AFCEA International’s Newly Elected Committee Members in 2026

Leaders from government and small, medium and large companies join global community of expertise, perspective and purpose on AFCEA working committees to lead thought leadership and advance ethical international security

Fairfax, VA, Oct. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AFCEA International is pleased to announce the election of new members to several of its committees in 2026.


AFCEA committee volunteers from the government, military, industry and academia actively drive professional development opportunities and thought leadership for its communities of interest and bring an impressive lineup of expertise and prestige to the association.


"AFCEA's strength has always come from the expertise, commitment and volunteer leadership of its members," said AFCEA President and CEO Lt. Gen. Bruce T. Crawford, USA (Ret.). "The elected individuals bring deep experience from across government, military, industry and academia, along with a shared commitment to advancing our purpose. They help ensure AFCEA remains responsive to the needs of our members and stakeholders, connected to emerging challenges and opportunities, and positioned to foster the collaboration and knowledge sharing that strengthen our community." 


The committee members are part of a global network of members fostering cross-sector collaboration, accelerating mission impact and supporting the professional development of those who serve. AFCEA offers unmatched access to expertise, leadership opportunities, vital networking connections, access to continuing education and certification and a trusted platform for solving real-world challenges. 

Cyber Committee
New members include:

• Kyle Dewar, director, strategic accounts, Tanium
• Virginia Giebel, account manager, Proofpoint
• Almerindo Graziano, chief executive officer, CYBER RANGES
• Stephanie Heckel, DoW Portfolio lead, Dark Wolf
• Rick Hudson, senior project manager, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• Alyssa Feola, cyber security consultant, Seventeen Sierra, LLC
• Scott Lumpkin, CEO and CCP, Quantum AI Security
• Ron Meeting, CEO, Rapid Strategy
• Corey Pressley, senior manager, Accenture Federal Services
• Travis Rosiek, public sector CTO, Rubrik
• Laura Samso Pericon, founder, Synarea Insights
• James Stanger, PhD, chief technology evangelist, CompTIA
• Darnell Washington, CEO, SecureXperts

Homeland Security Committee
New members include:

• Louis Libin, course instructor, U.S. Army War College
• Noah Tieskoetter, director of enterprise, Integrated Electrical Technologies Corporation (IET Corporation)
• Stephen Krill, vice president of growth, ClearFocus Technologies
• Alan Ma, founder, Ma-Tech
• Melvin Ewing, chief technology officer, 3 Rivers Communications
• Amber Richards, strategic planner, MetaPhase Consulting

Intelligence Committee
New members include:

• Sandra Brown, former assistant deputy director Naval Intelligence, OPNAV-N2N6
• Mary Anne DeHart, strategic growth director, Partnerships & Intelligence Community, IntelliGenesis, LLC
• Brian Drake, chief technology officer, Accrete AI Government
• Rebecca Lee, founding member, Burn Bag Group LLC
• Wayne McCool, CEO and founder, Marentis Consulting LLC
• Marc Mullin, vice president, D&I account executive, Parsons
• Manolis Priniotakis, CEO, Intelligence and National Security Directions LLC
• Maj. Gen. Aaron Prupas, USAF (Ret.), CEO, Brain Trust Solutions LLC and CEO, The Intelligence & Security Associates LLC (ISA)
• Barbara Sanderson, consultant, Riverside Research
• VADM Frank "Trey" Whitworth, USN (Ret.), CEO, r4 Federal

Emerging Professionals in the Intelligence Community (EPIC) Committee
The new members include: 

• Makaila Davis, U.S. government
• Connor Duncan, senior embedded software engineer, Two Six Technologies
• Daniel Ghisolf-Astacio, U.S. government
• Brent Haumesser, U.S. government
• Kyla Hayes, private business development manager, InterImage
• Allison Jarvis, director of operations, Guardian Strategic Solutions, LLC
• Maria Jones, president and CEO, Calibyr Corporation
• Jake McGill, U.S. government
• Gabriel Otis, U.S. government
• John Patterson, senior solution engineer, Rubrik
• Andrew Torrence, senior account executive, Amazon Web Services
• Leah Tudor, U.S. government

Membership Committee:
The new members include:

