Best Defense: Cybersecurity Summit 2011 - Speaker Bios

Home
Directory
Best Defense: Cybersecurity Summit 2011 - Speaker Bios

Cybersecurity Summit 2011

Best Defense:

Joining Forces Against Emerging Cyber Threats

June 3, 2011

The Carbone Family Auditorium
Economic Crime, Justice Studies, and Cybersecurity Building

Confirmed Keynote:

Patrick Gray

Senior Strategist
Cisco Systems

Patrick Gray currently works for Cisco Systems as its Senior Security Strategist after serving as the Director of X-Force Operations, Office of the Chief Technology Officer, Internet Security Systems, Inc. (ISS). Gray also comes to Cisco Systems after twenty years of service with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Upon his retirement from the FBI in November 2001, he joined Internet Security Systems and created the X-Force Internet Threat Intelligence Center and thereafter was Director of the Penetration Testing and Emergency Response Teams until his promotion to the X-Force R & D Team. As a result of his service with the FBI, and the Internet Threat Intelligence Center, he has first-hand knowledge of the hacking community, its aims and methodologies as they attack government, ecommerce, energy and financial entities relentlessly.

Prior to joining Internet Security Systems, Gray served as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for twenty years and has served in Baltimore, Maryland, Daytona Beach, Florida, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia. Gray was also assigned as a Supervisory Special Agent at FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C. in the Intelligence Division where he was responsible for global counterintelligence investigations. While serving in the Washington, D.C. area, Gray was seconded to the National Security Agency where he was responsible for an FBI group that provided operational support to the Intelligence Community.

He was transferred to Atlanta in 1988 to assume Supervisory Duties for the FBI’s Drug and Violent Gang Program in Georgia. In 1994, he assumed the duties as the Supervisor of the Technical Services Squad and served as the Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Georgia in 1996 and 1997 during the time of the spree of terrorist bombings at Centennial Olympic Park and two subsequent bombings at two women’s clinics in Alabama and Georgia.

Gray was assigned as Supervisor of the Special Operations Group in 1994 which ultimately morphed into one of the FBI’s first regional Cyber Crime Squads; and was a member of the FBI’s elite Computer Assistance Response Team as a Forensic Examiner. He has investigated cases involving financial institutions, government agencies, commercial businesses and colleges and universities. He was also assigned to the investigation of the September 11 attacks. He was the Coordinator of the Atlanta Chapter of InfraGard, an alliance between the public and private sectors for the sharing of information regarding technology security issues. He grew the Atlanta Chapter of InfraGard into the largest chapter nationally. He continues to work closely with the FBI, other U.S. Government agencies, the Department of Homeland Security and the White House.

Gray is also a board certified Homeland Security professional by the American College of Forensic Examiners International; is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners; the Information Systems Audit and Control Association; InfraGard Atlanta; the Atlanta Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association, and the International Information Systems Forensic Association. He has lectured at Colleges and Universities around the country. He has spoken at numerous technology events around the world to include Gartner Sector 5, Networld Interop, the IT World Congress, CIO Summit, GE Access, Forbes and others. He has been quoted in numerous newspapers, magazine articles and periodicals and makes regular cable television appearances.
Gray is a former Marine having served in Vietnam.

Top of Page

William C. Banks
Board of Advisors Distinguished Professor of Law
Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs
Director, Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism

Professor William C. Banks is an internationally recognized authority in national security law, counterterrorism, and constitutional law. Banks has helped set the parameters for the emerging field of national security law since 1987, co-authoring two leading texts in the field: National Security Law and Counterterrorism Law. In 2008, Banks was named the College of Law Board of Advisors Distinguished Professor at Syracuse University, where he has been a member of the faculty for over 30 years.

National Security Law was first published in 1990 and the co-authors are now at work on its fifth edition. Banks and his co-authors published Counterterrorism Law in 2007 to help define the emerging field of counterterrorism law. Banks is also the author of numerous other books, book chapters and articles including Combating Terrorism (with Mitchel Wallerstein and Renee de Nevers), New Battlefields/Old Laws: Critical Debates from the Hague to Convention to Asymmetric Warfare (forthcoming), “Legal Sanctuaries and Predator Strikes in the War on Terror,” “Programmatic Surveillance and FISA – Of Needles in Haystacks,” and “Providing ‘Supplemental Security’ – The Insurrection Act and the Military Role in Responding to Domestic Crises.”

