Cybersecurity

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

GEN Paul M. Nakasone

General Paul M. Nakasone concurrently serves as the Commander of the United States Cyber Command, Director of the National Security Agency, and Chief of the Central Security Service. He previously commanded the U.S. Army Cyber Command and has held command and staff positions across all levels of the Army, with assignments in the U.S., the Republic of Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan. General Nakasone has earned master’s degrees from the University of Southern California, the National Defense Intelligence College, and the Army War College.

PLENARY SPEAKER

LTG Dennis Crall

Lieutenant General Dennis Crall currently serves as the Director for Command, Control, Communications, and Computers / Cyber and Chief Information Officer, Joint Staff J6. A native of South Carolina, he graduated from the University of South Carolina and was commissioned in 1987. Brigadier General Crall is a career Aviation Command and Control Officer who has commanded at the Squadron and Group levels. Joint assignments include: Deputy Principal Cyber Advisor / Senior Military Advisor for Cyber Policy; Chief, Joint Cyberspace Center, US Central Command (CENTCOM); Executive Officer to the Deputy Commander, CENTCOM; and more. 

PLENARY SPEAKER

Rear Admiral Michael Studeman, USN

Rear Admiral Michael Studeman is a distinguished graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School, an honors graduate in Mandarin Chinese from the Defense Language Institute, and a distinguished graduate of the National War College. At sea, Studeman served as air intelligence officer for the VA-35 Black Panthers on USS Saratoga (CV-60) during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Studeman is currently director for intelligence, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Honolulu, Hawaii.

luncheon SPEAKER

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA)

Mark Warner is a businessman and politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Virginia. He serves on the Senate Finance, Banking, Budget, and Rules Committees as well as the Select Committee on Intelligence, where he is the Chairman. During his time in the Senate, Senator Warner has established himself as a bipartisan leader who has worked with Republicans and Democrats alike to cut red tape, increase government performance and accountability, and promote private sector innovation and job creation.

luncheon SPEAKER

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)

Marco Rubio is a politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Florida. Senator Rubio is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, where he has advocated modernizing and reforming the federal government’s programs to help small businesses thrive in the 21st-century economy. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issue, Senator Rubio continues to fight for human rights and to uphold democracy around the globe.

Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeannette Nuñez

Jeannette Nuñez has served as the lieutenant governor of Florida since 2018. She previously served as a State Representative of the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018 and was named Speaker Pro Tempore from 2016 to 2018. Over the years, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez has demonstrated her ongoing commitment to the South Florida community through her active involvement in various local organizations and professional groups. She has been involved with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Miami, WHEN, and Women in Government.

LTG Terry Wolff, USA, Ret.

LTG (Ret) Tery Wolff has been the Director of the National Defense University Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies since June 2014. He retired from the U.S. Army in February 2014 after completing over 34 years of service. During his tenure as the Director of NESA he also served 39 months (Nov 15-Feb 19) as the Deputy Special Presidential Envoy (DSPE) for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. LTG (Ret) Wolff’s final military assignment was as the Director of Strategic Plans and Policy, J-5 for the Joint Staff from September 2011 until December 2013. 

Dr. Eric Eisenberg

Eric M. Eisenberg is professor of communication and since 2007 has served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Florida.  As Dean of the largest college at USF—with nearly 600 faculty, 18,000 students and a budget of nearly $100 million—Eisenberg has sharpened the focus of faculty work through the creation of three interdisciplinary schools, 22 departments, and 10 interdisciplinary research centers. Even in the most difficult of economic times, he has been successful in recruiting world-class faculty talent. In addition, he has played a major role in the university's strategic efforts to measurably improve student success through transformed pedagogy. 

HON Mike McConnell, VADM, USN, Ret.

Vice Admiral Mike McConnell is the former Director of the National Security Agency and a former vice admiral in the United States Navy. His career has spanned more than 50 years focused on international development and foreign intelligence issues, including 29 years as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer. He currently serves as the Senior Executive Advisor at Booz Allen Hamilton and the Executive Director at Cyber Florida, where he focuses on improving cyber education, outreach, and research throughout the state of Florida.

