Dr. Lazaro Lopez: Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning at High School District 214, Chairman of the Illinois Community College Board and Secretary of the Board for the Partnership for College Completion

Dr. Lazaro Lopez serves as Chairman of the Illinois Community College Board and Secretary of the Board for the Partnership for College Completion.  As the Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning at High School District 214 in Arlington Heights, Illinois, Dr. Lopez has been featured in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Profiles of Change series. Dr. Lopez was recognized as the 2013 Illinois Principal of the Year for his tenure as Principal of Wheeling High School and speaks statewide and nationally as an advocate for relevancy in schools, business partnerships, and career pathways. The six comprehensive high schools in the District serve 12,000 students with each one recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of “America’s Best High Schools.”  High School District 214 has led the national Redefining Ready! campaign acknowledging students are more than a score. As a result, students at District 214 have logged almost two million internship hours and earned more than 25,000 early college credits annually.

Karen Anderson: Executive Director Illinois Community College Board

Karen Hunter Anderson, Ph.D., serves as the executive director to the Illinois Community College Board where she has worked since 1999. Dr. Anderson previously served as a vice president for ICCB, where she was a staff liaison to the ICCB presidents, to the P-20 Council and was on the Joint Education Leadership Team. She also was instrumental in developing the ICCB Latino Advisory Committee.

Prior to working at ICCB, Dr. Anderson was the principal and president of Ursuline Academy in Springfield; provost, registrar, and acting president of Springfield College (IL); assistant professor of English at Milliken University (IL); and a professor and coordinator of the Bilingual Business Studies Program at Midway College (KY).

John Bambenek: University of Illinois; Illinois Community College Board          

John Bambenek is Manager of Threat Intelligence Systems at Fidelis Cybersecurity and an incident handler with the Internet Storm Center. He is also a faculty member of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois where he teaches courses in cybersecurity. He has been researching security threats and criminal organizations for 17 years and coordinating with U.S. and foreign law enforcement entities to help bring criminal actors to justice. He specializes in data mining threat intelligence data and performing online surveillance of criminal infrastructure to provide near-time and real-time intelligence products to product customers and to aid in criminal investigations.

Don Bora: Co-Founder and Principal of Technology, Eight Bit Studios; Co-Founder of Mobile Makers

Don Bora has been a professional software developer in Chicago since 1990 and has worked at many types of companies employing varied technologies, including bio-informatics, artificial intelligence and global investment banking to name a few. A few years ago, Don decided to give back to the Chicago community by lending his experience to those who might benefit. He began mentoring at the Founder Institute and The Code Academy (now The Starter League) and co-founded The Mobile Makers Academy, where he is the lead instructor, ushering much needed iOS development talent into new careers. Don continues to be an active advisor to Uncharted Learning, including developing high school curriculum as the industry changes and frequently mentors both high school and college students who display an interest in technology and coding. Most recently, Don co-founded Eight Bit Studios, where he developed software on various studio projects, careful to learn something new with each one.

Jack Cable: White-Hat Hacker

Jack Cable is an 18-year-old high school senior who is a well-established white hat-hacker. Jack is ranked 55th overall on HackerOne, an international community of hackers that organizes bug bounties in the public and private sector. He recently finished first out of 600 hackers worldwide in “Hack the Air Force,” a Pentagon-sponsored bug bounty program which recruited ethical hackers to find security holes within Air Force networks. Jack also won the international bug bounty hackathon “HackIT Cup” in Kiev, Ukraine where participants searched for vulnerabilities in four major e-commerce clients. He has launched a cybersecurity company and writes a blog sharing research with the security community. Jack plans to attend Stanford University in the fall and will be interning at the Pentagon with the Defense Digital Service in summer 2018.

Tony Chen: Cyber Information Security Program Director, College of DuPage

Tony Chen loves technology, and he's often learning just as much as his students in the Computer and Internetworking Technologies program. Before coming to College of DuPage, Chen worked as a network manager at a local Glen Ellyn company, Ball Foundation. While at Ball, he conducted computer training classes and enjoyed it, which led him back to teaching.

Brian Durham: Deputy Director for Academic Affairs, Illinois Community College Board

Dr. Brian Durham is the Deputy Director for Academic Affairs at the Illinois Community College Board where he has spent the last 15 years of his career. Prior to his role as the Deputy Director he served as the Senior Director for Academic Affairs and Career and Technical Education, the Director for Adult Education and the Assistant Director for Workforce Systems. In his current capacity, Brian leads all programmatic responsibilities of the ICCB, including college recognition, program approval and review, and oversight of the agency’s remedial education reform efforts, among other areas. Additionally, Brian is responsible for the administration of the postsecondary CTE and sits on the state’s Workforce Innovation Board.

