products; and three years of military intelligence experience.
Greg McCullough is the Director of Cyber AI and Cyber Solutions at Booz Allen Hamilton. He has over ten years of experience developing cyber capabilities across the Defense market. Most recently, he has driven compliance automation and key cyber integrations across the Federal market. He holds a BS in Computer Science from Butler University, a BS in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, and an MS in Computer Science from George Washington University.
Dr. Carol Fletcher is Director of EPIC (Expanding Pathways in Computing) at UT Austin’s Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) where she oversees research and professional development projects in STEM and CS education such as the nationally recognized WeTeach_CS program. She is PI for two NSF projects focused on broadening participation in computing (BPC), the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance and Accelerating Women’s Success and Mastery in CS (AWSM in CS). Her research interests include BPC and measuring large scale professional development.
Carol is a former middle school teacher and an elected Pflugerville ISD School Board Trustee from 2001 to 2019. Her experiences as a teacher, policymaker, and researcher bridge the gap between education, workforce, and policy. Additional leadership roles include Chair of the Texas Computer Science Task Force, CS4TX Steering Committee, the TEA’s STEM Educator Standards & IT Industry Advisory Committees, numerous NSF funded STEM education grant advisory boards.
Founded Cyber Houston in 2016 as a group of civic minded business, government, and cybersecurity leaders with the objective of actively convening Houston-area businesses, government entities and academic institutions to address key cybersecurity issues facing the region and provide Houston’s small to mid-sized businesses with information to make their businesses more resilient and become stronger partners to their enterprise clients. Cyber Houston was recognized as Houston’s first Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO) in Feb 2019.
In 2017, Umesh launched the Houston Cyber Summit as a forum designed for business leaders and executives to build a trusted network and share best practices on how to thrive in an era of cyber-attacks, protect and reinforce their business, and invest in a proactive cyber security strategy that aligns with the business strategy.
In 2014, Umesh contributed in Reneka Digital, a premiere B2B digital marketing company specializing in enterprise-grade SAAS solutions, websites, mobile apps and social media campaigns. Today, Reneka Digital is one of Houston’s fastest growing woman-owned companies.
Over the past 30 years, Umesh has built BLUE LANCE into a global provider of Cybersecurity software automation tools for assurance, audit and compliance reporting on access controls and information access. Banks, corporations, health care organizations, education institutions, retail outlets and government agencies use Blue Lance’s software solutions globally.
Additional highlights:
- -Board Member of the Greater Houston HealthConnect (GHH). Chair – Risk & Privacy Committee
- -Chairman-elect, American Diabetes Association National Board of Directors
- -2017 Chairman of the Board of The Center for Houston’s Future
- -Served on the boards of the Greater Houston Partnership and Houston Technology Center. Chair – Cybersecurity Task Force
- -Executive Committee member of Cities Changing Diabetes
- -Advisory Board Member, University of Houston College of Technology
- -Advisory Board Member, Houston Baptist University, College of Engineering
- -Worked closely with former Mayor White’s office and city officials and led Houston’s Community WiFi Initiative
- -Launched Softec International, an off-shore software development and export facility in Mumbai, -India. Later successfully sold it to Novell India
- -Early career at Brown & Root and Shell Oil
- -Finance & Accounting Certificate, Rice University; B.S. Chem Engineering, University of Houston
Brig. Gen. George M. “Moose” Reynolds is Vice Commander of the 25th Air Force, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
Command Chief Master Sergeant, 24th Air Force; Command Chief Master Sergeant, Air Forces Cyber; and Command Chief Master Sergeant, Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
Maj. Gen. Robert J. Skinner is the Commander, 24th Air Force; Commander, Air Forces Cyber and Commander, Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. General Skinner is responsible for providing Air Force component and combatant commanders with trained and ready cyber forces which plan, direct and execute global cyberspace operations.
Twenty-fourth Air Force and AFCYBER personnel build, extend, operate, secure and defend the Air Force portion of the Department of Defense global network. Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber personnel perform operational planning as part of coordinated efforts to support Air Force component and combatant commanders and, upon approval of the President and/or Secretary of Defense, the execution of offensive cyberspace operations. The general leads the activities of two cyberspace wings and the 624th Operations Center.
General Skinner was commissioned through Officer Training School in 1989. He has served in various tactical and fixed communications assignments, plans, policy and resource staff work. The general has commanded at the squadron, group and wing levels, and served on the staffs at a numbered Air Force, major command headquarters, Air Force headquarters and the Joint Staff. Prior to assuming his current position, General Skinner was the Deputy Commander, Air Force Space Command.
Cam Beasley, Chief Information Security Officer, The University of Texas at Austin. Cam is CISO, Director of the Information Security Office, and Adjunct Professor of Cybersecurity with the Department of Computer Science at UT Austin. He has led the UT Information Security Office for 15 years. In addition to overseeing cybersecurity at UT Austin, Cam and team provide Managed Incident Detection and Response for over 1.5M endpoints from across UT System, numerous K-12s, TX Department of Information Resources and a number of other state agencies; they operate the Dorkbot web vulnerability detection service currently serving over 1,200 organizations across 6 continents (and 100 countries). His team has developed a variety of software solutions to support their broader security efforts including Dorkbot and Panopticon, an incident response collaboration and automation tool in use at scale for almost a decade.
Mike Kizerian is a Senior Technical Instructor at FireEye. At FireEye, Mike’s focus is delivery training, developing comprehensive labs, and ensuring that training material is in line with the needs of security teams. He has driven the creation of a comprehensive endpoint investigation course as well as a cyber threat hunting course. He is able to pull from his background of desktop and server administration, as well as digital forensics and incident detection to align training needs with practical information that teams need to do their job well and stay on pace (or ahead!) of attackers. Mike has worked for large and small firms and lead a team of intrusion detection analysts out in Kuwait for a spell.
When not on the road delivering training, Mike fills his time with research, his kids, and perfecting his smoked brisket!
Professional
Bobby Blount is a Department Head within MITRE’s National Security Engineering Center Federally Funded Research and Development Center. Bobby is responsible for the technical execution and delivery of over 70 staff years of work across a diverse set of sponsors. In this role he is responding for finding solutions to the Department of Defense’s hardest cyber and information technology (IT) challenges. Bobby has also led several MITRE initiatives bringing the company staff and other resources to provide technical and engineering support to city governments. In this role, the MITRE team resolved problems in and redesigned city governments’ emergency, IT, and court case management systems.
