A third-generation Marylander, Ben Cardin has been a national leader on health care, retirement security, the environment and fiscal issues while representing the people of Maryland in the U.S. Senate, and before that in the House of Representatives. He has worked across party lines to further U.S. national security and to ensure that good governance, transparency and respect for human rights are integrated into American foreign policy. First elected to the Senate in 2006, Senator Cardin currently serves as Chair of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, which is at the forefront of rebuilding our economy. He is a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations, Finance, and Environment & Public Works committees. Senator Cardin is a leading advocate for the Chesapeake Bay, which is the economic, historical and cultural heart of Maryland.

Mr. David P. Luber, Deputy Director of the National Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Directorate, which is charged with preventing and eradicating threats to U.S. National Security Systems and critical infrastructure. Prior to assuming this role, Dave served as the Executive Director (ExDIR) in the United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM). The ExDIR position represents the highest-ranking civilian and third-in-command at USCYBERCOM. Mr. Luber led an organization of over 12,000 personnel, to include a headquarters element, six large Service Cyber Components, 133 Cyber Mission Force Teams consisting of over 6,000 cyber warriors, and Department of Defense (DoD) enterprise defense forces. He drove global cyber operations to defend the DoD network, provides cyber options for combatant commanders, and defends U.S. critical infrastructure, while shaping a budget of nearly $700M, and elements of DoD budgets totaling in the billions.

Diana Burley, Vice Provost for Research at American University (AU) where she is also a Professor of Public Administration and Policy and Professor of Information Technology & Analytics. As the university’s chief research officer, she is responsible for establishing the strategic vision and executing against the research and revenue targets set by the board while also overseeing the university-wide research enterprise, developing the research brand, and supporting faculty led scholarship across all disciplines. She is an award-winning global cybersecurity expert with nearly 25 years of experience leading multi-institutional, cross-sector teams to drive education, research and strategic innovation.

In 2006, Ball made history when he was elected the youngest Chairperson in the history of the Howard County Council. He made history again in 2018, when he became the first African-American to be elected Howard County Executive.  As County Executive, Ball established the mission to efficiently, effectively, and respectfully serve the residents, businesses, and visitors of Howard County, Maryland. His vision is to innovatively expand opportunity and foster the best quality of life for all who live, work, or visit Howard County. County Executive Ball currently serves as First Vice President of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) for the 2021-2022 term.

Larry Letow is the President, US Region for CyberCX, a global cyber security services firm. CyberCX exclusively manages cyber risk, offering a comprehensive set of services: consulting and advisory; governance, risk and compliance; incident response; security testing and assurance; managed security services (MSS)/security operation center (SOC) and cyber security education/training. In addition to CyberCX, Mr. Letow currently serves the cyber/technology community in many capacities. He is presently the Chair of the National Cyber Security Hall of Fame, Board Member for Maryland Cyber Task Commission, and a Board Member for the PGA and European Tour – Ryder Cup Technology Board. He is serves on many other advisory boards including CredEvolv, University Systems of Maryland, Towson University, and Respite Retreats.

Kyle Waggoner is a cyber security executive with experience leading security for multi-billion-dollar manufacturing and consumer goods organizations. Kyle’s expertise spans overseeing U.S. and international operations, with expertise in security strategy, risk management, ecommerce, cloud, data analytics, supply chain, and manufacturing. Currently, Kyle is the Chief Information Security Officer for Perdue Farms, an international billion-dollar premium foods and agriculture company. Prior to Perdue Farms, Kyle was a Business Information Security Officer, for Altria Inc., a Fortune 200 consumer goods company, where he oversaw security strategy, risk, and operations for domestic and international operations in China and Israel. Kyle earned his MS in Information Systems from Johns Hopkins University and a BS in Information Systems from Salisbury University, in which he also lectures at the Perdue School of Business teaching Security Management.

