The 2025 National K-12 Cybersecurity Leadership Conference
February 24-26, 2025 (San Diego, CA)
2025 Conference Sponsors
GUARDIAN
DEFENDER
Interested in sponsoring? Contact us.
Hosted by the K12 Security Information eXchange (K12 SIX) - and being produced in partnership with California IT in Education (CITE) and the San Diego County Office of Education - the 2025 National K-12 Cybersecurity Leadership Conference is a unique event designed to identify and share solutions and best practices to better defend the K-12 education sector from emerging cybersecurity threats, such as ransomware and data breaches. The third annual conference will be held February 24-26, 2025 in San Diego, California.
Be sure to sign up for the K12 SIX mailing list to receive notifications about the conference.
Preliminary Agenda (UPDATED 2/9)
Where is the event?
The event will be held at The Westin San Diego Bayview (1051 Columbia Street, San Diego, CA 92101). Located in Emerald Plaza in the heart of Downtown San Diego, the conference hotel offers scenic views, modern amenities, and easy access to essential local experiences in the Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, and Embarcadero. It also offers a complimentary shuttle to/from the San Diego International Airport (SAN). To secure (or manage) your room reservation, please visit this link. NOTE: While the conference room block closed on Feb 3, rooms may be available at group rates by contacting the Westin.
Who’s attending?
K-12 leaders and school technology practitioners from coast-to-coast, hailing from more than 36 states, plus Canada and Australia (as of 2/6/25)
Common job titles: CIO/Director of IT/Director of Technology, CISO, Network/Systems Engineer, Cybersecurity Analyst/Engineer/Manager, etc.
I’ve not yet registered, but would still like to attend.
Advance registration is required for access to all sessions, meals, and receptions - and requires acceptance of the K12 SIX code of conduct and registration refund policy. Last day to register was February 14, 2025.
Featuring:
NEW: General Session “The PowerSchool Cyber Incident: Paving the Path Forward,” featuring Mishka McCowan, CISO, PowerSchool
Pre-Conference (2/24) Tabletop Exercise, facilitated by the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
“Capture the Flag” (CTF) Competition, managed by the Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), U.S. Department of Education
General sessions led by: School Safety Task Force (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency), the Privacy Technical Assistance Center (U.S. Department of Education), K12 SIX, and AT&T
Exhibit Hall featuring leading K-12 cybersecurity vendors and organizations
Opportunity to have a professional photographer-taken ‘headshot’ at the conference photo station
Confirmed speakers and sessions include:
“Bridging the Digital Divide: Leading K-12 Schools Through Cybersecurity Challenges” by Andrew Burras, IT Director, Community Academies of New Orleans (LA)
“MFA All the Things: My Experiences Implementing MFA” by Daniel Fradeneck, Cybersecurity Engineer, Detroit Country Day School (MI)
“Disarming Disinformation: Increasing Awareness of Weaponized Information and Media Literacy in the District and Classroom” by Nikolas Gonzales, Digital Learning Specialist, Boston (MA) Public Schools
“Empowering K-12 Schools with Robust Cybersecurity: Implementing K12 SIX-Recommended Defenses” by Teri Green, Senior Director of IT, Kipp SoCal Public Schools (CA)
“Crafting a Comprehensive Cyber Incident Response Plan (CIRP)” by Jerry Jones, Executive Director of Technology Services, Sacramento County (CA) Office of Education
“Malicious Links, Student Hackers, and a Handful of Solutions” by Andy Lombardo, Director of Technology, Maryville City Schools (TN)
“Scaling Cyber Risk Management at a Regional Level” by Stuart Long, CIO, Northwest Regional ESD (NWRESD)/Cascade Technology Alliance (CTA), Michael Potter, IT Security Analyst, NWRESD/CTA, and Jacob Doxtator, Senior Systems & Security Engineer, NWRESD/CTA (OR)
“K-12 Cybersecurity: CTOs Protecting Their District and Educating Their Executive Team” by Michael Marassa, CTO, New Trier High School District Township 203 (IL)
“Taking Credit Cards? What Every K-12 Leader Needs to Know about PCI” by April Mardock, CISO, Seattle (WA) Public Schools
“Empowering K-12 Staff: Simplifying Cybersecurity and Protecting Sensitive Information” by Ben Odipo, Assistant Superintendent of IT, Myles Allen, Project Manager, Brian Troudy, Director of Networking and Infrastructure, and Selena Nunes, Cybersecurity Analyst, Corona Norco Unified School District (CA),
“Managing Upstream Without a Paddle - An Approach to Third-Party Risk Management” by Thomas Pigeon, Cybersecurity Manager, and Sean Sheridan, Security Architect, Dallas (TX) Independent School District
“Strengthening K-12 Cybersecurity: Protecting Operational Technology (OT) and School Infrastructure” by Michael Pry, Cybersecurity Strategist, and Melissa Milanak, Teacher, River Valley School District (PA)
“Enhancing Cyber Resilience through Advanced Threat Emulation Simulations” by Sterling Reeves, Cybersecurity Network Engineer, Nebraska (NE) Cybersecurity Network for Education
“When MFA Fails: Incident Response and Recovery” by Neal Richardson, Director of Technology/CISO, Hillsboro-Deering School District (NH)
“Building Cyber Resilience in K-12: Best Practices from the Frontlines” by Carlos Salazar, SOC Director, and Mark Bandala, Cybersecurity Engineer, San Diego (CA) County Office of Education
“The Global Education Security Standard Update” by Steve Smith, Executive Director, Access 4 Learning (A4L), Neal Richardson, Director of Technology/CISO, Hillsboro-Deering School District (NH), and Anthony Yaremenko, Program Manager, Cyber Resilience, Victorian Department of Education (Australia)
“Enhancing K-12 Cybersecurity: Malware Defense, EDR, and SIEM Best Practices” by Francisco Tamayo, Senior Director of Cybersecurity & Digital Privacy, and Vong Sopha, Cybersecurity Analyst, San Diego (CA) County Office of Education
“Protecting the North Wall: Cyber is Coming: Actionizing Top Recommendations from DHS, CISA, and K12 SIX” by Casey Wagner, Director of Technology/Data Privacy Officer, West Irondequoit Central School District (NY)