Administration

President

Ed Skoudis has taught cyber incident response and advanced penetration testing techniques to more than 12,000 cybersecurity professionals. He is a SANS Faculty Fellow and the lead for the SANS Penetration Testing Curriculum. His courses distill the essence of real-world, front-line case studies he accumulates because he is consistently one of the first experts brought in to provide after-attack analysis on major breaches where credit card and other sensitive financial data is lost.

He has a rare capability of translating advanced technical knowledge into easy-to-master guidance as the popularity of his step-by-step Counter Hack books testifies. Ed earned an M.S. in Information Networking from Carnegie Mellon University, and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, summa cum laude.

Provost

Betsy Marchant brings more than two decades of experience in higher education leadership, strategic operations, and public sector training to her role as Provost of the SANS Technology Institute. She is responsible for driving institutional performance and advancing the college's mission to develop highly skilled cybersecurity professionals. She also serves as Co-Chair of the MSCHE Self-Study Steering Committee and leads strategic planning in collaboration with faculty, senior leadership, and the board.

Since joining SANS.edu in 2016, Marchant has played a central role in modernizing the institution to support long-term enrollment growth and student success. She has led major advancements in recruitment, academic operations, student services, and accreditation, and secured the college's designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. Under her leadership, SANS.edu has earned sector-leading retention and graduation rates and strengthened its reputation as a premier cybersecurity college.

Prior to joining SANS, Marchant directed public health preparedness training at the Virginia Department of Health and held education and training leadership roles at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her background in systems-level training, regulatory alignment, and adult education informs her institution-wide leadership today. She holds a Master of Public Health from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences from Clemson University.

Dean of Research

Johannes is currently responsible for the SANS Internet Storm Center (ISC) and the GIAC Gold program. In 2000, he founded DShield.org, which is now the data collection engine behind the ISC. His work with the ISC has been widely recognized, and in 2004, Network World named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the networking industry. Prior to working for SANS, Johannes worked as a lead support engineer for a web development company and as a research physicist.

Johannes holds a PhD in physics from SUNY Albany and is based in Jacksonville, Florida. His daily podcast summarizes current security news in a concise format. Listen to Johannes discuss "HTML5: Risky Business or Hidden Security Tool Chest for Mobile Web App Authentication" in this SANS webcast.

Dean of Faculty

Heather Barnhart is the DFIR Curriculum Lead and Head of Faculty at SANS Institute, as well as Dean of Faculty at the SANS Technology Institute. A SANS Fellow, she is recognized for advancing smartphone forensics and Windows artifact analysis, helping investigators uncover critical evidence in complex cases. With nearly two decades of experience across law enforcement, government, and industry—including her role as Senior Director of Forensic Research at Cellebrite—Heather has worked high-profile investigations such as the analysis of Osama Bin Laden’s digital media and evidence tied to the University of Idaho murders case. Her work has been featured in the SANS blog as well as in outlets like People and ABC 20/20.

At SANS, Heather leads and teaches FOR585: Smartphone Forensic Analysis In-Depth and FOR500: Windows Forensic Analysis, building hands-on, case-driven training that prepares practitioners for real-world investigations. She is co-author of Practical Mobile Forensics and a contributor to multiple forensic publications, posters, and white papers. A frequent keynote speaker at SANS DFIR Summits, Techno Security, and RSA Conference, she emphasizes practical workflows, clarity, and confidence, ensuring students are prepared to handle real-world investigations.

Dean of Students

Since launching his infosec career in 1997, Joshua Wright has worked with hundreds of organizations on attacking and defending complex environments, ethically disclosing significant product and protocol security weaknesses to well-known organizations. A hacker at heart, Joshua is the author and an instructor for SANS's most popular course, SEC504: Hacker Tools, Techniques, Exploits, and Incident Handling.

In addition to being a SANS Faculty Fellow, Joshua serves as the Technical Director of Counter Hack. At Counter Hack he performs penetration testing and red teaming for large and small organizations, developing challenges and learning opportunities for the Holiday Hack Challenge and the NetWars Capture the Flag platform.

