MIIST
Minnesota Institute of Information Security & Technology
A Team of Industry Experts Who Care
Eric Ong
Lead Security Architect
education & Certifications
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MS Software Engineering with concentration in Computer Security
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CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional
Eric is Lead Information Security Architect, Manager Security Architecture and Strategy for a Minnesota based Fortune 100 multinational conglomerate.
Eric is also an international education consultant, founded the International Education Institute where he has been instrumental in building relationships between American and Asian university systems and between international business and government concerns.
Eric also founded an international school in Singapore.
Dr. Venkat Kumarthy
Computer Security Architect
education & Certifications
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PhD
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CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional
Dr. Venkat is a Cybersecurity Architect with 17 years serving Fortune 100 companies. He specializes in Information Security, Risk and Compliance, has numerous industry technical certifications and a PhD in Computer Engineering.
Dr. Venkat has a passion for the internet of Things, AI, and Quantum Computing. He is dedicated to community service and active in nonprofits working on well being and skill development.
Greg Silker
Media and Marketing Entrepreneur
education & Certifications
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Bachelor - Education - North Central University
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Master of Divinity - Bethel University, St Paul, MN
Greg Silker is a media entrepreneur and start up consultant. Silker Studios influences for good through marketing,, entrepreneurship and entertainment.
Greg's nonprofit and community service start ups include Bordertown Coffee and Kappa Pi Alpha.
Greg is a partner/cofounder in the Firehouse Commons Entrepreneurship Center.
David Kumoro
Solution Architect
education & Certifications
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M.S. Software Engineering, University of St Thomas
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Certified AWS Solution Architect Professional
David is a Software Solution Architect with a Fortune 100 airline company. He is a seasoned solution architect with a concentration in distributed architecture and cloud computing. David brings over a decade of domain expertise in industries ranging from legal, retail, finance to health care.. David is passionate about technology and sharing his knowledge to benefit the community
sunil Ayyappankutty
Solution Architect
education & Certifications
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MBA, Carlson School of Management
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Certified AWS Solution Architect Professional
Sunil is a Senior Solution Architect for a Fortune 100 airline company. He is a seasoned solution architect with experience in Identity and Access Management, distributed architecture and cloud computing. Sunil brings over a decade domain experience in industries ranging from food processing, insurance, finance, to health care.
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He is passionate about learning new technologies, sharing knowledge, and has presented at various events in the Twin Cities, including the Twin Cities Code Camp.
Dr Rose Chu
Education Consultant
education & Certifications
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PhD Industrial Engineering
Dr. Rose Chu has served as Assistant Commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Education, interim Dean of Urban Education and is now Professor Emerita at Metropolitan State University, St Paul, Minnesota.
She currently holds the position of Senior Policy Fellow at Minnesota Education Equity Partnership, leading a campaign to elevate the teaching profession.
Dr Hafed Boussaida
Education Program Developer
Minntech Advisory Board
education & Certifications
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PhD FAMU
Dr. Boussaida has a PhD in Film Directing, Producing and Screenwriting from the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts, Prague, Czechoslovakia.
He is professor emeritus at Minneapolis College where he developed and founded the Media Arts program.
He is an expert in curriculum and program development.
Akira Hasegawa
Graduate Program Developer
Minntech Advisory Board
education & Certifications
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Bachelor of Arts - Rochester Institute of Technology
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Master of Science - Rochester Institute of Technology
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Master of Education (Ed.M.) - Harvard University Graduate School of Education
Akira is Vice President of International Development of Computer Education and the Director of International Relations at Kyoto Computer Gakuin (KCG).
He helped establish a sister school relationship between the Rochester Institute of Technology and Kyoto Computer Gakuin, including a partnership with Kodak aimed at improving the field of printing engineering.
Akira also is one of the founders of Kyoto Institute of Information Studies at KSG, Kyoto, Japan and is now a professor there.
Akira co-authored "A Future Image of Small Universities: Network Multiversity."
Dan Creed
Professor, Business Owner
Faculty
education & Certifications
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M.S. Organizational Management
Dan is Professor and Global Studies Chair and International Exchange Director at Normandale Community College. As a sought after presenter, Dan has been invited to speak in over 70 countries. He and his wife are co-owners of Heritage Montessori School.
More on Minntech's passion for workforce development in the community.