Jonathon Furr: Education Systems Center, Northern Illinois University

Jonathan Furr is the Founder and Executive Director of Education Systems Center. He is actively engaged in various state and national education policy and legislative developments. Since 2010, Mr. Furr has played a lead role in state policy and program development relating to career pathway systems. Mr. Furr staffs the Illinois P-20 Council’s College and Career Readiness Committee, which recently drove the development and adoption of the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act. Education Systems Center is also an organizing sponsor of the Illinois 60 by 25 Network, which is supporting regions across Illinois to improve education and workforce development outcomes. Prior to joining NIU, Mr. Furr was a partner in the public policy and education practice of an international law firm. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Furr served as the General Counsel for the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

Kirk Havens: Director Information Security Strategy, Discover

Kirk Havens is the Senior Director, Information Security Strategy at Discover Financial Services. Kirk is a graduate of Liberty University and Carnegie Mellon University’s CISO Executive program. He holds 13 different information security certifications and has delivered several industry-focused briefings, as well as participated on discussion panels and curriculum development for area school districts.  While at Discover Kirk has served in numerous capacities and to date has matured the information security program to an industry recognized leader in information security, receiving accolades from organizations such as the SANS institute of technology. Prior to working at Discover Kirk spent a career in the U.S. Army Special Forces Green Berets, where he held several positions and specialty skills. Kirk is the recipient of several honors such as the Bronze Star with Valor Device for heroism, the Purple Heart and multiple Bronze Stars to name just a few.

Chris Hill: Chief Information Security Officer, State of Illinois

Chris Hill serves as Acting Chief Information Security Officer at the Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT). Chris has more than 20 years of professional experience in the state information technology environment. At DoIT, Chris is actively engaged in the IT transformation effort, working with the Information Security team. He is assisting in the development of cyber security capabilities for Illinois, specifically in the areas of governance, risk and compliance, security operations, security engineering, as well as identity and access management. Prior to joining DoIT in 2016, Chris held State of Illinois IT management positions at the Department of Transportation, Department of Natural Resources and the Office of the Fire Marshall; serving as agency CIO in the latter two of those engagements. Chris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and is currently pursuing his accreditation as a Certified Information Systems Security Manager.

Michael Lenz: MB Financial Bank, Senior Vice President, IT Security

Michael Lenz is an accomplished, client-focused Information Security and Technology leader with a demonstrated ability to develop and deliver security and technology strategies which achieve business objectives. Michael’s background covers all aspects of information security and technology delivery to the Business – Information Security and Risk, Infrastructure, Development, Application Management, Technology Portfolio and Program Management, Vendor Management and Client Relationship Management. Michael’s strong technical background enhances his ability to design secure technology solutions which support business goals.  Michal is currently employed at MB Financial Bank as the Head of IT Security where he develops and maintains IT Security solutions, works with technology areas to develop multiyear road maps which integrate strong security principles, and strives to create a supportive information security partner. Prior to MB Financial Bank, Michael worked at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS N.V.) as the Director of Information Security in the America’s and Regional Head of Security Engineering and Program Management.

Jimmy McDermott: App Development

Jimmy McDermott is a freshman at Boston College who graduated from a District 214 high school last spring. Jimmy enrolled in District 214's MobileMakersEdu iOS app development class, which piloted in 2014 and gave students the tools to build apps using Apple’s new programming language, Swift, while exposing them to careers in the IT field. Jimmy first taught himself how to code in middle school before moving on to bigger projects and ultimately working at two different development studios in Chicago. Jimmy is also the founder of 162, where he helps businesses bring their technology ideas to life through innovative and immersive design, and the co-founder of Transeo, a cloud-based educational tool that helps students and administrators track, report, and celebrate their community service learning experiences.

Nick Percoco: Chief Security Officer, Uptake

Nick Percoco is Uptake’s Chief Security Officer. With more than 20 years of information security expertise, Percoco is adept at developing and leading security programs in this ever-evolving connected threat landscape. He co-founded the “I am The Cavalry” movement, a highly regarded grassroots hacker organization that is focused on issues where computer security intersect public safety and human life, and founded SpiderLabs, the ethical hacking test lab that contributed to Trustwave’s growth. Nick was the creator of THOTCON, a growing annual Chicago hacking conference. Nick has served as a media spokesperson on CNN, Fox News, CNET and Forbes. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Illinois State University.

