FISSEA Executive Board

FISSEA Executive Board Nomination Information (as of February 2010) -
Election will be held at the 2010 FISSEA Conference in March - see FISSEA Conference pages for more details.

2010 Board Nomination Memo (pdf)

2010 Board Statement Form (MS Word)

Board Nomination Form for 2010-2012 (MS Word)

What is the FISSEA Executive Board?

The FISSEA Executive Board consists of 13 members (minimum of 11 and maximum of 13) who are elected by the membership, to serve for a designated period of no more than two years. The Executive Board meets monthly in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and is actively involved in planning the annual conference, workshops, and various outreach activities for the FISSEA membership and to the information system security awareness, training, and education community.

The Executive Board has the following objectives:

Plan and execute the annual conference
Establish and maintain effective communication among members
Increase information sharing opportunities
Conduct activities to promote FISSEA in the community
Increase FISSEA membership
Conduct free workshops for members

Bylaw Change - 3/25/2009 increased Board to 13 members.

Term 2009-2011
Elected March 2009 -

Daniel Benjamin,
American Public University

Art Chantker,
Potomac Forum, Ltd.

Terri Cinnamon,
Department of Veterans Affairs

Susan Farrand,
Department of Energy

Susan Hansche,
Avaya Gov't Solutions / U.S. Department of State

John Ippolito,
Allied Technology Group, Inc.

Mark Wilson,
NIST

Term 2010-2012
Elected March 2010 --

Chris Kelsall,
Department of the Navy (DON CIO)

Lance Kelson,
Department of the Interior

Richard Kurak,
NASA

Albert Lewis,
HP Enterprise Services

Gretchen Morris,
DB Consulting Group/NASA ITSATC

Cheryl Seaman,
National Institutes of Health

Other Contacts:

Peggy Himes,
NIST

Diane Maier, (FISSEA Newsletter Editor)
NASA IT Security Awareness & Training Center

Patrick O'Reilly, (Webmaster)
NIST

Loyce Best Pailen, (Workshops)
University of Maryland University College

Executive Board Biographies:

DANIEL BENJAMIN:

Mr. Benjamin has a Masters degree from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and over fifteen years of experience providing Information Technology and Management education and consulting solutions in the public and private sectors. His clients include the White House, the U.S. Senate, the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Treasury (DoT), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Department of Education (DoEd).

As the Department Chair of Information Technology at the American Public University System (APUS), he started the Information Technology Department and architected degree programs that currently have almost 3,000 enrolled students. The Information Systems Security program has over 500 enrolled students.

He authored books on Java and Oracle that were published by Element-K Press (formerly Ziff-Davis) and McGraw-Hill/ Oracle Press. He made many winning presentations that have resulted in multi-million dollar contract awards.

He directed the team to develop the implementation strategy for President Bush’s CFO Act of 1990. He also implemented a SCORM compliant, learning objects based e-Learning solution in support of President Clinton’s Distance Learning Initiative.

He established successful Information Technology and Educational Operations at various companies. Many of his practices were cited for excellence. His practices and contract awards realized over $200 Million in revenues. His various roles included: President, Chief Academic Officer (CAO), and Chief Technology Officer (CTO); he is currently the Chair of the Department of Information Technology at APUS.

He facilitated various management and JAD workshops. He is a certified F.A.S.T. Facilitator and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

He also made successful applications, obtained approvals, and implemented the following University programs:

Higher Learning Commission, a regional accrediting body, to develop and implement four degree programs related to Information Technology and Information Systems Security.
Maryland Higher Education Council (MHEC) & Technology Council of Maryland (TCM) to obtain license to operate an institution of higher secondary education in the State of Maryland,
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to obtain license to operate in the State of Virginia.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a bureau of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to issues I-20’s and bring International students (both F & M) into the US for post-secondary education.
Department of Veteran’s Affairs (DVA) to obtain access to Veteran’s education benefits such as Montgomory GI Bill and Tuition Assistance.
DC Unemployment for access to SkillSource and other unemployment funds.
Virginia Unemployment for access to SkillSource and other unemployment funds.

He is also an excellent instructor and uses humor effectively to communicate the principles of developing Information Technology and Management solutions.

ART CHANTKER:

Art Chantker is the President of Potomac Forum, Ltd., founded in 1982 as a non-profit educational organization, to provide training, seminars, conferences, and other educational events for government and industry partners. Art has also taught procurement and management of government information technology for over 30 years. Potomac Forum, Ltd. has taught thousands of government and industry executives, managers, and staff at numerous cities throughout the country.

