The work.
From strategy to everyday practice.

• Serve as the city’s principal cybersecurity authority, reporting to executive leadership and the Department of Information Technology Commissioner.
• Built Yonkers’ cybersecurity governance framework from the ground up, aligning policy and control baselines with NIST SP 800-53, CJIS, HIPAA, and ISO 27001.
• Developed comprehensive citywide security policies, risk assessment templates, encryption standards, and procurement security checklists to standardize practices across all departments.
• Represent Yonkers in inter-agency collaboration with New York State Cyber Command (NYSOC), making Yonkers the first municipality in the nation to go live with a state-sponsored joint Security Operations Center (SOC).
• Oversee municipal compliance readiness for audits, CJIS data exchanges, and state cybersecurity grant requirements.

• Directed modernization of the city’s entire security stack: FortiGate next-generation firewalls, FortiClient EMS, Duo MFA, CrowdStrike Falcon EDR, BitLocker encryption, and Microsoft Entra.
• Designed and implemented redundant firewall clusters, integrating Zero Trust segmentation, posture-based access, and automated log forwarding.
• Engineered a centralized syslog and SIEM pipeline forwarding from 200+ Windows and Linux servers into the NYSOC QRadar platform, establishing the state’s baseline architecture for municipal telemetry sharing.
• Deployed enterprise-wide BitLocker encryption with AD/Azure AD key escrow, TPM enforcement, and compliance logging, ensuring encryption coverage across all agency endpoints.
• Designed and rolled out a RADIUS-based network authentication system for switches and routers, replacing static credentials with centralized access control.

• Lead all vulnerability management initiatives; achieved sustained reduction from 5 million to under 500,000 vulnerabilities through patch automation, configuration hardening, and asset lifecycle governance.
• Manage 24/7 monitoring of the city’s CrowdStrike Falcon EDR platform, leveraging IOC detection, behavioral analytics, and threat hunting to reduce dwell time and contain lateral movement.
• Conduct regular penetration testing, red-team simulations, and incident tabletop exercises, producing after-action reports for both technical and executive audiences.
• Serve as primary incident commander for breach containment and forensics, coordinating between local departments, NYSOC analysts, and law enforcement when needed.

• Designed and enforced the city’s Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) architecture, integrating Duo MFA, FortiClient EMS posture tags, geolocation policies, and conditional access for all privileged accounts.
• Led deployment of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and passwordless authentication pilots across city platforms, improving both security posture and user experience.
• Managed implementation of the city’s first Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution, ensuring secure configuration, remote wipe, and policy enforcement across mobile assets and tablets.

• Developed custom PowerShell and Python scripts for log aggregation, SSL renewal, BitLocker compliance verification, and asset inventory reconciliation, eliminating thousands of manual hours annually.
• Automated patch management workflows, vulnerability scans, and compliance reporting, integrating output into the city’s executive dashboard.
• Built internal tools for identity lifecycle automation, integrating Active Directory, Azure AD, and HR onboarding/offboarding data.

• Developed and implemented cyber awareness training for 3,000+ city employees, emphasizing phishing defense, incident reporting, and secure data handling.
• Partnered with Yonkers Public Schools and local colleges to expand cybersecurity education pipelines and promote civic technology careers.
• Regularly collaborate with NYS ITS, CISA, and regional task forces to improve municipal cyber intelligence sharing and coordinated response readiness.

Key Advisory Role: Acted as a pivotal advisor to the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)/Senior Agency Information Security Officer (SAISO) and System Owner (SO), providing insights on all security facets concerning the information system.

Operational Security Maintenance: Upheld the requisite active security posture for the system, ensuring robust defenses against potential threats and vulnerabilities.

Security Planning:

1. System Security Plans (SSP): Collaboratively contributed to the evolution and refinement of SSPs, ensuring they remained aligned with evolving threat landscapes.
2. Plans of Action & Milestones (POA&M): Addressed and monitored vital action points, safeguarding against latent vulnerabilities and fortifying system resilience.

Change Management: Undertook the essential duty of evaluating, controlling, and determining the security implications of modifications to the system, guaranteeing that updates didn't inadvertently introduce vulnerabilities.

System Categorization (as per FIPS 199): Shared the onus of system categorization, identifying the types of information processed, transmitted, and stored, thus ascertaining the potential impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Risk Management & Compliance:

1. Implementation of NIST RMF: Spearheaded adoption and application of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Risk Management Framework.
2. Continuous Monitoring: Established and perpetuated continuous monitoring protocols to underpin ongoing Authority to Operate (ATO) mandates.
3. NIST-based Evaluations: Executed rigorous risk assessments on prospective system alterations, ensuring they aligned with NIST directives.
4. Risk Analysis: Consistently gauged system operations and modifications risks, ensuring a proactive approach to potential threats.

Policy & Documentation:

1. Federal Program Oversight: Assisted with policy crafting, monitoring, and compliance assessments for federal authorization programs.
2. Security Documentation: Composed various security documents, encapsulating policies, procedures, plans, and standards-aligned with NIST SP800-53 controls.

Audit & Vulnerability Assessment: Conducted periodic and ad-hoc system audits and vulnerability evaluations, ensuring system adherence to stipulated standards and preempting potential threats.

Technical Mentorship: Dispensed guidance and provided leadership to junior technical staff, fostering an environment of collective growth and knowledge sharing.