• Nicole Alford, Abacus Solutions Group, LLC
• Tuhin Bannerjee, senior director cyber security, Saviynt
• Jeff Bloom, president, Waimanalo Blooms
• Alessandra Finocchio, Coordinatore Delegazione Lazio Osservatorio del Diritto Agroalimentare e Vitivinicolo, Odav Lazio - Osservatorio Diritto agroalimentare e vitivinicolo
• Greg Garcia, CTO and CSO, Inserso
• Ariel Glassman, VP, strategic growth, Sage Communications
• Earl Hutchinson, CEO and president, National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA)
• Karen Scott, director of marketing, federal, Denodo
• Gavin Taylor, capture manager, Astrion
• Robert "Jeff" Thompson, BD and capture management Lead, Agricision
• Eric Trias, VP of cyber operations, JFL Consulting, LLC
• Vincenzo Vitello, president, WiCode S. r. l.
• Jessica Washburn, CEO and founder, SmartBids Consulting
• Chaka Williams, senior network administrator, General Dynamics IT

Small Business Committee
The new members include:

• Sarah Upperman, founder and CEO, Apavo
• David Manzolillo, senior technical program manager, Horizon3.ai
• Mike Mullen, partner, Deep Water Point & Associates
• Angel Davis, director of capture and business development, Lyme Technology Solutions
• David Kindle, director of engineering, Falcon Logic
• Venkata Veera, CEO, Xcelligen
• Rohit Samson, general manager of operations, Zen Technologies USA, Inc.
• Rebecca Link, growth officer, OneGlobe LLC
• Cheryl Benoit, COO and CDO, Iron Gate Program Advisory LLC
• Amanda Rhames, vice president of strategy, Spry Methods, Inc.
• Don Smith, vice president of operations, Mission Innovation Consulting
• Kelley Dobner, director of order management operations, Mojave Advanced Solutions, Inc.
• Michael Thurland, growth manager, Quantum Technology Group
• Ken Kocher, executive director of government solutions, Digital Monitoring Products, Inc.
• Rick Pina, COO and CRO, Inspired Solutions

Technology Committee
The new members include:

• Sherif Abdelhamid, assistant professor, Computer & Information Sciences, Virginia Military Institute
• John Casano, founder and CEO, Strike Labs and CTO, Troika Solutions
• Mark Clarke, senior advisor, Cybersecurity Law and AI Governance
• Justin Cohen, enterprise technology consultant, Invisors
• Portia Crowe, senior account executive, U.S. Army & DoW, Amazon Web Services
• Bryan Durkee, founder & CEO, Durkee Consulting LLC
• Angel Escobedo, founder, Yellow Lemon Technologies LLC
• Anitra Keith, director, Government Affairs – Maritime, AUVSI
• Greg Knutson, vice president, Business Growth & Corporate Development, AIRO
• Mihail Kulish, officer, U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command
• Dankai Liu, founder, StarGlo Space Systems; NASA/JPL (Retired)
  
• Kira Mamula, founder & CEO, Field IQ Systems
• Carrie McLeish, USA (Ret.), chief warrant officer
• Kenneth Nidiffer, adjunct professor, George Mason University; CEO, a systems engineering firm
• Paul Saladna, vice president, Strategic Technology & Solutions, OSC EdgeTech
• Danile Selli, managing partner and co-founder, Stonegardens Advisory; GP, Demand Signal Ventures
• Col. Dean Smith, USA, (Ret.)
• Martin So, Panoptica Technologies
• Eric Templeton, director, Navy & Marine Corps Programs, NextTech Solutions
• Josephine "Joey" Tientcheu, research staff, Institute for Defense Analyses
• Benjamin Tuttle, deputy technical director, General Atomics–Intelligence
• Tyler Watkins, director, business development – Navy & Marine Corps, Knexus AI
  Secure
• Mei Zhou, founder and CEO, WoW Consulting Agency

Elections are held at different times during the year each year and applicants must be directly involved with work and/or knowledge in the various fields of expertise of the committees’ focus areas.

AFCEA International is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit international professional association that connects people, ideas and solutions globally. Established in 1946, the membership association serves the military, government, industry and academia by developing networking and educational opportunities and providing an ethical forum. This enables military, government, industry and academia to align technology and strategy to meet the needs of those who serve. AFCEA operates under the guidance of a board of directors, international staff and committees. A large network of chapters is managed by a group of regional vice presidents. Join online.

Howard Wahlberg
AFCEA International
703-631-6199
hwahlberg@afcea.org