Participants

Sahana Aswathanarayan

Originally from India, I migrated to the US in the year 2017 for my Masters in Electrical Engineering at Syracuse University. After graduation, I worked at Hughes as a Customer Network Engineer for 3 years (2019-2022). I have been working as a Network Engineer at NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) for the last 1.5 years. My work at NREL revolves primarily around campus and data-center networking, including installing, configuring, operating, and maintaining network equipment from different vendors. Throughout my time here, I have been able to sharpen most of these skills thanks to my involvement in different ongoing projects aimed at upgrading NREL’s network infrastructure. From replacing old access layer switches with newer Cisco switches to helping troubleshoot various routing issues throughout the vast NREL campus, all of this has helped me understand more about the intricacies of how a data center and a campus operate. I currently reside in Golden, CO. I enjoy reading books in my free time, and being so close to the mountains, I have also picked up hiking as a hobby.

Sunshine Balingit

Sunshine graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Computer Science before becoming a Security System Administrator at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Her 3 years at LLNL so far has been filled with developing the logging infrastructure and helping maintain authentication services. Along with her technical role, Sunshine is also passionate about inclusivity – taking part in the leadership team of LLNL Pride – and mentoring the future workforce – working with students and folks seeking career changes. Any time she has left during her waking hours is spent with her two little children, exploring new activities, hobbies, and food.

Rebecca Kingery

For nearly two years Becca Kingery has been the Education IT Manager for the Nebraska Information Technology Commission (NITC) as a part of the Nebraska State Office of the CIO.  It’s this position that allows her to play an integral role in aspects of the state education technology field, largest among them overseeing the administrative management of Network Nebraska.  Network Nebraska is the R&E network for the state representing most public K-12 schools, higher education entities, and several public libraries.Ms. Kingery’s responsibilities include the facilitation of large-scale bid processes for ethernet backbone transport and commodity internet for member entities and the consortium at large, overseeing the state E-Rate process for Network Nebraska, and cultivating consortium membership as well as program growth.  As one of the passionate forces driving Network Nebraska, she helps to ensure that students in Nebraska have access to a reliable, scalable network connection.A native of Nebraska, Becca graduated from the University of Nebraska Omaha with a Bachelor of Arts focusing on cybersecurity and mathematics. She is raising her two teenage daughters in the same corner of southeast Nebraska where she grew up, helping them pursue their own goals and chase their own dreams.  When not working she’s often found cheering them on from the sideline of a soccer pitch or during the marching band halftime shows.

Drew Lasson

Drew is a Cyber Security Event Analyst at the University of Utah. With four years of experience, she specializes in monitoring activity and preventing intrusions on the network.Before transitioning into IT and Security, Drew worked as an Emergency Dispatcher at the University Hospital. Inspired to switch careers after attending Defcon, she returned to college and has since found fulfillment in her work every day.

Outside of the office, Drew enjoys spending time with friends playing pool or exploring the outdoors. Whether paddle boarding on a lake or hiking a new trail in the mountains, she embraces adventure whenever she can.

Danielle Southerland

Danielle provides networking support for on-site technicians , residents and employees of the University of Pennsylvania. Danielle has worked 20 years in IT, gaining knowledge of Penn’s networking topology and various flavors of networking hardware, routers, switches, wireless APs, backup devices, troubleshooting tools and software. Danielle has 2 children a cat and enjoys fishing

Ola Gamal

I am an Associate Core Engineer at CENIC. I was promoted to this
position last year. I am part of the network design and automation team. I worked as Network operation Engineer at CENIC for the past 5 years
during that time I was responsible of troubleshooting and maintaining
L1/L2/L3 infrastructure of CENIC backbone network. Evaluating and
executing network maintenance activities to upgrade or troubleshoot
network issues. I am originally from Sudan. I have lived all my life in Sudan and migrated to the US in 2017. I attended University of Khartoum to obtain my bachelor’s degree in Electrical engineering. My passion to networking started after being an intern in a local service provider in Sudan. I realized how fascinating network is and how it is changing our world. From 2011 until 2016 I worked in several service providers in Sudan and Ethiopia as Network Engineer and Packed Core Engineer. I was lucky to participate in designing and deploying new networks for several companies. I am mother of 4 year old boy, who I wish to grow curious and kind. In my spare time I love doing outside activities with my family and friends, travel and read books.

