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.

Vice President
General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)

Matt Hayden serves as GDIT’s vice president of cyber and emerging threats. As a senior cyber executive within GDIT’s Intelligence and Homeland Security division, he is responsible for fostering trusted relationships with industry partners and key cyber executive government leadership, delivering cyber growth strategies, and advancing the company’s cyber thought leadership.

Hayden has more than 20 years of experience in cyber technology and cyber policy. Previously, Hayden served as the Assistant Secretary for Cyber, Infrastructure, Risk and Resilience Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He led the policy development for department-wide efforts to reduce national risks with a focus on critical infrastructure cybersecurity, federal network security and cyber-crime. Hayden’s efforts played a critical role in improving the security and strength of the global cyber ecosystem. Additionally, he served as an expert advisor on cyber, infrastructure, risk and resilience issues to the undersecretary, secretary, and other high-level officials.

Hayden previously served as Senior Advisor to the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Private Sector within the Office of Partnership and Engagement at the DHS. In these roles, Hayden served as a senior leader of the department and as a voice for industry within government, advising on the impact of the policies, regulations, and processes on private sector companies. He also enhanced partnerships and strategic communications to help the public and private sectors jointly meet their shared responsibilities for protecting and strengthening the nation’s critical infrastructure against cyber and physical threats.

President
Hathaway Global Strategies LLC

Melissa Hathaway is globally recognized as a thought leader in the fields of cybersecurity and digital risk management and has relationships with the highest levels of governments and international institutions. She served in two U.S. presidential administrations, spearheading the Cyberspace Policy Review for President Barack Obama and leading the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI) for President George W. Bush.

As President of Hathaway Global Strategies, Melissa brings a unique combination of policy and technical expertise, as well as board room experience that allows her to help clients better understand the intersection of government policy, developing technological and industry trends, and economic drivers that impact acquisition and business development strategy in this field.

She has distinguished affiliations at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Canada’s School of Public Service, and Toronto Metropolitan University. She publishes regularly on cybersecurity matters affecting companies and countries.

Most of her articles can be found at the following website: https://www.belfercenter.org/person/melissa-hathaway

President & CEO
Cyber Threat Alliance

Michael Daniel serves as the President & CEO of the Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA), a not-for-profit that enables cyber threat information sharing among cybersecurity organizations. Prior to CTA, Michael served for four years as US Cybersecurity Coordinator, leading US cybersecurity policy development, facilitating US government partnerships with the private sector and other nations, and coordinating significant incident response activities. From 1995 to 2012, Michael worked for the Office of Management and Budget, overseeing funding for the U.S. Intelligence Community. Michael also works with the Aspen Cybersecurity Group, the World Economic Forum’s Partnership Against Cybercrime, and other organizations improving cybersecurity in the digital ecosystem.

Strategic Security Policy Director
Southern Company

Michele L. Guido is the Strategic Security Policy Director at Southern Company, the parent company of Georgia Power, Alabama Power, Southern Nuclear, Mississippi Power and its subsidiaries. Michele has been employed at Southern Company since September 2004.

Michele has 30 years’ experience in crisis and consequence management, enterprise risk, business continuity, disaster recovery and emergency response for critical infrastructure. Prior to joining Southern Company, Michele was employed at IBM, BellSouth, and Federated Systems Group. Michele has experience in all sides of the public-private ecosystem on national security, cybersecurity, physical security, natural disasters, and existential threats.

In current role, Michele provides high-level strategic and policy advice and expertise to Southern Company executives on aspects of national security, reliability, and resilience. Company and Industry lead for all hazard strategy(ies), effects and methodology(ies) development and implementation. Externally works and partners with electric industry, critical infrastructure owners and operators from various sectors/subsectors, government entities including the White House National Security Council, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Office of National Cyber Director (ONCD), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other agencies actively engaged on reliability and resilience relating to critical infrastructure.