A graduate of the University of Nebraska (B.A. 1971) and the University of Denver (J.D. 1974, M.S., Law & Society 1982), Banks joined the faculty of the Syracuse University College of Law in 1978. Since 1998, he also has been a Professor of Public Administration in SU's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He was named the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence in 1998, a College of Law Board of Advisors Professor in 2005, and he became the founding director of the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism at Syracuse University in 2003. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of National Security Law & Policy (JNSL&P).

Top of Page

Dr. John S. Bay
Vice President and Chief Scientist
Assured Information Security, Inc.

Dr. John S. Bay received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from The Ohio State University in 1988. After that, he was a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) from 1988 until 1999. He then became an Engineering Fellow at the Raytheon Company in Falls Church, VA. Subsequently, he moved to the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), where he conceived and managed advanced research programs in embedded systems, unmanned vehicles, and software engineering. In 2005, he became Chief Scientist of the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate in Rome, NY. In 2009, he returned to private industry as the Vice President and Chief Scientist of Assured Information Security (AIS), Inc. He is the author of 65 publications in embedded computing, command and control, and robotics. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and is a 2009 winner of the IEEE Computer Society Technical Achievement Award for his work in embedded systems.

Top of Page

RoAnn Destito
Commissioner
New York State Office of General Services

Commissioner RoAnn Destito

RoAnn Destito was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 1992. On May 10, 2011, Mrs. Destito was unanimously confirmed as Commissioner of the New York State Office of General Services (OGS) and was formally sworn in by Governor Cuomo on the following day. Her goals in her new role include modernizing state operations and helping to restore performance in state government.

As Assemblywoman for New York’s 116th Assembly District, Mrs. Destito worked tirelessly to strengthen the local economy, improve the education system, make state and local government more accountable to the public, and provide quality affordable health care.

She secured more than $54 million to help redevelop the former Griffiss Air Force Base. She was part of the team that helped convince the Federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission to keep the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome intact, saving almost 1,000 jobs. She also secured more than $24 million in state funding to support the future Marcy NanoCenter site and has worked to forge partnerships between the local academic institutions and private sector high technology firms in order to bring new jobs to the Mohawk Valley.

Mrs. Destito has supported a number of programs aimed at helping business owners. She consistently voted to lower business taxes. She worked to re-open local rail service, providing transportation to small manufacturing businesses along the Utica-Rome manufacturing corridor, and provided a $1.5 million multi-modal grant toward the project. She sponsored new laws aimed at cleaning up contaminated industrial sites for redevelopment, guaranteeing $120 million to the Superfund program.

She has become one of the state’s leaders in homeland security issues, having served as Co-Chair of the Temporary Joint Legislative Commission on Disaster Preparedness and Response, as well as serving as the State Assembly’s representative on the Statewide Wireless Network Advisory Council. She is the only state legislator to serve on the New York State Council for Universal Broadband.

A number of organizations have honored Mrs. Destito with various community service awards. In addition, she has received the Friends of Law Enforcement award from the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, the Mary White Ovington Award for Excellence in Civic Leadership from the Utica/Oneida County Branch of the NAACP, the Richard W. Couper Living Legend Award from the Oneida County Historical Society, the New York Farm Bureau’s Circle of Friends Award, the Zonta Yellow Rose Award, and the YWCA’s Salute to Outstanding Women Award.

Top of Page

Dr. Todd S. Hutton
President
Utica College

Dr. Todd S. Hutton, President of Utica College

Dr. Todd S. Hutton was appointed as Utica College’s eighth president in August 1999. Prior to joining Utica College, Dr. Hutton was the vice president for academic administration at Willamette University in Salem, OR, and before that he was assistant to the president at Austin College in Sherman, TX, where he also served on the graduate faculty of the Austin Teacher Program.

Under his leadership, Utica College has witnessed dramatic growth and transformation, including the addition of 22 graduate and online programs; construction of new academic and athletic facilities; an 88 percent increase in freshman enrollment and an 86 increase in the overall study body; the addition of 13 new varsity sports; reform in the campus governance, including creation of a Faculty Senate; reorganization of the Board of Trustees committee structure; and the adoption of a long-range strategic plan, a campus master plan, and an integrated marketing plan.

