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Cyber Operations and Resilience Staff and Instructors

Sin Ming Loo

Sin Ming Loo, PhD, Program Director of Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program at Boise State University. Sin Ming Loo is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boise State University. He also holds a joint-appointment with Idaho National Laboratory.

 

Michelle Bassett

Michelle Bassett is Program Manager of Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program at Boise State University. She handles all facets day to day activities for CORe.

Phone: (208) 426-1896

To connect with a faculty or staff member, please email CORE@boisestate.edu

Theron Beam

Theron Beam

Theron Beam is a Product Engineer for Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. His area of focus is distribution controls and sensors used to protect power systems. He graduated from Boise State University with a BS in Electrical Engineering in 2020. He obtained his Security+ certificate shortly after graduation.

Theron Beam is the instructor for CPS 412 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Brenda Burget

Brenda Burget has 25 years of experience in IT with 10 years in cyber security in various senior technical and management roles at a large corporation. She left her position in the corporate world to focus on improving community knowledge in cyber security.

She has her certified information system manager (CISM) from ISACA and is currently the program officer at the local Boise Chapter. While active in various corporate roles, she was awarded 3 patents.

Brenda Burget is the instructor for CPS 302 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Michael Channey

Michael Chaney has extensive experience working in the information operations, network security and information security fields with over 35 years of experience in both the government and private sectors. Chaney’s efforts have included projects focused on control systems, embedded systems and cyber physical cyber security, network defense operations, computer security architecture development projects, Federal Information Security Management Act compliance, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity projects and IT systems auditing projects.

Michael has his Bachelor of Science in Russian Studies from the University of the State of New York, Albany, with a Master of Science in Computer Science from George Washington University. Michael is currently a Certified Information Systems Security Professional and has been a member of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers for 23 years.

Michael Channey is the instructor for CORE 450/550 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Fuli Chavez

Fuli Chavez, Cyber Operations and Resilience Instructor


Fulcanelli “Fuli” Chavez is currently an Information Security Engineer for Albertsons Companies in Boise, ID. He has over 20 years of experience in Information Technology (IT) and Information Security (IS). Previously, he was the Sr. Security Operations Analyst at the largest privately held west-coast US financial services company.

Fuli has been a consultant, manager and postsecondary educator. As an educator, he has been an instructor and program chair for accredited associate and bachelor level degrees in IT and IS. He helped define the direction of these degrees through both high-level input and curriculum development.

He earned a Masters of Science in Engineering and Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington, and holds several IT/IS certifications including CISSP, CISA and MCSE.

Fuli Chavez is an instructor for CPS 402, CPS 403 and CORE 420/520 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Grant Cummings

Grant Cummings is a technology leader with strong business acumen. He has extensive experience in leadership, system design, business process improvement and strategic planning/implementation.

Cummings currently oversees the IT department for an international, multi-campus school in West Africa. He also consults with organizations of various sizes about their technology and security needs.

Grant Cummings is the instructor for CORE 413/513 for the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Sandy Dunn

Sandy Dunn, Cyber Operations and Resilience Instructor

Sandy Dunn is a CISO of Blue Cross of Idaho and has 20 years of experience in Cybersecurity. Her roles in Cybersecurity have included Competitive Intelligence, Security Engineer, Information Security Officer, Senior Security Strategist and IT Security Architect. She prioritizes a risk based, business focused, cyber security strategic approach through process, standards and threat intelligence.

She has a Masters from SANS Technology Institute in Information Security Management. And her certifications include CISSP, SANS GSEC, GWAPT, GCPM, GCCC, GCIH, GLEG, GSNA, GSLC, GCPM, Security +, ISTQB and FAIR.

Sandy Dunn instructs CPS 301 and CORE 503 for the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Robert Hale

Robert Hale

Rob is a Lockheed Martin Fellow with over 30 years of experience in information operations and cyber security. Over his career, Rob has been responsible for conducting and leading information assurance and cyber security activities for federal, state and commercial organizations in the defense, law enforcement, intelligence, financial services, utility and healthcare industries. He has a broad range of experience in compliance and certification activities, security architecture and implementation, security test and evaluation, and operational analysis. Rob has led compliance and audit teams for KPMG and Ernst & Young in the commercial sector and has taken many systems and programs through compliance and accreditation at both the federal and state levels. Rob is currently leading advanced research and development in cyber security at Lockheed Martin and is also the lead of the 5G.MIL security integrated program team, where he is developing next-generation embedded security services. Rob holds multiple industry certifications, including the CISSP-ISSAP, and is the author of 7 patents. Rob has a Master of Science in Cybersecurity from Capitol Technology University in Laurel, MD.