Michele has a B.S. degree in Computer and Information Systems, an A.S. degree in Business Administration, both degrees from King’s College and graduate studies in Emergency in Preparedness and Planning from University of California at Berkeley. Michele received her certification as a Certified Business Continuity Professional in 1995 from the Disaster Recovery Institute International.

Executive Director
Cyberspace Solarium Commission

Mark Montgomery is the Senior Director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

He serves as the Executive Director of Cybersolarium.org, a non-profit organization which works to implement the recommendations of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, where he was Executive Director from 2019 to 2021.

Prior to this, Mark was Policy Director for the Senate Armed Services Committee under the leadership of Senator John S. McCain and completed 32 years as a nuclear trained surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a Rear Admiral in 2017. 

Head of International Security Cooperation
Google

Christopher Porter is the Head of International Security Cooperation at Google Cloud, a leading provider of cloud solutions for enterprise customers, where he runs a variety of Public Partnership programs with governments around the world.

From 2019 to 2022 he was the National Intelligence Officer for Cyber, leading the US Intelligence Community’s analysis of foreign cyber threats and threats to US elections. As a member of the National Intelligence Council, Christopher oversaw production of National Intelligence Estimates and was the primary cyber intelligence advisor to the Director of National Intelligence.

Serving under both the Trump and Biden Administrations, he frequently briefed and wrote for the President of the United States, senior Cabinet officials, the Gang of Eight and other legislative leaders, and civilian and military cyber leaders throughout the executive branch.

At FireEye, Christopher was the Chief Technology Officer for Global Cybersecurity Policy and the company’s Chief Intelligence Strategist. Christopher served as editor-in-chief of FireEye’s strategic intelligence products reaching over 4000 customers in 67 countries.

Prior to joining FireEye, Christopher served nearly nine years at the Central Intelligence Agency, where he won the National Intelligence Analysis Award for a coauthored National Intelligence Estimate.

Christopher has testified before the U.S. Congress and Canadian Parliament. He has offered commentary on cybersecurity and threat intelligence in the New York Times, USA Today, NBC News, the Council on Foreign Relations, BBC, Lawfare, Foreign Policy, Defense One, Christian Science Monitor, Bloomberg News, Cipher Brief, War on the Rocks, Politico, Axios, Cyberscoop, Dark Reading, Roll Call and many other TV, radio, and print outlets worldwide.

Director
Brunswick Group

Preston Golson is a Director in the Washington, D.C. office where he serves a variety of clients in cybersecurity, technology, geopolitical, diversity, media, federal and defense contracting. Preston excels in assisting companies with cyber incident response communications. Preston also advises clients on addressing the threat of misinformation and disinformation to their reputation.

Preston has served in a variety of national security positions, including as a counterterrorism analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and an Executive Assistant to the first two Directors of National Intelligence. Preston communicated the business of intelligence as a CIA Spokesperson, Chief of CIA’s Public Communication Branch in its Office of Public Affairs, and as Chief of Communications for the Agency’s Directorate of Digital Innovation.

Preston holds a Masters of Arts in Security Studies from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University.

Principal
The Ledgett Group LLC

Mr. Ledgett has over four decades of intelligence and cyber experience, including 29 years with the National Security Agency (NSA), where he served as Deputy Director from January 2014 until his retirement in April 2017. He was the Agency’s chief operating officer, responsible for providing foreign intelligence and protecting the nation’s most important national security-related networks and information.

Mr. Ledgett variously led NSA’s Media Leaks Task Force, NSA’s 24/7 Cyber Threat Operations Center (NTOC), global language and analytic operations, global collection and cryptanalytic operations, and all NSA operations in the Pacific.   

Mr. Ledgett was the Intelligence Community’s first National Intelligence Manager for Cyber, serving as principal advisor to the Director of National Intelligence on all cyber matters. He was also the DNI’s Director for Collection, overseeing all of the U.S. Intelligence Community’s collection programs.

He has taught at the National Cryptologic School, National Intelligence University, and the U.S. Naval Academy, and guest lectured at Stanford, Yale, the U.S. Military Academy, George Mason, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Maryland.

