Vice President of Research and Economic Development and Professor of Digital Forensics with years of experience and knowledge in building high-performing teams, promoting partnerships, leadership development, and driving initiatives supporting faculty research, grants, contracts, and economic outreach. Proficiencies in recruitment, building diverse teams, building effective teams, administering/developing programs, managing staff, planning, problem-solving, and advocating for measures to prevent threats. Strong interpersonal skills to establish/maintain relationships with internal/external stakeholders, including higher education/financial institutions, corporations, and non-profit organizations. In-demand public speaker, with over 50 public presentations given along with many keynotes. Exceptionally knowledgeable in fundraising activities with a history of collecting more than $2M in donations/grants impacting 32,560 students for CybHER™, and the recipient of $13M+ in competitive grants and contracts with her research teams.
Selected Achievements
• Founded and secured $1.7M in funding for the Digital Forensics for Law Enforcement Lab with active JPA’s and MOU’s to conduct forensics cases and law enforcement, provide training to the SD Attorney General’s Office and the Sioux Falls Police Department, and lead research endeavors.
• Co-founded a program at Dakota State University, CybHER, to educate, motivate/inspire girls’ interest in cybersecurity. Program has impacted 28K+ girls over seven years and increased Dakota State’s record in recruiting/enrolling women in computer/cyber sciences at the Beacom College. Beacom College has had a 595% in women study UG Computer Science, Cyber Operation, and Network Security from Fall 2013 to Fall 2019.
• Support First Bank and Trust (a $6B financial institution), as a member of the Board of Directors on cybersecurity advice.
• Support South Dakota Biotech as a member of the Board of Directors on research and cybersecurity advice.
• Supports Coinlion, a crypto platform as a member of the Board of Directors on secure platform advice.
• Supports the Hetherington Group as a member of the Board of Directors on research and OSINT advice.
• Supports the Butterfly House and Marine Cove as a member of the Board of Directors on non-profit STEM education advice.
Education and Credentials
Doctor of Science in Information Systems (Specialized in Information Assurance & Computer Security)
Dakota State University, Madison, South Dakota, GPA 3.9, 2010
Master of Science in Information Systems (Specialized in Network Security)
Dakota State University, Madison, South Dakota, GPA 3.9, 2007
Bachelor of Science in Electronic Commerce & Computer Security
Minor: Business Administration, Computer Information Systems
Dakota State University, Madison, South Dakota, 2006
Professional Development / Continuing Education
Academic Leadership Academy - Penn State University, State College Pennsylvania - 2019
Professional Experience
Dakota State University, Madison, South Dakota 2012 to Present
Vice President of Research & Economic Development (May 2021-Current)
Advance, support, and define research at DSU. Develop and support external research partners, support faculty and staff, create initiatives to enhance research and economic development.
• Create and define university policies on research and economic development.
• Represent the university on the SD Biotech Board of Directors, SD Research and Commercialization Committee, among other state-level research and economic development activities.
• Manages a staff of eight, a healthy budget, and creates short-and-long range plans.
Professor of Digital Forensics and Information Assurance (Aug 2021-Current)
Support and mentor PhD students with the research and through the dissertation process
• Promoted to full Professor – Fall 2021
• As of fall 2021, I am the chair of five PhD students
Interim Vice President of Research & Economic Development (Oct 2020 to May 2021)
Encourage interdisciplinary research and policies to provide central services supporting faculty research and economic outreach.
Associate Dean – Beacom College of Computer & Cyber Sciences (2018 to Present)
Provides leadership in obtaining curriculum accreditation and leading online student retention/engagement initiatives and advising. Spearhead actions to update and create articulation agreements for the seamless transfer of students.
• Orchestrated the development and implementation of a faculty mentoring program to share expertise and advisements on research, teaching, and professional concerns of newly hired and less experienced professors.
• Actualized the Cyber Law, Education, and Applied Research (CLEAR) Cyber Leaders Conference (a joint venture between Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota Law School, and the Better Business Bureau) to address issues/concerns in cybersecurity, law, investigations, intrusion detection, and policy.
Associate Professor – Information Assurance & Digital Forensics (2012 to Present)
Advanced digital forensics, computer security, and cybersecurity curriculums for teaching the following courses: CIS 245 Information Security Fundamentals, CSC 388 Computer Forensics, CSC 418 Advanced Computer Forensics, INFA 720 Incident Response, INFA 721 Computer Forensics, and CSC 806 Cybersecurity Research.
• Promoted to Tenured Associate Professor – Fall 2016.
• Conducted research and provided service to produce and share professional knowledge by developing curriculums for introductory through advanced courses.
• Received award for Faculty Research, 2017-2018.
• 2019 American Association for the Advancement of Science IF/THEN Ambassador.
• Recipient of the Embe 2017 Young Woman of Achievement, the Merrill Hunter Award for Excellence in Research 2017, and won the 2017/2018 New America Cybersecurity Fellow.