Community Involvement
Bobby has received national, state, and local awards and recognitions for support of community efforts and initiatives. His recent awards include the Del Toro Public Relations Champion award and the South Texas Youth Soccer Award for support to refugee youth. He currently serves in board leadership capacity on the Northside Independent School Board of Trustees (106,000 students), YMCA, San Antonio Area African Community Fund, Go Public Campaign, several athletic organizations, the Texas Solar Car Races and the Department of Energy San Antonio Regional Science Bowl Competition.
Education
Bobby received his JD from George Mason University, his MS from St. Mary’s University, and his BS from the United States Air Force Academy.
Scott has been a computer enthusiast, developer, and technological consultant his entire adult life. He has focused his efforts specifically on cyber security for the last seven years, and currently works for CACI, Inc. as an industrial control systems security engineer in San Antonio, Texas. Scott’s efforts include modeling and simulation of industrial control systems for the United States Air Force, particularly the cyber security systems that protect critical control systems. He has extensive experience with the nation’s cyberspace operations and is a 26 year US Navy veteran. He was part of the staff under General Nakasone that stood up Cyber National Mission Force under United States Cyber Command in Fort Meade, MD with the mission of “Defending the Nation” against cyber attacks from foreign powers. He has worked closely with the NSA, United States Cyber Command, and the 24th Air Force over the last four years while consulting for such companies as Booz Allen Hamilton and Engility. He holds a Master of Arts in Homeland Security and Intelligence and a Master of Science in Computer Forensics. Scott, his wife Petra, and his two children live in Seabrook, Texas.
Marisa is currently serving as a Cloud Security Engineer at USAA focusing on managing and securing all workloads within the different cloud providers to include AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. Her previous roles at USAA include Software Development within the API gateway team to manage and secure all gateway traffic for the enterprise along with the Managed File Transfers team handling all electronic data transfers between USAA and their suppliers. Marisa graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering where she focused on 3D printing technologies and graphic design.
Sean McAllister, Founder & CEO
Network Defense Protection, LLC
A pioneering thought leader and domain expert at the intersection of cyber security and incredibly large data sets for the majority of his career to date. Sean has conceptualized and operationalized complexity-reducing programs and products for the largest US Government organizations and global private sector companies, culminating in new and actionable awareness of the problem sets facing enterprises, and ultimately in decreased risk exposure across the spectrum of network operations.
Adam Cason is responsible for Futurex and VirtuCrypt’s market positioning, technical documentation portfolio, and engagement strategy for customer and partner relationships. In this role, Mr. Cason works closely with executive audiences around the world, focusing on the growth of Futurex’s thought leadership within the overall field of cybersecurity. He holds a strong technical background and deep knowledge of enterprise-class cryptographic ecosystems.
Dr. Gregory White has been involved in computer and network security since 1986. He spent 30 yearswith the Air Force and Air Force Reserves. He obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Science from TexasA&M University in 1995 conducting research in the area of Computer Network Intrusion Detection andhe continues to conduct research in this area today. He currently serves as the Director of the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) and is a Professor of Computer Science at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). He also serves as the Executive Director of the Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO) Standards Organization (SO) and the Director of the Geographically-Based Community ISAO (GBC-ISAO).Dr. White has been involved in security instruction for many years. He taught at the U.S. Air ForceAcademy for seven years where he developed and taught courses on Computer Security and InformationWarfare. He helped build the nation’s first undergraduate information warfare laboratory while at theAcademy. At UTSA Dr. White continues to develop and teach courses on computer and networksecurity. He has also been very active in the development and presentation of cyber security exercises for states and communities around the nation and with the development of training designed to help states and communities develop viable and sustainable cyber security programs. He additionally is very active in development of cyber security competitions and was instrumental in the development of the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition and the CyberPatriot National High School Cyber Defense Competition.Dr. White has written numerous articles and conference papers on computer security. He is also the co-author for five textbooks on security and has written chapters for two others. His current research interests include an examination of organizational issues affecting computer security, secure information sharing, high-speed intrusion detection, infrastructure protection, community cyber incident response, and the development of the Community Cyber Security Maturity Model (CCSMM) which serves as a guide for states and communities desiring to build their own viable and sustainable cyber security programs. Dr. White received the 2011 Educator Leadership award for Exceptional Leadership in Information Assurance Education at the Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education (CISSE). In 2012 he was awarded the Air Force Association Distinguished Sustained Aerospace Education Award for his efforts in cyber security education. In 2014 he was made a Distinguished Fellow of the Information Systems Security Association. In 2016 he was in the inaugural group of inductees for the CyberTexas Foundation Cybersecurity Hall of Honor and was also presented with the Tech Titan Special Achievement Award by the San Antonio Business Journal.
Shanna M. Ramirez primary duties as Interim VP & Chief Integrated Security Officer are, Oversight of cyber and physical security; Supervise Information Technology Security, Threat Intelligence & Security Awareness, and Security Operations, Business Continuity & Mailroom Services departments; and Function as enterprise point of contact with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies for prevention, response and special joint operations, as well as emergency response and management.
Educate, advise and propose strategy to leadership team, CEO and Board of Trustees on prospective threats, incident response efforts and general issues related to cyber, physical and data security, as well as business continuity.
Andy Bennett is a boot wearin’ native Texan who serves the State of Texas as the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer. He has a diverse IT background with experience in roles across the enterprise and in a variety of sectors including government, banking,
higher education, applied research, oil and gas, law enforcement, Fortune 500 consulting services, and more. He specializes in incident response, investigations, and change efforts and has a passion for security. He is the primary author of the State of Texas’
incident response redbook template and is involved in strategic planning and rulemaking at the statewide level. His professional philosophy is “Show works better than tell, every time.
Scott has been with Symantec for 20 years and is an Information Systems Security Association Distinguished Fellow with over 30 years of tactical and strategic information security experience across multiple control points – data centers, endpoints, and gateways with a focus on threat protection, information protection, cyber security services and security analytics.
Perschbach joined the Port in 2014 as the organization’s Executive Vice President of Business Development—leading a team that provides strategic support to grow advanced industries on the 1,900-acre campus, including aerospace, cybersecurity, defense, manufacturing and global logistics. He assumed the role of President & CEO in June 2018.
Previously, he worked as an attorney in private practice with one of the nation’s largest law firms. There he counseled clients in industries including aerospace and advanced manufacturing.