MODERATOR

Michael E. O'Hanlon

Michael O'Hanlon is a senior fellow and director of research in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, where he specializes in U.S. defense strategy, the use of military force, and American national security policy. He co-directs the Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology; the Defense Industrial Base working group; and the Africa Security Initiative within the Foreign Policy program, as well serving as an adjunct professor at Columbia and Georgetown universities. 

Fred Kaplan

Fred Kaplan is an author and journalist. He is the national-security columnist for Slate Magazine, where covers international relations and foreign war policies in his weekly “War Stories” columns. Some of his recent publications include his books Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War and The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War.

HON Mike Rogers

Mike Rogers is the former Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and now serves as the Chairman of 5G Action Now. In Congress, Chairman Rogers worked with two presidents, foreign leaders, intelligence professionals, and more and oversaw the Intelligence Community’s $70 billion budget. Before being elected to the represent Michigan in the House of Representatives, he was an FBI special agent and member of the U.S. Army. Today, he hosts the CNN Original Series Declassified, regularly appears on various TV and radio shows, and frequently contributes to major print outlets. 

HON Leslie Ireland

HON Leslie Ireland is the former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Intelligence and Analysis. She joined the Treasury in 2010 after 25 years at CIA where she specialized in Iran, the Middle East, and WMD. Ireland retired in November 2016 after more than 31 years in the Intelligence Community. At the Treasury, Ireland was responsible for leading the analysis of key financial vulnerabilities of foreign threats to U.S. national security, e.g., Iran’s nuclear program, North Korean finance networks, foreign cyber threats to the U.S. financial sector, and foreign investment in the United States. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Citigroup and the Stimson Center, as well as holding the position of Chairman, Financial Threats Council for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance. 

Moderator

Jerry Bessette

 Jerry Bessette is the Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton and leads the company’s Cyber Incident Response Program. Based in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Jerry addresses the full incident lifecycle, including pre-incident preparation, incident response, and post-incident remediation. Jerry retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after a 24-year career as a special agent and executive manager. In his last assignment, he served as chief of the technical operations section for the FBI cyber division, where he managed the national cyber incident response team and developed threat-agnostic tools to counter cyber adversaries. 

Thomas C. Wingfield

Thomas C. Wingfield served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy from November 2019 to January 2021, where he supported the Secretary of Defense and other senior Department of Defense leaders by formulating, recommending, integrating, and implementing policies and strategies to improve DoD’s ability to operate in cyberspace. Prior, Mr. Wingfield was the Acting Chancellor and Dean of Faculty and Academic Programs at the College of Information and Cyberspace at the National Defense University in Washington, DC.  

Dr. Isaiah Wilson

Dr. Isaiah (Ike) Wilson III (Colonel, U.S. Army, retired) is the President of the Joint Special Operations University who has earned a reputation as a versatile and innovative soldier-scholar. A decorated combat veteran with multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and extensive operational experience across the greater middle east, Dr. Wilson is a nationally and internationally recognized leading advocate for change in how America understands and deals with matters of security affairs. 

Jan Tighe, VADM, USN, Ret.

Vice Admiral Jan Tighe is the former Director of Naval Intelligence with over 20 years of senior executive experience in cybersecurity and information technology. Some of her many career highlights include her roles as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, Commander of the Tenth Fleet/U.S. Fleet Cyber Command, and Director of the Decision Superiority Division of the Chief of Naval Operations’ Staff. Tighe currently serves on the board of directors for Goldman Sachs, a leading global financial institution.  

MODERATOR

Dr. Ron Sanders

Dr. Ronald Sanders is a highly decorated public servant with over 37 years of federal service and a national reputation as a thought-leader in government reorganization and public management. Dr. Sanders was appointed by the President to serve as Chair of the Federal Salary Council and, among his many roles, has served as the Associate Director of National Intelligence, Chief Human Resources Officer of the Internal Revenue Service, and Vice President and Fellow at Booz Allen Hamilton. He currently serves as the Staff Director at Cyber Florida.