Davina Pruitt-Mentle: Lead for Academic Engagement, National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE)

Davina Pruitt-Mentle serves as Lead for Academic Engagement of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Prior to joining NICE, she was a senior researcher and policy analyst for Educational Technology Policy, Research and Outreach (ETPRO) and served as the Co-PI for the National Science Foundation (NSF) supported National Cyberwatch Center (NCC). Previous to NCC leadership, she served as faculty within the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park, and served as Director of Educational Technology Outreach within the College of Education at UMCP from 2001-2008. She has spent the past 20 years conducting research on student and educator cyberawareness, and developing programs to help increase the cybersecurity workforce pipeline.

Heather Ricciuto: Global Leader, IBM Security’s Academic Outreach Programs, IBM

Heather Ricciuto is Global Leader of IBM Security’s Academic Outreach Program, partnering with educational and research institutions around the globe to develop top cybersecurity talent and close the skills gap.  She is the co-leader of IBM’s Women in Security Excelling (WISE) Business Resource Group. With 825  members, WISE aims to bring awareness and change to the cybersecurity gender gap through education, events and youth outreach. Heather is particularly passionate about inspiring our youth to aspire to careers in STEM, and about driving awareness around the cybersecurity skills and gender gaps. She is a proud Co-Founder of #IBMCyberDay4Girls, a program designed to build cybersecurity awareness amongst middle school girls. To date the  IBMCyberDay4Girls program has touched the lives of approximately 800 girls in the US, Canada, Australia and South Africa. In 2018, the program will expand to  each an additional 1000 girls around the globe as part of IBM’s #SkillsBuild challenge.

Julio Rodriguez: Deputy Director, Office of Employment and Training, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

Julio Rodriguez is the Director of Program Development, Office of Employment and Training (OET), Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). He has been working in the field of human services for the last 20 plus years at the senior management level. In 2001, Julio was inducted into the International “Who’s Who of Public Service.” He was also the recipient of the “Community Leadership Award for Philanthropy” in 2002 from the Chicago Latinos in Philanthropy. In 2004, Julio was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame for his work in the Latino gay community and is the founder of the Association of Latino Men for Action (ALMA,) one of the oldest Latino gay men’s organization in the Midwest. Julio has served on a number of local and national boards including the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, The Center on Halsted, La Casa Norte, the Marin Institute for Alcohol and Drug Policy, and the National MultiCultural Institute. In 2012, Julio was inducted into the “Latino Leaders” of Who’s Who International. He is a native of Chicago and has a degree in Business from DePaul University.

John Sands: Department Chair, Computer Integrated Technologies, Moraine Valley Community College

John Sands brings over 25 years of experience in information technology management and information assurance. John earned a Ph.D. from Colorado State University. As a 25-year employee of Moraine Valley Community College, Dr. Sands is currently the department chair of the Computer Integrated Technologies programs. John also developed and taught several classes for Northwestern University Graduate School of Continuing Studies in the area of Information Security Management. Over the last 12 years, John also has served as a Principle Investigator (PI), Co-PI and project evaluator for numerous National Science Foundation (NSF) Advance Technology Education centers and projects. John was also instrumental in establishing the Center for System Security and Information Assurance (CSSIA) NSF ATE project #9950037, one of the country’s first comprehensive Centers for Advanced Technology Education. John holds several industry certifications including CISSP, CCIA, A+, Network+ and Security+. John served as a senior researcher for Cisco Learning Institute in the area of technical education.

Valinda Scarbro Kennedy: IBM Midwest University Relations Program Manager, IBM

Valinda Scarbro Kennedy is the IBM Midwest University Relations Program Manager focused on increasing awareness and adoption of the enhanced IBM Academic Initiative (free) onthehub.com/ibm/ for faculty and students and the IBM Skills Academy (fee-based) ibm.biz/BdiirM. These programs are focused on addressing the skills gaps in hot areas including cognitive computing, cyber security intelligence, analytics/big data, mobile development/integration, cloud computing, internet of things technologies and more.

Dan Weidner: Director of Academic Programs and Pathways, High School District 214s

Dan Weidner is the Director of Academic Programs and Pathways for High School District 214. As Director, Dan has focused on the development of District 214's career pathway framework which promotes the relevancy of students’ educational experience across the District’s 44 career programs of study. Within D214's career pathway framework, students have the opportunity to complete a sequence of courses which lead beyond high school graduation, participate in workplace learning experiences and internships linked with industry partnerships, and earn industry certifications and/or early college credit. Prior to this administrative position, Weidner worked for six years developing cross- curricular opportunities between core and career and technical education as a physics and engineering instructor.