In the process, he has achieved a national reputation for entrepreneurial thinking and strategic planning. He serves on the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), and is a member of the board of trustees and the executive committee of New York's Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities. He served on the board of directors of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) from 2008 to 2011, and also served as vice chair of CIC's Program Committee. Locally, Dr. Hutton serves on the board of directors of the School and Business Alliance and the Economic Development Growth Enterprises Corporation, and has been appointed to the Central Upstate Regional Alliance, a 12-county, public-private economic development consortium that seeks to transform the regional economy. Dr. Hutton also serves on the Faxton-St. Luke's Healthcare board of directors, is past president of the board of directors for the United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica Area, and has served on the board of directors of the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Central New York Community Arts Council, and the Utica Symphony.

Dr. Hutton received an A.B. degree in English from Davidson College in 1970, a master's of education in school psychology/psychological foundations from the University of Florida in 1972, and a Ph.D. in Education (Sociology of Education and Comparative Education) from Duke University in 1982. In October 2007, he received an honorary doctorate from Dong-eui University in Pusan, Korea.

Top of Page

Dr. Kamal T. Jabbour
Senior Scientist for Information Assurance
Information Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, N.Y.

Dr. Kamal T. Jabbour, a member of the scientific and technical cadre of senior executives, is Senior Scientist for Information Assurance, Information Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, N.Y. He serves as the principal scientific authority and independent researcher in the field of information assurance, including defensive information warfare and offensive information warfare technology. He conceives, plans, and advocates major research and development activities, monitors and guides the quality of scientific and technical resources, and provides expert technical consultation to other Air Force organizations, Department of Defense and government agencies, universities and industry.

Dr. Jabbour began his professional career on the computer engineering faculty at Syracuse University, where he taught and conducted research for two decades, including a three-year term as department chairman. In 1999, he joined the Cyber Operations Branch at AFRL through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, and transitioned gradually from academia to government. He contributed to building the Offensive Cyber Operations Program at AFRL before assuming his current position. His research focuses on building cybercraft that shapes cyberspace as the domain for the new revolution in military affairs.

In response to President Bush's National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, Dr. Jabbour created the Advanced Course in Engineering in 2003 to develop the best ROTC cadets into future cyber security leaders. The ACE combines advanced academic training, hands-on internships, officer development and weekly eight-mile runs into a challenging cyber security boot camp. The ACE received designation of a Special Interest Item for its role in developing officers for the new Air Force Cyberspace Command. Dr. Jabbour has received one U.S. patent, published more than 60 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings, and penned 317 articles on running. He also supervised 21 theses and dissertations. An avid distance runner, Dr. Jabbour wrote a weekly column on running in the Syracuse Post-Standard from 1997 to 2003.

Top of Page

Richard J. Licht
Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Albany Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Richard J. Licht was born in Penn Yan, New York. He is a 1984 graduate of the State University of New York at Albany. He received his law degree from Union University, Albany Law School, in 1987. He was sworn in as a Special Agent of the FBI on November 6, 1987.

Mr. Licht began his career in the Tampa Division of the FBI in the Orlando Resident Agency, assigned to investigate fugitives, bank robberies, and other reactive crimes. In 1988, he was assigned to investigate Foreign Counterintelligence matters. In 1989, Mr. Licht was selected for assignment to a major espionage investigation in Tampa Division headquarters city. His investigative efforts resulted in his being awarded the Director of Central Intelligence Exceptional Intelligence Collector award in 1990. Mr. Licht was a member of the Tampa Division SWAT team from 1989 to 1991. In 1991, he received a one-year appointment to attend the Department of Defense, Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California.

In 1992, Mr. Licht received his second field assignment to the Chicago Division, where he served on a joint FBI/Chicago Police Department narcotics investigation task force. In 1996, he received a promotion to FBI Headquarters, and was detailed to the National Drug Intelligence Center as the Security Programs Manager. In August of 1999, Mr. Licht was reassigned as the Supervisory Senior Resident Agent of the Lansing and Traverse City Resident Agencies, Detroit Division. His assignment there required oversight for all Bureau investigative programs within these territories. He was Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge in the Detroit Division from August through December, 2004.

Mr. Licht was appointed Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Division on May 1, 2006.

Top of Page

Dr. Ann Marie Murray
President
Herkimer County Community College

Dr. Ann Marie Murray serves as the third president of Herkimer County Community College, a position she has held since August 11, 2008. Under Dr. Murray’s leadership, the College has developed and implemented a five-year strategic plan, an institutional assessment plan and a learning outcomes assessment plan; completed a successful Middle States reaccreditation process; added four new degree programs; established an Academic Senate; significantly increased continuing education offerings; and implemented an updated crisis response plan. Dr. Murray is a tireless advocate of higher education, regional economic development and the community at large.