Dr. Eman El-Sheikh

Dr. Eman El-Sheikh is Associate Vice President of the Center for Cybersecurity at the University of West Florida as well as a professor of computer science at UWF. Dr. El-Sheikh has extensive expertise in cybersecurity education, research, and workforce development, and she has received several awards related to cybersecurity education and diversity. Among her achievements, she was recognized among the 2020 Women Leaders in Cybersecurity by Security Magazine. Dr. El-Sheikh leads several national regional initiatives, including the National Cybersecurity Workforce Development program, and co-founded the Florida Women in Cybersecurity Affiliate. 

Angela Bailey

Angela Bailey has dedicated more than 39 years to public service, with 33 of those years in human resources. Ms. Bailey was appointed as the Department of Homeland Security’s Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) in January 2016, where she was responsible for the Department’s human capital program, including human resources policy, programs for strategic workforce planning, and more. Ms. Bailey also serves on the United States Coast Guard Academy Board of Trustees and served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from November 2013 to January 2016. 

John Taflan

John Taflan has served as the Deputy Director for Support at the United States Department of Defense (DoD) since December 2019. Prior to this, he served as the Chief of Installations and Logistics and Chief Human Capital Officer at the DoD and was a Staff Officer of the United States Africa Command. Taflan is a graduate of the Naval War College, United States Military Academy at West Point, and Central Michigan University. 

Rodney Petersen

Rodney Petersen is the director of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S. Department of Commerce. He previously served as the Managing Director of the EDUCAUSE Washington Office and a Senior Government Relations Officer and founded and directed the EDUCAUSE Cybersecurity Initiative.

Moderator

Terry Thompson

Terry Thompson is an Adjunct Instructor in Cybersecurity at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. He teaches graduate courses in Global Cybersecurity, Cyber Policy, and Cybersecurity Risk Management. Terry transitioned to teaching after a 45-year professional career, including 30 years in the U.S. government (mostly with the National Security Agency) and 15 years at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he served as Vice President from 2011 to 2014.

Dr. Golfo Alexopoulos

Dr. Golfo Alexopoulos is a Professor and Director of the Institute on Russia at the University of South Florida. Her current research work examines the threads the connect twentieth-century Soviet and twenty-first-century Russian authoritarianism, especially in the disinformation space, and her recent publications include the book Illness and Inhumanity in Stalin’s Gulag (published by Yale University in 2017.) Her specialty areas include disinformation and security, political violence and human rights, Russia and the Soviet Union, and more. 

Benham Ben Taleblu

Benham Ben Taleblu is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) where he focuses on Iranian security and political issues. Prior to his time at FDD, Benham worked on non-proliferation issues at an arms control think-tank in Washington. Leveraging his subject-matter expertise and native Farsi skills, Behnam has closely tracked a wide range of Iran-related topics including nuclear non-proliferation, the foreign and security policy of the Islamic Republic, ballistic missiles, and more.

Dr. Barnett S. Koven

Dr. Barnett S. Koven is the Training Director, Near-peer Competition Lead Researcher, and Counterterrorism Lead Researcher at the University of Maryland’s (UMD) National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). He is also the Founder and CEO of BSK Consulting, L.L.C., a boutique consultancy specializing in practitioner education and mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) research in support of national security practitioners and policy-makers.

Devin Ellis

Devin Ellis is a senior faculty specialist in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland and the Director of the ICONS Project – a simulation research and training program affiliated with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). Ellis’ work focuses on helping organizations use simulation to study and plan for complex problems, train employees, and rehearse for crises.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

GEN Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr.

General Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr. is the Commander of the United States Central Command. Upon graduation from The Citadel in 1979, Gen McKenzie was commissioned into the Marine Corps and trained as an infantry officer and has commanded at the platoon, company, battalion, Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and component levels. In June 2009, he reported to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan to serve as the Deputy to the Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) for Stability. Following this, he was assigned Director, Strategy, Plans, and Policy for the U.S. Central Command before being promoted to his current position in 2019.  

