In partnership with UPCEA - an online and professional education association - ISACA is hosting a webinar panel on how to bridge the divide between academia and the IT industry. ISACA’s mission is to level the global playing field for all members of society and equip them with the skills and credentials to begin or enhance their IT and cybersecurity careers.

Our approach is not driven by maximizing profit but rather prioritizing initiatives with the maximum global social benefit. We live in the confluence of academics and the workforce, and our role is to convene the IT workforce, understand their needs, and develop the knowledge and rubrics to certify individuals for those job needs.

We achieve this by providing students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities mapped to job practices and delivering them at scale. Our new model focuses on bringing these skills and associated opportunities to high schools, higher education, and adult learners from around the globe. Our model is driven by our 170,000 members who typically hire talent and recognize that the traditional education model is not preparing students for the jobs they are trying to fill. To fill the talent gap and support the learner journey our 225+ chapters and their 170,000 members across the globe, mentor, support, instruct and hire our students.

Through this unique model, ISACA provides equity and workforce access to students from all backgrounds and bridges the divide between education and the workforce.

Jeff Angle
Senior Director of Academic and Workforce
ISACA

Jeff is a highly experienced executive focused on the education of the future workforce. He has help executive level roles with ETS, Pearson, HMH, and Arizona State University. Jeff has developed successful academic and workforce development programs through out the US, Middle East and the LATAM areas focused on upskilling students in secondary and post-secondary education. In his spare time, Jeff is faculty at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Arun Aryal
Associate Professor of Management Information Systems
California State University Los Angeles

Arun is an associate professor of Management Information Systems and is in charge of the cybersecurity curriculum at California State University Los Angeles (Cal State LA). Arun teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on Information Systems and Cybersecurity. Before joining Cal State LA, he worked as a Teaching Fellow for Georgia State University (GSU) and received the Teaching Excellence Award (2014 & 2015). Arun's research focuses on the intersection of emerging technologies and enterprise systems. He earned a Ph.D. in Computer Information Systems from Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University. He worked in IT for about seven years before entering the academic world.

Arun is also an advisor for the nonprofit organization Rukmini Foundation, where he guides how to make the best use of technology to solve problems in developing countries. In addition, he lends his teaching philosophies and ideals to innovate around education for students in rural areas of Nepal.

Brandy Massarotti
Lead GRC Analyst, IT Governance, Risk, and Compliance
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana

Brandy Massarotti has more than 15 years of experience as an IT Audit and information security professional in both the military and private sector. She is currently a Lead GRC Analyst for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, focused on IT Compliance, and the instructor of ISDS 4244, IT Audit, at Louisiana State University, which she has been teaching since 2020. She has served as an IT Audit professional in both the public and private sectors, including the Louisiana Legislative Auditor and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Brandy is a retired Army Chief Warrant Officer, where she specialized in Information Systems Administration and Information Assurance. She is also the immediate past President of the ISACA Baton Rouge chapter. Brandy holds the CISA and CISSP certifications.