Industry Advisory Board

Industry Advisory Board (IAB) meets with the cybersecurity program director and faculty routinely. 

An Industry Advisory Board (IAB) helps cybersecurity programs achieve their goals. The IAB provides a way to monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum by assessing coursework and the job performance of past graduates. The IAB also provides industry participation and validation for new degree and certificate programs. 

In addition, the IAB serves as an advocate within the company by championing new initiatives, making the school's work more widely known, and identifying and recruiting board members. The IAB also provides opportunities for students and faculty such as internships, facility tours, and research grants. The role of an advisory board is not to make decisions but rather to provide current knowledge, critical thinking, and analysis to increase the confidence of the decision-makers who represent the company.

Current IAB Members:

Scott joined Dataminr in 2021 as SVP, Head of Global Financial Planning & Analysis. One of New York's top private tech companies, Dataminr is a leading real-time information discovery platform. The data analytics company has more than 900 employees across eight global offices. Previously, Scott was Chief Administrative Officer, Technology & Engineering at Bridgewater Associates and, prior to that, he was VP, Strategic Planning and Analysis at General Electric. Scott is a member of the Board of Directors of LivFree, an organization that supports pediatric cancer patients. He joined the RWU Board of Advisors in 2022. 

Linn F. Freedman, Esq., Secretary Partner, Chair Data Privacy & Cybersecurity, Robinson + Cole LLP Linn is a Partner at the law firm of Robinson + Cole LLP, where she practices in data privacy and security law, cybersecurity, and complex litigation. She is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Financial Services CyberCompliance Team and chairs the firm’s Data Privacy and Security Team. Prior to joining Robinson & Cole in 2015, Linn was a partner at Nixon Peabody. She has served on the advisory board for Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology and the New England Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Linn has been a member of the RWU Board of Trustees since 2013. She served as a member of the Board of Directors for the RWU School of Law from 2008 to 2020. In addition, she serves on the PBC Advisory Board, and she was instrumental in helping the law school reach its goal of establishing an endowment for the Pro Bono Collaborative. Linn is an adjunct professor of law at the RWU School of Law as well as an adjunct professor of the practice of cybersecurity at Brown University. She was the inaugural recipient of the Champion for Justice Award in 2015, in recognition of her community service and philanthropy. Linn received a B.A. in American studies from Newcomb College at Tulane University in 1983 and a J.D. from Loyola University School of Law in 1986.

Peter J. Frost graduated from Roger Williams University in 2022 with a major in Cybersecurity & Networking and a minor in History. During his time at Roger Williams, PJ was a member of the Cross Country and Track & Field team, along with being the Secretary of the Cybersecurity club. After graduating, PJ moved down to Reston Virginia in the D.C. area to work for the cybersecurity company Centripetal. PJ currently works as a Cybersecurity Analyst who leverages Centripetal’s intelligence-powered cybersecurity service to protect customers from known cyberthreats. Along with being involved with online infosec communities, PJ also holds multiple industry certifications from CompTIA and a penetration testing certification from eLearnSecurity. Outside of the terminal, PJ is a Miata enthusiast and avid long-distance runner.

Marynana Gwann is a Digital Forensics Analyst who earned a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Roger Williams University in 2017. She also received a second Master’s degree from George Mason University’s Digital Forensics and Incident Response program in 2020. Ms. Gwann is also a recognized community advocate and leader who is involved in a variety of organizations and initiatives supporting diverse communities. 

Today, Ms. Gwann brings her federal, state, and private sector experience to the digital forensics field. Her focus includes insider threats, e-discovery, mobile forensics, and incident response, as well as managing protocols and other key skills important to new and early professionals in the forensics field. For example, she created and expanded several of her agency’s Standard Operations Procedures (SOP) to ensure consistency during onboarding and professional development. 

Ms. Gwann has served as a Research Analyst for the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, where she co-authored two publications, including one titled “Identifying Barriers in Law Enforcement Agencies.” She also served as a contributor to the Internet Safety Program for Rhode Island and Baltimore, and, she continues to work tirelessly with community organizers, law enforcement, and other government officials throughout the East Coast to ensure online and overall community safety.

Larry is the Product Security Research and Analysis Director at Finite State, focused on XoT security issues, after spending more than 25 years doing security and disaster recovery in healthcare, performing penetration testing, wireless assessments, and hardware hacking. He also diverts a significant portion of his attention co-hosting the international award winning security podcast, Paul's Security Weekly, and likes to tinker with all things electronic and wireless, much to the disappointment of his family, friends, warranties, and his second Leatherman Multi-tool. A self-professed lifelong "tinkerer and explorer", Larry always wanted to know how things work. "I found myself getting to engage in deep dives of technology from an early age: My dad built the family television from a kit, and I helped. It caught fire. Twice. I helped fix it both times." This curiosity for electronics led Larry to study Computer Information Systems, where he ultimately began working in network engineering, but a security issue sent him down the path of constant puzzle solving found in information security. The help and advice received from the infosec community throughout his career inspired him to share what he had learned to help others secure their networks and improve their craft.  A SANS Instructor since 2007, Larry is now, appropriately, co-author of SEC617: Wireless Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking. An advanced course, SEC617 focuses on wireless technologies from WiFi and Bluetooth to unknown radio signals with an SDR. Larry has since introduced the new course SEC556: IoT Penetration Testing where the focus is building the skills needed to identify, assess, and exploit security mechanisms in IoT devices. In his spare time, Larry enjoys being a ham radio operator, spending time with his family, and getting outdoors. He loves working with his hands, whether in his vegetable garden, building electronics, or wood working and blacksmithing in the pursuit of knife making.

Allan joined Roger Williams University IT-Leadership team in 2019, serving as the Information Security Officer. In this role, his primary mission is to uphold and nurture the University’s information security policies. Previously, Allan held Senior Product Management positions with regional, national, and international companies commercializing new data networking solutions and software platforms to synchronize physical security controls. Allan is an accomplished INFOSEC professional with a unique blend of technology, financial, and marketing competencies. He is an active member of the FBI InfraGard-RI Chapter and an adjunct professor at RWU teaching penetration testing. In his free time, Allan is an avid motocross racer and loves spending time with his son, daughter, and wife of 25+ years.

James Reardon is a 2013 graduate of Roger Williams with a Bachelor of Science in Forensics, Networking, and Security. Today, Jay is a Senior Security Solutions Engineer at Rapid7, a Cybersecurity & Compliance Solutions & Services company that has been continuing to grow, headquartered in Boston. Jay maintains an extensive knowledge of Rapid7’s enterprise security solutions & service offerings, competitor technologies, and information security concepts. He manages the full technical sales cycle to secure a technical win for all sales opportunities while engaging executive-level and technical prospective customers.   Jay’s technical expertise and business insight which started at Roger Williams has continued to develop and keep up to date with the ever-evolving cybersecurity industry. The RWU NETSEC curriculum gave him the start to help launch his security certifications which he’s added to as the years go on. From RWU classrooms to across the United States and Canada, he has been able to advise companies of all sizes and sectors on their security program.

Last Updated 08-27-2023