Vice President, Government Affairs
Forescout Tech Inc.

As a Vice President of Government Affairs at Forescout Technologies, Alison is responsible for the company’s relationships across Congress and the Executive Branch, where she leads all legislative functions, federal policy, and strategic partnerships. Before joining Forescout, Alison spent over a decade in the federal civil service, working for the Department of the Navy and the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

She was selected for the Defense Fellowship program in 2019 and was assigned to Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8). Alison drafted legislation, built bi-partisan consensus, conducted research, and provided oversight of complex national security issues and objectives. Next, Alison joined the staff of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC), where she served as the Strategic Communications and Legislative Affairs Director. The Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act contained over 26 CSC recommendations, representing one of our nation’s most comprehensive and forward-looking pieces of national cybersecurity legislation.

Alison concluded her government service at CISA. She collaborated with senior leaders across the agency to research, develop, and engage Congress on key cybersecurity policy issues. This included supporting the passage of the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (CIRCIA), a key policy objective for CISA.

Alison holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government and International Relations from George Mason University (GMU), a Master of Science in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from GMU, and a Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University.

Partner
Monument Advocacy

Andrew Howell leads Monument Advocacy’s Technology and Cybersecurity policy teams, and in those roles helps position companies before policymakers in the legislative and executive branches of government. He specializes in cybersecurity, technology, transportation, and federal procurement, and is a recognized expert in these areas. Andrew was formerly Vice President of Homeland Security Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He also served as Senior Vice President at the National Chamber Foundation, and as a Senior Associate at CLS Strategies. Earlier in his career, Andrew worked as Executive Director at the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America. He holds an undergraduate degree from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from The George Washington University.

Director of Global Investigations
Universal Music Group

Ben Bass is a retired 23-year veteran of the United States Secret Service and currently employed as the Director of Global Investigations for Universal Music Group. Prior to Ben’s retirement from the U.S. Secret Service in 2022, he spent six years as the Special Agent in Charge and Director of the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI) in Hoover, Alabama. The NCFI is the country’s primary federally funded training center dedicated to instructing and equipping state and local law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges for cybercrime investigations, digital evidence analysis, and case law. Ben directed a $42.9M budget and led a team of 47 employees and contractors to accomplish the U.S. Secret Service’s cyber training mission. Ben also served as the primary U.S. Secret Service liaison to over 2,500 different law enforcement agencies that attended the NCFI. Ben and his team spearheaded research on secure hardware configurations, ransomware, network intrusion response, and mitigation of threats from emerging technologies. During his time at the NCFI, Ben worked persistently to implement a five-year growth strategy for the NCFI cyber incident response program resulting in metrics and analysis of 52 petabytes of data contained in 550K digital media forensics nationwide.

Ben holds his BA from Baylor University and his MBA from the University of Texas, Arlington. Throughout his career, Ben is proud to have worked with law enforcement from multiple foreign countries executing both Presidential Protective operations and cyber-fraud investigations.

Senior Director
APCO Worldwide

Brian Keeter is a senior director at APCO Worldwide’s Office of the Executive Chairman, based in Washington, D.C. He co-leads APCO’s Cyber Protection and Reputation team and supports clients in higher education, energy and transportation and infrastructure.

Prior to joining APCO, Mr. Keeter served at Auburn University for 14 years as the executive director of public affairs. In this role, he led the university’s executive communications, directing national visibility and brand realignment campaigns. His responsibilities included serving as the spokesperson for the president and a member of the president’s cabinet, advising senior leadership on critical issues and directing the university’s federal government relations program.

Mr. Keeter previously served as the associate administrator for public affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration. He developed and implemented national communication and public affairs strategies, served as FHWA spokesperson, advised the Administrator and led efforts to raise awareness of key highway policy proposals in the surface transportation law.

He received his Bachelor of Arts in communications and economics from Auburn University, his Advanced Public Relations Professional Certificate from George Washington University and his Master of Mass Communication from the University of South Carolina.

Senior Advisor, Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy
U.S. Department of Energy

Cheri Caddy was the Deputy Assistant National Cyber Director for Cyber R&D in the Office of the National Cyber Director at the White House. In this role, she led development of the National Cybersecurity Strategy and implementation efforts related operational technology, electric vehicles and clean energy technology, technical standards, and software liability.