Rafael Maldonado, Vice President and Chief Information Technology Officer, joined the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in 2021. Rafael has more than 30 years of experience in information technology and has served in leadership positions in both the private and public sectors. In his role, Rafael is responsible for the strategic development and advancement of the use of technology and cyber security for the Foundation. He provides leadership to the technology team and works closely with other RWJF executives, operations leadership, program leaders, and staff in implementing a modern and mission focused, enterprise-level technology strategy.  Prior to joining RWJF, Rafael served as the Vice President and Chief  Information Officer at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), the trade association for franchised dealers. Maldonado holds an MBA from the Jack Welch Management Institute and a  B.S. degree in computer information systems from Strayer University.

Tracey Brand-Sanders is the Chief Information Security Officer for UGI Corporation. She is an Information Security leader with over 15 years of experience. Tracey is responsible for establishing and maintaining the enterprise Cybersecurity strategy and program to ensure UGI’s information assets and technologies are adequately protected. Tracey is an active volunteer in the workplace and in her community. She is a founding member of UGI’s Black Organization Leadership & Development Employee Resource Group, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, a member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women – PA Chapter and a graduate of Women Unlimited, Lead.  She also holds a governing body position for the Evanta Philadelphia CISO Inner Circle, an Advisory Council member for the SecureWorld Philadelphia Cohort, and on the CyberriskAlliance Philadelphia Leadership Board.  Tracey earned a M.S. in Cyber Security from Saint Leo University, a M.B.A. from the Donald R. Tapia School of Business at Saint Leo University, is a summa cum laude graduate from Chestnut Hill College with a dual degree in Business Administration and Human Resource Management and has a certificate in IS/IT Project Management from Villanova University.

Since 1999, Mike Shelah has been a business to business sales professional in the Mid-Atlantic market place. As a Business Performance Advisor with Insperity, Mike supports business owners with 5-250 employees to develop the proper strategies for: Compliance, Payroll, Human Resources & Risk Management. A self-proclaimed “LinkedIn Nerd” Mike has spoken in front of thousands of business professionals up and down northern East Coast. In addition to his chair responsibilities for the Howard County Chamber Cyber Conference & Ambassador Committee, Mike is heavily involved in the community and serves on the Board of Directors with Pathfinders For Autism. Mike is also: a husband, father and hosts his own podcast “Life Of A Salesman

Shawn Gyorfy is the Director of Cyber Risk Management at Under Armour. He oversees the GRC function as well as vulnerability management, security awareness, and SAP security.  Shawn’s career started in the networking field working up to be a network architect. His career took a turn to focus on cyber security when networking documents he authored were publicly released from an insider who sympathized with the hacking group Anonymous.  From then on, his mission has been to help companies reduce the risk of becoming a victim to cyber attacks.

Brian Hubbard is the Director of Edwards Commercial and Cybersecurity business. Given his 35 years of cybersecurity experience, Brian is responsible for all strategic Commercial initiatives, as well as development and expansion of Edwards’ Cybersecurity Solution Area.

Brian is a strategic business leader with three decades of experience architecting, designing, and developing solutions to address some of the nation’s top cybersecurity challenges.

Prior to joining Edwards, he founded Evolved Cyber Solutions (ECS) – a company dedicated to supporting both large and small organizations in assessing security compliance and building cyber programs based on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. Prior to ECS, Brian was at G2 where he was responsible for both Federal/Civil Government and Commercial customer solution development and delivery.  Brian holds a Master of Science in Operations Research from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Purdue University. He is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).

Ms. McCoy contributes 30 years of security and information assurance experience to Kaizen Approach. She has worked with a wide variety of security disciplines, including network security, host and application security, security policy development, operations, security certification /compliance and architecture/design. Ms. McCoy’s background is primarily in commercial IT environments, with recent years spent assisting the Intelligence Community. For Kaizen Approach, she manages the commercial cybersecurity practice and specifically supports individual customer’s cyber security solutions.