He is a past chair of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce’s Aerospace Committee and the Alamo Academies—a nationally-renowned program within Alamo Colleges that has prepared hundreds of young people for careers in aerospace, cybersecurity, manufacturing and other advanced fields. He is also past chair of Alamo Colleges’ Scobee Education Center / Challenger Learning Center.
Perschbach holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from The George Washington University and earned his law degree from The University of Houston Law Center
Senior Cybersecurity Consultant, EY. Over 15 years of professional experience in IT, Cybersecurity, Business, and Education. Former CyberPatriot coach and mentor for Medina Valley High School (Top Ranked HS for CyberPatriot).
David Webb is a Senior Cybersecurity Engineer with extensive experience with the United States Air Force’s Cyber Weapon Systems. He’s a 25 1/2 year Air Force Veteran and was US Strategic Command’s and Global Strike’s Chief of Nuclear Command and Control Communications Training and Standardization and Evaluations within the Global Operations Center. Additionally, he is a graduate of the Joint Forces Staff College and retired out of the 624th Operations Center (the Air Force’s only Cyber Operations Center) as the Systems Communications Operations Division Chief managing and maintaining the Cyberspace Command & Control Mission System (C3MS). Upon Retiring he accepted a position at the 690th Network Support Squadron where he was responsible for standing down the Air Force’s Enterprise Service Desk and standing-up the Air Force Information Network Mission Assurance Center (AMAC) and served as an advisor to the Commander and Director of Operations for new and emerging technologies. From there, Mr. Webb moved to Headquarters 24th Air Force where he developed Operational Plans for Cyberspace Operations world-wide. Currently, Mr. Webb is a Senior Cybersecurity Engineer for Abacus Technology Corporation and oversees Cybersecurity activities for the Cyber Defense Analysis (CDA) Weapon System Program Management Office (PMO) and serves as an advisor to the CDA Weapon System Program Manager and Lead Engineer. Mr. Webb holds a Master of Science Degree in Technical Information Systems, is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, and has an Information Technology International Library (ITIL) Certification and a recent recipient of a Certificate in Cybersecurity for Managers from MIT.
Kathleen Smith, CMO for CyberSecJobs.Com and ClearedJobs.Net, has coached thousands of job seekers and employers to achieve the mutual goal of employment. Kathleen presents at several conferences each year on recruiting and job search. Some of the conferences she has presented at as a sole presenter or moderator include BSidesLV, BSidesTampa, BSidesSATX, DerbyCon, CircleCityCon, FedCyber, and CyberSecureGov. Kathleen is Director of HireGround, BSidesLV’s two-day career track. Kathleen is well respected within the recruiting community and is the co-founder and Past President of recruitDC.
Steve Povolny serves as the Head of Advanced Threat Research within McAfee. Steve started his career working in network security at Target Corporation, where he developed his first passion for all things security, leading penetration testing and internal forensics. After several years, he transitioned to TippingPoint, now a division of Trend Micro, and spent several years as a security researcher, learning a combination of offensive and defensive security. Steve discovered his true passion was developing and leading world-class teams of highly capable and uniquely innovative security researchers – he brings that passion to McAfee along with his vision for ATR as one of the world’s most trusted and capable security research organizations.
Aaron Blackstone is the Chief Information Security Officer for the Texas Department of Public safety.
Aaron is currently a Captain in the Air National Guard as a Cyber Operations Officer. He worked for the
past two years on active duty in support of the Air Force Cyber Protection team and prior to that
supported the FBI field office in Houston as their Information System Security Officer.
Aaron began his Cyber security career with the Army research Laboratory in White Sands Missile Range
certifying and accrediting military networks. A native of Huntsville, Aaron has a Bachelor of Science in
Computer Science from Sam Houston State University and a Masters of Business Administration from
the University of Texas. Aaron received his commission from ROTC at Sam Houston State University as a
2 nd Lt branching Military Intelligence.
Paula S. deWitte, J.D., Ph.D,. P.E., is an Associate Professor of Practice in Computer Science and Engineering, Interim Director of the Texas A&M Cybersecurity Center, and Adjunct Professor Law at Texas A&M University School of Law. She is a licensed attorney (Texas) and a registered patent attorney (USPTO). She holds a Bachelors and Masters from Purdue University where in 2015 she was honored as the Distinguished Alumna in the Department of Mathematics, School of Science. She obtained her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Texas A&M University (1989) and a law degree from St. Mary’s University (2008). She holds a patent on drilling fluids optimization [US Patent US 8812236 B1] and has a patent pending through the European Patent Office (currently under USPTO review) on incident response to a cyber attack in industrial control environments. Her legal specialties is in technology contracts and intellectual property. She is a member of the editorial advisory board for Computers & Security (Elsevier), the oldest journal for cybersecurity in the United States. Prior to joining Texas A&M, she founded several technology businesses and was an Adjunct Professor in the College of Technology at the University of Houston.
Christopher Bronk, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of computer and information systems and associate director of the Center for Information Security Research and Education. His research is focused in the area of cyber geopolitics with additional work in organizational innovation, knowledge management, and intelligence studies. Prior to arriving at the University of Houston, Bronk was the fellow for information technology policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute. Previously, he was a software developer in a technology startup and then spent time as a Foreign Service Officer, finishing his tenure at the U.S. State Department’s Office of eDiplomacy. In addition to significant work in the cyber security area he has published on issues including: broadband and wifi policy; IT sector energy consumption; intelligence and information sharing issues; and the area of computer security in the energy industry. Bronk has provided commentary and opinion for a variety of news outlets, including the New York Times, Foreign Policy, Der Spiegel, Scientific American, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, the BBC and the Houston Chronicle. Holding a Ph.D. from The Maxwell School of Syracuse University, Bronk also studied international relations at Oxford University and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Capt Jeffery A. Banner is the Chief of Weapons & Tactics and Training, 836 Cyberspace Operations Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio, TX. As Chief, he leads the planning, execution, and assessment of the unit’s Weapons & Tactics program. He guides tactical planning teams, influences tool development and utilization. Additionally, he establishes and integrates squadron operational tactics, techniques, and procedures development and incorporates threat hunting methodologies into defensive cyberspace operations missions on foreign and domestic networks.
Prior to his current assignment, Capt Banner was the Officer in Charge, Cyber Weapons and Tactics where he was the deputy lead for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center’s Weapons & Tactics team. While there he managed NASIC’s circulation of advanced cyber tactics to the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, and Allied partners.