Prior to ONCD, Ms. Caddy was the Senior Technical Advisor for Cybersecurity in CESER at the Department of Energy. At DOE, she led strategy development and execution of cybersecurity policy, technology, and critical infrastructure protection programs, managing an annual portfolio of $50 million in cybersecurity R&D at the National Laboratories. She developed and launched DOE’s congressionally-directed cyber supply chain security program, DOE’s cyber vulnerability testing program, and efforts to ensure cybersecurity for renewable technologies. As Executive Director of the Securing Energy Infrastructure Executive Task Force, Ms. Caddy developed and led a senior technical public-private partnership to produce the congressionally-directed National Cyber-Informed Engineering Strategy and global security standards for industrial control systems. She also sponsored and served on the board of the Cyber Manufacturing Innovation Institute.

Previously, Ms. Caddy spent five years as the National Security Agency’s Executive Director of Enduring Security Framework, a joint program comprising DoD, DHS, the Intelligence Community, and industry leaders in the defense, IT, and communications sectors to collectively address intelligence-informed technical and operational cyber vulnerabilities and risks to national security systems and critical infrastructure.

Prior to NSA, Ms. Caddy was Director for Cybersecurity Policy at the National Security Council for 2.5 years during the Obama Administration.

Over her 30-year federal career, Ms. Caddy has served in a wide variety of roles in the Defense, Intelligence, and Foreign Service communities with portfolios spanning cybersecurity, technology, policy, R&D, international trade and economics, and foreign affairs.

Ms. Caddy holds a B.A. in International Studies from Norwich University, Military College of Vermont; an M.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia; and an M.P.A. in Public Administration from the American University in Washington, DC.

Director, Field Intelligence Operations Division
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Charles “Chuck” Durant began his professional career in national intelligence in 1980 when he joined the U.S. Army as a German language signals intelligence voice interceptor and he served military tours at U.S. Army Field Station Berlin in West Berlin; Fort Huachuca, AZ; Fort Meade, MD; and Fort Carson, CO.

After the fall of the Berlin wall, Chuck transitioned to U.S. Army Counterintelligence in 1993 and served tours at the BENELUX (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) Military Intelligence Detachment, the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, CO, and the U.S. Army Foreign Counterintelligence Activity (USAFCA) at Fort Meade as well as a deployment to Hungary in support of the international peace keeping mission in the former Yugoslavia.

Chuck retired from the Army in 2000 and returned to USAFCA as a Counterintelligence Agent. After 9/11, he went to work for the National Security Agency until he returned to USAFCA as the Chief of Investigations. He then served as U.S. Army representative to the DoD Counterintelligence Field Activity before assuming a position with the White House Military Office where he provided counterintelligence and security support to the President and White House staff on overseas visits.

In 2009, Chuck joined the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. In 2011, he became the DOE Deputy Director of Counterintelligence until his retirement from federal service as a member of the Senior Executive Service.

After his retirement from federal service in April 2019, Chuck worked as the Berkshire Hathaway Energy Director of National Security and Resiliency Policy in Washington DC.

In October of 2020, Chuck joined Oak Ridge National Laboratory Field Intelligence Element (FIE) Director and conducts frequent external engagement with sponsors across the U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC).

Chuck has over 43 years of intelligence community experience and in 2019 was recognized for his service by the DOE Secretary of Energy with a Meritorious Service Award, the National Nuclear Security Administrator’s gold medallion, and a Lifetime Counterintelligence Achievement Award by the Director of National Intelligence’s (DNI) National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC).

Chief Executive Officer
Cummiskey Strategic Solutions

Chris Cummiskey is the Chief Executive Officer of Cummiskey Strategic Solutions, LLC, a firm based in Washington DC that specializes in cyber/IT, homeland security, Federal acquisition, and management consulting. Mr. Cummiskey serves as a senior strategic advisor to Federal agencies, private sector companies and boards of directors on a wide range of topics in technology and innovation. Mr. Cummiskey has 24 years of government experience in senior positions at both the Federal and state levels.

