Keynote Speaker
| Gina Yacone | |
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Gina Yacone As the CISO (Advisory) for Trace3's mountain state region, Gina Yacone is responsible for developing and implementing internal cybersecurity processes and solutions, as well as advising our clients on how to safeguard their digital assets from cyber threats. She has experience as a cybersecurity consultant and vCISO, working with various industries and sectors to assess risks, design security programs, and deploy security technologies. Gina's certifications and designations include ISACA, HITRUST, (ISC)2, and CompTIA, and she's been a subject matter expert for multiple CompTIA exams, including Security+, CASP+, and CySA+. She holds a Master of Science in Cybersecurity Policy and Risk Management from the University of New Hampshire. Gina's mission is to help organizations protect their data, assets, and reputation from cyber threats, and to empower them with the best practices, tools, and frameworks to achieve their security and privacy goals. She's always seeking new challenges and opportunities to learn and grow, and enjoys sharing her knowledge and insights as a keynote speaker, moderator, and investor. |
Speakers
| Dr. Arsh Arora, Ph. D. |
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Dr. Arsh Arora is a cybersecurity expert with over a decade of experience in threat intelligence, incident response, and digital forensics. He holds a Ph.D. in Cyber Security and has led investigations with the FBI, dismantled major botnets, and driven security innovation at companies like McKesson, Visa, and Neustar. Arsh is passionate about educating others and advancing cyber resilience through research, teaching, and public engagement. |
| Carmen Estela |
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Carmen Estela is a graduate student in Digital Forensics at the University of Central Florida. She holds a B.A. in Criminology from the University of Florida with certifications in Data Analytics and AI Fundamentals. Carmen has attended and been awarded scholarships to HackSpaceCon 2024 and 2025, where she participated in hands-on cybersecurity workshops including adversarial machine learning and physical penetration testing. At Hack Red Con 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky, Carmen presented "Social Engineering Your Network: Hacking Human Connections". She also presented "Credential Not Found: Imposter Syndrome in Cyber" at BSides Orlando 2025 in Orlando, Florida. She has also served as an adult protective investigator, police communications operator, legal intern, and research assistant, applying investigative skills across law enforcement, academic, and public service settings. |
| Christian McLaughlin |
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Christian McLaughlin is an Information Security Professional with over 13 years of combined professional experience in IT systems and avionics. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated expertise in offensive and defensive security, computer networking, automation, avionics, and aviation safety and maintenance. |
| Eyal Wirsansky |
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Eyal Wirsansky is a Staff AI Engineer, a seasoned software developer, and a recognized leader in the AI community. He currently designs and implements agentic AI applications in the healthcare space, with a focus on explainability, safety, and real-world decision support. |
| George Raileanu |
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Cybersecurity executive with 15+ years of experience leading offensive security, incident response, and digital forensics across critical industries worldwide. Proven track record in building elite technical teams, delivering thousands of high-impact security assessments, and guiding organizations through complex cyber threats. Passionate about bridging the gap between technical depth and business strategy to strengthen security posture and develop the next generation of industry leaders. |
| Jennifer Shannon, Kathy Collins, and Kelly Cornell |
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Jennifer Shannon, Kathy Collins, and Kelly Cornell are three VERY driven Security experts brought together by Secure Ideas. All motivated for different reasons, but share the same passion for Cybersecurity. |
| Kyle |
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Data Scientist / Machine Learning Engineer |
| Madeline Sedgwick |
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Madeline Sedgwick is a Principal Threat Researcher at Palo Alto Networks Unit 42's National Security Team, focusing on South Asian threat actors and covert networks. In her 13 years of professional experience, Madeline has worked on all sides of the cyber front: military, government, and private sector. Her mission, inspired by years of ruined holiday weekends at the Department of Defense, is to make the other guys work the weekend. |
| Nathan Hamiel |
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Senior Director of Research, Kudelski Security |
| Souryadip Sengupta |
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Product security engineer with over six and a half years of experience working in cybersecurity, solving problems in Manufacturing and Banking sector applications. My background includes secure coding, automation, pentesting, vulnerability assessment, cryptography, and privacy. Active in research and open-source projects where the focus is on building applications with zero trust, higher maturity of resiliency, and compliance.
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| Spencer Hawkins |
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Spencer is a technical security leader focused on making architecture useful, not academic. He’s helped organizations define secure architecture practices, improve enterprise cloud postures, and build security programs that actually work. Spencer blends deep technical expertise with a strong focus on cross-functional partnerships, helping to translate risk into real design decisions teams can act on. His goal is to make security architecture approachable, practical, and a natural part of how teams build.
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| TJ Zimmer |
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TJ Zimmer, Cyber Operations Manager at Optiv, is a security practitioner with over two decades of experience in Cyber Security & Information Technology, TJ has held roles in cybersecurity operations, operations management, network engineering, and security engineering with companies in telecommunications, government, and healthcare. In his current role, TJ focuses on early and accurate detection, response, and containment for threats directed against Optiv’s largest clients. Prior to joining Optiv, TJ was a Cybersecurity Engineering and Operations leader for a healthcare organization in Florida. TJ has a Masters in Information Technology and holds various certifications including the CISSP, CISM, & Associate C|CISO. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tj-zimmer-cissp/ |
| Timothy De Block |
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In the vast, uncharted expanse of the digital frontier, Timothy De Block holds the title of Head of Security Exploration at Exploring Information Security—think of him as the cybersecurity equivalent of an intergalactic explorer, but with fewer spaceships and more firewalls. My mission? To boldly go where no security program has gone before, mapping the hidden threats and uncovering innovative solutions to keep the cyberverse safe.
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| Trisha Stalnaker |
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Trisha Stalnaker has an extensive back ground in higher education, both as a student and administrator. Earning degrees in psychology, education leadership, and business she bring a unique perspective to process and operation decisions focused on the client perspective and bottom line. Trisha started her career in higher education in a niche division working with adults and primarily military students in recruitment at NAS Jax. Here she set the stage for her sales mindset, building a foundation of networking in Jacksonville and developing the importance finding the right fit client. She has since moved into the tech sphere working as a business growth consultant and now a client success coach at Thryv - giving her the inside scoop of nurturing your leads, clients, and establishing brand loyalty. She started a ran a residential and commercial construction company for 2 years and has recently launched a consulting company helping small business make sense of the everchanging marketing scape online. Trisha has made her name trying new trends in marketing and breaking them down in a way that makes sense for everyone.
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