Art is a retired executive from federal government service. During his government career he served in several executive leadership positions at the CIO and Director levels at the Departments of Education & Transportation, U.S. Marshals Service and the Office of Naval Research. He also managed a government-wide program for the National Institute of Standards and Technology where he authored a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication on Computer Selection.

He has been involved in executive leadership positions in numerous professional organizations and associations including twice elected as President of the Association for Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM) and currently serves as a Director. He is now the Vice President of the National Technology Education Council (NTEC), and was a previous Chair of the Industry Advisory Council Software Shared Interest Group and Vice President for External Affairs for the Asian American Business Roundtable. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of Women in Technology. In 2006, Art was elected to the Executive Board of the Federal Information Systems Security Educators’ Association (FISSEA) sponsored by NIST and recently appointed to the Board of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association – Bethesda Chapter where he is a Vice President. He also serves on the Executive Board of the Sempercomm Foundation, a non-profit organization providing communications and entertainment equipment to the military service deployed in small groups at very remote locations throughout the world.

Additionally, Art is a frequent speaker, moderator, and session chair at conferences and seminars throughout the country and serves on numerous conference executive and planning committees. He has received many awards during his career including the prestigious AFFIRM Life Member Award. Art has a B.S. in Management Information Systems from the University of Maryland, College Park and a M.S. in Management of Information Systems from the American University, Washington D.C. Art is proud to have served as a Captain in the United States Air Force.

TERRI CINNAMON:

Terri Cinnamon is the Director of Training, Education, Awareness and Professionalization for the Office of Information Protection and Risk Management at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Terri and her team work to provide annual Information Security awareness training for over 250,000 employees, contractors, students and volunteers throughout VA. She and her team have created professional development and certification programs for VA’s 400+ Information Security Officers and are currently working on a similar program for VA’s 250+ CIOs. She has been a trail blazer in crossing organizational boundaries to pioneer role-based training (RBT) programs that promote information security training to non-technical staff such as business managers, acquisition officers, researchers, HR professionals, and others.

A graduate from Wheeling Jesuit University, Terri joined the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1992. During her 17 years with VA, She has established a reputation within VA and across the federal community for leading innovative, practical, and effective information security training programs. Terri has been awarded the prestigious Government Information Security Leadership Award (GISLA), for “Distinguished service and commitment to excellence in implementing IT security programs” in 2006. She recently became a member of the Industry Advisory Council’s (IAC) Partners Program, class of 2008. Terri has hands on experience laying the foundation for various operational training initiatives, including taking the lead on using competency profiles and competency management functionality within the VA’s Learning Management System (LMS). She works industriously with a wide variety of groups, and has the leadership, communication, and teamwork skills to get things done.

SUSAN FARRAND:

Susan Farrand is currently the Director for Policy, Guidance, and Planning in the Office of the Associate CIO for Cyber Security, U.S. Department of Energy. She has more than 24 years experience with the Department in both Federal and contractor positions, specializing in cyber security, information architecture, and policy development. Ms. Farrand has an extensive background in training and curriculum development. She was a corporate trainer for Allstate Insurance Company, a curriculum developer for Sargent-Welch Scientific Company, and a classroom teacher.

SUSAN HANSCHE, CISSP-ISSEP:

Ms. Susan Hansche, CISSP-ISSEP, is the director of Information Assurance Training Programs for Nortel Government Solutions in Fairfax, Virginia. She has over 18 years experience in the training field and has specific expertise in designing, developing, and implementing Information Assurance training programs for Federal agencies. For the past ten years the focus of her professional experience has been with information system security and building training programs that provide organizations with the expertise necessary to protect their information technology infrastructures. An additional expertise is in the understanding of the Federal information system security laws, regulations, and guidance required of Federal agencies. She is the lead author of “The Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP Exam” (2004), which is a reference for professionals in the information system security field studying for the Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) exam. Her second book “The Official (ISC)2 Guide to the ISSEP CBK” (2006) is a comprehensive guide to the Information Systems Security Engineering Model for designing and developing secure information systems within the federal government. Ms. Hansche has written numerous articles on information system security and training topics and has given many presentations at conferences and seminars.

JOHN IPPOLITO, CISSP:

John Ippolito received a BS degree in Information Systems Management, University of Maryland, 1970. Mr. Ippolito has more than 35 years experience in project management and in design, implementation, and evaluation of large-scale information systems. He has worked with almost every major type of computer and operating system. His Technical experience includes in-depth knowledge of computer and communications security and risk management and risk avoidance. He is a recognized expert in the application of Federal IT security law, policies, and guidelines and has served as an expert witness. He frequently participates on government-industry IT committees and has provided support to a variety of Federal agencies over his 35-year career. He is experienced in the design and review of systems and computer facilities. Mr. Ippolito helped develop and implement FISMA-compliant IT security programs for several federal agencies including the Nuclear Regulatory Agency and the Corporation for National and Community Service. He also participated with the Forum of Federal Computer Security Managers which wrote the guidelines for development of IT security plans that ultimately became NIST Special Publication 800-18 and was a named author of NIST Special Publication 800-16. During his government service, he assisted GAO in its initial efforts to standardize the audit/review procedures for IT systems.

