Senior Leadership Team

Cyber Florida is guided by a team of dedicated professionals who work diligently to support and advance the center’s mission and goals.

  • General Frank McKenzie

    General (Ret.) Frank McKenzie

    General (Ret) Kenneth F. “Frank” McKenzie, Jr. became the Executive Director of the University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute in May 2022. In July 2022, he also became the Executive Director of the Florida Center for Cybersecurity, also known as Cyber Florida.

    He is the former Commander, United States Central Command. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, upon graduation from The Citadel in 1979, General McKenzie was commissioned into the Marine Corps and trained as an infantry officer.

    He has >> Read More

  • Photo of Ernie Ferrareso

    Ernie Ferraresso

    Director

  • Kate Whitaker

    Associate Director of Cyber Outreach

  • Evelyn Curry

    Associate Director of Cyber Operations and Analytics

  • James "Jim" Aldrich

    Associate Director for Education & Training

  • James Jacobs

    Associate Director of Policy and Partnerships

Academic Directors

Academic Directors are affiliated faculty members who provide subject matter expertise, guidance, and program leadership in specific areas.

  • Dr. Nasir Ghani

    Professor of Electrical Engineering

    University of South Florida

  • Dr. Nathan Fisk

    Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity Education

    University of South Florida

  • Dr. Manish Agrawal

    Professor of Information Systems and Managment

    University of South Florida

  • Photo of Dr. Sriram Chellapan

    Dr. Sriram Chellappan

    Professor of Computer Science and Engineering

    University of South Florida

Board of Advisors

Cyber Florida is supported by a board of distinguished cyber leaders who provide knowledge and guidance to support the center’s mission.

  • Frank J. Cilluffo

    Director, McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security

    Auburn University

  • Colonel (Ret.) John Burger

    Chief Information Security Officer

    ReliaQuest

  • Mark Clancy

    Vice President for Cybersecurity/CISO

    Sprint, Inc.

  • Dr. Kerry Buckley

    Vice President, Center for Integrated Transportation (CIT)

    MITRE

  • Jan Tighe

    Retired Vice Admiral

    U.S. Navy

  • Bob Rose

    Cybersecurity Expert

  • Christopher Day

    VP Strategic Capabilities and Programs

    Tenable

  • Lt. Gen. Dennis Crall

    CEO

    Advance Foundry

  • Terry Roberts

    Founder, President and CEO

    WhiteHawk CEC Inc.

  • Andy Zolper

    Chief Operating Officer of IT and Head of Enterprise Technology Solutions

    Raymond James Financial