Christopher M. Bosse possess over seven years of experience in acquisitions, project management, and engineering in support of the U.S. Department of Defense and over ten years of experience in healthcare administration. Mr. Bosse holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Clemson University, a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Charleston Southern University, and a Master of Science in Technology Intelligence from the National Intelligence University.
Marty Edwards is a globally recognized Operational Technology (OT) and Industrial Control System (ICS) cybersecurity expert who collaborates with industry, government and academia to raise awareness of the growing security risks impacting critical infrastructure and the need to take steps to mitigate them.
As Vice President of Operational Technology Security at Tenable, Edwards works with government and industry leaders throughout the world to broaden understanding and implementation of people, process and technology solutions to reduce their overall cyber risk. As industry Co-Chair of the Control Systems Interagency Working Group (CSIWG), he works to promote and advance OT security across the public and private sectors.
Prior to joining Tenable in 2019, Edwards—a 30‐year industry veteran—served as the Global Director of Education at the International Society of Automation (ISA). While at ISA, he was recognized by his industry peers with the SANS ICS 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award. Prior to ISA, Edwards was the longest‐serving Director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS‐CERT).
Edwards also served as a program manager focused on control systems security at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and has held a variety of roles in the instrumentation and automation fields. Edwards holds a diploma of technology in Process Control and Industrial Automation (Magna cum Laude) from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), and in 2015 received the institute’s Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2016, Edwards was recognized by FCW in its “Federal 100 Awards” as being one of the top IT professionals in the U.S. federal government.
Shelomo Alfassa is Director of Communications and a homeland security analyst for VIRSIG, LLC. He has worked in Public Safety for 25 years and has served with FEMA on several deployments as Deputy Commander of a national CBRN team (G8 Summit, the Atlanta Olympics, etc.). He is a member of the Government Affairs Committee of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). He serves on an ASTM International committee on Homeland Security Applications and is a vetted member of the FBI InfraGard program. Alfassa has been a speaker at events such as the N.Y. State Emergency Managers Conference; ISC-EAST; and has appeared on Fox News and MSNBC. He is a Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary in Jacksonville, Florida, where he is also a Sector Jacksonville Emergency Operations Center Agency Representative. Alfassa’s education includes a Harvard Business School post-graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy; a BA in Homeland Security and a Masters in Public Administration. He is the author of the book, “Essays in American Public Safety and Emergency Management.”
Dr. Mitchell E. Simmons, Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force (Retired) is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Program Director in the Anthony G. Oettinger School of Science and Technology Intelligence at the National Intelligence University in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Simmons oversees three departments consisting of five concentrations—Emerging Technologies and Geostrategic Resources; Information & Influence Intelligence; Weapons of Mass Destruction; Cyber Intelligence; and Data Science Intelligence. He teaches courses in Intelligence Collection, National Security Policy and Intelligence, and Infrastructure Assessment Vulnerability, the latter course being part of a Homeland Security Intelligence Certificate program popular with students from the Department of Homeland Security. Dr. Simmons has over 25 years of experience in acquisition, engineering, and program management within key agencies to include National Reconnaissance Office, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), and multiple tours with the Defense Intelligence Agency. His technical expertise includes physical and functional vulnerability of critical infrastructure from conventional explosives, nuclear, ground forces, and asymmetric threats, such as infectious disease. Dr. Simmons’ niche expertise is the exploitation of hard and deeply buried targets and he has personally collected intelligence in dozens of strategic facilities. Dr. Simmons is widely published in the classified and unclassified realm and his products have seen diverse readership, to include the national command authority and combatant commands. He is the author of the definitive DoD manual, published by DTRA, “Hard Target Field and Assessment Reference Manual” used to educate those on this strategic target set. Dr. Simmons holds a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio University, a M.S. from Central Michigan University, and a Ph.D. in Engineering Management from The Union Institute and University.
Suzanne N. Garrison MSSI, is currently the Deputy Chief of Staff for the National Media Exploitation Center at the Defense Intelligence Agency in Bethesda, Maryland. Mrs. Garrison has over 17 years of experience in architectural design and facility space planning within the Intelligence Community. Her expertise includes building renovation, construction and management, as well as move coordination throughout the National Capital Region. Mrs. Garrison holds a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design from Virginia Tech and a Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University.
Eric R. Byer is president and CEO of the National Association of Chemical Distributors, an association of more than 400 companies that provide products to approximately 750,000 end users in industries as diverse and essential as sanitation, construction, healthcare, electronics, pulp and paper, water treatment and many others.