Panelists:

D/Sgt. Sam North is an enlisted member of the Michigan State Police. D/Sgt. North joined the Michigan State Police in 2014. D/Sgt. Sam North served at the Lansing Post as a trooper and Human Trafficking SME, the Diversion Investigation Unit, and the First District Cold Case Team prior to his current position as the Team Leader of the Michigan Cyber Command Center, where he conducts investigations into cybersecurity related criminal activity.

Mary Benton is a Senior Information Security Analyst at Meijer, where she leads the company's Security Awareness Program. With a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity from Grand Valley State University, Mary has developed strategies to foster a security-conscious culture within their organization. She designed and implemented a successful reward-based program that encourages employees to report phishing emails, and she manages comprehensive phishing simulation campaigns and training initiatives. Under her leadership, Meijer has strengthened its defense capabilities by empowering team members to become proactive defenders against cyber threats.

Luke DeMott is the Assistant Vice President for IT and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Grand Valley State University (GVSU).
Before taking on this role, Luke held multiple roles in the technology sector, spanning 25 years.  These roles have included infrastructure management, data and analytics, and security.  Luke has worked in many industry verticals, including insurance, technology, higher education, and finance.  
Luke has several master's degrees, many of the tech sector major certificates, and ten years in security leadership.

Ron Phillips brings over 30 years of experience in managing people and projects, with more than 20 years of specialized expertise in cybersecurity and IT audit. He has an extensive background in software development, project management, information security, and internal audit, having worked with notable companies such as Amway, Johnson Controls, Pentair Inc., Federal Express, and International Paper.
Currently, Ron serves as the Global Manager of Information Security & Risk at Amway International in Ada, Michigan, where he has been instrumental since 2014 in managing various IT audits, developing global security awareness programs, training on OWASP vulnerabilities, managing governance and change management, and overseeing global risk management initiatives.

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