McCrary Institute welcomes 13 new senior fellows to advance national security and cyber resilience
Published: Feb 3, 2026 9:35 AM
By Victoria Dillon
WASHINGTON – The McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn University announced 13 new senior fellows on Tuesday, Feb. 3, joining its already impressive stable of experts shaping policy recommendations on national security, emerging technologies and cybersecurity.
Among the newest experts providing their expertise are the first national cyber director; leaders from the NSA, FBI and other agencies in the intelligence community; and private-sector leaders with deep experience in cybersecurity startups, ransomware and artificial intelligence.
“The McCrary family is growing and I couldn’t be more excited about the highly respected and deeply thoughtful members of the national security and cybersecurity communities joining us as senior fellows,” said Frank Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute. “Each has incredible credentials but, more importantly, each of them is driven by a desire to take on the challenging issues that will help defend the systems that power our national and economic security, our communities and our way of life. Their wisdom drives the practical, forward-looking recommendations our government and industry partners have come to expect from us.”
The work of the McCrary Institute senior fellows has produced thoughtful insight leading to well-respected policy recommendations. This includes recent papers that lay out the comprehensive threat from the People’s Republic of China and encourage a more thoughtful offensive cyber strategy, as well as a report from December 2024 that laid out a blueprint for the incoming administration. Fellows are also constantly providing insight through writing op-eds, participating in briefings and sharing expert commentary on the Institute’s Cyber Focus podcast.
McCrary Institute senior fellows make up task forces tackling key subjects including how the nation should prepare for and respond to the increasing cybersecurity threat from China; how to empower federal national security leaders to best tackle offensive and defensive cyber challenges; how to streamline overly burdensome cybersecurity regulations on large and small businesses; and developing solutions to better protect critical infrastructure and best harness the opportunities and risks from emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing.
New senior fellows are:
- Scott Aaronson, senior vice president, Energy Security and Industry Operations, Edison Electric Institute
- Chris Cleary, vice president, Global Cyber Practice, ManTech, former principal cyber advisor, Department of the Navy
- David Colberg, vice president, Global Government Affairs & Public Policy, Alteryx
- Jennifer Flandermeyer, director, Cyber Intelligence, Government Affairs & Assessments, NextEra Energy, Inc.
- Laura Galante, principal, WestExec Advisors, former director, Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
- Ryan Gillis, senior vice president, Global Head of Government Partnerships, Zscaler, former director on the National Security Council
- Lauren Goldman, former director of Analytic Integration, Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
- Chris Inglis, first U.S. national cyber director, former deputy director, National Security Agency
- Rob Joyce, founder, Joyce Cyber, former director of cybersecurity, National Security Agency
- Cynthia Kaiser, senior vice president, Ransomware Research Center, Halcyon, former deputy assistant director, Cyber Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Matthew Kemph, vice president, Mission Partnership Operations, In-Q-Tel
- David Luber, founder, Luber Cyber, former director of cybersecurity, National Security Agency
- Anna Sarnek, cyber business development lead, Amazon Web Services
More information on the institute’s senior fellows can be found here.
Media Contact: , McCraryMedia@auburn.edu,
Among the newest experts providing their expertise are the nation’s first national cyber director, leaders from the NSA, FBI, the intelligence community and private sector leaders with deep experience in cybersecurity startups, ransomware and artificial intelligence.