Mr. Cummiskey served in senior leadership at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for six years, most recently in the number three position at the department as Under Secretary for Management and Chief Acquisition Officer. During his tenure as Under Secretary and Deputy Under Secretary, he had department-wide oversight and responsibility for budget/finance, cyber/IT, procurement/contracting, human capital, department-wide security, facilities, and mission support. He also served as the department’s Chief Acquisition Officer, overseeing $19 Billion in annual spending.

Before coming to Federal service, Mr. Cummiskey served as the Chief Information Officer for the State of Arizona for six years. Prior to serving as State CIO and Director of the Arizona Technology Agency, Mr. Cummiskey was elected to six terms in the Arizona State Legislature. As a state senator, he held numerous leadership positions and was credited with developing technology solutions to improve government service delivery.

Chief Security Officer, Global Security
The Walt Disney Company

David Bowdich serves as the Chief Security Officer for The Walt Disney Company. In this role, Mr. Bowdich oversees the management of security functions globally, including the protection of domestic and international parks and resorts, Disney Cruise Line, Disney and National Geographic-sponsored trips, retail stores and e-commerce, productions, studios, special events, facilities, employees, guests, and intellectual property owned by the Company.

Mr. Bowdich joined TWDC in February 2021 as Vice President of Global Security for Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, following his retirement from a 25-year career at the FBI.

During his last three years at the Bureau, Mr. Bowdich served as the Deputy Director responsible for leading all FBI domestic and international Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, Cyber, and Criminal investigations and intelligence activities. Prior to that appointment, he served as the Associate Deputy Director, where he oversaw the management of all internal investigations, personnel, budget, administration, and infrastructure.

Mr. Bowdich’s last field assignment before he was promoted to Associate Deputy Director was in the Los Angeles field office where he served as the Special Agent in Charge of Counterterrorism before being promoted to lead the field office as the Assistant Director in Charge. During his time in Los Angeles, Mr. Bowdich led a number of high profile investigations, to include the San Bernardino terror attack and the active shooting investigation at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Mr. Bowdich first joined the FBI in 1995 as a Special Agent in the San Diego field office. Prior to entering the FBI he served as a police officer with the Albuquerque Police Department for four years.

In 2016, President Obama awarded Mr. Bowdich the Meritorious Service Award. In 2020, he was selected by Attorney General William Barr to serve on the President’s Law Enforcement Commission. In 2021, FBI Director Christopher Wray awarded him the FBI Director’s Medallion for Exceptional Leadership upon his retirement.

Mr. Bowdich holds a Master’s degree in Leadership from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from New Mexico State University.

Director
Cyber Florida: The Florida Center for Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida.

Ernie Ferraresso leads Cyber Florida: The Florida Center for Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida, working with industry, academia, and the private sector to make Florida the leading state in cybersecurity through education, research and community outreach and engagement. The Center works closely with the Government, Critical Infrastructure Organizations and Law Enforcement to enable efforts to support cyber programs in improve Florida’s cyber resilience and strengthen Florida’s cyber workforce. Cyber Florida engages across multiple sectors to expand Florida’s cybersecurity education in Florida’s public-school system.

Prior to Cyber Florida, Ernie worked for a small technology design and integration firm as the Director of Operations, overseeing the design and implementation of cybersecurity and emergency operations center technology solutions in the U.S. and throughout Latin America.

He is a retired U.S. Marine Intelligence Officer who served in the U.S. and abroad. His work included assignments with U.S. Special Operations Forces, the intelligence community, the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, and U.S. Cyber Command.

President, Cyber Practice
Red Cell Partners

Mr. George C. Barnes is President, Cyber Practice at the incubation firm Red Cell Partners, which builds and invests in rapidly scalable technology-led companies that are bringing revolutionary advancements to market in healthcare and national security. 

Mr. Barnes is engaged in supporting numerous cyber- and national security-related activities in the non-profit sector:

Board of Directors Chair, National Cryptologic Foundation

Contributing participant:

– International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)
– MIT International Conference on Cyber Norms
– CityForum, Ltd, UK
– U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
—Aspen Digital

Mr. Barnes served as the Deputy Director and senior civilian leader of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) from April 2017 through September 2023. In this role, Mr. Barnes served as NSA’s chief operating officer, overseeing strategy, policy, and operations.  As an agency deputy in the U.S. national security system, Mr. Barnes supported the U.S. defense and intelligence enterprise in national security strategy execution and the formulation of supporting policies.  He positioned NSA as an integrated mission partner enabling U.S. decision advantage and security against foreign threats.  
    