Program Coordinator – Master of Science in Cyber Defense (2014 to 2018)
Collaborated with the Dean of Graduate Programs on managing the Master of Science in Cyber Defense Program that included implementing faculty teaching assignments, recruiting students, advertising the Program, and creating the curriculum. Led committees on the graduate program and admissions.
Founder/Co-Chair – Cyber Security Industry Advisory Board
Partnered with industry professionals on bi-annual meetings for advisements on Cyber Operations and Network Security Programs on developing curriculum, assessing industry trends, and increasing student employment opportunities.
Drexel University, Philadelphia Pennsylvania 2010 to 2016
Assistant Professor then Adjunct Professor– Computing & Security Technology
Researched/developed curriculum and taught courses in digital forensics, computer security, cybersecurity, and other computer information systems. Ascertained eligibility requirements for ABET accreditation for the Computer Security Technology (CST) Program for assurance that the University Program’s met the quality standards and strong learning experiences for graduates.
• Served on the Inaugural Industry Advisory Board for the CST Program to support the Department’s relationship with key industries and enhance students’ learning opportunities.
Publications – Additional Information Provided Upon Request
• AL Liebl, P Rowland, A Podhradsky, M Redlin (2021). “Salaries in Higher Education Systems: A System-wide Perspective on Career Advancement and Gender Equity.” ADVANCE Journal, 26009.
• Podhradsky, Jones, Opoku-Boaten, Kulm (2019). “DigForCE: Digital Forensics for Cyber Enforcement.” South Dakota Law Review.
• Stroschein, Podhradsky, Plucker (2018). “Crossing Cyber Security Domains: Advancing Student Knowledge in Malware Analysis and Computer Forensics.” Advances in Security Education. Baltimore, Maryland. USENIX
• Rowland, P., Podhradsky, A., & Plucker, S., “CybHER: A Method for Empowering, Motivating, Educating and Anchoring Girls to a Cybersecurity Career Path”
• Casey, Podhradsky (2016). “Steganography and the Xbox: How Terrorist May Be Hiding in Plain Sight.” Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law. Daytona, FL. May 2016
• Miller, Stroschein, Podhradsky (2016). “Reverse Engineering a NIT That Unmasks TOR Users.” Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law. Daytona, FL. May 2016
• Podhradsky, LeBlanc, Bartolacci (2014). “Personal Denial of Service Attacks (PDOS) and Online Misbehavior: The Need for Cyber Ethics and Information Security Education on University Campuses. Journal of Cyber Security Vol 3 No 3. Page 1-18.
• Bartolacci, Leblanc, Podhradsky (2014). “Personal Denial of Service (PDOS) Attacks: A Discussion and Exploration of a New Category of Cyber Crime. Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law. Vol 9. No 1. Page 19-36.
• Podhradsky, Higgens (2014). “The Current State of Modern Mobile Media and its Impact on the Digital Forensics Community: An Analysis of Smart Phones and Tablets.” Hawaii International Conference on Business. Honolulu, HI.
• Engebretson, Podhradsky (2013). “Security Analysis of Xbox 360 Vulnerabilities"
17th World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (WMSCI 2013), Orlando, FL
• Podhradsky, D’Ovidio, Engebretson, Casey (2013). “Xbox 360 Hoaxes, Social Engineering, and Gamertag Exploits.” Hawaii International Conference on System Science. Maui, HI.
• Podhradsky, Casey, Ceretti (2012). “The Bluetooth Honeypot Project: Measuring and Managing Bluetooth Risks in the Workplace.” The International Journal of Mobile Network Design and Innovation.
• Podhradsky, D’Ovidio, Casey (2012). The Xbox 360 and Steganography: How Criminals and Terrorists could be “Going Dark.” The Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law. May 2012. Richmond, VA
• Podhradsky, Kelley (2012). “Analyzing the Impact that Idle Garbage Collection has on Solid State Drives in Windows and UNIX Platforms.” The Security Conference. May 2012, Las Vegas, NV.
• Podhradsky, Casey, Ceretti (2012). "Managing Bluetooth Risks in the Workplace.” Wireless Telecommunications Symposium (WTS). April 2012.London, UK. In Press. IEEE.
• Podhradsky, Casey, Ceretti (2012). "The Bluetooth Honeypot Project.” Wireless Telecommunications Symposium (WTS). April 2012.London, UK. In Press. IEEE.
• Podhradsky, Streff. (2011): “Testing Data Sanitization Practices of Retired Drives with the Digital Forensics Data Recovery Project. Journal of Information Privacy and Security. Ivy League Publication. ISSN 1553-6548, 09/2011, Volume 7, Issue 3, p. 46
• Podhradsky, D’Ovidio, Casey. (2011): “Identity Theft and Used Gaming Consoles- Recovering Personal Information from Xbox 360 Hard Drives.” Proceedings of the America’s Conference on Information Systems. Paper 54. August 2011, Detroit, MI, ISBN 978-0-615-50707-1http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2011_submissions/54/
• Podhradsky, D’Ovidio, Casey (2011). “The Practitioners Guide to the Forensic Investigation of Xbox 360 Gaming Consoles.” The Conference on Digital Forensics, Security, and Law (ADFSL). May 2011, VA. ISSN 1931-7379 pp 173-191
• Podhradsky (2011). “Data Sanitization: The Forgotten Aspect of Information Security. ”The Security Conference. May 2011, Las Vegas, NV.
