It is with honor that I introduce myself to you as the new incoming San Diego InfraGard Member Alliance (IMA) Chapter President, effective February 1, 2024. I want to thank Kim Young for her professional service in the President position for the last two years. Kim will continue as a board member for the chapter. I have been in the Vice President position on the Board for the past 18+ months. My background includes 24 years as a Special Agent and Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI, working Violent Crime and supervising on the Joint Terrorism Task Force. That was followed by six and a half years as the Homeland Security Manager and Emergency Manager for the Port of San Diego, leading to my present role for the past three and a half years as the Director of Incident Response and Law Enforcement Liaison for the Western Division of the Anti-Defamation League.
I am very enthusiastic about what lies ahead in 2024 for the San Diego InfraGard Chapter. We are enhancing the spectrum of talent on our Board of Directors and have initiated one on one meetings with our chapter’s Sector Chiefs. We will keep you informed of plans underway for meaningful and impactful events for the current calendar year.
At the January 26, 2024 San Diego Chapter board meeting, the Board of Directors made a new appointment of Raymond Kelly, Vice President/CISO, Millennium Health to the chapter board of directors. Simultaneously, Ray was elected by the board to become the incoming chapter Vice President. Ray has been active on the chapter’s Regional Cyber Council for the past two years and is a most capable, enthusiastic choice for the VP position. We look forward to working hand-in-hand with Ray, fulfilling the mission of the chapter and the InfraGard Program as a whole.
The Board also appointed Bill Higgs as a board member. Bill is the U.S. Security Officer, External Affairs, ASML, is an active board member of the San Diego CISO Roundtable and has been an active InfraGard San Diego member for the past two and one half years. Bill also serves on the InfraGard’s Regional Cyber Council. Bill is a very solid addition to the board and we look forward to his continued engagement with the chapter in this role.
Also at the most recent board meeting, Catherine Blaser, Epidemiology/Bioterrorism Nurse Supervisor, County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, was unanimously selected to continue in the role of chapter Secretary. Catherine’s enthusiasm abounds and we are eager to continue working together on all things InfraGard.
The chapter’s Treasurer position has been dutifully and most capably fulfilled by PJ Ellison since 2018 and her term has drawn to a close. It will not be easy finding PJ’s replacement; however, our chapter is full of talented professionals and we are confident we can work together to identify a most suitable candidate. That effort is currently underway. A separate communication will come out shortly to the chapter membership, providing a description, roles and responsibilities of the Treasurer position so we can identify possibles for the position.
Stepping down from the board was Susan Miller, Sr. Director, Global Product Security. Susan was an engaged, conscientious board member and continues to drive the San Diego Chapter’s cyber initiative for youth which is scheduled to have its pilot cohort kick off in the Spring of 2024, working towards a larger objective of spurring interest in the field of cyber and cyber security. We thank Susan for her work as a board member and her continued interest in InfraGard initiatives.
Continuing on the board are Bob Heyer, Head of Global Security & Safety, Teradata and Anthony Miller, Risk Management Analyst, Sempra Energy. We thank Bob and Anthony for their continuing service for the San Diego InfraGard Chapter.
The Board also is pleased to continue its working relationships with its advisors to the board, Bruce Churchill, Sherry Colgan Stone, Michelle Flores and Charlie Kim. Also to be added as a new advisor to the board is Emilyn Zuniga, Sector Chief of the Water/Wastewater Management Sector and recently taking on the new duty of Sector Chief Coordinator for the chapter.
Matt Brown
President/CEO
InfraGard San Diego
A FBI-affiliated 501(c)3 Organization
In an effort to support the protection of the critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR), the chapter is organized into 16 critical infrastructure sectors. This provides focus for the membership on the issues of CIKR and the unique characteristics and conditions of each sector.