Mr. Ippolito is a frequently requested speaker at government and non-government forums, presenting a variety of technical and managerial topics such as designing Internet based applications, selecting the right contract vehicle for IT services, quality assurance and configuration management approaches in client/server environments, and training needs of IT users and professionals. Mr. Ippolito was named Federal Information System Security Educator of the Year for 1997.

RICHARD KURAK

Richard is currently the Project Manager of NASA’s IT Security Awareness and Training Center (ITSATC). In this position, his team is responsible for acquiring, developing, and deploying the IT Security Training capabilities for NASA’s civil service and contractor workforce. Prior to taking on this role, he served as the Acting IT Security Manager for NASA’s Glenn Research Center. He managed the IT Security Program for NASA’s field Center in Cleveland, OH, and was responsible for the technical and programmatic IT security activities of the Glenn Research Center. This included reporting and compliance as mandated by OMB and FISMA. He has also served as the Deputy IT Security Manager. In this role, he was responsible for the Technical IT Security Program which implements and operates the firewall, IDS, incident response, and remediation aspects of IT security within the Center. Richard’s overall understanding of IT security, which has been developed over more than 20 years of service, coupled with his recent position as head of NASA’s ITSATC make him an excellent candidate to participate on the FISSEA Board.

ALBERT LEWIS, CISSP-ISSMP, CISM, FITSPI-M

GRETCHEN ANN MORRIS, CISSP:

Mrs. Gretchen Ann Morris has fifteen years teaching and troubleshooting experience on a variety of software packages and hardware configurations. She has a solid and diverse background in computer software/hardware, electronics troubleshooting, training, course development, and management. Most recently, she has seven years experience with on-line course development. Training difficult concepts is her area of expertise. She has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Resource Management degree from Troy State University, and a Master of Arts degree in Biblical Counseling from Trinity Theological Seminary. She is a CISSP and earned the Master Training Specialist designation while serving as a Navy Instructor. In her current position with DB Consulting Group as a Functional Analyst, she is a vital part of the NASA IT Security Awareness and Training Center team which supports over 55,000 users across the Agency.

CHERYL SEAMAN:

Cheryl Ann Seaman is a Captain in the United States Public Health Service. She holds a BS in Nursing from the University of Maryland, and an M.P.H from The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. She is responsible for all aspects of the NIH-wide information security training program. Cheryl has developed award-wining security courses, the code of which has be requested by entities throughout the world. She also serves in other major security roles related to oversight, policy development, incident response, and other review activities of the NIH Information Security Program. Prior to joining the NIH security team in 1998, Cheryl was the NIH Privacy Act Officer. Throughout her career, she has had extensive experience as a trainer and presenter, and has always had a special interest in creating novel approaches to traditional training. During her over 28 years at NIH, she has served in a variety of management positions in clinical, research and administrative environments and understands the importance of tailoring training (practical and relevant strategies) so as to engage the intended target audience.

MARK WILSON, CISSP

Since coming to NIST in 1992, Mark has worked on computer security program management issues, including program management reviews, vulnerability analyses and other risk management issues, and security awareness and training.

Mark served as Editor for NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-16 - Information Technology Security Training Requirements: A Role- and Performance-Based Model - published in April 1998. He is a co-author of another NIST Special Publication (SP 800-50) - Building an Information Technology Security Awareness and Training Program - published in October 2003. He also co-authored NIST Special Publication 800-100 – Information Security Handbook: A Guide for Managers – published in October 2006. He is currently leading a team that is updating SP 800-16. He is also currently serving on the Information Systems Security Line of Business (ISS LOB) Tier 2 Role-based Training Working Group.

Mark also serves as the NIST Liaison to the Federal Information Systems Security Educators' Association (FISSEA), has served on the FISSEA Executive Board for six years, including two years as the Assistant Chair of the Board, and is currently the Chair of the Executive Board.

Mark came to NIST from Norfolk, Virginia where he worked for ten years in the computer security field for two U.S. Navy organizations. He earned a B.A. in political science from Old Dominion University in Norfolk in 1983. Mark is a native of New Jersey and is a U.S. Navy and Vietnam Veteran.

Last updated: February 7, 2011
Page created: October 27, 2006