Rob Hale is the instructor for CORE 572 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Ryan Hays

Michael Hays

Ryan is the Global Head of Red Team for one of the top banks in the United States, where he leads cyber security teams through adept technical expertise within the offensive and defensive cyber security space. With 20 years of experience in the IT and cyber security field, he has worked with a multitude of the top Fortune 1 to 1000 companies, along with various U.S. Government Intelligence agencies. Ryan takes pride in giving back to the infosec community by presenting at multiple conferences as well as providing training and mentorship to people across the globe.

Ryan holds a BS in Information Technology and an MS in Information Systems from Strayer University.

Kim L. Jones

Kim L. Jones, Cyber Operations and Resilience Instructor

Kim L. Jones is a 34-year intelligence, security and risk management professional with expertise in information security strategy, governance and compliance, security operations and risk management. Mr. Jones is a former Chief Information Security Officer who has built, operated and/or managed information security programs within the financial services, defense, healthcare, manufacturing and business outsourcing industries. He is also the principal architect of one of the cybersecurity degree programs at Arizona State University.

Jones holds a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and a Masters Degree in Information Assurance from Norwich University.  He also holds the CISM, CISSP and CDPSE certifications.

Kim Jones is an affiliate faculty in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Connie Justice

Dr. Connie Justice, Cyber Operations and Resilience instructor

Dr. Connie Justice has over 30 years experience in the cybersecurity, computer and systems engineering field. Professor Justice is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional. She created the networking and security options for CIT majors and a Network Security Certificate Program. She has designed and modified many courses in networking and cybersecurity curriculum to meet NSA/DHS Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) requirements and NIST National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Framework.

Dr. Justice consults for and has managed IT departments in small, medium and large sized businesses. She serves as Senior Cybersecurity Advisor for a Fortune 100 company. Her areas of research include: experiential and service learning, information and security risk assessment, risk management, digital forensics, network security, network and systems engineering, network and systems administration and networking and cybersecurity course development.

Dr. Connie Justice is the instructor for CORE 460/560 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Andre Karamanian

Dr. Andre Karamanian, Cyber Operations and Resilience Instructor

Dr. Andre Karamanian’s career spans positions as researcher, data scientist and practical security professional. Currently, he works as data scientist and product security engineer at Cylance, recently acquired by Blackberry.

He is highly credentialed with many industry certifications, has been a speaker at several conferences and has multiple patents. In his current position he works with a team which develops a product for continuous authentication based on behavior analytics, app usage, network and process invocation patterns.

Andre Karamanian is the instructor for CORE 411/511 and CORE 512 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Matthew Kunzman

Matthew Kuzman, Cyber Operations and Resilience Instructor

Matthew Kunzman is the Lead Security Engineer at Kount, Inc. where he designs and develops internal security products to enhance the security posture of the business. He researches, tests and reviews network traffic and network devices. Matthew leads the security team’s incident response efforts to security events. Additionally, he reviews systems and codebases in order to identify potential security weaknesses and recommends improvements to mitigate vulnerabilities.

Matthew Kunzman is an instructor for CORE 410/510 and CORE 562 for the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Brian Mattingly

Brian Mattingly, Cyber Operations and Resilience Instructor

Brian Mattingly has over 20 years of experience in the field of networking and cybersecurity. He also has 4 years of experience teaching students about his work in cyber security. In the last several years he has focused intently on the weaponization of information to affect societal outcomes.

Brian believes there are few more important issues facing our society than the security of our information space and the critical infrastructure networks we rely on.

Brian Mattingly is the instructor for CORE 551 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Erik Peterson

Erik Peterson, Cyber Operations and Resilience Instructor

Erik Peterson has twenty years of experience in the industry between military and other professional experiences.

Peterson currently works at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in support of maintaining and securing the Department of Homeland Security’s Infrastructure Protection Gateway. While at INL he has continued to expand his knowledge and education to keep up as a SME in IT environments and how they interact with OT. He also supports the Cyber Resilience Department as the Critical Infrastructure Team Lead.

Erik Peterson is the instructor for CORE 561 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Eric Puype

Eric Puype specializes in cybersecurity, physical security and personnel security studies. Additionally, he is a licensed attorney who uses his 24 years of security experience to provide expertise and advise on legal issues concerning privacy and information security.

Puype is a security advisor for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In this capacity, he is his agency’s representative to federal, state, local and private sector stakeholders on cyber and physical security issues. As a security advisor, Puype collaborates with stakeholders to identify various threats, assess vulnerabilities and provide federal resources to deliver effective defenses.

Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Puype served ten years in the U.S. Air Force as an Intelligence Officer. In this role, he served with distinction in several joint service operations with the Defense Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency. During his service, Puype was awarded the Bronze Star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Puype earned a Juris Doctor-Law from the University of Idaho’s College of Law and is a licensed attorney in the State of Idaho. Additionally, he earned a Master of Arts from St. Mary’s University and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Puype is a licensed attorney in the State of Idaho, a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) and a Professional Certified Investigator (PCI) from ASIS International.

Eric Puype is the instructor for CPS 100 and CORE 571 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Char Sample

Dr. Char Sample, Cyber Operations and Resilience Instructor

Dr. Char Sample has over 25 years experience in cybersecurity. Her experience began as a developer and integrator before she moved into research. Dr. Sample has researched a variety of cybersecurity topics including deception, fake news, industrial control systems, artificial intelligence and machine learning and human machine behaviors.

Dr. Sample currently works as a Principal Cybersecurity Investigator for MTSI where she advises and assists DoD leadership.

Dr. Char Sample is the instructor for CORE 400/500 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Vince Skinner

Vince Skinner, Cyber Operations and Resilience instructor

Vince Skinner is the CISO and VP of Integration & Deployment for Milton Security. Mr. Skinner brings over 20 years of technical IT and Cybersecurity experience. Most recently, Vince held the position of Vice-President of Cybersecurity for D.A. Davidson, where he led the organization’s cybersecurity and physical security teams.

Vince is highly recognized for his deep understanding and commitment to cybersecurity program development, operations and improvement. He is a frequent speaker at various IT Security conferences. He is an adjunct instructor at Boise State University and has 14 years of University instruction; teaching classes in IT Audit and Information Systems Security. He is the former President of Boise ISSA, former president and board member for Boise ISACA and a technical advisor for the Boise Collegiate Cyber–Defense Competition. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Information Technology and a Masters degree in Information Systems. He also holds the following certifications: CISSP, CISM, CISA, CISA, MCSE, CCNA.

Vince Skinner is the instructor for CPS 411, CORE 405 and CORE 480 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Mark Stacy

Mark Stacy, Cyber Operations and Resilience Instructor

Mark Stacey has experience working within the federal government and private industry helping secure the most sensitive networks and critical infrastructure across the world. He is currently the Director of Professional Services at Dragos, Inc. Stacey graduated from the University of Idaho with a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science and Math, and a Masters of Science in Digital Forensics and Intelligence from Utica.

Mark Stacy is an instructor for CORE 552 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Antonio Tijerino

Antonio TijerinoAfter a 35-year career in the high-tech industry, Antonio recently retired from HP, Inc. where he spent almost 26 years.
Antonio moved to Boise in 2002 from the Sacramento area, where he also worked at HP in the Roseville Networks Division lab. Antonio’s most recent experience in the cyber-security field was as a member of a small core team working on developing a security analytics service to help large organizations get information about security events and information on their printer fleets. He has also worked as a print security advisor performing security risk assessments for large organizations and as a program manager in the same organization.
Antonio has additional experience as a software/firmware security test engineer with full system development life-cycle experience, including designing, developing and implementing test plans, automated test cases and test processes. Prior to working for HP, Antonio worked as a network/system admin for Intel, Legato Systems (today part of EMC/Dell) and other companies.

Keith Tresh

Keith Tresh, Cyber Operations and Resilience Instructor

Keith Tresh is the Chief Information Security Officer for the State of Idaho, Information Technology Services. Keith is a retired military and previously a State of California cybersecurity professional. He has over 15 years of experience in cybersecurity and over 27 years of experience in information technology.

Keith holds a Master of Science degree in national security and strategic studies from the United States Army War College.

Keith Tresh is the instructor for CORE 401/501 and CORE 470/570 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.

Patricia Watson

Patricia Watson, Cyber Operations and Resilience instructor

Patricia Watson has extensive experience  developing, implementing and directing information security strategies, that are both data-driven and human-centric, across multi-site and multi-cultural cloud, SaaS, manufacturing, energy, corporate and government environments.

In this ever-evolving, globally interconnected society, where cyber-intrusions have a direct and immediate impact to business assets, Patricia’s professional goal is to ensure the universal security, holistic integrity, uncompromising confidentiality and conditional accessibility of digital information for her stakeholders. Patricia’s leadership experience along with her business acumen fuels her collaborative approach toward supporting people, processes, operations and technology to protect and drive business interests forward.

Patricia’s passion for developing talent, optimizing resource allocation, and transferring knowledge through training, awareness and meaningful communications are all hallmarks of her values as a cybersecurity professional.

Patricia Watson is the instructor for CORE 405 and CORE 480 in the Cyber Operations and Resilience (CORe) program.