Ben McGee
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President and CEO

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Benjamin McGee, MS-Cyber, CISSP, CEHI, CNDA, MCTS, is an expert security engineer, educator, cyber innovator, and a dedicated cyber mentor. Mr. McGee holds a Masters of Science in Cyber Security from New York University (NYU) Polytechnic Institute and is a Graduate of the University of Florida. 
Prior to founding CyberProtex, Mr. McGee was the Cyber Security Lead for SAIC where he was decorated with many awards including the Microsoft Identity Management "Trailblazer" award. Mr. McGee is an expert in Microsoft system integrations has also worked with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), FEMA, the Marine Corps, U.S. Army Software Engineering Directorate, NASA at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and Raymond James Financial Headquarters.

Meet our team

Melissa Bowen,
Office Manager

Ms. Bowen  is our Office Manager and Customer Service expert. She has a Bachelor's degree from Florida Atlantic University. Ms Bowen has a background in Human Resources, Bookkeeping, and Inventory Management/Logistics. Outside of work, Ms. Bowen enjoys doing CrossFit.

Teresa Chalkley,
Director of Training ​and Development

Ms. Chalkley has a Master's degree in Adult Education, Leadership Training from the University of South Florida and works with CyberProtex to make sure our curriculum and training align with industry standards and certifications. Ms. Chalkley has trained various software and security courses over her extensive career.
Additionally, Ms. Chalkley has worked as a technical writer and is experienced in writing proposals, policy and procedures, white papers, and training manuals. She is an expert in business administration from development and contracts to accounting and human resources. "My passion is to help train and motivate people to reach their highest potential," she says. 

Rita Edwards
Cyber Security Instructor

Ms. Rita Edwards, CEH, Security+, has over 30 years of experience in the field of software engineering and security. Ms. Rita Edwards is our lead instructor and expert in  Security+ courses. Ms. Edwards earned her BS with a Math Minor in 1988, a BA in Communications in 1990, and her Master’s in Cyber Security in 2017.  "Continuous education is a key cornerstone in combating the bad guys." She has experience working with several standards including DOD Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process (DIACAP), Risk Management Framework (RMF), National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  Her current tasking is with NASA’s CIO is focused on NIST compliance, vulnerability management, and incident response.

Pierce Gibbs
Cyber Security Instructor

Mr. Gibbs has an M.S. in Computer Science and an M.S. in Information Assurance and Cyber Security from UAH. Mr Gibbs holds 14 of the leading software and cyber security certifications including CSDP, CISSP, CSSLP, CEH, GSEC, GREM, and GPEN. ​He worked for Boeing from 1997 to 2019 as a Lead Software and Cyber Security Engineer on various Space, Missile Defense, and Avionics programs. Before this Mr. Gibbs worked at Lockheed Martin as a Software Engineer. He is highly skilled, knowledgeable and wants to share his enthusiasm for the subject of cyber security. Mr. Gibbs is currently working on his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering. 

LeAnne Letize McGee
Risk, Compliance & Communications Specialist

Mrs. Letize McGee holds her Bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida, as well as her  Juris Doctor (JD) degree from Stetson University College of Law. She previously practiced law in the State of Florida, where she is still licensed. 
Ms. Letize McGee brings her sharp eye, legal experience and excellent writing and communication skills to CyberProtex. She is responsible for risk management, ensuring that risk is avoided, controlled, accepted, or transferred and that opportunities are not missed. Ms. McGee is also in charge of industry compliance. 

Jeremy Pacillo
Cyber Security Instructor

Jeremy Pacillo joins CyberProtex as a Cyber Security instructor at Mae Jemison High School in Huntsville. Mr. Pacillo received his Bachelor's degree from the University of South Alabama in 2011 where he played fullback for their inaugural football team. 

Zachery Rayburn
Cyber Security Specialist  ​

Zach Rayburn is attending Mississippi State University where he is studying Computer Science. Mr. Rayburn has two years of cybersecurity experience specializing in secure software development, server management, and penetration testing; he also has experience as an IT Assistant at a local high school working with Cisco networking architecture. Mr. Rayburn graduated from Bob Jones High School with the Madison City Academic Seal of Distinction and holds his Certified Ethical Hacker. He has experience in Python, Bash, HTML, CSS, JS, PHP, Client Side Java, C, C++, and Powershell.

Wendy Johnson,
Director of Marketing and Business Development

Ms. Johnson brings expertise in Business Development, Marketing and Event Planning to CyberProtex. A graduate of University of Alabama Huntsville. Ms. Johnson was the Exhibit/Sponsor Chairman of the 2013 and 2014 North Alabama Cyber Security Summit. She is also a certified test proctor. Besides event and conference planning, Ms. Johnson has experience in finance and the insurance industry.

Tim Roe
Cyber Security Instructor

Tim Roe joins CyberProtex as an instructor. Mr. Roe studied statistics at Flroida State. He was previously an Investment Advisor Representative at T Rowe Price where he held several finance certifications. As an SME, Mr. Roe has extensive experience training people in financial certifications. In his free time, he enjoys volunteering for Special Olympics, coaching Little League, and coaching Youth Basketball. 

Hugh Saylor
Cyber Security Senior Advisor

Mr. Saylor brings years of experience in Information Assurance, Systems Administration and Systems Configuration. Mr. Saylor holds a Security+ certification and has the Certified Ethical Hacker (EC Council CEH) designation as well. Mr. Saylor is an expert tester and can hack into systems to exploit the vulnerabilities. Mr. Saylor is semi-retired but is continually studying and earning new certifications in cyber security. He also tests most of our software, games and apps.

Jordan Simpson
Cyber Security Associate

Jordan Simpson is currently a student at Mississippi State University. Mr. Simpson works with CyberProtex to develop training curriculum. He loves Cyber Security and Computer Science, and plans on pursuing more certifications beyond the CompTIA IT Fundamentals Certification that he already holds.  Mr. Simpson plans on pursuing a Masters degree in Computer Science. 

Stefanie Smith
Senior Cyber Security Engineer

Mrs. Smith is certified in Security+, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), and Windows 7, Configuring (70-680). From UAH, Ms. Smith holds a Masters Certificate in Information Assurance & Security and a BA in Foreign Language (Spanish) & International Trade. 
Ms. Smith brings her extensive experience as a Computer Network Defense Analyst, Vulnerability Management/Information Assurance Engineer, and Information Assurance Technical Lead to the team at CyberProtex. 
​Ms. Smith is also an active volunteer for many charitable causes in the Madison/Huntsville community. 

Michael Sorrell
Cyber Security Associate and Game Developer

Michael Sorrell is currently attending the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). Mr. Sorrell has earned the IT Fundamentals, Network+, and Security+ Certifications. Currently, he is focusing on earning the CEH. Michael is working with CyberProtex on mobile app development. Outside of school and work, he is an Eagle Scout and participates in his church’s youth group. 

Andrew Staton

​Robert Thompson
Cyber Security Specialist

Robert Thompson is a Certified Ethical Hacker (EC Council CEH), Mr. Thompson works at CyberProtex on researching and presenting different intrusion tools and systems. He is eager to advance in the computer science field with interests in software development, web design, and penetration tools. In his spare time, Mr. Thompson enjoys flying drones.