Grants Funded – Selected list, additional information provided upon request
• SBA Cybersecurity for Small Business. PI. $999,993.00 (2022-2023)
• NSA: Workforce Development: Co-PI with University of West Florida $809709.71 (2020-2023)
• Governor’s Research Center: Center for Understanding Illicit Underground Economy: Co-PI, $3.9M (2021-2026)
• DigForCE: PI- Project Boundary Fence (Grant- Attorney General’s Office) $312,000 (2020, 2021)
• NSF REU: Co-PI- IoT Security, Co-PI Award 1852145 - $357,487 (2019)
• NSA/NSF GenCyber Girls in CybHER Security Camp – Residential Camp $150,000 (2023). Residential Camp $140,230 (2022),Virtual (2020) $128,303, Residential Camp (2019) $128.389, Residential Camp $128,287 (2018), Residential Camp $134,000 (2017), Residential Camp $129,000 (2016), Residential Camp $78,957 (2015).
• DigForCE: PI- Digital Forensics for Cyber Enforcement (Grant - Attorney General’s Office) $750,000 (2018-2021)
• NSF NRT: Collaborative Research: PI- Cyber-Physical Social System for Understanding & Thwarting the Illicit Economy $2.98M, $373,608 for DSU (2018-2023) $2,9M for entire team
• NSF-Advance Plan, South Dakota Working in STEM for Equity - $749,873 (2015)
• SD Board of Regents Performance Improvement Fund - $75,037 (2012)
Affiliations
• Board Member- SD Biotech (2021-Current)
• Board Member - First Bank and Trust (2019-Current)
• Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) (2018-Current)
• NWCIT – (2010-2019)
• Association for Information Systems (2009-2012)
• Anita Borg Women in Technology Institute (2008-2012)
• Grace Hopper Institute for Women (2008-2012)
• Systers Women in Technology (2008-2012)
• International Association for Technology in Education (2011-2013)
• High Technology Crime Investigation Association – Delaware Valley Chapter (2010-2013)
• InfraGard Member- Minneapolis & Philadelphia Chapter (2008-2014)
Awards
• Infosec Henry Rollins Award | Wild West Hacking Fest (2020)
• AAAS IF/THEN Ambassadors (2019-2020)
• New America Cybersecurity Fellow (2017 & 2018)
• Merrill Hunter Award for Excellence in Research, Dakota State University (2017)
• Young Women of Achievement Award, EmBe (2017)
• TRUST (UC Berkeley) Travel Fellowship (2011 - 2015)
• Google Women in Technology Scholarship Recipient.(selected as one of 50 women in the United States (2008)
Service to discipline, Selected list, additional information provided upon request
Active in service to cybersecurity discipline, university, and community. Thousands of hours of volunteer work, committee work and service activities. Leadership in search and screen committees and discipline activities.
• Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) Program Chair and Co-Chair (2016-Current)
• IEEE Security and Privacy Symposium (IEEE S&P) Publication Chair (2011-2018)
• CybHER Days, CybHER Together, CybHER Camp (2013-Current)
• NSF Reviewer (Cyber Corps 2019, 2017)
• USENIX Chair (2018) and Co-Chair (2017)
• REU Mentor (2017,2018, 2019, 2021)
• International Conference on Digital Forensics and Cyber Crime, PC Committee (2018)
• International Journal of Mobile network Design and Innovation, Guest Editor (2014)
• Hiring Committee (2010-Current)
• Presidents Search and Screen for Dr. Jose-Marie Griffiths (2015-2016)
Presentations, Selected list, additional information provided upon request
In-demand speaker who participates in media requests, gives invited keynote addresses, participates in panels and presents locally, regionally and nationally.
• Sioux Falls Cybersecurity Summit, Keynote (2022)
• Cattleman’s Association, Keynote (2022)
• Women in CyberSecurity, Keynote (2021)
• DoD Hack the Building, Panelist (2020)
• Geena Davis Institute for Women in Media, Featured Speaker (2020)
• NIST NICE K-12 Conference, Breakout speaker (2020)
• Wild West Hackin Fest, Keynote Speaker (2020)
• BBB Lunch and Learn with CyberSecurity Experts, Panelist (2020)
• WICT Tech It Out, Keynote (2020)
• Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary, Keynote (2020)
• Siouxland IT Symposium (2020)
• OSMOSIS, Keynote (2019)
• Cyber Day on the Hill, Speaker (2019)
• Cradle of Aviation Museum, Panelist (2019)
• University of New Haven, Keynote (2018)
• FBI InfraGuard, Speaker (2018)
