Administration

The college administration is dedicated to enhancing our students’ educational experiences and providing them with the resources they need to succeed.
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Ed Skoudis

  • President
  • Most Advanced Degree
    M.S. in Information Networking from Carnegie Mellon University

Ed Skoudis has taught cyber incident response and advanced penetration testing techniques to more than 12,000 cybersecurity professionals. He is a SANS Faculty Fellow and the lead for the SANS Penetration Testing Curriculum. His courses distill the essence of real-world, front-line case studies he accumulates because he is consistently one of the first experts brought in to provide after-attack analysis on major breaches where credit card and other sensitive financial data is lost.

Ed led the team that built NetWars, the low-cost, widely used cyber training and skills assessment ranges relied upon by military units and corporations with major assets at risk. His team also built CyberCity, the fully authentic urban cyber warfare simulator that was featured on the front page of the Washington Post. He was also the expert called in by the White House to test the security viability of the Trusted Internet Connection (TIC) that now protects US Government networks and lead the team that first publicly demonstrated significant security flaws in virtual machine technology. He has a rare capability of translating advanced technical knowledge into easy-to-master guidance as the popularity of his step-by-step Counter Hack books testifies. Ed earned an M.S. in Information Networking from Carnegie Mellon University, and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, summa cum laude.


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Dr. Johannes Ullrich

  • Dean of Research
  • Most Advanced Degree
    Doctorate in Physics, State University of New York at Albany
  • Field of Experience
    Information Security Research Expert

Johannes is currently responsible for the SANS Internet Storm Center (ISC) and the GIAC Gold program. In 2000, he founded DShield.org, which is now the data collection engine behind the ISC. His work with the ISC has been widely recognized, and in 2004, Network World named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the networking industry. Prior to working for SANS, Johannes worked as a lead support engineer for a web development company and as a research physicist. Johannes holds a PhD in physics from SUNY Albany and is based in Jacksonville, Florida. His daily podcast summarizes current security news in a concise format. Listen to Johannes discuss "HTML5: Risky Business or Hidden Security Tool Chest for Mobile Web App Authentication" in this SANS webcast.

Here is What Students Say About Dr. Johannes Ullrich:

"Dr. Ullrich is a dynamic speaker, very engaging & has good "nerd humor". Keep up good work!" - Shelly Lewis, PwC

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David Hoelzer

  • Dean of Faculty
  • Most Advanced Degree
    Master's in Computer Science, American Intercontinental University
  • Field of Experience
    Intrusion Detection and Auditing.

David Hoelzer is the author of more than twenty days of SANS courseware. He is an expert in a variety of information security fields, having served in most major roles in the IT and security industries over the past twenty-five years. Recently, David was called upon to serve as an expert witness for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a landmark case regarding information security governance within corporations in the financial sector and has previously served as an expert for the Federal Trade Commission for GLBA Privacy Rule litigation and other matters. David has been highly involved in governance at SANS Technology Institute, serving as a member of the Curriculum Committee, Long Range Planning Committee, GIAC Ethics Board, and as Dean of Faculty. As a SANS instructor, David has trained security professionals from organizations including NSA, DHHS, Fortune 500 security engineers and managers, various Department of Defense sites, national laboratories, and many colleges and universities. Outside of SANS, David is a research fellow in the Center for Cybermedia Research, a research fellow for the Identity Theft and Financial Fraud Research Operations Center (ITFF/ROC), an adjunct research associate of the UNLV Cybermedia Research Lab, a research fellow with the Internet Forensics Lab, and an adjunct lecturer in the UNLV School of Informatics. David has written and contributed to more than 15 peer reviewed books, publications, and journal articles. Currently, David serves as the principal examiner and director of research for Enclave Forensics, a New York/Las Vegas based incident response and forensics company. He also serves as the chief information security officer for Cyber-Defense, an open-source security software solution provider. In the past, David served as the director of the GIAC Certification program, bringing the GIAC Security Expert certification to life. David holds a BS in IT and an MS in Computer Science, having spent time either attending or consulting for Stony Brook University, Binghamton University, and American Intercontinental University.