Britt Huff

Senior Network Engineer at Purdue University with a focus in enterprise and datacenter networking, I am also a member of the teams that maintain the university firewall instances, DNS/DHCP services, and monitoring systems. A Bachelor’s degree in Computer and Information Technology and a Master’s degree in Project Management from Purdue, I have been a student or employee of the university since 2007. 2022 was my first year with SCinet on the Edge team, and for 2023, I will be part of the Network Security team. A lifelong student, I am always looking for a challenge. In my spare time, you will either find me hiking with my dog or gravel riding through the countryside.

Shannen McKenna

Shannen McKenna is a Senior Information Security Analyst at University of California, Davis. Originally from Indiana, she graduated from Purdue University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer and Information Technology. She began her journey in cybersecurity as a Security Analyst with the Indiana Information Sharing and Analysis Center while attending Purdue. After graduation, she moved to Sacramento to work as a Digital Forensics Examiner with a private firm, analyzing devices for evidence to be used in litigation. With a passion for investigation and problem solving, she now uses her digital forensics skills to conduct incident response for UC Davis, helping to determine root cause of incidents and offering recommendations for remediation. She regularly acts as a liaison between the Information Security Office and other units on campus, working collaboratively to improve incident response and security practices across the University. In her free time, she is just as creative as she is technical, enjoying making art, swing dancing, reading, playing video games, and dabbling in guitar. She currently resides in sunny Sacramento with her fiancé Brian and their three cats and one dog.

Hallie Mull

Hallie Mull is a network engineer at Bucknell University. She’s been with Bucknell for almost two years focusing on firewall technologies and cloud networking while maintaining other aspects of the network. Before working at Bucknell, Hallie spent some time in the local county government and six and a half years with a corporation specializing in building materials. She started her career in IT while in the US Army Reserves. She spent eight years as an IT Specialist and decided to pursue it as a career. In her spare time, she enjoys crafting and crocheting. She resides in Central Pennsylvania with her fiancé Josh and two cats, Rory, and Patches.

Suzanne Prentice

Suzanne is a software engineer with experience in the high-performance computing field. She currently works at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where she develops custom management software for the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility. She is committed to fostering an inclusive and collaborative work environment, progressing open science. Beyond her technical expertise, she is passionate about mentoring students and contributing to organizations that work towards increasing diversity in computing. She has co-organized workshops for internship programs at the lab and served on the PEARC conference Student Volunteer Committee for the past two years. Outside of her technical pursuits, Suzanne enjoys practicing capoeira, rock climbing, and completing crosswords.

Pauline Sawadogo

Pauline is originally from Burkina Faso, West Africa. She worked as an elementary school teacher and a program coordinator before moving to the US. Since her childhood, she was always curious about what is inside computers and by which mechanism they perform communication. In 2014, she returned to college and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in information
technology from Kennesaw State University.
She’s currently working as a Network Technician II at Clemson University with diverse daily tasks such as monitoring network devices, troubleshooting wired and wireless network connection issues, creating DNS records, firewall rules and Network security.
Additionally, as a former elementary teacher, I am passionate about creating fun learning material for k12 students and volunteering for STEM shows in elementary schools. She moved from Atlanta, Georgia to Anderson, South Carolina where she now resides with her husband Mathurin, her son Vincent de Paul, and their dog Merlin.

Alysha Toya

Alysha Toya is from Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico. She was brought up on the reservation and speaks the tribe’s native language, Towa. She went onto completing her Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering at the University of New Mexico (UNM). During her career at UNM, she had the opportunity of working with a variety of subjects from fluid dynamics to coding and held leadership positions in the UNM American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). She now works for her tribe in IT for the Jemez Health and Human Services where she has been able to contribute her knowledge, customer service skills, and problem solving skills as a help desk technician. In her spare time, Alysha is raising her son, enjoys the outdoors, as well as helps in the family business of sewing traditional clothes.