IT-READY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Manager, Office of Academic Affairs
Job Titles:
- Treasurer of the Board
- Board Treasurer / CompTIA Tech Career Academy / CFO, CompTIA
Brian Laffey is responsible for monitoring, controlling and reporting on CompTIA's financial results and investment portfolio. He also manages CompTIA's Operations Department. Previously, he worked for the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, as associate vice president for finance and as controller. He has a bachelor's degree from Kent State University and a master's degree from Loyola University Chicago. He is a certified public accountant in the State of Illinois.
I believe we've made some of the best tech training available to those who need it most, enabling students to gain family-sustaining wages and the industry to see brighter futures with a more robust workforce.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Board Member / CompTIA Tech Career Academy / CEO Creating IT Futures
Charles joined CompTIA and Creating IT Futures in June 2010 and has more than two decades of non-profit management experience. Previously he was responsible for fundraising, business development and marketing for the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), a healthcare association focused on improving healthcare quality and patient safety. Before joining APIC, Charles was vice president of member relations for the Consumer Electronics Association, which organizes the largest tradeshow in North America, the International CES in Las Vegas.
Job Titles:
- Secretary of the Board
- Board Secretary / CompTIA Tech Career Academy / Chief Legal Officer & Chief Privacy Officer, CompTIA
- Chief Legal Officer and Chief Privacy Officer of Comp
Courtney Fong is the chief legal officer and chief privacy officer of CompTIA, managing the global legal, compliance, and privacy functions of the organization. Courtney is a former computer consultant and system administrator and combines his industry knowledge with his legal expertise to serve CompTIA.
Prior to joining CompTIA, Courtney was the general counsel, chief compliance officer, and chief privacy officer for a number of leading companies within the financial services industry in the US and UK. He is currently an adjunct professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law and regular speaker at industry and legal events. His work with the American Bar Association includes a presidential appointment as chair of the Standing Committee on Continuing Legal Education and other leadership roles in the ABA Section of Science and Technology Law and ABA Section of Business Law. Courtney is a past TEDx speaker and received the Top General Counsel award in 2016.
Courtney graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in communication systems and a certificate in network systems. He earned his Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law and his MBA from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Courtney is a member of the Bar in the State of Illinois, the Northern District of Illinois, and the United States Supreme Court.
The right training, certification and employment coaching make a recipe for launching a meaningful career. I'm excited to be helping CompTIA Tech create that perfect recipe for student success.
Joelle Szyszka oversees our IT Career Instructors, who are vital to the success of our students, including the hiring, training, and day-to-day management of the faculty for all our classes. She has 15 years of relevant experience providing various orientations and training for part-time staff. She majored in Interdepartmental Communications, providing a strong foundation for interacting and training others. Previously, she worked as the manager of talent development, responsible for recruiting, training and hiring part-time staff. She utilized a curriculum of more than 300 pieces to guide the part-time staff in their journeys as associates.
CompTIA Tech Career Academy has positioned itself through the IT-Ready Technical Support program to enable students from all walks of life an entryway into IT careers. I am honored to work with the faculty to help guide the students along their journey.
Job Titles:
- National Director, Career Services
Kathy Brennan leads our career services team, building partnerships with employers to best match them with newly trained and certified graduates. She provides career counseling and job connections to our students, so that they can get their foot in the door for a tech career and become star employees for our employer partners. She has worked with our students first as part of Creating IT Futures and now with CompTIA Tech Career Academy since March 2012, placing IT-Ready Technical Support graduates in paid work experiences with companies throughout the U.S. Kathy is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC), and enjoys spending time with her husband and their four children.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager, Office of Admissions
Lauren Pierce joined our parent company, Creating IT Futures, in 2017, bringing with her a varied background in workforce development as a career counselor, assessment counselor, facilitator and disability specialist. Having worked in DuPage County, IL, and Dallas, TX, assisting diverse populations of job seekers, she brings unique experience to local workforce programs that support and guide individuals into IT pathways. Now as a member of the CompTIA Tech Career Academy staff, she manages our admissions staff and helps potential students applying for classes. In her free time, you will find Lauren spending time with her husband and two energetic boys.
Being a part of CompTIA Tech which is helping individuals succeed in achieving their career goals in IT, who may have previously believed IT was not an option, is why I am passionate about what I do.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Education Services & Business Development
Mark Plunkett leads CompTIA Tech's custom training programs as well as business development for new courses and new client projects. Mark began his career with CompTIA in 2005. Since then, Mark has served as business development manager in Europe, regional director for emerging markets, senior director of business development in North America and head of global custom training operations. He has extensive experience in working with workforce development, government, academia and private corporations. Mark holds a BA degree in international business. In his spare time, he is a keen traveler and cook. He has visited more than 40 countries and is looking forward to more.
The technology workforce is one of the largest and fastest-growing segments of the labor market. I am passionate about building sustainable, outcome-based solutions that impact learners' lives and build the tech talent pipeline globally. We are opening the door to new career options through innovative solutions and challenging the norm to provide learners with choice and flexibility.
Job Titles:
- CEO / CompTIA Tech Career Academy / Executive Vice President, Industry Relations, CompTIA
Job Titles:
- Director, Instructional Design
Scot Yonan leads our instructional design development. Prior to joining CompTIA Tech, Scot worked with dozens of universities to create undergraduate and graduate degree programs and courses, including Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, and Concordia University. He cares deeply about creating measurable learning experiences that change peoples' lives for the better. He enjoys hobby gaming and spending time with his friends and family. Scot resides in Oak Park, IL.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Board Chair / CompTIA Tech Career Academy / CEO, CompTIA
Todd Thibodeaux leads strategic, development and growth efforts at CompTIA. Before joining CompTIA in July 2008, Thibodeaux spent more than 17 years with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), culminating as its senior vice president of industry relations. He earned his master's degree in economics from George Mason University and holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.