Previously, Ms. McCoy was responsible for a former employer becoming ISO 27001 / BS7799 certified for seven consecutive years. Ms. McCoy was a key person in developing and maintaining an enterprise security program for a major financial services company. Ms. McCoy earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Penn State University and her Masters in Information Technology from George Washington University. She is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) and an Information Systems Security Architecture Professional (ISSAP).

In Ben’s role as Director of Strategic Operations is to focus on how DP Solutions needs to adapt to a changing world where the use and management of technology is essential for business success, so that our operation can best suit our clients’ needs. Ben, who was named to CRN’s Next-Gen List, also works directly with our clients’ staff to provide personalized education on topics that affect their day-to-day interactions with technology such as avoiding phishing attacks having a strong decision making and assessment process, safe email and web practices, secure and effective mobile device use, compliance management, how to avoid ransomware attacks, and so on. He also runs our Phishing Testing and Security Awareness program so that our clients staff become a risk management asset as opposed to a liability.  Ben hosts regular educational cyber-security webinars, leads DP Solutions’ TechTip video series, has been featured on local TV news & radio, does many speaking engagements, sends out weekly IT Security Tips, and contributes articles and blog posts for a variety of industry publications.

Senior security practitioner with a proven ability to ensure that business objectives and security needs are met. Areas of expertise include compliance and audit support, policy development and enforcement, systems selection and integration, change management, vendor management, vulnerability management, data loss prevention, disaster recovery planning, and two-factor authentication. Recent successes include developing a successful security management program and shifting the corporate culture within a growing financial services corporation, developing a sustainable risk assessment program for a regional bank, conducting a FISMA compliance audit for a medical facility, developing a multi-year plan to achieve NIST compliance for a global enterprise, and developing a comprehensive information security policy based on ISO and NIST standards for a global enterprise.

Michael Misumi serves as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Since 2008 he has led the 500-person organization that manages IT for APL, while also serving on the front lines of cyber-protection, securing APL networks from hackers and other outside threats. As the nation’s largest University Affiliated Research Center, APL performs research and development on behalf of the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other federal agencies.

Greg Schu is a partner in BDO Digital’s Security & Compliance practice.  He works with clients to holistically evaluate risk, governance, security, regulatory, and compliance standards. Greg’s team assists organizations with ensuring smooth operation of their daily business needs, while still maintaining compliance with their unique regulatory standards/requirements.  Their goal is to protect the organization’s systems and data, and reduce the risk of privacy, security, or compliance issues, while understanding the needs of the business to run effectively.

Greg von Lehmen is special assistant to the President, Cybersecurity, at the University of Maryland University College. In this role, he staffs the Maryland Cybersecurity Council, a statutory entity chaired by the state’s attorney general. He also serves as university liaison to the Cyber Center for Education and Innovation, an initiative of the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation. Prior to these assignments, he staffed the Maryland legislative commission on cybersecurity innovation and excellence. His doctorate is in political science from the University of Georgia.

Marcia Deppen works for the Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) as the Director of Consequence Management.  The Consequence Management Directorate includes emergency management functions of planning, training, exercise and response.  It also includes our 24 hour watch center, our WebEOC program, our State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) and multiple operational grants which support terrorism and school emergency preparedness.

Marcia has previously worked as the Emergency Manager at the University of Delaware, the Director of Emergency Services at the Delmarva Chapter of the American Red Cross and the radiological planner at the New Castle County Office of Emergency Management.  She graduated from the University of Delaware in 2000 with a Master’s Degree in Sociology/Disaster Management.

Senator Katie Fry Hester is serving her first term in the Maryland Senate representing Maryland’s 9th district, which includes parts of Howard and Carroll Counties. Before entering public service in 2018, Senator Hester spent 20 years working in the private sector to foster sustainable development, multi-sector partnerships, stakeholder engagement, and effective strategic planning with the aim of solving large, complex problems. Throughout her career, she has worked with Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, governments, communities and non-profits to create win-win partnerships for sustainable international development. In the General Assembly, Senator Hester has put these skills to use, bringing together diverse groups of experts, advocates, and legislators to work on tough issues like encouraging economic and small business development; improving the overall cybersecurity capabilities of the State; developing innovative solutions for a clean environment; and building a bright future for Maryland’s farmers.