Mr. Ledgett is a Director on the Boards of M&T Bank and Elbit Systems of America, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Defense Analyses, and serves on several corporate and startup advisory boards. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Head of Strategy
ActZero

Rob Knake is Head of Strategy at ActZero, an MDR provider.

Rob served as Deputy National Cyber Director at the White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director in the Biden Administration, leading the development of the National Cybersecurity Strategy. Earlier in his career, Rob served as a Director on the National Security Council.

In addition to his government service, Rob has worked as a cybersecurity consultant and advisor to enterprises, startups, and cybersecurity firms. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Partner
Horizons Global Solutions

Stephen Boyd is a Partner at Horizons Global Solutions, a boutique bipartisan government relations consultancy that helps innovative defense, tech, and intelligence firms seize opportunities, build relationships, and manage political risk in Washington.

Boyd is a former presidentially nominated and Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. At the Department, Boyd served as a senior DOJ leader and its top representative to Congress where he was responsible for developing and implementing bipartisan strategies to advance the Department’s anti-crime, anti-drug, and counterintelligence agenda in the House of Representatives, Senate, and at the White House. Boyd personally advised two Attorneys General and the top leadership of the FBI, ATF, DEA, and USMS, and he coordinated the Department’s response to all congressional oversight. Boyd worked for 14 years on Capitol Hill, serving as Chief of Staff for Members of Congress on the armed services committees in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Previously, Boyd also served as Communications Director (Minority Staff) of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Additionally, Boyd has managed or advised multiple successful congressional campaigns. Boyd earned a B.A. from the University of Alabama’s College of Communication and a J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law.

Chief Trust Officer
Institute for Security and Technology

Steve Kelly serves as Chief Trust Officer at the Institute for Security and Technology, a 501(c)(3) non-profit building bridges between technologists and policymakers to tackle emerging security problems. Steve came to IST after serving on the National Security Council staff as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology. This transition also marked Steve’s retirement from the FBI as a special agent.

In his White House role, Steve led national policymaking and advised NSC leadership and the President on matters involving cyber defense, critical infrastructure security and resilience, cyber incident management, and relevant emerging technologies. He served as chair of the U.S. government’s cyber response group, vulnerabilities equities process, the cyber interagency policy committee, and facilitated the successful launch of the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark security labeling program for consumer technology. He previously served on the NSC staff in 2013-2015, during which time he was instrumental in developing Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 41 on United States Cyber Incident Coordination.

Steve joined the FBI as a special agent in late-2001 and served within the Bureau’s cyber program for over 21 years in various field and headquarters roles. These included cybercrime and cyber/counterintelligence investigations, private sector and international engagement, strategy/policy, and leadership. His last FBI role was as Chief of Cyber Policy.

Prior to his government service, Steve practiced as a registered professional engineer.

President
Intelligence and National Security Alliance

Suzanne Wilson Heckenberg has been president of INSA, a 501(c)(6), and INSF, a 501(c)(3), since 2019. As president, Suzanne oversees INSA’s finances, strategic planning, policy focus areas, marketing, events, and corporate partnerships. She leads strategic initiatives across the organization focused on building the association’s brand, strengthening member value, and growing and diversifying member ranks.

Since 2010, Suzanne has held various leadership positions at INSA, most recently serving as the organization’s first Chief Operating Officer. She was the driving force behind INSA’s expansion into markets outside the Washington, DC region, as well as its popular, The New IC symposium, which focuses on diversity with inclusion in the intelligence community. Suzanne works closely with the executive leadership team, advisory committee, and members of the board of directors to direct policy initiatives and programs on issues that are key to the intelligence and national security community. Prior to INSA, she served as Vice President of Marketing for Ripple Communications, a woman-owned strategic communications firm.

She is also the Chairwoman of the Iron Butterfly Foundation and sits on the Advisory Board of the National Security Institute. 

