I wasn’t a stellar student growing up, but that didn’t define me. Through hard work, education, and perseverance, I built my career from the ground up.

“Doug Was Built Not Born” – My Journey

Education

Completed three years of technical training in communications, cryptography, and radar while on active duty, gaining expertise in electronics and data processing.

Advanced through multiple tiers of leadership training during my career progression.

Earned an MBA with an emphasis in Finance and a BA in Business after six years of undergraduate and graduate studies.

Achieved eight professional certifications, including CISSP, CEH, PMP, CISM, CISA, PSM, ITIL, and CFCM — all self learned without boot camps. Previously held CCNA, Security+, and Network+ certifications.

Experience

Military

– Served 21 years in the U.S. Navy as an Electronics Technician (ET), working on critical national security communication systems and advancing into leadership to include:  Production Officer, Operations Officer, Project Manager, and Public Affairs Officer (PAO).

– I became the Subject Matter Expert (SME) at each and every assignment.

Department of Defense (DoD) Contractor

– Supported Special Forces communicators as a contractor by fielding robust communication systems globally, including SATCOM terminals, routers, switches, call managers, laptops, and more.

– Deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq five times for independent program operations and was hand-selected to support high-profile system launches and UAV projects.

– Managed “Not to Fail” communication packages for Special Forces afloat for five years.

Department of the Interior (DOI) Contractor

– Cybersecurity Project Manager

– Worked in conjuction with Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to introduce multiple security tools to secure DOI’s network to include CyberArk, SailPoint, Tenable TVM & NNM solutions, and other initiatives.

In the Home Geek Stuff

– Operate a Protectli firewall running pfSense with multiple traffic-filtering packages.

– Run macOS, Windows, and Linux on my MacBook.

– Host various Linux distributions (Debian, Ubuntu, Kali) on VMWare using my PC.

– Ethical Hacker, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), and AI enthusiast.

– Attend monthly PMI, ISC2, AWS, Java, Local Defcon, Tampa Devs, and other events and chapter meetings.

Activities & Hobbies

– Completed five marathons, over 50 half-marathons, numerous 10Ks, and a 100-mile bike race.

– Enjoy traveling with my family — even if it’s just to the beach.

– Amateur Radio Extra Class operator — the highest license available — requiring advanced technical knowledge and proficiency in Morse Code at the time of certification.

Retooling my Career

– Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC): I have really dug deep since layoff to rekindle the skills I didn’t use for a while.

– CMMC: Will seek certification once I feel confident in my knowledge level