The leaves are changing and so is our Board - welcome new Board members!

The leaves are changing and so is our Board - welcome new Board members!

Fall is here and the leaves are starting to change. But that's not the only thing changing - we've had several of our dedicated Board members depart to take on new endeavors. Many thanks to Kristina Tanasichuk, Tonya Coultas, Jen Fritz, and Rab Walker. We are very appreciative of their service to InfraGardNCR and glad that they will continue to be involved with and contributing to the success of our chapter.

At the same time, we have recently completed elections and added new members to our Board. The annual Board retreat was on Monday, October 1st

and, even though several of us had not met before, I was impressed by the collegiality in the room - everyone showed a sincere and respectful attitude toward colleagues and their views. I can also tell you that the Board members are passionate about serving the chapter and they share a deep interest in the mission of InfraGard.

So let me introduce our new Board members:

Boykin Jordan, Jr. is an information technology (IT) expert, is the founder and President/CEO of Cyber Smart Pros, an IT professional services and cyber security consulting company. Prior to working at Cyber Smart Pros, Mr. Jordan worked as President of Dyoptics, a database development and data visualization company. Boykin is also a veteran who had a successful 26-year career in the United States Air Force.

Sam Khashman is the President and Chief Executive Officer of a healthcare IT firm. His company has installations in all 50 states and currently serves more than half of the United States with their technology in the administration of the medical care process as it pertains to diagnostic imaging, pathology, emergency medicine, and anesthesiology. Sam has also served on the InfraGard National Members Alliance (INMA) board of directors and he assisted with the launch of a national healthcare cyber defense information-sharing platform (Cyber Health Work Group).

Mohamed Elansary currently serves as Buchanan and Edward's Vice President of Global Operations and is responsible for service delivery operations to BE's customers. As a key member of the leadership team, Mohamed also helps shape strategic planning and policy, and he is a subject matter expert in Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing. Mohamed joined BE in 2013 as the Law Enforcement and National Security Director.

Steve Raia has been working in IT and security leadership roles for nearly twenty years, serving in Director, Vice President, and CIO positions. During that time, he has worked in multiple highly-regulated industries, including federal contracting, higher education, financial services, and manufacturing. He has also served as a volunteer on the boards of two non-profit organizations. His responsibilities have included protection of sensitive government data, student data, medical data, and company trade secrets.

Kristi Horton is the founder of Horton Innovations, LLC, a firm that helps make the cyber world safer by empowering individuals, families, and businesses protect themselves and thwart cyber offenders. Prior to founding her own company, Kristi served as the Chief Intelligence Officer at FS-ISAC, supporting the international financial services community. She has also served as the manager of a commercial digital forensic practice in a Fortune 500 firm, founded the Cyber Threat Intelligence program at a top-five US financial institution, and served as an adjunct instructor in the MS Digital Forensics program at George Mason University.

Please join me in welcoming our new members to the InfraGardNCR Board of Directors. They bring impressive leadership and vision to our chapter, and are dedicated to carrying out the InfraGard mission and keeping our country safe. A complete listing of all Board members, including the officers for this year, can be found on the chapter website under the "About" tab.

Next month I'll share information about the outcomes of the Board retreat, including initiatives intended to better engage the chapter's membership and other stakeholders. Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me, Kara or Amy.