Suzanne is a graduate of Auburn University where she majored in Communications.

President
Trinity Cyber, Inc.

Mr. Bossert is the President at Trinity Cyber, Inc. He’s the National Security Analyst for ABC News, and a respected risk management expert.

Tom was homeland security advisor to two U.S. Presidents, serving as the Nation’s chief risk officer and senior most advisor on cybersecurity, homeland security, counterterrorism, and global health security policy, managing a range of domestic and transnational security issues and consequence management operations. Tom is a senior executive with extensive experience in operational and strategic management roles.

Tom was born and raised in Quakertown, PA. He is a Senior Fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the U.S. Atlantic Council. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and his law degree from The George Washington University Law School. Tom was an Engalitcheff Scholar on Comparative Political and Economic Systems at Georgetown University and guest lectures at the Naval Post Graduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security.

CEO
Evanina Group

Mr. Evanina currently serves as Founder and CEO of the Evanina Group advising CEOs and Board of Directors on strategic corporate risk. Mr. Evanina provides a wide array of elite strategic risk consultation services to Boards of Directors, CEOs, and senior decision makers operating within a very complex and competitive global economy and with nefarious nation state actors. Clients include corporations within energy, financial services, telecommunications, biomedical, technology, private equity, national security, and retail sectors.

Mr. Evanina currently serves on multiple advisory boards and is an instructor at the University of Chicago’s distinguished Graham School.

Mr. Evanina frequently appears in national news outlets (television, print, op-eds) advising on threats, vulnerability and mitigating strategies.

Previously, Mr. Evanina was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 6, 2020, to be the first Senate-confirmed Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC). Mr. Evanina served as the Director of NCSC since June 2, 2014. In this position, he was the head of Counterintelligence (CI) for the U.S. Government.

Mr. Evanina was responsible for leading and supporting the CI and security activities of the U.S. Intelligence Community, the U.S. Government, and U.S. private sector entities at risk from intelligence collection or attack by foreign adversaries. Under NCSC, he oversaw national-level programs and activities such as the National Insider Threat Task Force; personnel security and background investigations; information technology protection standards and compliance; CI cyber operations; supply chain risk management; threat awareness to sectors of the U.S. critical infrastructure; national-level damage assessments from espionage or unauthorized disclosures, CI mission management, and national CI and security training programs.

Under Mr. Evanina’s leadership, NCSC produced the President’s National Counterintelligence Strategy of the United States of America 2020, which has been instrumental in raising foreign intelligence threat awareness to critical infrastructure sectors and the private sector executives regarding supply chain, economic security, cyber, and malign foreign influence.

Mr. Evanina chaired the National Counterintelligence Policy Board, and the Allied Security and Counterintelligence Forum comprised of senior CI and security leaders from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK. Mr. Evanina also served as Chair of the NATO Counterintelligence Panel.

Prior to his selection as the Director of NCSC, Mr. Evanina served as the Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Counterespionage Group.

Mr. Evanina previously served as Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, where he led operations in both the Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Divisions.

Mr. Evanina served over 31 years of distinguished federal service, 24 of which as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). At the start of his law enforcement career in 1996, he investigated organized crime and violent crimes through the FBI’s Newark Field Office. He then served on an FBI SWAT unit for 10 years, ultimately supervising this unit. He led some of the highest profile terrorism investigations in our nation’s history including the 9/11 attacks, the anthrax attacks, and the Daniel Pearl kidnapping. During his tenure with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), Mr. Evanina was selected as a Supervisory Special Agent and received the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence for his leadership in the investigation into convicted spy Leandro Argoncillo.

Mr. Evanina’s government career began in 1989 as a Project Manager with the General Services Administration in Philadelphia.

Mr. Evanina was born and raised in Peckville, PA. He holds an Associate’s Degree in History from Keystone College in LaPlume, PA, a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration from Wilkes University in Wilkes Barre, PA, and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Arcadia University in Philadelphia. Mr. Evanina was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Keystone College.