Zelalem Mengistu. Dr. is an accomplished cybersecurity expert and educator with over 18+ years of experience supporting U.S. government agencies, including the USPTO, USCG, Department of State, DHS-CISA, CBP, FEMA, and the Marine Corps. He also serves as an Associate Professor of Cybersecurity at the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) and Bay Atlantic University (BAU), where he teaches graduate-level courses. A former professional services consultant for DHS-CISA at McAfee, Zelalem is passionate about advancing cybersecurity education, capacity building (mainly in developing countries), cloud security, Adversarial Machine Learning, and responsible AI adoption across emerging technologies. He was honored with BAU’s Faculty of the Year Award for his excellence in teaching and leadership. Dr. Zelalem started his career as a Sr. Technological Information Expert at the then Ethiopian Science and Technology Commission.
Dr. Zelalem also serves as the Director of Global Cybersecurity & Emerging Tech Advisory at RASBYTE. He spearheads various cyber initiatives across Africa, including Ethiopian Women in Cybersecurity (https://www.etwic.org), AI Security in Africa (https://secureaiafrica.africa), and IPv6 Ethiopia, where he serves as President of the Ethiopian Chapter (https://www.ipv6et.org).