Senator Hester graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering and has lived in Western Howard County for 15 years with her husband, Bill, and their two daughters.

As Director, Brandee Ganz oversees more than 90 employees and is responsible for the continued growth and development of the IT department. Under her leadership, Howard County implementing a full re-design of the County website to improve user experience, mobile-friendly capability, and overall transparency. In addition, Howard County will roll out a new online Service Portal in 2020, making it easier than ever for residents to access all the services County government provides. DTCS will also continue to focus on, monitor, and enhance our security platform as our technology needs shift and evolve. 

Charles “Chip” Stewart currently serves as the State Chief Information Security Officer (SCISO) for the State of Maryland and leads the Office of Security Management (OSM) within the Maryland Department of Information Technology. Mr. Stewart has over 20 years of experience in architecting, implementing, and securing a wide array of communication networks. Prior to joining the State of Maryland, he worked as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Skyline Technology Solutions. Chip has been working with the State of Maryland for more than 15 years, and was the lead architect for the design and implementation of the statewide IP/MPLS backbone providing high-speed IP connectivity to the states’ 23 counties, Baltimore City, and all units of State government. He also led the team that developed the Maryland IT Security Manual, and was the architect of the secure enterprise architecture that includes Security as a Service and Security Operations for 40 Maryland agencies. He holds a CISSP, multiple Juniper JNCIE certifications as well as many other industry certifications.

Ms. Theresa Dessaso is an experienced executive with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services and cyber security Industry for over 30 years.  She is an Army Veteran, having served in Desert Shield/Storm in the military intelligence field as a Electronic Warfare Systems repairer (33T).  That is where she developed her passion for all things IT and Cyber Security. She went on to work for large startup companies in Silicon Valley California where she honed her skills in IT management. Her move to Maryland returned her to the center of cyber security, working at NSA and USCYBERCOM with The MITRE Corporation, building upon her strong desire to work toward the cyber security of our nation.  A few other executive positions later with various defense contractors, provided enough experience and connections to serve as the Regional Economic Competitiveness Officer for Howard County for the pursuit of the US EDA’s Build Back Better regional challenge grant focused on Cyber Workforce Development for Maryland.  Ms. Dessaso is a certified a PMP and CISSP. 

Tina C. Williams-Koroma, Esq., CISSP, PMP, is a serial entrepreneur – Founder/CEO of TCecure,an established Maryland-based cybersecurity company, providing security architecture and engineering, software assurance, assessments, training, and consulting to public sector and commercial clients. Their expertise and proven infrastructure allow them to provide high-quality services and custom delivery to clients, including services compliant with DFARS/NIST 800-171 standards.  In 2021, Tina launched a new product venture, CyDeploy,LLC which is designed to help businesses better protect their assets. CyDeploy is an on-demand (as a service) artificial intelligence (AI) driven platform that helps businesses efficiently answer the question and resolve: “what will break if I make these necessary security changes to my systems?”

Tina Williams-Koroma, a Maryland licensed attorney and possesses a BS in Computer Science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), a MS in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a JD from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law is excited about her entrepreneurial ventures, looks forward to continued growth, as she continues to equip the next generation of cybersecurity experts by supporting Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education initiatives.

Kimberly currently serves as the Director for Cybersecurity and Aerospace at the Maryland Department of Commerce.  She has worked in the technology field for over twenty years as an educator and professional in cybersecurity, networking, Linux, and programming.  She held positions as a cyber program manager, IT manager, network administrator, technology coordinator, programmer, and auditor.  Her active certifications include CCNA-Cyber Operations, CCNA-Routing and Switching, A+, Network+, Security+, and CCAI.  She continues to actively teach at the collegiate level at Capitol Technology University and Frederick Community College, as well as manage the cybersecurity and IT programs at Frederick Community College.  Kimberly serves as a member of the Maryland Cybersecurity Council and as the co-chair for the MD Cyber Education Committee in conjunction with the MD Center for Computing Education (MCCE) Steering Committee.  She is also a member of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), Women in Cybersecurity (WiCys), Cybersecurity Association of Maryland (CAMI), Maryland Tech Council, TechFrederick Advisory Board, and Ethical Hacking Council Advisory Board, as well as an active attendee and/or speaker at many local, national, and international cybersecurity conferences and events.