PLENARY SPEAKER

Andrew Hallman

Andrew Hallman brings over 30 years of experience as a proven Intelligence Community (IC) leader, currently serving as Senior Advisor at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He previously served as the Principal Executive at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Director of the Office of Transnational Issues at CIA, and Deputy Director of CIA for Digital Innovation, where he was responsible for accelerating the integration of digital and cyber capabilities across all of CIA's mission areas. Mr. Hallman earned a master's degree in International Affairs from American University's School of International Service and a bachelor's degree in Public Affairs Management.

plenary SPEAKER

ADM Craig S. Faller

Admiral Craig Faller serves as Commander of the United States Southern Command. He is a 1983 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering and a 1990 graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School with a Master’s in National Security Affairs. Admiral Faller has served in a variety of leadership positions both at sea and ashore and assumed duty as senior military assistant to the secretary of defense in January 2017.

luncheon address

GEN Richard D. Clarke, USA

General Richard D. Clarke currently serves as the 12th Commander of United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, FL. Prior to assuming command of USSOCOM, General Clarke served as Director for Strategic Plans and Policy (J5), Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. General Clarke’s other assignments as a general officer include: Deputy Commanding General for Operations, 10th Mountain Division from 2011 to 2013; the 74th Commandant of Cadets, United States Military Academy at West Point from 2013 to 2014; and the Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division.

Maj Gen Alexus G. Grynkewich, USAF

Maj. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich is the Director of Operations for the United States Central Command. In this role, he is responsible for developing contingency plans and assisting the commander with overseeing joint operations across a 20-nation area of responsibility covering Central and Southwest Asia. Maj. Gen. Grynkewich received his commission in 1993 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has served as an instructor pilot, weapons officer and operational test pilot in the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-22 Raptor. Maj. Gen.

President Steven C. Curall, PhD

Steven C. Currall is the seventh president of the University of South Florida (USF). He brings three decades of leadership and academic expertise from top research universities, both public and private, in the U.S. and abroad. His longest career terms were at Rice University and the University of California, Davis. He is passionate about building institutions of higher education to help students, faculty, staff and communities flourish. 

Moderator

Brian Fonseca

Brian Fonseca is Director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University’s (FIU) Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations. Brian’s technical expertise is in U.S. national security and foreign policy.

Andy Zolper

Andy Zolper is the Chief Information Security Officer and Head of Technology Infrastructure for Raymond James Financial, where he is responsible for all facts of information security, technology infrastructure engineering, enterprise platform operations, disaster recovery, and software quality management. He is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and a proud United States Marine Corps veteran

HON Karen Evans

HON Karen Evans is the former Chief Information Officer for the Department of Homeland Security, where she was responsible for strategically aligning the Department’s Information Technology personnel resources and assets, including security, infrastructure, and delivery to support core DHS missions and activities. Ms. Evans previously served as the first Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).  

Eric Silagy

Eric Silagy is President and CEO of Florida Power & Light Company, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc., and one of the largest investor-owned electric utilities in the nation. Mr. Silagy has worked for NextEra Energy companies for more than a decade and has served in a variety of leadership positions, including senior vice president of regulatory and state governmental affairs, chief development officer, vice president of business development, and more. 

MODERATOR

Pat Gorman

Patrick Gorman is the Executive Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton with 30 years of experience spanning from digital technology strategy and development to technology risk management and cybersecurity. Patrick’s background in technology and risk also includes previous experience as Assistant Director of National Intelligence and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the U.S. Intelligence Community, where he was responsible for IT transformation and cybersecurity for all national intelligence agencies in the U.S. 

Beth Meinert

Beth Meinert is Vice President and Director of the Center for Government Effectiveness and Modernization at MITRE. In this role, she oversees the work of federally funded research and development center supporting the U.S. Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Meinert joined MITRE in 1988 after four years in the U.S. Army.  

Brian Murphy

Brian Murphy is the founder and CEO of ReliaQuest, a leading provider of security model management for some of the largest and most recognizable companies in the world. Under his leadership, ReliaQuest has received numerous accolades for its commitment to focused growth while maintaining a positive company culture. In 2018, ReliaQuest was ranked one of FORTUNE Magazine's Best Workplaces in Technology and selected for Entrepreneur's Top Company Cultures list. Prior to founding ReliaQuest 11 years ago, Murphy served in multiple leadership positions across accounting, finance, and operations. 

