Topic: Hiring The Vet: A Joint ISACA & ISSA Event

Description: In honor of our Veterans' service and Veterans day,  ISACA and ISSA are holding a joint event to help Veterans transition from the military to the private sector. We will have an outstanding panel of Veterans that have recently transitioned, and local cybersecurity leaders who have a passion for hiring veterans. We will be discussing the following:

• Why you should hire a Veteran

• What you should expect when you hire a Veteran

• How active duty Military can prepare and translate their military experience to civilian applications

Most importantly we are making this a free event for any active duty Military and those who have recently separated to thank you for your service and help you transition to your civilian career.

This panel discussion will also help others aspiring to enter the field of cybersecurity to understand some of the competences, skills and traits that make for successful entrants to the profession. As always, all are welcomed to our ISACA chapter events.

Panelists:

Macy Dennis
Macy is the Chief Security Officer (CSO) for EVOTEK for the last 2 years.  Prior to joining EVOTEK, Dennis was an Executive Director in the Office of the CISO at Optiv. Before Optiv, he served as the CISO at Kratos Defense and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, as well as, held various security leadership roles at American Express, Trimble Navigation, Echostar, and Winstar Wireless.

With over 25 years of information technology and security leadership experience, Dennis has a proven track record for building strong, successful teams with focus on cybersecurity, privacy, and physical security. Dennis is the founder, and current chairman, of the board for the San Diego CISO Round Table, an ecosystem for CISOs and security leaders to meet with their peers in a closed forum. He serves on the California Governor's Cyber Taskforce, Cyber Center of Excellence, and Security Advisory Alliance. Each of these groups enables leaders to collaborate on current security concerns, provide coaching and mentoring for security leaders, and focus on the development of threat prevention and response tactics, techniques, and procedures. US Government agencies have recognized Dennis for building a program that was nominated for the National Counterintelligence Award.

Carrie Johnson
Navy Chief Fire Controlman
Senior Technical Trainer and Curriculum Developer, ASML

Carrie Johnson is a Senior Technical Trainer and Curriculum Developer for ASML in the Extreme Ultraviolet Light sector of the semiconductor industry.  She served in the United States Navy from her enlistment in January 1997 as a Fire Controlman at various shore commands in Illinois, Virginia, Mississippi, California, and London, England and onboard USS Oak Hill (LSD 51), USS Bulkeley (DDG 84), USS Comstock (LSD 45), USS Halsey (DDG 97), and USS Russell (DDG 59) before retiring as a Chief Petty Officer in January 2017 after 20 years of service.  She is a recent graduate of Point Loma Nazarene University with a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership and has continued her studies with PLNU’s School of Education to earn graduate certificates in Diversity and Instructional Leadership.  Carrie is a native of Kansas City, Missouri and resides with her husband and stepson in San Diego where her husband serves on active duty as the Command Senior Chief for the USS Freedom (LCS 1).  She volunteers in her community as an Emergency Services Call Center operator for 2-1-1 San Diego.

Paul Keener
Maj, USMC (Ret.)
Director, Cybersecurity Operations Center & Red Team, Viasat Inc.

Paul Keener has worked in the field of cybersecurity for the last 18 years. As a United States Marine Communications Officer, he has years of experience developing and leading cyber penetration teams within the Department of Defense. During his career as a Marine, he has led the Marine Corps Red Team; taught the data network package for the Basic Communications Officer Course; and planned for large, secure deployed networks in often austere, unforgiving environments. His most recent job within the Marine Corps was as the Cyber Developmental Test and Evaluation Lead for MCTSSA (Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity), where he led the development of an advanced adversarial cyber testing capability. The team that he led focused at the nation-state level on exposing the specific, exploitable vulnerabilities within Marine Corps Command and Control systems. He has a passion for creating life-long students in the art of cyber warfare and most of his career as a Marine has been focused on the training and development of cyber professionals. Paul retired in June 2017 from the Marine Corps, he now works for Viasat as the Director, Cyber Security Operations Center & Red Team. Paul is also an Adjunct Faculty for the Masters of Science in Cybersecurity Operations and Leadership at the University of San Diego. Paul has a Bachelor's in Political Science from UC San Diego and a Master's in Military Studies from Marine Corps University.

Jonathan Wyatt
MSgt, USMC (Ret.)

Red Team, Viasat Inc.

Originally from Statesville, NC, Jonathan joined the Marine Corps in June of 1999. He served for 20 years as a Signals Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, and Cyberspace Warfare professional. During that time, he was a major contributor to the development of cyberspace and electronic warfare capabilities for the Marine Corps. At Viasat, Jonathan is part of Advanced Networking & Cybersecurity Solutions where he works as part of the Red Team. 

Jonathan earned a degree in Computer Science from University of Maryland and Is a Certified Information System Security Professional. He currently lives in the San Diego, CA area with his wife, Amber, and 3 children.

Bill Higgs - Moderator
Bill Higgs is US Regional Security Officer for ASML, a $112 Billion company that manufactures 85% or the world’s semiconductors.  Bill is also the CISO for the Cymer an ASML Company in San Diego.  Prior to ASML, Bill was the VP of Security for Irdeto, a content management corporation.  Bill brings more than 30 years of experience in Information Technology and Cyber Security.

Bill is a:

• 2019 Graduate of the FBI Quantico CISO Academy

• 2019 Graduate of the FBI San Diego Citizen Academy

• San Diego ISSA Director of Programs

• Member of the San Diego CISO Round Table

• Infragard, ISACA, OWASP, ISC2 member

• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

• Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP)

Bill is a former US Navy Submarine veteran.