Capt Banner received his commission from the Officer Training School at Maxwell AFB, AL in 2013. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School and has deployed in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
Bret leads Jungle Disk as the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board. Prior to Jungle Disk, he led a large SaaS business unit for Rackspace serving over 75,000 small businesses. Before that he had the opportunity to lead the AT&T Managed Premises Firewall business, help create OpenStack, and lead several successful acquisitions on the Corporate Development team at Rackspace. Outside of the office Bret enjoys a good meal, live music, and spending time with his large family. He is also active helping transform San Antonio into a technology leader through community involvement with TechBloc, the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, and other outreach activities.
Eric has 25+ years’ experience with Information Security including stints in the Technology, Retail, Aerospace, Defense, Government, Entertainment and Healthcare industries. Mr. Jeffery’s focus involves network design, network implementations, and network security. Mr. Jeffery is a published author and has presented at numerous conferences for nearly 15 years. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Eric joined IBM in 2018 as a Security Intelligence and Operations Consulting Solutions Architect and Senior Managing Consultant where he advises and assists customers with designing, deploying and managing Security Operations Centers (SOC). Eric has four children and resides in Southern Colorado with his wife. Outside of work, Eric enjoys playing trivia, video games and watching the Colorado Avalanche hockey team.
A nationally recognized leader in information security and digital forensics education and training, David Greer knows how vital it is that students’ educational experiences prepare them for our highly technical, ever-evolving global economy. He’s worked in K-12 and post-secondary education with the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education and the University of Tulsa; created the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance that united over 90 organizations around STEM talent creation and retention; and briefed U.S. Senators and the FBI, IRS, and National Security Agency on topics ranging from information security to cyber crime.
As PLTW’s Senior Vice President and Chief Programs Officer, David leads PLTW’s talented team of curriculum, professional development, and assessment experts whose work is at the core of PLTW’s mission of empowering students to develop the in-demand knowledge and transportable skills they need to thrive in our evolving world.
In addition to his work at PLTW, David serves on the Oklahoma Governor’s Science and Technology Council, as well as the board of directors of the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority. He has multiple academic publications and has filed for several U.S. patents in the areas of e-learning and digital forensics.
Fredrick Hall is from Baltimore, Maryland and joined the US Army shortly after graduating
high school. His job in the Army was Information Systems Operator. He worked at many
different levels in information technology (I.T.): helpdesk technician, system administrator,
domain administrator, firewall engineer, exchange administrator, and domain/enterprise
administrator. He has been stationed in the United Kingdom, Mons, Belgium at NATO Supreme
Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (S.H.A.P.E.), The US Army War College, Fort Sam
Houston, and South Korea.
In his civilian career Fredrick has been a network defense operator, worked in cyber operations,
enterprise administrator, and currently as a network engineer. In his off time, he is a merit badge
counselor for Boy Scouts of America for Digital Technology and Cyber Safety. Fredrick
volunteers as a CyberPatriot coach for Medina Valley High School, Warren High School’s
AFJROTC, and through the Hondo Public Library in Hondo, Texas and also teaches
the CyberPatriot CyberGenrations cyber safety course for senior citizens. He is a member on the
Texas CS Task Force and WeTeach_CS program of The University of Texas at Austin’s Center
for STEM Education and a member of the Texas Education Agency’s Information Technology
Advisory Council.
Dr. Joan P. Mileski is a tenured Professor in Maritime Administration and of Marine Science
and the Head of the Maritime Administration Department at Texas A & M University at
Galveston (TAMUG). She holds a PhD in International Management Studies from the University
of Texas at Dallas, a M.S. in Taxation from Pace University and B.B.A in Accounting from the
University of Notre Dame. She has transportation experience with Union Tank Car Corporation.
She has also been a Certified Public Accountant for 40 years. She has been awarded several
grants including from the U.S. and Texas Department of Transportation and DHS, has teaching
and international research awards, and publishes in Research in Transportation Business &
Management, Maritime Business Review, Marine Policy, Maritime Policy and Management,
Maritime Economics and Logistics, World Maritime University Journal of Maritime Affairs,
Ocean Yearbook, and the Asian Journal of Shipping. Her research activities currently include
the impact on Maritime Industry firms’ competitive strategy of maritime security regulations and
maritime cyber security and on the importance of disaster preparedness of transportation
infrastructure. She is a Fulbright research scholar alumnae, a former Professor at the World
Maritime University and past President of the Women in the Academy of International Business.
Cris DeWitt is a Senior Technical Advisor to ABS Advanced Solutions. He advises on cyber security for
operational technology. In this role, he has primarily focused on cyber security for high consequence
assets with complex automation systems, such as ports/terminals, ultradeep-water drilling rigs,
containerships, tankers, and LNG vessels. With over 25 years of professional experience in the
technology and cyber security fields, his areas of expertise include industrial control systems; control
system cyber security; operational efficiency; industrial engineering; security hardening; and cyber
governance for maritime assets.
Josh Williams is currently the Senior Advisor for Network Defense Protection, LLC. Josh is a cyber security executive with more than 35 years of strong technical and leadership experience, in both the public and private sectors. Most recently Vice President and Chief Security Officer for global IT Infrastructure Solutions, Data Storage and Cloud Services firm headquartered in the Fort Meade, MD area. Josh conceived and is implementing the first-in-the-nation Cyber Security Apprenticeship Program. Lead the contractor team instrumental crafting the FedRAMP HIGH baseline and in attribution of the nation-state OPM hack maleficent; His Federal career culminated with command of the lead element, tactical Scientific & Technical Intelligence (S&TI) community responsible for gaining access to and exploiting captured or acquired foreign systems.
Doug Underhill is the Director of Cyber Operations for Network Defense Protection, LLC. He is also an Information Warfare Officer in the Navy Reserve and serves his community of Escambia County (Florida) as an elected County Commissioner.
Doug is a 28-year “Mustang” (prior enlisted) Officer in the US Navy, currently serving as the Commanding Officer of a Reserve Cryptologic and Intelligence unit in Greensboro, NC. Enlisting in the Navy in 1991, he rose through the ranks as an Arabic Linguist and Naval Aircrewman, conducting operations throughout the Mediterranean, Arabian Gulf, and Adriatic Seas in support of Operations DENY FLIGHT, JOINT ENDEAVOR, and SOUTHERN WATCH on airborne and surface platforms.