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Lee Winbush
Senior Technology & Transformation Manager
Advisory Board
education & Certifications
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MBA University of St.Thomas - Opus College of Business
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Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
Lee Winbush is a curious technologist, experienced leader, and growth-oriented collaborator with over 20 years of Information Technology experience across various industries. Lee is currently a Senior Technology & Transformation Manager for 3M Company’s Consumer Business Group.
Lee has successfully managed enterprise-scale infrastructure platforms, led complex global projects and programs, and served as a trusted digital advisor to key business stakeholders. Lee also serves the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business as an Executive Fellow and Adjunct Faculty - advancing and teaching emerging technologies in business.
john Valente
CISO Best Buy and 3M - retired
Advisory Board
education & Certifications
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Bachelors - Mechanical Engineering - Fairfield University
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Member Cyber Security Summit Think Tank
John has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT. He held several engineering positions in the air pollution control industry before moving into Information Technology (IT).
His professional IT career includes various leadership positions with Thomson-CSF, Citibank, Pepsi, Dell, Accenture, Best Buy, and 3M, before retiring in late 2019. John’s career focused mainly on Information Technology Infrastructure, architecture and management.
He has experience in building & managing large global organizations and has focused on Information Security, Risk and Compliance for the last 12 years, five years each as CISO of Best Buy and 3M. John has served on several security advisory boards and is currently an advisor to Ridgeback Network Defense. John is also a member of the Cyber Security Summit Think Tank.
kevin Chenoweth
SaaS Project Manager
education & Certifications
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B.A. Economics - St Olaf College
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MBA International Business - Thunderbird School of Global Management
Kevin has transformed many companies through Cloud implementations, product management and corporate turnarounds.
He's instilled Fortune 500 executives with analytics and digital strategy mindsets. Guided over a dozen full life-cycle multi-national financial and supply chain implementations for cloud ERP systems ranging from Salesforce to Oracle to Workday.
Kevin has used a Created Vendor Management model based on past performance as well as derived optimal car pricing through user stories and frequency of attributes at Cox Automotive. and rolled out digital readiness at Energize Colorado with Hubspot.
He's eorganized two bankrupt organizations, one non-profit and one multi-million commercial enterprise, into highly functional, well financed entities through legal, financial and organizational structures.
And Kevin has rransformed and streamlined multiple Fortune 500 and medium sized businesses from silo organizations into enterprise organizations, communicating across all departments and centralizing strategic initiatives and decisions.
Mike Musto
Vice President - Chief Information Security Officer - Worldwide Express
education & Certifications
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Bachelors - Business Management - New York Institute of Technology
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Masters - Cybersecurity - Penn State University
Mike Musto is currently Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer for Worldwide Express. He has global responsibilities for all areas of Cyber Security. Prior to Worldwide Express Mike was Chief Information Security Office of Enterprise Operations at 3M, Before 3M, Mike led Merrill Corps Security & Compliance area as the senior vice president and chief security officer. He brings more than 40 years of information technology and security experience, the majority of which has been in senior leadership within the financial, insurance, technology, and manufacturing industries. Mike has led many areas of information technology including cloud services, infrastructure, application development and support, enterprise architecture, database, relationship management, security and compliance, and project office functions. He is a member of the CISO Governing Body for Evanta, the Advisory Board of Metro-state University Cyber, ThinkIT organization, and a board member of InfraGard (FBI). Additionally, Mike has led many other key initiatives such as culture change, planning and strategy, process, service management & delivery, and compliance. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from New York Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in cybersecurity at Penn State University. He enjoys golfing, working out in the gym, and trips to his cabin in Orlando during the winter.
Aaron Tesch
Associate Director Cyber Protection: DevSecOps and Application Security
education & Certifications
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CISSP 2011-2020
Aaron is Associate Director in Cyber Protection for a Global consulting firm since 2018. Prior to that Aaron was a Principal Engineer at a Fortune 50 corporation.
Aaron has 20+ Years of IT and Information Security experience and has been a key member and thought leader in Support, Development, Infrastructure and Security teams. As a thought leader in the industry Aaron has presented at Kubecon, and BSIMM conference as well as internal company security conferences.
Aaron is a patented inventor of a security technology used to manage credentials across distributed data centers. For the past several years Aaron has focused on Secure Development and DevSecOps his primary role is advising, planning and building security development programs, integration of security into DevOps ways of working.