Dr. Murray has an extensive background in higher education and mathematics education, both as an administrator and as a faculty member. From 2005-2008, Dr. Murray served as vice president for academic affairs at Broome Community College where she was responsible for the oversight of all academic programs and academic functions of the college. Dr. Murray also spent 24 years at Hudson Valley Community College where she held the positions of dean of business and engineering and industrial technologies, associate dean of academic services and department chair for mathematics and science and engineering science after teaching mathematics for 19 years, having moved up in rank from an adjunct to full professor.

Dr. Murray holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY and several degrees from the University of Albany including Master of Arts in Advanced Classroom Teaching, Master of Science in Instructional Technology, Certificate of Advanced Study in Education Theory and Practice, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction.

Top of Page

William F. Pelgrin
President and CEO, Center for Internet Security, and
Founder and Chair, Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC)

William F. Pelgrin, Esq.

Mr. William Pelgrin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Internet Security (CIS). The Center for Internet Security is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to enhance the cyber security readiness and response of public and private sector entities, with a commitment to excellence through collaboration. CIS has responsibility for development and distribution of benchmarks that establish standards for the secure configuration of information technology systems; provision of cyber security services for state, local, tribal and territorial governments; and the identification and development of talent for the cyber security workforce of the future.

As President and CEO of CIS, Mr. Pelgrin provides leadership in establishing, implementing and overseeing the organization’s mission, goals, policies and core guiding principles. He directs all strategic, operational and financial aspects of CIS, including: communicating CIS’s mission and programs; ensuring optimal allocation of CIS’s human, financial, and physical assets; furthering CIS staff professional development to foster a high-performance team; ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations; ensuring quality products and services are developed and maintained; incorporating the highest level of ethical standards into all CIS activities; and communicating with and receiving direction from the CIS Board of Directors.

Mr. Pelgrin is the Founder and Chair of the Multi-State ISAC, which serves as the focal point for cyber threat prevention, protection, response and recovery for the nation's state, local, territorial and tribal governments.

Mr. Pelgrin is serving his third term as Chair of the National Council of ISACs, which works to advance the physical and cyber security of critical infrastructure and includes representation from the major national industry sectors.

Mr. Pelgrin was appointed to serve as a Commission Member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Commission on Cyber Security to brief the 44th President of the United States on critical cyber security issues. The Commission released its reports on December 8, 2008 providing findings and recommendations to secure cyberspace in the 44th Presidency and to help guide policy-making to improve cyber security in critical infrastructure.

Mr. Pelgrin is a graduate of Union College and Albany Law School. He is a frequently requested speaker and has been the subject of numerous articles in a variety of publications. Mr. Pelgrin has received national recognition for his work in cyber security, most recently being named by Government Technology magazine as one of 2011’s Top 25 Dreamers, Doers and Drivers, and one of the Top 10 Government Information Security Leaders for 2011, by GovInfoSecurity.

Top of Page

Ronald E. Plesco Jr.
CEO
National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance

A nationally renowned information security and privacy attorney with 15 years experience in information assurance/privacy, identity management, and computer crime law, Ronald E. Plesco Jr. is the CEO of the private sector and federally funded National Cyber Forensic Training Alliance (NCFTA). The NCFTA functions as a conduit between private industry and law enforcement with a core mission to identify, mitigate, and neutralize cyber crime. In an effort to streamline intelligence exchange, the NCFTA organizes SME interaction into threat-specific initiatives. The NCFTA currently manages several initiatives focusing on financial, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, web hosting, retail, shipment, and industrial control system cyber crimes and the black market infrastructure that supports each. This infrastructure includes botnets, hosting companies, malware, money laundering, and shipment/money mule recruitment.

Previously, Mr. Plesco founded and served as the Director of the SRA (SRX) Privacy/Information Assurance Division. As a Privacy SME, he was the privacy lead for the US-VISIT Border Security, TSA Secure Flight Program, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Privacy office contracts in addition to being the Program Manager for the development of the SRA team at the DHS National Cyber Security Division/USCERT. For seven years, he served at the pleasure of Gov. Tom Ridge as the Director of Public Safety Policy assigned to the Pennsylvania State Police. Immediately following 9/11, he was selected to Chair the Cyber Attacks Committee for the Pennsylvania Homeland Security Council.

A former prosecutor, Mr. Plesco’s unique experience and non-traditional speaking style have made him a prolific presenter for private and public organizations. Recent audiences have included the Overseas Security Advisory Council, U.S. Army War College, International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, and private keynotes for Fortune 100 companies.

