Previous Participants

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.

Alicia Marques

Alicia Marques is a network engineer with over ten years of experience in the field. Currently, she works for the Virginia Community College System in the unique role of Shared Network Engineer, where she supports the networks at three community colleges in the greater Richmond area: John Tyler (becoming Brightpoint), Reynolds, and Rappahannock. In this role she manages everything from wireless and switches to edge routers and firewalls. Prior to joining the VCCS, she worked for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where she cut her teeth in IT as a Help Desk Agent, before being promoted to the Network Services team. She holds an Associates of Applied Science degree in Computer Networking from ECPI College of Technology and was drawn to work in IT because she enjoys solving problems and helping others. In her spare time, she is an avid knitter and enjoys spending time outdoors with her family. She resides in beautiful Williamsburg, Virginia with her husband Bill and a cat named Matilda.

Angela Diahkah

Angela is from the Pueblo of Jemez, a Native American community located 45 minutes Northwest of Albuquerque,  New Mexico.  She was born and raised on the reservation and is rooted in her culture and  traditions.  She is a native speaker of “Towa” Jemez Pueblo’s native language.  She is a proud alumna of the Santa Fe Indian School, an all Native American Indian boarding high school.  In 1998 she received her bachelor’s degree at ITT Technical Institute in Electronics Engineering Technology.  Angela always had an interest in electronics  / computer technology.  Her career started with phone pc support and then recruited by US Government.  In 1999 she moved to Washington DC as telecommunications systems officer supporting secure diplomatic telecommunications for American Embassies abroad.  Angela describes her career as “Jack of all trades” she has obtained a lot of knowledge to enhance her career.  She has a solid grasp of many concepts and proficient in multiple skill sets which allows her to be flexible to adapt in her career.  She also served as IT field tech before landing her position with the Jemez Pueblo Tribal Network.  

Angela currently is the Network Operations Supervisor for the Jemez Pueblo Tribal Network (JPTN).  JPTN is a newly established tribally chartered corporation who owns a new fiber optic network.  Angela manages a team of 6 technicians who are also members of the Pueblo of Jemez and native Towa speakers.  Speaking the language is a huge benefit  for the language barrier that still exists in Native American communities, this allows them to communicate with elders and to those who need clarification of today’s fast pace technology.  JPTN has installed about 500 brand new broadband wireless home networks to all of its community.  They currently are maintaining  the live network and looking forward to the next big  project which  is fiber to the home.  

Kimberly Schjang

Kimberly Schjang is an Associate Network Engineer at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, which is also her alma mater. Her IT career began to take shape during college as a Student Help Desk Technician. After graduating from UNLV with Bachelor’s degrees in Liberal Arts and Fine Arts, she continued to work in the IT field with her main focus being hardware, software and A/V support. In January of 2019, Kim returned to work for UNLV in the Network Development & Engineering department as an Associate Network Engineer.

Karen Lopez

Born and raised in Mexico, I graduated from Arizona State University in 2017 and now live in Denver, CO where I work for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as a network automation engineer. I moved to Colorado at the beginning of the pandemic and have just started exploring the city, but I live with a miniature schnauzer and we love to go explore the mountains and being in nature. I’ve been in the automation field for a few years now and quickly realized it’s my passion as I love putting all the pieces together in order to make something better.

The next step in my career is starting a master’s program at the Colorado School of Mines this fall pursuing IT management, the program will take a year and I’m really looking forward to learning a different aspect of IT. Another passion of mine is to empower people, specifically women, to pursue a career in IT, I’m hoping with a management position I’ll be able to hire and mentor more women starting their careers.

Mary Bull

Mary Bull is from eastern Virginia and works for the College of William and Mary as a network technician. Her primary work interest is wireless, especially planning, design, and troubleshooting, but she also works with the switching infrastructure and cable plant on campus, as well as other areas of the college’s IT infrastructure. She’s working on completing the CWAP certification.

Mary started working in IT after working in museum education and in public libraries. She’d love to run her own bookstore someday.

Melinda DeHerrera

I live in a small town of northern New Mexico known as the Lowrider Capital of the World, Espanola. I live with my husband and four daughters and have one son that is a Marine stationed out in Hawaii.  On any given weekend, I will be found watching one or a couple of my daughters playing softball, volleyball or wrestling. After COVID hit last year, we purchased chickens and planted three gardens. There is rarely any down time in our household, but I enjoy every minute of it.