During his 20 years of experience as a cybersecurity engineer, Tom has assisted organizations in assessing their cybersecurity effectiveness through formal security assessments. Tom has assisted dozens of commercial and governmental organizations in implementing security requirements to address risk within their cybersecurity program. Tom is the co-author of ISACA’s guide for implementing the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, which assists organizations in connecting the principles of the Cybersecurity Framework and COBIT 5 to achieve an effective cybersecurity program. Additionally, he was a principal architect and subject matter expert in the development of the CMMI Cybermaturity Platform, a self-assessment SaaS tool that helps organizations identify a risk informed cybersecurity program and track their progress as the program is implemented.

Kristy Mumma, Co-Owner and Vice-President for Stewart Technologies (STI), a technologies solution provider, established in 1987 to deliver bottom line results to small and mid-sized businesses. Kristy’s tenure at Stewart has seen her go from front line on-site IT support providing PC help desk, servers and desktop applications to cloud services and security, leading the Networking Services team and now Vice President, directing IT Operations & Cyber Defenses for our small to expanding corporate clients across a diverse industry base. She serves as virtual CIO, CSO and Cyber Risk Manager for her trusted business partners. During her early studies, and first years in the industry she regularly was the only female in most technical coursework, vendor training, industry courses and certification pursuits. As such, she enjoys mentoring and guiding those new to the industry, especially females in technical roles. A greater Baltimore area native, Kristy has a BS in Management Information Systems from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and a MBA from the University of Baltimore.

Bridgette Gray, Chief Customer Officer, Opportunity@Work is a strategist, operator, and organization builder. She exemplifies leading-edge best practices in inclusive talent development and onramps to opportunity, and currently leads the Customer Success & Delivery team as Opportunity@Work scales the hiring of workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs) nationwide.  In 2019, Bridgette became the Chief Impact Officer responsible for managing org-wide training operations & delivery, impact, and strategic programmatic growth.

Charles “Chuck” Baines, a DMV native, has a long history with Howard Community College (HCC), which began when he enrolled as a part-time student right after high school in 1999. He did not immediately have a well-defined career path, so he took time off from classes to pursue several job opportunities in hospitality, real estate, and the Air Force.

In 2008, Chuck joined HCC as a member of the print shop staff. He also returned as a part-time student and graduated with an AA in General Studies. He then attended the University of Baltimore where he studied corporate communications for the digital age and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 2016 at the age of 36.

Although Chuck has always been interested in technology, cybersecurity was never a consideration until the COVID 19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. The college’s Cybersecurity department, gave him the chance to serve in a supporting role. While Chuck researched policies and performed administrative tasks, his interest in cybersecurity was piqued. He began taking CompTIA certification prep classes through the Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development  at HCC, and after some long months of studying, was able to pass the Security+ exam. Chuck immersed himself in the field by joining study groups and participating in live exercises with the Baltimore Cyber Range.

Recently, Chuck joined HCC’s new Information Security department as the school’s first cybersecurity technician. He is currently re-enrolled at HCC as a student in the cybersecurity program, pursuing another AA while simultaneously studying to obtain more professional certifications. Chuck is proud of his accomplishments but also realizes that a career in cybersecurity is a commitment to lifelong learning.

Colette Cottman is an experienced HR, PM, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Professional, as well as a Training & Community Development Leader with an extensive background in program development, outreach and champion for inclusion and accessibility; educating and supporting military, civil servants, educators, corporate and small business professionals at multiple organizational levels on methodology and the benefits of embracing DEI. She has a documented record of success in creating, promoting, and delivering solutions designed to support organizational change, posture, objectives and outcomes. Colette is passionate about people, growth mindset, giving back and creating positive, interactive and empowering experiences in environments that promote belonging, development, intellectual curiosity as well as individual and team achievement.  

