Education

B.S. Cyber Operations & Digital Forensics Minor

Dakota State University | Madison, South Dakota

Graduated Fall 2020

GPA 3.51 - Honors List - Fall 2019 & Spring 2020

Certifications

LogRhythm Platform Administrator (LRPA) - Obtained August 2023

LogRhythm Security Analyst (LRSA) - Obtained August 2023

Experience

CSOC Analyst

Unlimited Technology | Rochester NY | Industry: Clean Energy

July 2023 - Current | Workstyle: Hybrid

• Developed dashboards and views for team and Management

• Worked as analyst/administrator for Primary Network SIEM and served as a security engineer on the Secondary Network SIEM. 

• Contributed to the development and refinement of operational procedures through the creation of playbooks and runbooks. Collaborated with the teams, implemented efficient event monitoring, drove process improvements, and incorporated new automation initiatives aimed at reducing failures and enhancing the overall performance of SIEM and networking tools, while ensuring compliance with NERC CIP Regulations.

• Evaluated NDR tools to enhance visibility into the network.  

• Participated in industry calls through EISAC.

• Managed Cisco network security solutions software,an additional SIEM and performed patching for both.

• Trained and Onboarded new CSOC analyst(s)

• Participated in presentations to show groups my tools

Cyber Security Analyst

Constellation Energy | Western New York | Industry: Nuclear

August 2022 - July 2023| Workstyle: Hybrid

• Created disaster recovery plans, managed related software and system backups in a fleet repository.

• Maintained Digital Test Equipment between 2 Nuclear sites to remain compliant with 10 CFR 73.54

• Participated in Cyber Security Assessment Team (CSAT)

• Tasked with classifying data/documents with internal significance. 

• Prepared documentation and equipment for regular audits

• Participated in fleetwide cybersecurity meetings/evaluations for new technologies entering the plant.

  • voted on new technologies' safety and potential vulnerabilities.

• Performed weekly, monthly, and quarterly tasks to verify the integrity of the Intrusion Detection System (Defensive Architecture) in accordance with NEI 08-09

• Managed multiple endpoint antivirus software across various platforms to meet fleet standards.

• Conducted regular audits on SIEM to ensure compliance with Nuclear regulatory commitments.

• Enforced digital layer separation and maintained cyber integrity across the plant.

• Worked on OT (Operation Technology) security devices/processes.

• Conducted wireless scans of a protected area using a wireless analyzer to check for rogue networks.

• Performed cybersecurity walk-downs in critical plant areas along with threat investigations.

• Built and maintained security kiosks for secure file transfer and virus scanning with data being transmitted for investigation.

• Maintained and audited password management tool to reduce cyber risk.

• Created a standardized cybersecurity tool backpack for fleet Cyber Security Analysts to minimize response time for incidents.

IT Solutions Specialist

PharmaSmart International LLC | Rochester, New York | Industry: Medical Technology

October 2021 - August 2022 | Workstyle: Hybrid

• Proofreading, documentation writing, and technical writing support for internal processes and published articles in our knowledgebase

• Researched and evaluated endpoint security solutions to be implemented

• Designed IT Service Management layout for internal records/end-user requests

• Administered Active Directory, Azure AD and Microsoft SharePoint

  • created app registrations in Azure AD

• Performed monthly and quarterly reports in Webroot Endpoint Security Administration & OpenVAS

• Provided level II technical support to 50+ users with 150+ endpoints

• Traveled to Canada to train others in hardware/software and performed remote troubleshooting

• Decommissioning hardware/software with M2M Software

• Assisted in SOC II compliance audit

• Managed software/hardware verification & validation testing

  • approved timesheets, wrote bug reports from compiled tester information & trained testers

• Implemented MFA company wide, and trained 30+ end-users on how to use MFA

• Used SQL Server Management to create queries on deployed live devices

• Setup vulnerability management tools OpenVAS and Nessus Essentials to gather insight on internal vulnerabilities

• Worked with Dell Support to order technicians to come on site and service equipment

• Created and executed approved email phishing campaigns to coworkers through Social Engineers Toolkit

• Scheduled Veeam backups for data protection

Lead Tester

Maven Technologies LLC | Rochester, New York | Industry: Recycling

May 2019 - July 2021 | Workstyle: Onsite

• Cross trained between network switches, to PC's and Laptops. 

• Created guidelines/documentation for testing and erasing data effectively

• Trained new testers to follow policy and practices

• Daily use of data destruction tools used in accordance to DoD 5220.22-M

Projects & Hobbies

Bust-A-Binary: Active Attribution and Analysis of Malware Campaigns

Presented at the South Dakota 2019 Student Research Poster Session at the State Capitol

Presented at the 2019 Dakota State University Research Symposium

Trace Labs - Search Party

Assist law enforcement in crowdsourcing new leads on missing persons cases using open-source intelligence (OSINT) in a Trace Labs Global OSINT Search Party CTF. 

Effectiveness Review - NITSL

Led team of cyber security professionals in research centered around Nuclear Generating facilities nationwide and how their effectiveness review process could be improved, or altered

Linode Cloud Computing - Various Projects

Created a Pi-hole instance to filter traffic on my home network to block ads.  Practiced white/blacklisting.  VPN(WireGuard) to Pi-hole to encrypt traffic

Black Hills Information Security - Antisyphon Training

Took trainings by Antisyphon, which focus on SOC, cyber defense and social engineering

Skills

Awards

1. Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research - South Dakota Student Research Poster Session, 2019

2. Academic Honor Roll Spring 2020 - Dakota State University 

3. Academic Honor Roll Fall 2019 - Dakota State University

4. Contestant Badge - TraceLabs 

Publications

1. Flack, M; Kramer, N; Snyder, Z; Chona, E; Steckelberg, M; and Brizendine, B: Bust-A-Binary: Active Attribution and Analysis of Malware Campaigns

Events

• bsidesroc2022 - attended

• bsidesroc2023 - attended

Affiliations

North American Young Generation in Nuclear

Nuclear Information Technology Strategic Leadership

Volunteer Experience

Last Kings Gaming Community

• Moderated an online community of 5.2k+ members 

• Created rules, created reporting procedures and auto muting bots for rule violations