KOREN WISE

Owner, Wise Technical Innovations

Koren is a Certified CMMC Assessor, Provisional Instructor, and the CEO of Wise Technical Innovations in Norfolk, VA. She has participated in the Joint Surveillance Voluntary Assessment Program as both assessor and implementor. She recently created the compliance program and GCCH Azure Gov enclave for Jaco Aerospace, leading them to the JSVA where they scored the perfect “110”.

WTI is a Licensed Training Provider for Cyber AB.  WTI is awarded on the GSA HACS schedule for High Value Assessments, Risk and Vulnerability Assessment, Cyber Hunt, Incident Response, and Penetration Testing.

Koren is qualified by the Department of Homeland Security/CISA as Lead Assessor for High Value Asset, Cyber Resiliency Review, and External Dependency Management Assessment Program.

Koren specializes in standing up cybersecurity programs within organizations to meet applicable NIST controls or comply to 800-53 overlays. Additionally, she specialized in business continuity planning, business impact analysis, and risk-based approaches, such as the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). She is skilled in using 800-53, RMF, 800-30, and 800-37, eDiscovery, root-cause analysis, and threat hunt techniques.

Koren has enjoyed a 23-year career in IT and network security which has resulted in a deep knowledge of disaster recovery, hardening infrastructures, and risk assessment. She started Wise Technical Innovations in 2004 and has been helping both commercial and government organizations meet business goals and maintain highly secure environments ever since.

She has a strong passion for teaching and has contributed to the IT community on the podium throughout her career. She is CISSP and PMP certified with a master’s degree in education.

BOBBY GUERRA

CEO, Axiom

Bobby Guerra is the CEO of Axiom. He has been running an MSP for over 22 years, facing numerous challenges along the way—but none as demanding as CMMC. As the leader of Axiom, he is spearheading the company’s CMMC Level 2 assessment by a C3PAO, with the goal of becoming one of the first MSPs in the country to achieve certification.

However, obtaining CMMC Level 2 was only one part of the challenge. The next hurdle is guiding clients through the process while ensuring the long-term security and compliance of their environments. This required not only developing an SSP for Axiom but also creating tailored solutions for clients, carefully considering inheritance, efficiency, and the longevity of documentation and processes.

Through this experience and by amplifying his insights on Climbing Mount CMMC The Podcast, Bobby is committed to making a meaningful impact on cybersecurity and compliance across the United States.

MARK DEBRY

LEAD CCA

VP of Business Operations, Shadowscape

Mark DeBry is a Lead Certified CMMC Assessor (CCA) and the VP of Business Operations at Shadowscape, a cybersecurity, training, and analytics company. He’s had an extensive career leading global cybersecurity programs at IBM and Microsoft as well as supporting customers as a vCISO. As a Lead CCA, Mark is participated on official assessments in all three roles – Lead CCA, CCA, and QA, seeing examples of DoD contractors who have exceptional compliance documentation and implementation, while also seeing those that didn’t do so well.

Mark is also assisting DoD contractors to become CMMC compliance and prepare them for their Level 2 assessment.

KALEIGH FLOYD

Marketing Director, Axiom

Kaleigh Floyd is the Marketing Director for Axiom and Co-Host of Climbing Mount CMMC The Podcast. Having grown up in the MSP industry, she considers it her second language. Her journey with Axiom began long before her official role, as the company was founded by her father in 2002.

Beyond marketing, Kaleigh has worn many hats in the MSP space, specializing in Microsoft 365, phishing awareness, password management, and CMMC training. Passionate about education, she runs a YouTube channel dedicated to Microsoft 365 training, aiming to simplify complex technology for others. With a deep commitment to making a lasting impact in the ever-evolving tech landscape, she strives to leave a legacy that continues to resonate long after she stops speaking.

STUART ITKIN

CRO, FutureFeed

Stuart Itkin brings a unique perspective to Federal cybersecurity regulations and the challenges organizations face in satisfying those regulations and operating their businesses.

As CRO and Chief Security Evangelist at FutureFeed, the leading Cyber-GRC platform for the Defense Industrial Base, Stuart works with a team committed to securing our nation’s supply chain from our adversaries by creating an affordable, collaborative IT management platform.  Formerly Senior Vice President of NeoSystems, a Managed Service Provider, Stuart helped small and medium sized businesses address their compliance, cybersecurity, and back-office needs. Stuart earlier served as Vice President of CMMC and FedRAMP Assurance at Coalfire Federal, where he established the company as one of the first authorized C3PAOs. Stuart also served as Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Exostar where he was responsible for the company’s compliance management, supply chain risk management, and secure collaboration platforms, and for establishing its CMMC practice area.

Stuart earned a BA and an MA and is an ABD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

KELSEY CUNNINGHAM

Cybersecurity Manager, Echelon Risk + Cyber

Kelsey Cunningham is a Cybersecurity Manager at Echelon, where she serves as a leader in the Risk Advisory Practice. She holds a Master’s in Cybersecurity, CRISC, CISSP, and CMMC RP certifications. Kelsey has over a decade of experience, spanning technology and cybersecurity consulting, enterprise risk management, GRC, and project management. She is passionate about helping clients to understand and mitigate risk to their specific organization and building holistic security programs that do more than just “check the box”.

