State Information Security Academy Graduates 24

The Information Security Leadership Academy – one of the career-development programs offered by the California Department of Technology (CDT) – has graduated another class of information security professionals.

The security academy, known as ISLA, is the newest of the four professional academies offered by CDT’s Office of Professional Development (OPD), led by Brenda Bridges Cruz.

“This program prepares candidates for the critical roles of information security officer (ISO),” OPD explains in its breakdown of the academy offerings. The course is designed to prepare participants for positions such as information security officer at the department or agency level, or for an expanded role within their department’s security office.

The academies, which are conducted primarily online since last summer, are open to those in state service or who work in technology in the public sector. The other academies are the flagship Information Technology Leadership Academy, the Digital Services Innovation Academy and the Project Management Leadership Academy. Information about the academies, as well as other career development resources, are available online.

Following are the names, working titles and departmental affiliations of the most recent ISLA graduating class. This course ran from July 7 through Sept. 10.

Crystal Johnson, Information Security Program Specialist, State Controller’s Office

Debbie Hobbs, Security Operations Center (SOC) Manager, Franchise Tax Board

Matthew Mello, Privacy, Risk and Compliance Bureau Chief, Department of Social Services

Samuel Turner, Security Architect, Department of Child Support Services

Antony Kolitsos, Information Security and Privacy Officer, Department of Rehabilitation

Frank Alejandre, Information Technology Specialist I, Department of Developmental Services

Ray Garcia, Information Security Officer, California Lottery

Amy Lynn Beckley, Information Technology Supervisor II, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Nikia Galbreath, Advisory Services Program Specialist, California Department of Technology

Daren Bournstein, Chief, Cyber Threat Intelligence, California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) / California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC)

Paul Galyen, Senior Information Security Analyst, California Department of Resources Recycling & Recovery (CalRecycle)

Sandi Wong, Project Manager, City of Hayward

Ivonne Cedillo, Information Security Engineer, Secretary of State

Michael McKibben, Information Security Engineer, Department of Health Care Services

Jay Jeyarajah, Security Operations Center (SOC) Supervisor, California Department of Technology

Sang Paik, Principle IT Analyst, Orange County

Steve Rodriguez, IT Manager, City of Mountain View

Emily Tran, Information Security Specialist I, Department of Public Health

Edward Castillo, Network Security Engineer, Department of Managed Health Care

Juan Ramos, IT Manager, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

David Wysow, Information Security Officer, Department of Aging

John Jones, IT Director, City of Belmont

Erin Powers, Security Operations Center (SOC) Analyst, Air Resources Board

Matthew Sweet, Manager, Department of Technology