After Commissioning Doug was instrumental in the establishment of Navy Information Operations Command in Pensacola, and served at US Central Command, where he served as the Cryptologic Officer and dual-hatted as a Senior Intelligence Officer. He represented CENTCOM’s counter-terrorism team at numerous overseas posts and embassies in Europe and the Middle East.
In his civilian role, Doug has taught Joint Cyberspace Planning and Targeting at every Geographic Combatant Command and formed an award-winning Cyber Security team for the Department of Homeland Security. In 2014, he partnered with a local IT businessman, pulling together a large Community of Interest to create Exercise CyberThon, a unique community-wide approach to cybersecurity and cyber defense scenario modeling and simulation.
As a Commissioner, Doug leveraged DHS resources to reform the IT operations and cyber security posture of the county. Applying professional standards and national-level governance practices, he demonstrated that partnering with federal resources, State, Local, Territorial and Tribal (SLTT) governments can achieve high levels of security despite limited budgets and manpower.
Laura Torres is a TEA Statewide CTE Coordinator responsible for providing leadership for the Arts, A/V Technology, and Communications, Energy, and Information Technology career clusters to prepare students for in-demand careers in high wage occupations. She also provides project management and program support to the CTE team including resource development for the Arts, AV, and Communication, Energy, and Information Technology career clusters.
Justin Hoffman is a Lead Data Scientist at Booz Allen Hamilton. He has over 8 years of experience in the analytics field developing custom solutions and 13 years of experience in the US Army. Mr. Hoffman currently leads internal R&D for Booz Allen San Antonio in the field of applied Artificial Intelligence for Cybersecurity. He also leads the San Antonio Data Science Meetup group of over 600+ Data Professionals, holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UTSA, multiple certifications, 1 patent in Biomedical Analytics and 2 patents in Cyber AI.
Joules Webb has a passion and expertise for computing and cybersecurity education gained over twenty years of experience working in education, non-profit, and industry roles. Joules was a member of the Texas Computer Science Task force instrumental in promoting a cybersecurity pathway for secondary students. For two years in a row, Joules helped Medina Valley High School earn accolades for recruiting the largest number of female participants from a single campus in the Sans Institute GirlsGo CyberStart game and competition. Joules teaches Cybersecurity, Computer Science, and Physics at Medina Valley High School. She coaches the school’s CyberPatriot Open Division teams, UIL Computer Science team, and beginning in 2019-2020, the Science Olympiad Codebusters team. In addition, Joules serves as a code.org Computer Science Principles teacher professional development facilitator and co-PI for two NASA grants.
Jim Brazell is a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Specialist at Pearson Education. Prior to joining the company in September of 2016, he was an analyst specializing in technology-driven change related to work and education. In 2008, his essay, The Bellwether Sounds, for the National School Boards Journal was one of the first public voices proclaiming the need for U.S. education, workforce, and economic development professionals to recognize the importance of STEM to global competitiveness and security. Between 2003-2016, he delivered speeches and workshops reaching approximately 50,000 education, workforce, and economic development professionals.
During the past decade, his work includes: public policy work influencing Texas and national support for STEM and cybersecurity; catalyzing grants and public-private partnerships for STEM; performing technology forecasts for the State of Texas; designing video games for major military commands and civilian workforce initiatives; and advocating for cybersecurity programs such as CyberPatriot and San Antonio’s Information Technology and Security Academy. In 1995, Jim graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Bradley University—his focus was sociology of cyberspace. To learn more about Jim, visit http://www.jimbrazell.com.
Jessica is Director over the Platform Threat Defense team, whose purpose is to enable the security and availability of USAA’s platforms and endpoints to include web security, email gateways, antivirus, PKI and cloud technologies. She is also an information security instructor with the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) at UTSA.
Her previous roles at USAA include Manager over the Cyber Security Infrastructure team and Lead Security Analyst on the USAA Cyber Threat Operations Center (CTOC) team where she was instrumental in formalizing the CTOC hunting program and moving the CTOC to a more proactive mindset.
Prior experience includes three years serving as a team lead for an operational analysis team supporting US cyber intelligence efforts; five years of experience researching, analyzing, and writing comprehensive intelligence products; and three years of military intelligence experience.
Greg McCullough is the Director of Cyber AI and Cyber Solutions at Booz Allen Hamilton. He has over ten years of experience developing cyber capabilities across the Defense market. Most recently, he has driven compliance automation and key cyber integrations across the Federal market. He holds a BS in Computer Science from Butler University, a BS in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, and an MS in Computer Science from George Washington University.
Dr. Carol Fletcher is Director of EPIC (Expanding Pathways in Computing) at UT Austin’s Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) where she oversees research and professional development projects in STEM and CS education such as the nationally recognized WeTeach_CS program. She is PI for two NSF projects focused on broadening participation in computing (BPC), the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance and Accelerating Women’s Success and Mastery in CS (AWSM in CS). Her research interests include BPC and measuring large scale professional development.
Carol is a former middle school teacher and an elected Pflugerville ISD School Board Trustee from 2001 to 2019. Her experiences as a teacher, policymaker, and researcher bridge the gap between education, workforce, and policy. Additional leadership roles include Chair of the Texas Computer Science Task Force, CS4TX Steering Committee, the TEA’s STEM Educator Standards & IT Industry Advisory Committees, numerous NSF funded STEM education grant advisory boards.
Founded Cyber Houston in 2016 as a group of civic minded business, government, and cybersecurity leaders with the objective of actively convening Houston-area businesses, government entities and academic institutions to address key cybersecurity issues facing the region and provide Houston’s small to mid-sized businesses with information to make their businesses more resilient and become stronger partners to their enterprise clients. Cyber Houston was recognized as Houston’s first Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO) in Feb 2019.
In 2017, Umesh launched the Houston Cyber Summit as a forum designed for business leaders and executives to build a trusted network and share best practices on how to thrive in an era of cyber-attacks, protect and reinforce their business, and invest in a proactive cyber security strategy that aligns with the business strategy.
In 2014, Umesh contributed in Reneka Digital, a premiere B2B digital marketing company specializing in enterprise-grade SAAS solutions, websites, mobile apps and social media campaigns. Today, Reneka Digital is one of Houston’s fastest growing woman-owned companies.
Over the past 30 years, Umesh has built BLUE LANCE into a global provider of Cybersecurity software automation tools for assurance, audit and compliance reporting on access controls and information access. Banks, corporations, health care organizations, education institutions, retail outlets and government agencies use Blue Lance’s software solutions globally.