Chief Technology Officer for the Internet Storm Center and Assistant Dean of Research

Mark’s infosec career spans nearly 30 years with 15 of those years spent teaching for SANS. Mark is currently a SANS Fellow and an independent consultant through his company Indepth Defense providing forensics, incident response, and penetration testing services. Mark has also served as the technical advisor to the DoD for SANS since 2011, where he assists various government organizations in the development of information security capabilities.

Mark earned a Master of Science in Information Security Engineering from the SANS Technology Institute, where he is currently serves on the faculty, in addition to his roles as Assistant Dean of Reseach and CTO of the Internet Storm Center. He is the 15th person in the world to receive the prestigious GIAC Security Expert certification (GSE). He also holds GPYC, GXPN, GPEN, GCIA, GCIH, GSEC, GWAPT, and GCPM certifications.

Vice Provost

Rebecca Abbott brings nearly two decades of leadership experience in higher education and customer service–driven roles to her position as Vice Provost at SANS.edu, where she provides strategic oversight of student and alumni management, academic program administration, and curriculum review and improvement.

Rebecca joined the college in 2017 and has played a pivotal role in elevating the quality and reach of the advising function. Through her leadership, the advising team grew significantly, implementing new programs that strengthened student retention and enhanced the overall advising experience.

She holds a Master of Education in Counseling and Student Affairs Leadership from Youngstown State University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Kent State University.

Director of College Operations

Krysta brings over 12 years of experience in higher education leadership and operations to the SANS Technology Institute. In her role as Director of College Operations, she has broad responsibility for daily operations including process improvement, implementing new initiatives, and managing a variety of system resources across the entire college.

Since joining SANS.edu in 2016, Krysta has played a key role in building student advising and operational processes, improving the student experience, as well as growing the advising team. Prior to joining SANS Technology Institute, Krysta served as the Assistant Director of Veteran Affairs at John Carroll University.

Director of Advising

Betty brings more than 15 years’ experience working in higher education to the SANS Technology Institute. While her primary role has been academic advising, she has worked in many functions of the college environment including financial aid, registrar’s office, new student orientation, adjunct faculty, and graduation services. Betty is also a veteran of the United States Air Force, who was stationed in England and Montana during her time with the military. 

Betty holds a Master of Business Administration in Human Resources from Liberty University and a Master of Education in Adult Education from Park University. She resides near Cleveland, Ohio with her husband and two children. In her spare time, Betty enjoys traveling with her family, exploring the outdoors through hiking, and camping, reading, and volunteering within her community. 

Director of Academic Affairs

Her career began at Newcastle University, where she developed workshops and resources to improve access to UK higher education. Eva went on to hold roles in marketing, communications, admissions, project management, and student support at British institutions including the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Manchester, and the Royal Northern College of Music.

Her passion for online education emerged in 2020, when she successfully transitioned several study abroad programs to operate virtually. Subsequently, Eva led the Marketing and Program Management teams at CyberStart Ltd., notably delivering the National Cyber Scholarship Program, which provided free access to SANS courses and GIAC certifications to thousands of US high school students.

Director of Admissions

Danna Wiseman oversees admissions operations and leads the team of admissions specialists, who support prospective students through the admissions process. Danna has over 20 years of experience working in higher education, and has extensive experience in admissions and student affairs.

Prior to joining the SANS Technology Institute, Danna spent 7 years at Arizona State University where she worked in a number of admissions related roles.

She has a bachelor’s degree from Biola University and a master's in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Arizona State University. Danna lives in Iowa and enjoys hiking, cooking, and traveling.

Marketing Director

Alex brings more than 20 years of experience in higher education marketing to his role as Marketing Director at the SANS Technology Institute, leading efforts to elevate awareness of the college’s innovative cybersecurity programs and the achievements of its students, alumni, and faculty. 

Alex earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stony Brook University and a Master of Arts in Media Studies from The New School. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, reading, kayaking, and hiking.