Over his 36-year career at the NSA, Mr. Barnes held numerous technical and organizational leadership roles spanning intelligence collection operations, intelligence target analysis, foreign liaison and industrial partnership management, workforce support, and global enterprise governance.  

 U.S. Government Service Recognition Includes:   

– Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Medal  
– Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Meritorious Civilian Service Medal  
– National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal
– Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security Distinguished Service Medallion  
– National Security Agency Distinguished Civilian Service Medal  
– Central Intelligence Agency Seal Medal  
– National Reconnaissance Office Medal of Distinguished Performance  
– National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Medallion for Excellence  
– National Intelligence Medal of Achievement  
– Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award  
– Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Awards (2)

Mr. Barnes received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland in 1986. In 2020, he was honored as a Distinguished Alumni by the University of Maryland’s College of Electrical and Computer Engineering.    

Acting Director, Sector Cyber Intelligence, Risk Analysis
U.S. Department of the Treasury

Mr. Salmoiraghi serves as the Acting Director for the US Department of the Treasury in the Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection (OCCIP), supporting the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS).

He leads OCCIP’s work as the sector risk management agency for financial services, which is one of 16 Presidentially designated critical infrastructure sectors. These efforts include improving information sharing with the public and private partners, continuing to build OCCIP’s understanding of risk, and overseeing OCCIP’s exercise and incident response programs. He previously led OCCIP’s work to engage with international partners in multilateral and bilateral fora to improve the security and resilience of the financial sector globally.

Prior to joining the Treasury, Mr. Salmoiraghi worked for the United States Government for a decade in a variety of policy and intelligence related positions. He began his career examining transnational issues, including terrorism and cyber, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Chief Security Officer
AVANGRID

Brian currently serves as the Vice President and Chief Security Officer (CSO) at AVANGRID, an energy company with assets and operations in 24 states. He is responsible for the company’s cybersecurity, privacy, physical security, intelligence, and business continuity programs.

In 2018, Brian was appointed by the President of the United States to serve as the sixth Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, at the Department of Homeland Security. Brian also served as the first Assistant Director (now EAD) for Infrastructure Security at the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Brian has spent time during his career in the U.S. Marine Corps and various private sector agencies with the goal of protecting the United States from security threats.

Cybersecurity and Data Protection Public Policy
Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Jordana Siegel leads cybersecurity and data protection policy for the Americas at AWS. Jordana is responsible for creating and executing strategies to advance the development of cloud security policy on behalf of AWS and their customers. She focuses on engaging with government departments and agencies responsible for cybersecurity and working with stakeholder groups to advance collaboration and initiatives that support the company’s cybersecurity objectives.

Prior to joining Amazon in 2019, Jordana spent 14 years at the Department of Homeland Security focusing on cybersecurity policy where she held a number of key roles, most recently serving as Senior Counselor to the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Jordana led international cybersecurity policy efforts and global collaboration on behalf of CISA through much of her tenure and also stood up the international cyber program in the Department’s Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Resilience where she focused on coordinating international cybersecurity policy across the Department and with the interagency. In addition, Jordana served as a Director of Cybersecurity at the National Security Council during the Obama Administration.

Managing Director, Public Sector
Marsh McLennan

Dr. Daniel Kaniewski is Managing Director, Public Sector at global professional services firm Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), where he advances the firm’s priorities with all levels of government, develops innovative solutions to public sector challenges, and engages 85,000 experts in risk, strategy, and people.

In addition to his role at Marsh McLennan, he is chair of the Committee on Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate at the National Institute of Building Sciences and an advisor to Juvare, developer of the market-leading emergency management software WebEOC.

From 2017-2020, Dr. Kaniewski was the second-ranking official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As the agency’s first Deputy Administrator for Resilience, he launched and led the disaster resilience programs that are now a cornerstone of FEMA’s mission.