Top of Page

Kristin Royster
Director
Critical Infrastructure Protection-Cyber Security program
National Cyber Security Division
Department of Homeland Security

Ms. Royster currently serves as the Director of the Critical Infrastructure Protection-Cyber Security program in the National Cyber Security Division within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In her role, Ms. Royster oversees a variety of public-private partnership and outreach activities between the National Cyber Security Division and its diverse set of stakeholders. In addition to leading the Information Technology Government Coordinating Council and working with the Cross Sector Cyber Security Working Group, she also serves as the DHS lead for National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Prior to joining the National Cyber Security Division, Ms. Royster was an Associate Director in the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Legislative Affairs with a specific focus on cybersecurity issues. Ms. Royster worked closely with Department’s cybersecurity programs to establish a relationship with Members of Congress and staff who oversee the Department’s activities.

Ms. Royster recently completed an assignment, serving on the White House’s National Security Staff, where she managed the Interagency effort to develop the cybersecurity legislative proposal that was recently delivered to Congress.
Ms. Royster is originally from Syracuse, New York and graduated from the University of Delaware with a B.A. in political science and George Mason University with a Masters degree in Public Policy. She currently lives in Falls Church, Virginia with her husband.

Top of Page

Thomas D. Smith
Director, New York State Office of Cyber Security, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

Thomas D. Smith was appointed Director of the Office of Cyber Security in July 2010. Prior to that, he served as Assistant Deputy Director and Counsel since 2007. In that position, he assisted in the agency's policy direction; managed the agency's large scale procurements; coordinated the agency's legislative program; and served as Co-Chair of the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center's Procurement Workgroup. He also served as the agency's Ethics Officer and Records Appeals Officer.

Before joining the Office of Cyber Security, Mr. Smith served as a supervising attorney at the State Office for Technology where he oversaw the legal team for the State Data Center and served as legislative liaison. From 1986-2000, he worked in the New York State Office of the State Comptroller, where he served as an associate attorney in the Division of Legal Services/Municipal Law Section and the Division of Legal Services/Investments.

Mr. Smith graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College and earned his Juris Doctor from Albany Law School. He and his wife reside in the City of Albany and have three children.

Top of Page

Randall VanWagoner, Ph.D.
President
Mohawk Valley Community College

Dr. Randall VanWagoner is currently the President of Mohawk Valley Community College where he has served since July 1, 2007. He is a former President of the National Council of Instructional Administrators, is active in the New York Community College Association of Presidents and serves on a number of local community boards. He has led MVCC through a period of significant organizational change and growth while expanding community partnerships. Prior to coming to the Mohawk Valley, Dr. VanWagoner was Academic Vice President at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Nebraska and Dean of Students at Red Rocks Community College near Denver, Colorado.

A native of the state of Michigan, Dr. VanWagoner started his college education at Mott Community College and went on to receive his B.A. in Communications from Oakland University in Rochester and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Higher Education, with an emphasis in Community College Administration, from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Over his twenty years working in community colleges he has published and presented widely on a range of community college issues.

Top of Page

Bjong Wolf Yeigh, Ph.D., F.ASME
President
SUNYIT

Bjong Wolf Yeigh was named SUNYIT’s fifth president on May 13, 2008. He previously held the position of vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., providing leadership to all academic and academic support programs. At Norwich, he also held a tenured professorship in a joint appointment with the Mechanical Engineering Department at the David Crawford School of Engineering and in the School of Business and Management.

President Yeigh previously served as engineering dean at Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Mo., and held the post of assistant provost for science and technology at Yale University, where he managed and oversaw academic facilities, research, budget and faculty programs in the natural and social sciences. He also was assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Yeigh served as a tactical intelligence officer for Fighter Squadron Seventy-Four (VF-74) aboard the USS Saratoga (CV-60) in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. While on active duty, he completed Strike Lead Attack Training Syllabus (SLATS), Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun), Navy Electronic Officer Course, and Navy and Marine Corp Intelligence Training. He held the rank of lieutenant upon his honorable discharge from the Navy Reserve in 1995.

He holds the following degrees: M.A. and Ph.D. in civil engineering and operations research from Princeton University; M.S. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University; A.B. in engineering science from Dartmouth College; and a graduate certificate in science and technology policy from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. He was elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and serves on several national and state boards for engineering, economic development, public policy and education.

Top of Page