ISACA Virginia Chapter Board of Director’s Bios
Clifton Dickens
President
Cliff has 30 years of varying IT experience including information security, systems engineering, IT auditing, and IT management. He is passionate about innovations in cybersecurity, data privacy, and risk management as well as protecting data assets and information systems. Clifton has served in the role of Information Security Officer, Sr. Security Analyst, Senior IT Security Auditor, and IT Services Manager. His career has spanned the private and public sectors, including fortune 500 and state and local government. Cliff is a lecturer, teacher, and entrepreneur at heart. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Averett University and several professional certifications including CISA, CRISC, CDPSE, CISSP as well as SANS Institute certifications; GSNA, GLEG, GISP, GSLC, GSTRT, and GISF. In recent years Cliff has presented on cybersecurity topics at ISACA Global Leadership Summit, the National Association of African American Studies and Affiliates, and is an Accredited ISACA instructor.
Dan Cunningham
Immediate Past President
Dan has his own company focusing on sensors, Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning for the industrial market with over 15 years of experience. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Dan’s Entrepreneur spirit drives his quest to use Artificial intelligence (Al) techniques to help solve many challenging problems in computer science and technology. He’s registered as a Professional Engineer and holds ISACA’s “CSX Cybersecurity Fundamentals credential.”
ISACA Virginia Chapter 2023/2024 Election
Candidates (Bios) for Officers & Directors
Deborah Edwards,
Vice President/President Elect
Information Technology has been Deborah’s lifelong passion. She studied it in college and has spent her entire professional career in IT beginning as a developer in the private sector. She went on to work as a System Administrator and Database Administrator for the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Department of Health. After doing a brief stint with the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, she moved on to the Auditor of Public Accounts as an IT Auditor. She continued her audit career with the Virginia Employment Commission. She switched gears slightly by becoming an Information Security Officer for the Department of the Treasury where she is still employed. Deborah is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). She also likes to read, cook, and go to Farmers Markets.
Jordanka Kida,
Secretary
My name is Jordanka Kida. Years ago, I was the ISACA Secretary Board Member with Ed Miller, Dan Cunningham, Chandra Barnes and Mike D’Arezzo. I am an experienced board member and feel confident about the Secretary position. Throughout my professional IT career, I’ve been a consultant with various state agencies within the COV with DARS, VDOT, DOA, and currently with VITA as a Platform Transition Coordinator. In addition, I have my Post-Grad Certificate in Public Procurement and Contract Management from ODU and my GIS Certificate from J. Sargent Reynolds Community College. As you can tell, my background is diverse. Working with people comes natural to me so with this would be a wonderful opportunity where I will continue to grow, develop my professional career and encourage young IT professional to join ISACA. It’s a win, win for everyone!
Lisa Cable,
Recording Secretary & Admin
Lisa has ten years’ experience in Operational/IT Risk Management and Information Security with one of the largest U.S. banks. She spent most of her career in various banking and lending roles before shifting to information security. She supported an enterprise-wide Identity and Access Management (IAM) transformation, introducing new policies, role-based security, risk-based access reviews and a new access review platform. As digital banking capabilities grew, Lisa transitioned to a new communications role. She focused on educating customers about staying safe online. She developed education materials and website content on cyber and fraud risks. She holds a CISM and Six Sigma Greenbelt certifications. She enjoys learning and teaching others about personal cybersecurity protections
Melanie Seigler
Treasurer
Melanie has over 30 years of IT experience in federal, state and local government in natural resources, environmental, emergency services, economic development, and transportation. She has focused on Information Security for the past 10 years developing, implementing and managing Information Security and Risk Management programs for Virginia state agencies. Melanie currently serves as ISO for Risk Management at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, the agency responsible for issuing millions of driver and vehicle credentials. Melanie served as the Chapter’s Seminar Director and is currently serving as the VP. She holds several ISACA Certifications including CISM, CRISC, and CDPSE.
Kevin Page
Certification Director
Kevin's work history and experience spans the telecom, K-12, higher education, public and private sector arenas. He began his career performing project management activities for a growing CLEC (telecommunications) provider in the Richmond area, and quickly grew into business analysis and compliance roles with the company. From there, he transitioned into IT project management work with Richmond Public Schools and led various enterprise-wide implementations for a 7 year period. Most recently, he leveraged his familiarity with the parallels between PM and information security to assist the Commonwealth of Virginia in developing information security programs for smaller state agencies. He currently holds a PMP, CISA and ITIL designation.
Steven Seibert
Membership Director
Steve is the Vulnerability Manager for SAIC working on the VITA contract. He has a BA in Journalism from George Washington University. He holds professional certifications as a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, as well as an A+ and a Security+ certification from CompTIA. He has been working with the state off and on for 17 years. Before working for VITA, he worked on several contracts for DOD and the Federal Government throughout the DC area.
Jessica Beavers,
Programs Director
Jessica is an Information Security and Risk Management Officer (ISRMO) for the Library of Virginia. She has over 10 years’ experience providing valuable Information Security awareness training development, communication leadership, and Risk management skills within both private IT and government sectors. She is a well-rounded IT administrator in the areas of SharePoint and Systems Administration. Jessica endeavors to continue contributing superior projects, operations, training, and IT management skills. Ms. Beavers holds several IT certifications to include CompTIA Security+ CE, CISSP, GCCC, GISP, GSTRT, and GSLC.
Jason Howze
Research Director
Jason has over 20 years of experience in telecommunications, network engineering, and information security with various roles at FEMA, VITA, and the private sector. He currently serves as a Cybersecurity Specialist Manager at SAIC working on the Virginia contract. Jason is a member of the CompTIA Subject Matter Expert Technical Advisory Committee (CSTAC) who co-author certifications that drive the future of the InfoSec industry talent. He holds many of their certifications including Security+ and CASP+. Jason has spent over 10 years in non-profit leadership most recently serving as Senior Vice President for FBI National Citizens Academy Alumni Association from 2017-2022. He is also a Sector Chief for the InfraGard Richmond Member Alliance.
Christina Whitney
Seminar Director
Chris is the Internal Audit Manager for the Virginia Lottery and oversees the Internal Audit Department. Chris has more than 20 years of audit experience and has held roles in both the public and private sectors. She holds an MS in Accounting from Old Dominion University and a BA in Art History from the University of Virginia. She currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Central Virginia Chapter of the IIA. Chris is a CPA.
Bessetta B. Parker
Inclusion Director
Bessetta is a well-rounded IT professional. She is an Online Software Administrator for MAG Aerospace in Fairfax, Virginia, and supports the ISACA Virginia Chapter as a Web Content Manager. Bessetta has a BA in Mass Communications from Shaw University and is working to complete her Master studies in Leadership Management along with her Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT) certification. She has worked on several contracts for DOD and other Federal Government agencies. Additionally, she has ten plus years as a web admin/web developer with equivalent combination of education and considerable years of experience, planning, and managing all aspects of web development, content management, branding and customizing Microsoft SharePoint portals/websites, web design, website metrics, 508 accessibilities, front-end HTML, CSS coding while adhering to approved design specifications and styles for federal, state and private clients.