Additional highlights:
- -Board Member of the Greater Houston HealthConnect (GHH). Chair – Risk & Privacy Committee
- -Chairman-elect, American Diabetes Association National Board of Directors
- -2017 Chairman of the Board of The Center for Houston’s Future
- -Served on the boards of the Greater Houston Partnership and Houston Technology Center. Chair – Cybersecurity Task Force
- -Executive Committee member of Cities Changing Diabetes
- -Advisory Board Member, University of Houston College of Technology
- -Advisory Board Member, Houston Baptist University, College of Engineering
- -Worked closely with former Mayor White’s office and city officials and led Houston’s Community WiFi Initiative
- -Launched Softec International, an off-shore software development and export facility in Mumbai, -India. Later successfully sold it to Novell India
- -Early career at Brown & Root and Shell Oil
- -Finance & Accounting Certificate, Rice University; B.S. Chem Engineering, University of Houston
Brig. Gen. George M. “Moose” Reynolds is Vice Commander of the 25th Air Force, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
Command Chief Master Sergeant, 24th Air Force; Command Chief Master Sergeant, Air Forces Cyber; and Command Chief Master Sergeant, Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
Maj. Gen. Robert J. Skinner is the Commander, 24th Air Force; Commander, Air Forces Cyber and Commander, Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. General Skinner is responsible for providing Air Force component and combatant commanders with trained and ready cyber forces which plan, direct and execute global cyberspace operations.
Twenty-fourth Air Force and AFCYBER personnel build, extend, operate, secure and defend the Air Force portion of the Department of Defense global network. Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber personnel perform operational planning as part of coordinated efforts to support Air Force component and combatant commanders and, upon approval of the President and/or Secretary of Defense, the execution of offensive cyberspace operations. The general leads the activities of two cyberspace wings and the 624th Operations Center.
General Skinner was commissioned through Officer Training School in 1989. He has served in various tactical and fixed communications assignments, plans, policy and resource staff work. The general has commanded at the squadron, group and wing levels, and served on the staffs at a numbered Air Force, major command headquarters, Air Force headquarters and the Joint Staff. Prior to assuming his current position, General Skinner was the Deputy Commander, Air Force Space Command.
Cam Beasley, Chief Information Security Officer, The University of Texas at Austin. Cam is CISO, Director of the Information Security Office, and Adjunct Professor of Cybersecurity with the Department of Computer Science at UT Austin. He has led the UT Information Security Office for 15 years. In addition to overseeing cybersecurity at UT Austin, Cam and team provide Managed Incident Detection and Response for over 1.5M endpoints from across UT System, numerous K-12s, TX Department of Information Resources and a number of other state agencies; they operate the Dorkbot web vulnerability detection service currently serving over 1,200 organizations across 6 continents (and 100 countries). His team has developed a variety of software solutions to support their broader security efforts including Dorkbot and Panopticon, an incident response collaboration and automation tool in use at scale for almost a decade.
Mike Kizerian is a Senior Technical Instructor at FireEye. At FireEye, Mike’s focus is delivery training, developing comprehensive labs, and ensuring that training material is in line with the needs of security teams. He has driven the creation of a comprehensive endpoint investigation course as well as a cyber threat hunting course. He is able to pull from his background of desktop and server administration, as well as digital forensics and incident detection to align training needs with practical information that teams need to do their job well and stay on pace (or ahead!) of attackers. Mike has worked for large and small firms and lead a team of intrusion detection analysts out in Kuwait for a spell.
When not on the road delivering training, Mike fills his time with research, his kids, and perfecting his smoked brisket!
Professional
Bobby Blount is a Department Head within MITRE’s National Security Engineering Center Federally Funded Research and Development Center. Bobby is responsible for the technical execution and delivery of over 70 staff years of work across a diverse set of sponsors. In this role he is responding for finding solutions to the Department of Defense’s hardest cyber and information technology (IT) challenges. Bobby has also led several MITRE initiatives bringing the company staff and other resources to provide technical and engineering support to city governments. In this role, the MITRE team resolved problems in and redesigned city governments’ emergency, IT, and court case management systems.
Community Involvement
Bobby has received national, state, and local awards and recognitions for support of community efforts and initiatives. His recent awards include the Del Toro Public Relations Champion award and the South Texas Youth Soccer Award for support to refugee youth. He currently serves in board leadership capacity on the Northside Independent School Board of Trustees (106,000 students), YMCA, San Antonio Area African Community Fund, Go Public Campaign, several athletic organizations, the Texas Solar Car Races and the Department of Energy San Antonio Regional Science Bowl Competition.
Education
Bobby received his JD from George Mason University, his MS from St. Mary’s University, and his BS from the United States Air Force Academy.
Scott has been a computer enthusiast, developer, and technological consultant his entire adult life. He has focused his efforts specifically on cyber security for the last seven years, and currently works for CACI, Inc. as an industrial control systems security engineer in San Antonio, Texas. Scott’s efforts include modeling and simulation of industrial control systems for the United States Air Force, particularly the cyber security systems that protect critical control systems. He has extensive experience with the nation’s cyberspace operations and is a 26 year US Navy veteran. He was part of the staff under General Nakasone that stood up Cyber National Mission Force under United States Cyber Command in Fort Meade, MD with the mission of “Defending the Nation” against cyber attacks from foreign powers. He has worked closely with the NSA, United States Cyber Command, and the 24th Air Force over the last four years while consulting for such companies as Booz Allen Hamilton and Engility. He holds a Master of Arts in Homeland Security and Intelligence and a Master of Science in Computer Forensics. Scott, his wife Petra, and his two children live in Seabrook, Texas.
Marisa is currently serving as a Cloud Security Engineer at USAA focusing on managing and securing all workloads within the different cloud providers to include AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. Her previous roles at USAA include Software Development within the API gateway team to manage and secure all gateway traffic for the enterprise along with the Managed File Transfers team handling all electronic data transfers between USAA and their suppliers. Marisa graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering where she focused on 3D printing technologies and graphic design.
Sean McAllister, Founder & CEO
Network Defense Protection, LLC
A pioneering thought leader and domain expert at the intersection of cyber security and incredibly large data sets for the majority of his career to date. Sean has conceptualized and operationalized complexity-reducing programs and products for the largest US Government organizations and global private sector companies, culminating in new and actionable awareness of the problem sets facing enterprises, and ultimately in decreased risk exposure across the spectrum of network operations.
