COMPTIA SPARK - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Marketing
- Vice President of Marketing for CompTIA
Andrea Cutter is vice president, marketing at CompTIA Spark. Highly skilled in reaching diverse audiences, Cutter brings over a decade of specialized experience to her role. She leads on all aspects of integrated marketing strategy and execution for CompTIA Spark and its programs, including its tech curriculum for middle school grades and its TechGirlz workshops, inspiring young people of all backgrounds to explore the possibilities in tech.
Job Titles:
- Board Treasurer / Chief Financial Officer - CompTIA
- Chief Financial Officer for CompTIA
Brian Laffey is chief financial officer for CompTIA where he is responsible for monitoring, controlling, and reporting on the association's financial results and investment portfolio. He also manages CompTIA's operations department.
Previously, Laffey worked for the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago as associate vice president for finance and as controller. In these roles he was responsible for the financial stewardship of the university's assets totaling over $500 million. Laffey also served as the director of financial reporting and systems for the American Bar Association and as assistant controller for Loyola University Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Chief of Staff - CompTIA
- Chief of Staff at CompTIA
Charles Eaton is chief of staff at CompTIA. He was formerly EVP of Social Innovation at CompTIA and CEO of CompTIA Spark. Eaton joined CompTIA in June 2010. He has over 20 years of nonprofit management experience and a commitment to build problem-solving philanthropy with an emphasis on outcome-based approaches to social change.
Prior to joining CompTIA, he was responsible for fundraising, business development and marketing for the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), a growing health care association focused on improving health care quality and patient safety.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Board Secretary / Chief Operating Officer - CompTIA
- Chief Operating Officer - CompTIA
Courtney Fong is the chief operating officer for CompTIA.
Prior to joining CompTIA, Fong was the general counsel, chief compliance officer and chief privacy officer for a number of leading companies within the financial services industry. He also spent nine years as adjunct professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a regular speaker at industry and legal events, and is a past TEDx speaker.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
- Executive Director of Global Inclusion, Diversity and Equity - TEKsystems
Job Titles:
- Chief Technology Support Leader - Deloitte
Guy Fruda has more than 25 years of IT support and technology consulting experience. He is the chief technology support leader at Deloitte, where he is responsible for the technology experience of more than 175,000 practitioners. During his tenure at Deloitte, Fruda has been involved with many large-scale transformative technology integration programs.
Now part of the CompTIA Spark board of advisors, Fruda previously served as board chair. He is also active in many national programs focused on inclusion, equity and empowerment. His expertise includes supporting technology initiatives and programs that look to grow and foster technology in underserved communities across the U.S.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, External Relations
Gwen Britton is vice president, external relations at CompTIA Spark. She manages the organization's TechGirlz program, offering free workshops for girls in grades 5-8 to inspire them to explore the possibilities in technology.
Britton's 25+ years dedicated to STEM blend academia and industry, with her roles spanning software engineering, data analysis, web development, and more. She is a change-maker committed to inclusivity in the STEM community and has been deeply involved in K-12 outreach, including the launch of virtual learning ventures and engaging tech competitions and events for youth.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Manager at Raytheon Technologies
- Senior Cybersecurity Manager
John C. Malonson III is currently a senior cybersecurity manager at Raytheon Technologies, where he leads and manages cybersecurity risks and ROI-based solutions to improve business growth. Malonson's experience includes more than 20 years of aligning business strategy to people, process, and technical solutions in Fortune 100 and nonprofit organizations.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder & President - Elevate Security
- Expert
Masha Sedova is an award-winning cybersecurity expert, speaker and trainer who focuses on helping companies transform their workforce from a security risk into a key element of cyber defense. She is co-founder and president of Elevate Security, which provides the first-of-its kind platform to enable organizations to reduce risks from their workforce.
In addition to her work with the CompTIA Spark board of advisors, Sedova serves as a mentor for science, technology and education nonprofit programs. She also serves on the faculty of IANS, founded as the Institute for Applied Network Security.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Member of the Board
- Chief Community Officer at CompTIA
MJ Shoer is the CEO of CompTIA Spark. As CEO, he leads a dynamic team focused on bringing innovative learning opportunities to middle-schoolers, helping young people to gain the confidence and skills to succeed in today's tech-connected world. With over 30 years of experience in IT - including 25 as a managed service provider and CompTIA member - Shoer understands that tech is vital for all businesses, and inspiring future generations to pursue exciting, rewarding careers in the field is critical to our economic prosperity and security.
Shoer is also chief community officer at CompTIA, overseeing the global community team bringing members together in regional communities around the world collaborating to raise the impact of the tech industry and its members.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Entrepreneur
Neelan Choksi is an entrepreneur and advisor, providing his expertise in board work focused on growth and go-to market for early-stage technology companies.
As an entrepreneur, Choksi develops and builds successful, sustainable software companies. He was formerly president and COO of Tasktop Technologies where he managed sales, marketing and business development for a growing open-source software infrastructure provider.
He has been involved with TechGirlz, a program powered by CompTIA Spark, for more than 11 years and is also an official member of Forbes Technology Council.
Job Titles:
- CEO of Apogee IT Services
Paul Cronin is the CEO of Apogee IT Services. Cronin has 40 years of leadership experience as an IT services company executive and owner, skilled in all aspects of service leadership, sales and business development.
He is focused on giving back through high-level board and executive engagement for nonprofit organizations. In addition to his work with CompTIA Spark, he works with other IT-focused nonprofits and provides pro bono business consulting services to enable organizations and leaders to reach their full potential.
Job Titles:
- Chief of Staff
- Leader
- Vice President
Randi Parker is vice president and chief of staff at CompTIA Spark. In this role, Parker oversees the creation and implementation of the CompTIA Spark curriculum for middle school grades, as well as development and fundraising efforts. She also manages the CompTIA Spark board of advisors.
Leveraging her expertise on workforce policy, Parker is a thought leader on ways to bring tech education to all, expand the tech workforce pipeline and tap into talent that is otherwise overlooked or left behind. She also previously served on the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) Communications Equity and Diversity Council's Diversity and Equity Working Group.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
- Director, HR Business Partner - Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Terry West is a proven business leader with more than 20 years of experience in DEI, with skills in coaching/mentoring, leading sales teams, talent acquisition and business development. He is currently diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) senior manager at TEKsystems, where he develops executes and manages key programs, initiatives, and events in support of the DEI strategy that will directly impact clients and consultants and internal employees.
As a member of the CompTIA Spark board of advisors, West provides expertise as a DEI thought leader and cause-motivated strategic change agent.
Job Titles:
- Board Member / President and CEO - CompTIA
- President and Chief Executive Officer of CompTIA
Todd Thibodeaux is president and chief executive officer of CompTIA. Since joining CompTIA in 2008, Thibodeaux has expanded commitment to industry growth through education and training programs, market intelligence and research, networking events, professional certifications, and public advocacy.
He is a frequent commentator and source quoted in news coverage of the technology industry and workforce, including the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, CNBC, Entrepreneur, and the Wall Street Journal. Thibodeaux is a tech enthusiast dating back to his very early years as the son of an electrical and mechanical engineer.
Job Titles:
- Chief Marketing Officer - Chariot Solutions Founder, CEO - Journal My Health Founder - TechGirlz
- Founder of TechGirlz
Welson-Rossman is also the founder of TechGirlz, now powered by CompTIA Spark, which she created to address girls lacking the belief that technology is a promising career for them. Acquired by CompTIA Spark in 2019, the Techgirlz program inspires middle school girls through engaging technology workshops.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
- Vice President of Operations Management - GED Testing Service