Colette is a Microsoft Alum former Community Development Specialist and Enterprise Training Manager. She holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management & Services, a Bachelor of Science in Mgmt./Computer Information Systems (M/CIS) and a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Studies with concentrations in Business & Organizational Psychology. She’s a Certified Business Coach, an MCT, has held an MCSE and current certifications include: ITIL-F, LSSGB, MIE 365 Academy, M365, MS Teams Admin, Change Management, Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Certificates.

She’s currently positioned as an Inclusion and Diversity Manager, serving the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. She’s recently worked as a Talent Advocacy and Project Manager at TEKsystems Global Services, focused on Rising Talent within Workforce Development. Consulting and delivering resource management and mentorship as part of a service management team that focuses on capacity, productivity and workforce planning optimization, so client leadership can focus on more strategic, priority tasks; advises on best practices and supports talent through training, transition and duration of contractual engagements.

She has been a member of the HCC staff since 1999; initially holding the position of senior programmer/analyst and then serving for 15 years as director of administrative information systems. 

As the vice president of IT, Ms. Wu provides the vision to keep HCC’s high-tech environment current for both the academic and business units of the college. During her 20 years at HCC, Ms. Wu has served on numerous committees and cross-functional teams and was the founder of the college’s Friendly Campus initiative. Ms. Wu continues to be an active member of the Maryland Community College Technology Officers affinity group.

Gwen Muse-Evans is President and CEO of GME Enterprises a management consulting firm that specializes in risk management, operations management, strategic support and housing finance advisory services. Muse-Evans has a 30+ year tenure in the financial services and housing industries. During this time, she worked in many high-profile executive-level leadership positions. During her tenure as the Chief Risk Officer of Single Family at Fannie Mae she successfully implemented risk management platforms and policies to respond to market, economic and financial challenges. Throughout her career, Muse-Evans has served as a valued consulting resource to resolve complex issues. In addition, she has spearheaded numerous projects in both her professional career and in her current role to promote business resiliency, hep clients strengthen compliance practices and introduce risk management frameworks.

Seshadri is a Manager in Deloitte Risk & Financial Advisory. Seshadri is a Certified Information Security professional with over 19+ years of experience. For last few years he worked with various North American Utility companies to implement Smart Grid initiatives. His position was primarily responsible for managing IT Security Governance activities to ensure that information assets are adequately protected. The role requires technical security expertise and collaboration with various IT teams to ensure projects are conducted in alignment with information security policies and standards. Maintain strong relationships with other disciplines and business units to coordinate development, delivery, and ongoing support for security solutions and enterprise risk reduction activities. Develop and drive closure of corrective action plans for security-related gaps and deployment of security monitoring tools.

Dave counsels clients on a broad range of business and finance matters, such as mergers and acquisitions, purchase and sale of private businesses, commercial financing, private offerings of debt and equity securities, venture capital and private equity transactions, and general governance issues. He advises clients on all phases of their business life cycle, from formation and start-up through growth, operation, and sustainment to sale of the company—often counseling clients on matters related to customer and vendor contracts, securities and tax compliance, and employee incentive offerings.

Well-versed in guiding clients through highly regulated industries, including government contracting, Dave is adept at efficiently drafting acquisition agreements, commercial loan agreements, joint venture agreements, mentor-protégé agreements, subcontract agreements, and private investment documents. 

After working as a territory manager for a regional insurance carrier, Matt began working at McFarlin in 2010 and became a partner in 2016. His responsibilities include business development and marketing for the agency. He is active in the community, serving on the Howard County Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals board, the Howard Technology Council, and volunteers with numerous non-profit organizations. A graduate of Towson University, Matt resides in Ellicott City with his wife and their two young daughters. In his free time he enjoys live music, Orioles games, and long distance running.