(ISC)² Security Congress 2017

2017 Americas ISLA nominations are now closed. The luncheon will now be open to All Access Pass and Tuesday Single Day passes at Security Congress. It will take place on Tuesday, September 26th as a plated luncheon.

The Americas ISLA Program is held annually by (ISC)² in cooperation with the (ISC)² North American Advisory Council and Latin American Advisory Council to recognize outstanding leadership and achievements in workforce improvement of information security and management professionals throughout the private and public sectors (except U.S. federal government professionals whom are recognized under the GISLA Program) in North, Central and South America.

View the 2017 judges here.  

Community Awareness

Brian O’Hara – United States
Indiana Members Alliance Infragard

 

Certifications held: CISSP, CCSP

Brian T. O’Hara, chief information security officer for the National Conference of Guaranty Funds, has been practicing information security for over 20 years specializing in security, audit and risk management in healthcare, financial services and manufacturing. He is a frequent speaker at local and national conferences including RSA, SecureWorld, Indy Big Data, as well as a regular IT Security and Audit SME contributor to ITProTV. Brian has published articles in the Indiana Bankers Journal, and served as technical editor of several recent security and audit books such as Wiley’s (ISC)² CISSP Official Study Guide, (ISC)² SSCP Official Study Guide, as well as co-author of CISA: Certified Information Systems Auditor Study Guide, 4th Edition, and most recently (ISC)² CCSP Official Study Guide. Brian holds a B.A. in Public Affairs from Indiana University and an M.A. in Counseling from the University of North Dakota. He serves in numerous leadership positions with local and national InfoSec and was awarded Fellow status by the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) in 2013 for his leadership activities. 

Christopher Greco – United States  
Silver Hats Founder



Certification held: CISSP

Chris Greco is a retired Air Force Intelligence Officer and Federal Government Civilian. Working in IT since 1997, Chris has applied his knowledge in both private industry and public service. Chris’ accomplishments in cybersecurity are not limited to the technical, as he is the author, illustrator and publisher of Grandpappy Turtle Talks About Passwords, a children’s book on cyber. Coining the term “Silver Hats,” for those over the age of 60 who want to learn and share about InfoSec, Chris is an advocate for cybersafety at all ages. In addition to IT and cybersecurity, Chris has been a certified project manager since 2009. Chris lives in Baltimore with his wife, Kathy. She is his most important advisor and reviewer of his work. Besides, who else would want to spend every day with a person who loves to draw turtles?

 
Daniela Álvarez – Ecuador 
The Pawawar Project



María Daniela Álvarez Galarza, currently works as information security specialist at the Electric Corporation of Ecuador CELEC EP. Daniela is responsible for supporting the process of implementation, innovation, improvement, strategic approval, control and monitoring of information security processes in CELEC. Passionate about InfoSec awareness, Daniela works on a project to protect the confidentiality and integrity of minors in Ecuador. She is a computer systems engineer with a Master’s in Applied Computer Security, and is certified as an internal auditor of ISO 27001: 2013.




Information Security Practitioner:


Jasmine Neal – United States  
Cybersecurity Vulnerability Waiver

 

Certification held: CISSP

Jasmine Neal, CISSP supports the Missile Defense Agency as a member of the Administrative/General Services (Admin/GENSER) Network Security Team. She started her cyber career while serving on active duty in the U.S. Navy. As a Maintenance Cryptologic Technician, she earned her Associate’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Columbia College. Over the next 10 years working for Raytheon, she quickly moved from a workstation build technician to helpdesk and then on to Windows and UNIX systems administration, enabling her to join the Raytheon Network Security team. During this time, she also earned her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Columbia College. Jasmine is actively pursuing her Master’s in Cybersecurity. She enjoys local races including the Pikes Peak Marathon and Ascent, volunteering at her church, and spending as much time as possible her husband and two children.



Nghiem Nguyen – United States
Data Protection Program



Certification held: CISSP

Nghiem Nguyen is currently the interim chief information security officer at PlainsCapital Bank. He is responsible for the organization’s information security program, overseeing security strategy, governance, risk and compliance, engineering and operations. Nghiem has led projects to mature security programs in the following areas: policies and standards, security awareness, training compliance, access control, background screening, data governance, and third party risk assessments. He also prepared and published the enterprise information security policies based on ISO 27002 standard. 
Prior to his professional career, Nghiem received a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2007. 