The year I graduated with my BA in IT, I was the Student Regent of our Northern New Mexico College. I enjoyed having a voice and trying to address many of the issues and concerns of the students on campus. At this time, I also helped to create and design a plan to upgrade our campus network. This was a bit personal as this was our local college which I had been attending for many years. I started at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a student and eventually moved over to a full time position after graduating. I am part of the Network Infrastructure Engineering Core Services team. Our team monitors, maintains, upgrades, installs and troubleshoots all network activity throughout the laboratory. As one of the few female Network Professionals in my field, I hope to promote growth and expand the female intelligence in the STEM area.

Jennifer Kim

I am an IT Manager at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Here, I work on a variety of systems with a primary focus on network infrastructure across our campuses. I have been with MCCC for 6 years where I started off as a network infrastructure intern, and the first female in the network infrastructure area. To date, I am the only woman to work in this area of the department.

After obtaining a BS in Psychology, later followed by a Certificate in Computer Networking from MCCC, my non-traditional student path and career change fueled an interest in tackling the gender gap that exists in IT. Whether working on computer or interpersonal networking, I seek learning, growth and building that network.

Deshon Miguel

Deshon Miguel is a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, a mother of two daughters and is currently serving as the Information Technology Manager at Tohono O’odham Community College on Tohono O’odham Reservation. She was born and raised on the reservation by her mother and eldest siblings. Her hobbies are arts and crafts and playing volleyball with her family. Deshon’s interest in the field was initiated when she became a mother and gained the responsibility of providing for her daughter at a young age and has then continued to pursue a beneficial experience in the field.

She has seven years of progressive experience in Information Technology. Starting with an internship and part time position as a Computer Assistant where she was essential in developing a network to run at a functioning and highly efficient capacity. She attended I.T.T Technical Institute in Tucson, Arizona to obtain her AA degree in Associate of Applied Science in Network Systems Administration continues to expand her personal and professional development through her past and current endeavors.

She supervises the IT staff, manages and coordinates all IT-related matters including network, data, wireless, telephone, security, and computer hardware and software to ensure the effective operation of all information technology systems are being utilized by the college to fullest potential. She is an integral part of consulting with various outside parties that help with the overall success and forward progress of the college.

Stacie Nixon

Stacie Nixon is an IT Security Professional with twenty years of experience working for North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C. Originally from Wilmington, N.C., Stacie relocated to Raleigh, N.C. to obtain her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees. Stacie specializes in IT Security and is responsible for monitoring network activity to identify vulnerable points, act on breaches and malware threats, design and implement safety measures and data recovery plans, draft policies and guidelines, and serve as a security expert, and conduct training when needed.  Stacie organized the university’s first and successful Cybersecurity Escape Room for faculty, staff, and students. Stacie is inspired daily by her son; in her free time, Stacie likes to create professional hair care products, paints, ride bikes, listen to audiobooks, and travel.

Shashwitha Puttaswamy

Shashwitha Puttaswamy is a research scientist, cyberinfrastructure, at The George Washington University. In her current role, she works closely with GW Nanofabrication and Imaging Center scientists to understand their workflow design issue which includes complex data-intensive research. Her contributions to the research is to identify new opportunities to leverage large data transfer and to provide end-to-end high throughput connectivity in an existing infrastructure. She is also the primary lead on sensor data collection which involves working with different IoT sensors to develop data collection strategies to help the DC government and researcher analyze pressure, temperature, and gasses in the environment. Prior to joining GWU in 2019, she was a network research engineer at California Institute of Technology, supporting and maintaining their production “Tier2” computing and storage facility in support of the Large Hadron Collider physics program. Puttaswamy was part of the team that awarded CENIC’s 2019 Innovations in Networking Award for Experimental Applications for setting a new record for data transfer rates that will enable researchers to tackle massive datasets faster and satisfy unprecedented scientific needs. She was Internet2 Technology Exchange, Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship Recipients Announced in 2019. She holds a bachelor of science degree in electronics and communication engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University, and a master of science degree in electrical engineering with a specialization in computer networks from San Diego State University