WAYNE R. SHAW

Owner, Five 9s Consulting

Wayne R. Shaw is the owner of Five 9s Consulting with more than 30 years of experience in enterprise IT and cybersecurity. For the last six years, he has worked directly with manufacturers and Defense Industrial Base companies navigating the realities of CMMC.

After founding and growing a nationwide cloud services company in 1999 and selling that business, Wayne turned his focus to cybersecurity compliance. Today, he helps organizations apply CMMC, NIST 800-171, and DFARS requirements in practical, cost-aware ways that stand up to assessor scrutiny—sharing lessons learned straight from the trenches.

JOSH FLEMING

Senior Cybersecurity Manager, Echelon Risk + Cyber

Josh Fleming is the Senior Cybersecurity Manager of Echelon’s Risk Advisory service, specializing in incident prevention and response management. With extensive experience in both cyber and physical security, he advises executive teams on incident response planning, threat assessments, and crisis management. His approach combines technical depth with strategic foresight, helping organizations stay resilient in the face of evolving threats. 

SRIKANT RACHAKONDA

Founder & CEO, SMPL-C

Srikant Rachakonda is the Founder & CEO of SMPL-C, an AI-powered SaaS platform focused on simplifying NIST 800-171 and CMMC 2.0 compliance for defense contractors, MSPs, and security practitioners. 

With over 20 years of experience across SaaS, cybersecurity, and compliance, Srikant has led large scale product and data transformation initiatives in both startups and Fortune 100 companies. His work centers on reducing compliance complexity while enabling scalable, audit-ready security programs.

STEVE JUROVIC

Executive Vice President, 1st Defense CMMC

Steve Jurovic is Executive Vice President at 1st Defense CMMC. Steve has forty years of experience in IT, spending the last 20 in the Info-Sec space. He served as Senior Vice President of IT Risk and Security at State Farm Insurance, served as Senior Executive Partner at Gartner and as a Senior Executive Counselor at Info Tech Research Group. Steve has been an advisor to  Fortune 100 CIOs, CISOs, and Boards, and is an industry leader in developing resilient cybersecurity, governance, and compliance programs.  His background as trusted executive advisor in a variety of highly regulated industries makes him a sought after speaker and advisor.

KELLY HOOD

CISSP, Lead CCA

OPTIC CYBER SOLUTIONS

Kelly Hood, CISSP, specializes in helping organizations implement cybersecurity best practices, controls, and standards to effectively manage risks and achieve compliance objectives. Kelly supports organizations across industries as a Lead CMMC Certified Assessor (CCA) and Registered Practitioner (RP) by developing and implementing cybersecurity strategies to help manage the risks to their business.  She has also supported the evolution and outreach of the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) as part of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework team and continues to aid organizations in adopting the Framework to strengthen their cybersecurity posture.

Additionally, Kelly supported the development of ISACA’s CMMI Cybermaturity Platform (CMMI-CP). The patented approach she helped develop for ISACA translates cybersecurity risk to cybermaturity goals and identifies mitigation strategies to help organizations improve their cybersecurity capabilities.

KIM FANTO

CCP

K.FANTO SOLUTIONS

Kim Fanto is a strategic technology leader and cybersecurity professional specializing in the design and deployment of complex security frameworks. As a CMMC Certified Professional (CCP), Kim serves as a dedicated partner to organizations within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), navigating the intricacies of CMMC compliance and NIST-based security requirements. She has successfully guided numerous organizations through Level 1 attestations, GAP readiness, and Level 2 implementation planning, delivering solutions that are as operationally efficient as they are secure.

With a career rooted in technology leadership and architecture, Kim excels at bridging the gap between business objectives and technical execution. As a former Technology Manager and Solutions Architect, she spearheaded enterprise modernization projects that enhanced resiliency and scalability while ensuring alignment with NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), PCI-DSS, and FFIEC standards. Kim is an active contributor to the CMMC Professionals Network and serves on the planning team for the 2026 CMMC Midwest Conference, where she continues to advocate for cybersecurity excellence across the industry.

HEATHER SIEMENS

LEAD CCA, CISA

CEO, iFORTRISS

Heather Siemens is a seasoned cybersecurity compliance expert with over 25 years of experience in IT Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) in the energy and defense sectors. As a Lead CMMC Certified Assessor (CCA) and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), she brings unparalleled expertise in cybersecurity regulations and best practices. Her extensive background in DOE NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) auditing uniquely positions her as a trusted advisor in the evolving landscape of defense cybersecurity. She is also a Prosci® Certified Change Practitioner in Organizational Change Management (OCM), which she leverages to assist companies in strategically transforming their workflows to be CMMC compliant. Heather is the CEO and Co-Founder of iFORTRISS, a cybersecurity consulting and Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) firm dedicated to helping small to medium size contractors in the DIB achieve CMMC compliance.