Here is What Students Say About David Hoelzer:

"David was incredibly knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and was able to relate examples to real-life scenarios." - Alice MacFarlan, UK Dept. for Transport

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Eric Patterson

  • Provost
  • Most Advanced Degree
    Master's in Defense Analysis (Irregular Warfare), Naval Postgraduate School Master's in Humanities (Irish Studies), John Carroll University

LTC(R) Eric Patterson, with over over 25 years of experience in military, government, and academia, brings a wide variety of leadership, organizational design, training, and higher education experiences to SANS. His military experience includes 20 years as an Infantry and Special Forces officer, during which time he deployed to multiple combat zones, managed the training programs for all US Army Special Forces, Civil Affairs, and Psychological Operations soldiers, and directed full spectrum special operations in eastern and central Africa. After retiring from the Army, he served as the founding director of nationally recognized student veteran and international student programs at a private university in Ohio. Eric earned his BS in International Relations and a minor in Systems Engineering from the US Military Academy at West Point, NY.

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Betsy Marchant

  • Vice Provost
  • Most Advanced Degree
    Master of Public Health, University of South Carolina

Betsy Marchant brings over 20 years' experience in education and management to her role as Vice Provost at SANS Technology Institute, where she has broad oversight of current student management, academic program administration, and curriculum review and improvement.

Betsy joined the college in 2016 as Assistant Director of Graduate School Operations. Through her leadership, student support programs were improved and greatly expanded to effectively manage the college's growing student population. Prior to joining SANS Technology Institute, Betsy directed a public health preparedness training team at the Virginia Department of Health and worked in training and education at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has a B.S. in Health Sciences from Clemson University and a M.P.H. in Public Health from the University of South Carolina.

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Krysta Kurzynski

  • Director of College Operations
  • Most Advanced Degree
    Master of Arts, Clinical Counseling, John Carroll University

Krysta brings over 12 years of experience in higher education leadership and operations to the SANS Technology Institute. In her role as Director of College Operations, she has broad responsibility for daily operations including process improvement, implementing new initiatives, and managing a variety of system resources across the entire college.

Since joining SANS.edu in 2016, Krysta has played a key role in building student advising and operational processes, improving the student experience, as well as growing the advising team. Prior to joining SANS Technology Institute, Krysta served as the Assistant Director of Veteran Affairs at John Carroll University.

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Rebecca Abbott

  • Director of Advising
  • Most Advanced Degree
    Master of Education, Student Affairs & Leadership, Youngstown State University

Rebecca brings over a decade of experience in higher education leadership with significant work in program management, supervision, and advising. Prior to joining SANS, Rebecca oversaw enrollment and retention programs for military-connected students at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Rebecca earned her Master's of Education in Counseling and Student Affairs Leadership from Youngstown State University and undergraduate degree in International Relations from Kent State University. Rebecca currently resides in Missouri, and enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and gardening in her spare time.

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Danna Wiseman

  • Director of Admissions
  • Most Advanced Degree
    Master's in Higher and Postsecondary Education, Arizona State University

Danna Wiseman oversees admissions operations and leads the team of admissions specialists, who support prospective students through the admissions process. Danna has over 10 years of experience working in higher education, and has extensive experience in admissions and student affairs.

Prior to joining the SANS Technology Institute, Danna spent 7 years at Arizona State University where she held a number of roles in the university admissions office, the School of Design & the Arts, and the School of Business.

She has a bachelor's in English from Biola University and a master's in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Arizona State University. Danna lives in Des Moines, Iowa, with her husband, daughter, and son. She enjoys hiking, cooking, and traveling.

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Alex Wang

  • Marketing Director
  • Most Advanced Degree
    Master of Arts in Media Studies, The New School

Alex brings more than 16 years of experience in higher education marketing to his role as Marketing Director at the SANS Technology Institute, where he is building awareness of the college's groundbreaking approach to higher education and its outstanding students, alumni, and faculty. 

Prior to joining SANS, Alex was Director of Marketing and Promotions at New York Institute of Technology, where his work was recognized with a Gold Award for best new college advertising campaign from the Collegiate Advertising Awards and Big Apple Awards from the PRSA for brand management and best use of research and measurement. 

Alex holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stony Brook University and a Master of Arts in Media Studies from The New School. A lifelong New Yorker, Alex likes to spend his spare time traveling, reading, kayaking, hiking, and listening to and making music.