Adam Cason is responsible for Futurex and VirtuCrypt’s market positioning, technical documentation portfolio, and engagement strategy for customer and partner relationships. In this role, Mr. Cason works closely with executive audiences around the world, focusing on the growth of Futurex’s thought leadership within the overall field of cybersecurity. He holds a strong technical background and deep knowledge of enterprise-class cryptographic ecosystems.
Dr. Gregory White has been involved in computer and network security since 1986. He spent 30 yearswith the Air Force and Air Force Reserves. He obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Science from TexasA&M University in 1995 conducting research in the area of Computer Network Intrusion Detection andhe continues to conduct research in this area today. He currently serves as the Director of the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) and is a Professor of Computer Science at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). He also serves as the Executive Director of the Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO) Standards Organization (SO) and the Director of the Geographically-Based Community ISAO (GBC-ISAO).Dr. White has been involved in security instruction for many years. He taught at the U.S. Air ForceAcademy for seven years where he developed and taught courses on Computer Security and InformationWarfare. He helped build the nation’s first undergraduate information warfare laboratory while at theAcademy. At UTSA Dr. White continues to develop and teach courses on computer and networksecurity. He has also been very active in the development and presentation of cyber security exercises for states and communities around the nation and with the development of training designed to help states and communities develop viable and sustainable cyber security programs. He additionally is very active in development of cyber security competitions and was instrumental in the development of the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition and the CyberPatriot National High School Cyber Defense Competition.Dr. White has written numerous articles and conference papers on computer security. He is also the co-author for five textbooks on security and has written chapters for two others. His current research interests include an examination of organizational issues affecting computer security, secure information sharing, high-speed intrusion detection, infrastructure protection, community cyber incident response, and the development of the Community Cyber Security Maturity Model (CCSMM) which serves as a guide for states and communities desiring to build their own viable and sustainable cyber security programs. Dr. White received the 2011 Educator Leadership award for Exceptional Leadership in Information Assurance Education at the Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education (CISSE). In 2012 he was awarded the Air Force Association Distinguished Sustained Aerospace Education Award for his efforts in cyber security education. In 2014 he was made a Distinguished Fellow of the Information Systems Security Association. In 2016 he was in the inaugural group of inductees for the CyberTexas Foundation Cybersecurity Hall of Honor and was also presented with the Tech Titan Special Achievement Award by the San Antonio Business Journal.
Shanna M. Ramirez primary duties as Interim VP & Chief Integrated Security Officer are, Oversight of cyber and physical security; Supervise Information Technology Security, Threat Intelligence & Security Awareness, and Security Operations, Business Continuity & Mailroom Services departments; and Function as enterprise point of contact with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies for prevention, response and special joint operations, as well as emergency response and management.
Educate, advise and propose strategy to leadership team, CEO and Board of Trustees on prospective threats, incident response efforts and general issues related to cyber, physical and data security, as well as business continuity.
Andy Bennett is a boot wearin’ native Texan who serves the State of Texas as the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer. He has a diverse IT background with experience in roles across the enterprise and in a variety of sectors including government, banking,
higher education, applied research, oil and gas, law enforcement, Fortune 500 consulting services, and more. He specializes in incident response, investigations, and change efforts and has a passion for security. He is the primary author of the State of Texas’
incident response redbook template and is involved in strategic planning and rulemaking at the statewide level. His professional philosophy is “Show works better than tell, every time.
Scott has been with Symantec for 20 years and is an Information Systems Security Association Distinguished Fellow with over 30 years of tactical and strategic information security experience across multiple control points – data centers, endpoints, and gateways with a focus on threat protection, information protection, cyber security services and security analytics.
Perschbach joined the Port in 2014 as the organization’s Executive Vice President of Business Development—leading a team that provides strategic support to grow advanced industries on the 1,900-acre campus, including aerospace, cybersecurity, defense, manufacturing and global logistics. He assumed the role of President & CEO in June 2018.
Previously, he worked as an attorney in private practice with one of the nation’s largest law firms. There he counseled clients in industries including aerospace and advanced manufacturing.
He is a past chair of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce’s Aerospace Committee and the Alamo Academies—a nationally-renowned program within Alamo Colleges that has prepared hundreds of young people for careers in aerospace, cybersecurity, manufacturing and other advanced fields. He is also past chair of Alamo Colleges’ Scobee Education Center / Challenger Learning Center.
Perschbach holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from The George Washington University and earned his law degree from The University of Houston Law Center
Senior Cybersecurity Consultant, EY. Over 15 years of professional experience in IT, Cybersecurity, Business, and Education. Former CyberPatriot coach and mentor for Medina Valley High School (Top Ranked HS for CyberPatriot).
David Webb is a Senior Cybersecurity Engineer with extensive experience with the United States Air Force’s Cyber Weapon Systems. He’s a 25 1/2 year Air Force Veteran and was US Strategic Command’s and Global Strike’s Chief of Nuclear Command and Control Communications Training and Standardization and Evaluations within the Global Operations Center. Additionally, he is a graduate of the Joint Forces Staff College and retired out of the 624th Operations Center (the Air Force’s only Cyber Operations Center) as the Systems Communications Operations Division Chief managing and maintaining the Cyberspace Command & Control Mission System (C3MS). Upon Retiring he accepted a position at the 690th Network Support Squadron where he was responsible for standing down the Air Force’s Enterprise Service Desk and standing-up the Air Force Information Network Mission Assurance Center (AMAC) and served as an advisor to the Commander and Director of Operations for new and emerging technologies. From there, Mr. Webb moved to Headquarters 24th Air Force where he developed Operational Plans for Cyberspace Operations world-wide. Currently, Mr. Webb is a Senior Cybersecurity Engineer for Abacus Technology Corporation and oversees Cybersecurity activities for the Cyber Defense Analysis (CDA) Weapon System Program Management Office (PMO) and serves as an advisor to the CDA Weapon System Program Manager and Lead Engineer. Mr. Webb holds a Master of Science Degree in Technical Information Systems, is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, and has an Information Technology International Library (ITIL) Certification and a recent recipient of a Certificate in Cybersecurity for Managers from MIT.