Prior to FEMA, he launched the global resilience practice at a leading catastrophe risk modeling firm, directed resilience programs at a DHS research center, and co-founded a homeland security think tank.

Dr. Kaniewski was Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Senior Director for Response Policy in the George W. Bush Administration, where he managed over 200 Presidential disaster declarations at the White House. 

He earlier held positions at FEMA, the Congressional Fire Services Institute, and on Capitol Hill. Dan began his career in homeland security as a firefighter/paramedic.

He holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from George Washington University, an M.A. in National Security Studies from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and a B.S. magna cum laude in Emergency Medical Services from George Washington University.

Head of Public Policy & Government Affairs
Dragos Inc.

Kate Ledesma is head of Public Policy & Government Affairs for Dragos. She is a frequent speaker, writer and media commentator on cybersecurity and critical infrastructure issues. She is a former Senior Policy Advisor for the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and also served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Office of Infrastructure Protection at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Previously, she led government affairs for cybersecurity firm SecurityScorecard and managed resilience initiatives for North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC). She has also held positions within DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis and the U.S. Department of State. Ms. Ledesma is a graduate of the Eisenhower School at National Defense University and the University of Delaware.

Head of Government Services
NightDragon

Katherine Hennessey Gronberg is the Head of Government Services at NightDragon, an investment and advisory firm focused on growth and late-stage companies in cybersecurity, safety, security and privacy. For the past fifteen years, she has helped foster stronger collaboration between private companies and government stakeholders, helping to catalyze public sector sales and enabling program success.

Prior to joining NightDragon, she led Government Affairs for cybersecurity companies CrowdStrike and Forescout Technologies. Prior to this she ran her own government relations consulting firm, taught as a professor at Georgetown University’s prestigious Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and served as Subcommittee Staff Director on the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.

As a leading voice on cybersecurity policy issues, Katherine has appeared on and provided commentary for Bloomberg, Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other media outlets. Katherine currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Cyber AB and teaches at the Jones School of Business at Rice University.

Head of Strategic Initiatives
Resilience

Kiran Sridhar is the Head of Strategic Initiatives for Resilience, a cyber insurance and cyber risk management company. He also serves on the investment team of Shield Capital, a venture capital firm that backs companies which solve both national security and commercial problem sets, and as the Chair of Waste No Food, a nonprofit that donates excess food to hungry people.

Kiran is the co-editor, along with Michael Boskin and John Rader, of Defense Budgeting for a Safer World: The Experts Speak (Hoover Institution Press, 2023). His writing has also been featured in Foreign Affairs, Harvard Business Review, the Journal of Cybersecurity, the Journal of Corporate Finance, the Wall Street Journal, and National Review among other outlets.

Kiran received a BA in Economics from Stanford University; a master’s in global affairs from Tsinghua University, where he was a Schwarzman Scholar; and an MPhil in Operations Management from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

Founding Partner at Aspen Chartered Consulting
National Cybersecurity Center

Mark Weatherford is the Founding Partner at Aspen Chartered Consulting and serves as the Chief Cybersecurity Strategist at Coalfire, where he focuses on national cybersecurity policy issues and cybersecurity thought leadership.

Mark has held a variety of executive level cybersecurity roles including Chief Strategy Officer at the National Cybersecurity Center, VP & Global Information Security Strategist at Booking Holdings, SVP & Chief Cybersecurity Strategist at vArmour, Principal at The Chertoff Group, VP & Chief Security Officer at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, and the first Chief Information Security Officer for the state of Colorado. He was also appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008 to serve as California’s first Chief Information Security Officer and in 2011 he was appointed in the Obama Administration as the nation’s first Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Mark is a former U.S. Naval Officer where he served as the Director of Navy Computer Network Defense Operations, Director of the Navy Computer Incident Response Team (NAVCIRT), and established the Navy’s first operational red team.

Mark is an investor in cybersecurity start-ups, a Board Director, and on the Advisory Board of several cybersecurity technology companies where he has a successful track record in helping startups from founding to acquisition. Among his many professional awards, he is an inductee into the 2023 Global Cyber Security Hall of Fame, the 2021 International CSO Hall of Fame, and the 2018 Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) Hall of Fame.