Dr. Francis J. Gavin

Dr. Francis J. Gavin is the Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor and the inaugural director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). In 2013, Dr. Gavin was appointed the first Frank Stanton Chair in Nuclear Security Policy Studies and Professor of Political Science at MIT. Prior to joining MIT, he was the Tom Slick Professor of International Affairs and the Director of the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas. 

MODERATOR 

Peter Singer

Peter Warren Singer is Strategist and Senior Fellow at New America. He has been named by the Smithsonian as one of the nation’s 100 leading innovators, by Defense News as one of the 100 most influential people in defense issues, by Foreign Policy to their Top 100 Global Thinkers List, and as an official “Mad Scientist” for the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command. Peter is also the author of multiple best-selling, award winning books, including his most-recent publication LikeWar, which explores how social media has changed war and politics. 

GEN Keith Alexander, USA, Ret.

General (Ret) Keith Alexander served as Director of the National Security Agency, Chief of the Central Security Service, and Commander of the United States Cyber Command. Following his retirement in 2013, General Alexander founded IronNet Cybersecurity, a private-sector cybersecurity firm. He currently holds the positions of Co-CEO and President and provides strategic vision to corporate leaders on cybersecurity issues through the development of cutting-edge technology, consulting, and cybersecurity education/training.  

LtGen Michael Groen, USMC

Lieutenant General Michael Groen has served as the Director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) since October 2020. As a member of the JAIC team, he leads the transformation of U.S. Joint warfighting and departmental processes through the integration of Artificial Intelligence. Prior to this nomination, Lieutenant General Groen served as the Deputy Chief of Computer Network Operations at the National Security Agency. He has served in a variety of operational, ground, air, and naval units, and has commanded intelligence and operational units including the 3d Radio Battalion.

Chris Inglis

Chris Inglis is the former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency. He retired from the Department of Defense in 2014 following 41 years of federal service, including 28 years at NSA and seven and a half years as its senior civilian and Deputy Director, as well as over 30 years of service in the U.S. Air Force. Mr. Inglis holds advanced degrees in engineering and computer science and is currently a distinguished visiting professor in cybersecurity studies. 

Moderator

Frank Cilluffo

Frank J. Cilluffo is the director of Auburn University’s McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security. He is a member of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission and the Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council and advises senior officials in the executive branch, U.S. Armed Services, and state and local governments on an array of matters related to national and homeland security strategy and policy. Following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Cilluffo was appointed by President George W. Bush to the newly created Office of Homeland Security, where he served as a principal advisor. 

HON Mike McConnell, VADM, USN, Ret.

Vice Admiral Mike McConnell is the former Director of the National Security Agency and a former vice admiral in the United States Navy. His career has spanned more than 50 years focused on international development and foreign intelligence issues, including 29 years as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer. He currently serves as the Senior Executive Advisor at Booz Allen Hamilton and the Executive Director at Cyber Florida, where he focuses on improving cyber education, outreach, and research throughout the state of Florida.

HON Michael Chertoff

HON Michael Chertoff is the co-founder and executive chairman of The Chertoff Group, a leader in security and risk management advisory services. He previously served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where he led the country in blocking would-be terrorists from crossing our borders. At Chertoff Group, Mr. Chertoff provides high-level strategic counsel to corporate and government leaders on a broad range of security issues, from risk identification and prevention to preparedness, response and recovery. 

LtGen Dennis Crall, USMC

Lieutenant General Dennis Crall currently serves as the Director for Command, Control, Communications, and Computers / Cyber and Chief Information Officer, Joint Staff J6. A native of South Carolina, he graduated from the University of South Carolina and was commissioned in 1987. Brigadier General Crall is a career Aviation Command and Control Officer who has commanded at the Squadron and Group levels. Joint assignments include: Deputy Principal Cyber Advisor / Senior Military Advisor for Cyber Policy; Chief, Joint Cyberspace Center, US Central Command (CENTCOM); Executive Officer to the Deputy Commander, CENTCOM; and more.