Kathleen Smith, CMO for CyberSecJobs.Com and ClearedJobs.Net, has coached thousands of job seekers and employers to achieve the mutual goal of employment. Kathleen presents at several conferences each year on recruiting and job search. Some of the conferences she has presented at as a sole presenter or moderator include BSidesLV, BSidesTampa, BSidesSATX, DerbyCon, CircleCityCon, FedCyber, and CyberSecureGov. Kathleen is Director of HireGround, BSidesLV’s two-day career track. Kathleen is well respected within the recruiting community and is the co-founder and Past President of recruitDC.
Steve Povolny serves as the Head of Advanced Threat Research within McAfee. Steve started his career working in network security at Target Corporation, where he developed his first passion for all things security, leading penetration testing and internal forensics. After several years, he transitioned to TippingPoint, now a division of Trend Micro, and spent several years as a security researcher, learning a combination of offensive and defensive security. Steve discovered his true passion was developing and leading world-class teams of highly capable and uniquely innovative security researchers – he brings that passion to McAfee along with his vision for ATR as one of the world’s most trusted and capable security research organizations.
Aaron Blackstone is the Chief Information Security Officer for the Texas Department of Public safety.
Aaron is currently a Captain in the Air National Guard as a Cyber Operations Officer. He worked for the
past two years on active duty in support of the Air Force Cyber Protection team and prior to that
supported the FBI field office in Houston as their Information System Security Officer.
Aaron began his Cyber security career with the Army research Laboratory in White Sands Missile Range
certifying and accrediting military networks. A native of Huntsville, Aaron has a Bachelor of Science in
Computer Science from Sam Houston State University and a Masters of Business Administration from
the University of Texas. Aaron received his commission from ROTC at Sam Houston State University as a
2 nd Lt branching Military Intelligence.
Paula S. deWitte, J.D., Ph.D,. P.E., is an Associate Professor of Practice in Computer Science and Engineering, Interim Director of the Texas A&M Cybersecurity Center, and Adjunct Professor Law at Texas A&M University School of Law. She is a licensed attorney (Texas) and a registered patent attorney (USPTO). She holds a Bachelors and Masters from Purdue University where in 2015 she was honored as the Distinguished Alumna in the Department of Mathematics, School of Science. She obtained her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Texas A&M University (1989) and a law degree from St. Mary’s University (2008). She holds a patent on drilling fluids optimization [US Patent US 8812236 B1] and has a patent pending through the European Patent Office (currently under USPTO review) on incident response to a cyber attack in industrial control environments. Her legal specialties is in technology contracts and intellectual property. She is a member of the editorial advisory board for Computers & Security (Elsevier), the oldest journal for cybersecurity in the United States. Prior to joining Texas A&M, she founded several technology businesses and was an Adjunct Professor in the College of Technology at the University of Houston.
Christopher Bronk, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of computer and information systems and associate director of the Center for Information Security Research and Education. His research is focused in the area of cyber geopolitics with additional work in organizational innovation, knowledge management, and intelligence studies. Prior to arriving at the University of Houston, Bronk was the fellow for information technology policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute. Previously, he was a software developer in a technology startup and then spent time as a Foreign Service Officer, finishing his tenure at the U.S. State Department’s Office of eDiplomacy. In addition to significant work in the cyber security area he has published on issues including: broadband and wifi policy; IT sector energy consumption; intelligence and information sharing issues; and the area of computer security in the energy industry. Bronk has provided commentary and opinion for a variety of news outlets, including the New York Times, Foreign Policy, Der Spiegel, Scientific American, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, the BBC and the Houston Chronicle. Holding a Ph.D. from The Maxwell School of Syracuse University, Bronk also studied international relations at Oxford University and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Capt Jeffery A. Banner is the Chief of Weapons & Tactics and Training, 836 Cyberspace Operations Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio, TX. As Chief, he leads the planning, execution, and assessment of the unit’s Weapons & Tactics program. He guides tactical planning teams, influences tool development and utilization. Additionally, he establishes and integrates squadron operational tactics, techniques, and procedures development and incorporates threat hunting methodologies into defensive cyberspace operations missions on foreign and domestic networks.
Prior to his current assignment, Capt Banner was the Officer in Charge, Cyber Weapons and Tactics where he was the deputy lead for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center’s Weapons & Tactics team. While there he managed NASIC’s circulation of advanced cyber tactics to the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, and Allied partners.
Capt Banner received his commission from the Officer Training School at Maxwell AFB, AL in 2013. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School and has deployed in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
Bret leads Jungle Disk as the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board. Prior to Jungle Disk, he led a large SaaS business unit for Rackspace serving over 75,000 small businesses. Before that he had the opportunity to lead the AT&T Managed Premises Firewall business, help create OpenStack, and lead several successful acquisitions on the Corporate Development team at Rackspace. Outside of the office Bret enjoys a good meal, live music, and spending time with his large family. He is also active helping transform San Antonio into a technology leader through community involvement with TechBloc, the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, and other outreach activities.
Eric has 25+ years’ experience with Information Security including stints in the Technology, Retail, Aerospace, Defense, Government, Entertainment and Healthcare industries. Mr. Jeffery’s focus involves network design, network implementations, and network security. Mr. Jeffery is a published author and has presented at numerous conferences for nearly 15 years. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Eric joined IBM in 2018 as a Security Intelligence and Operations Consulting Solutions Architect and Senior Managing Consultant where he advises and assists customers with designing, deploying and managing Security Operations Centers (SOC). Eric has four children and resides in Southern Colorado with his wife. Outside of work, Eric enjoys playing trivia, video games and watching the Colorado Avalanche hockey team.
A nationally recognized leader in information security and digital forensics education and training, David Greer knows how vital it is that students’ educational experiences prepare them for our highly technical, ever-evolving global economy. He’s worked in K-12 and post-secondary education with the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education and the University of Tulsa; created the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance that united over 90 organizations around STEM talent creation and retention; and briefed U.S. Senators and the FBI, IRS, and National Security Agency on topics ranging from information security to cyber crime.
As PLTW’s Senior Vice President and Chief Programs Officer, David leads PLTW’s talented team of curriculum, professional development, and assessment experts whose work is at the core of PLTW’s mission of empowering students to develop the in-demand knowledge and transportable skills they need to thrive in our evolving world.
In addition to his work at PLTW, David serves on the Oklahoma Governor’s Science and Technology Council, as well as the board of directors of the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority. He has multiple academic publications and has filed for several U.S. patents in the areas of e-learning and digital forensics.
The CyberTexas Job Fair hosted by:
is held the first day of the CyberTexas conference from 11am – 3pm
Location: 501 W. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd., Durango Building San Antonio, Texas