Oscar Monge – Costa Rica   
Securing Company Assets



Certification held: CISSP

Oscar Monge is an experienced professional with over 13 years specializing in information security, , enterprise infrastructure and IT operations. He has an extensive background in Security Event Management and SIEM solutions and is now fully focused on engineering security solutions for cloud environments. At Intel Costa Rica, he leads an information security workgroup which focuses on teaching InfoSec concepts and practices to fellow employees, preparing them to succeed in this remarkable field. In his spare time, Oscar enjoys cooking for his wife and 3-year-old daughter and participating in endurance open water swimming events.



Senior Information Security Professional:


Jesse Varsalone – United States
Cyber Padawans



Certification held: CISSP

Jesse Varsalone is an associate professor of Computer Networks and Cybersecurity at University of Maryland University College. Jesse has been teaching for more than 20 years at both undergraduate and graduate level at a number of colleges and universities. He also taught for five years at the Defense Cyber Investigations Training Academy (DCITA) where he was a member of the network intrusions track. Jesse has spoken at several conferences including many of the DoD Cyber Crime Conferences. He has a master's degree from the University of South Florida (Tampa, FL), and a bachelor’s from George Mason University (Fairfax VA). Jesse has written and contributed to several publications, including Defense against the Black Arts: How Hackers Do What They Do and How to Protect against It. Jesse also wrote the entire series of labs for Security+, Ethical Hacking, Forensics, and Network Security for NDG's netlab. Jesse lives with his son Mason and daughter Kayla in Ellicott City, Maryland.




Jorge Mario Ochoa – Guatemala   
Information Security Culture



Certification held: CISSP

Jorge Ochoa has more than 17 years of experience in Information Technology. He has experience implementing, auditing and certifying ISO 27001:2013 & ISO 22301:2012, information security strategy, information security frameworks, vulnerability assessment, application and network penetration testing (OSSTMM & OWASP), information security awareness programs, consultancy, leader of several regional and global projects.  Jorge has a technical profile that allows him to communicate with the operational areas of the organization and my studies in Leadership, Business Management, Project Management, Psychology and Talent Management.  




Mansur Hasib – United States   
Cybersecurity Technology Degree Program



Certification held: CISSP

2017 Cybersecurity People’s Choice Award Winner, Dr. Mansur Hasib is the only cybersecurity and healthcare leader, author, speaker, and media commentator in the world with 12 years’ experience as Chief Information Officer, a Doctor of Science in Cybersecurity (IA), and the prestigious CISSP, PMP, and CPHIMS certifications. Dr. Hasib has 30 years’ experience in leading organizational transformations through digital leadership and cybersecurity strategy in healthcare, biotechnology, education, and energy. He currently teaches the art of cybersecurity leadership, digital innovation and strategy to graduate students and executives worldwide and is Program Chair of the Cybersecurity Technology program in The Graduate School at University of Maryland University College (UMUC). 
With a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Politics and a Master’s degree in Political Science, Dr. Hasib has a unique interdisciplinary perspective in digital strategy, business innovation, and cybersecurity. Dr. Hasib enjoys table tennis, comedy, and travel and has been to all 50 states of the USA. 




Rahul Bhardwaj – United States
Information Security Management Framework



Certification held: CISSP

Rahul Bhardwaj is a pragmatic security executive with 10+ years of experience, focused on designing, integrating, and delivering manageable information security solutions to mitigate global business risk as regional information security officer, and VP - Information Security, at FIS (Fidelity National Information Services Inc). His tenure and information security roles evolved to encompass nearly every domain in the security field. His current role at FIS, an international provider of financial services technology and outsourcing services. His role and project involved leading multinational team across multiple geographies and managing enterprise level project and business risk to ensure standardized and consolidated approach and framework across enterprise. Rahul has Master’s degree in Computer Science and is a known speaker and like to participate in security initiatives involving community and skill development of young professional. He enjoys working in the dynamic field of information security, and thrives in an environment in ever changing threat landscape.