Our Team

Well known as the “Cyber Guardian”, founder of the XR Safety Initiative (XRSI), Kavya Pearlman is an award-winning cybersecurity professional with a deep interest in immersive and emerging technologies. Kavya is constantly exploring new technologies to solve current cybersecurity challenges. She is one of the Top 50 speakers in the cybersecurity industry and named Top 20 Cybersecurity influencers for three consecutive years 2018-2019-2020 by IFSEC Global. Kavya has won many awards for her work and contribution to the security community including:

• Cybersecurity Woman of the Year 2020 by Cybersecurity Excellence Award Series
• Cybersecurity Professional of the Year 2020 by Cybersecurity Excellence Award Series
• Most Influential Cyber Security Leader 2020 by Acquisition International
• 40 under 40 Top Business Executives 2019 by San Francisco Business Times
• Rising Star of the year 2019 by Women in IT Award Series 
• CISO Women Security Leader award from Middle East CISO Council
• Minority CISO of the Year 2018 by International Consortium of Minorities Cybersecurity Professional (ICMCP)

Kavya has previously advised Facebook on third party security risks during the 2016 US presidential elections and worked as the head of security for the oldest existing virtual world “Second Life” by Linden Lab. Kavya constantly shares knowledge via webinars, conference talks and blog posts around Application Security, Cloud-native technologies, Machine Learning and immersive technologies such as XR. 

Kavya holds a master’s degree network security from DePaul University, Chicago and many prestigious Information Security certifications including CISM (Certified Information Security Manager) from ISACA, and PCIP for Payment Card Industry Security Standard Council.

Kavya is truly passionate about her work and inspires many around the world including women and underrepresented communities in security and emerging technologies. Kavya is a board of directors for EM360, non-profit “Minorities in Cybersecurity”, an advisory board member for “CISO Council North America”, Spark Mindset LLC, and cybersecurity advisory board member for the University of New Haven.

Marco Magnano is a multimedia journalist with 10 years of live radio experience and tremendous working knowledge of advanced media technologies. Marco is based in Europe and a strong strategic and exclusive media contributor for XRSI building a dedicated awareness space via ReadyHackerOne platform. He assembled his first Personal Computer (PC) at the age of Four. 30 years later, the mindset of building new ideas and deconstructing old ones is still there in his DNA. Marco’s actual journey started more than 20 years ago when he confronted the challenges of the digital evolution as a media activist focused on security and privacy and pitched in to the rise of web 2.0 with programming and development skills, walking on the wire between enthusiasm and active criticism. The mistakes and distortions of that epoch guide him to carry those lessons into the world of emerging technologies.

XRSI’s Executive Director of Communications, Marco Magnano speaks English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, a bit of German and most recently learning Arabic. In recent years Marco has traveled across continents to uncover stories of various dimensions and domains, from the Syrian war crisis, challenges of migrations in Asia, Africa and Europe to advocating for freedom of information and the protection of most vulnerable people. During his journey he has met humans from all walks of life and has collected every drop of knowledge on the road, becoming day by day more open to discovery, and now continuing his mission into the uncharted territories of XR technologies.

Dr. Ibrahim (Abe) Baggili is the Elder Family Endowed Chair of Computer Science & Cybersecurity at the Tagliatela College of Engineering, Department of Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of New Haven, CT, specializing in Cybersecurity & Forensics. He serves as the Assistant Dean and is the founder of the University of New Haven’s Cyber Forensics Research and Education Group (UNHcFREG).

Abe is also the former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law (JDFSL). He received his BSc, MSc and PhD all from Purdue University where he worked as a researcher in CERIAS. Abe co-authored over 70 publications including books, peer reviewed articles, and conference papers and has received funding for his work from a variety of sources including the NSF, NSA, DHS and MITRE. Most recently, work with his students showed security issues in mobile social messaging applications that affect over 1 billion people worldwide they also found major Virtual Reality exploits that affect people globally.

His research interests include cybersecurity and forensics from technical, social, and psychological perspectives. He has worked closely with law enforcement and private sector and has published work on real challenges facing cybercriminal investigators and has presented at a number of conferences worldwide. Abe’s work has also been featured in news outlets and on TV worldwide in over 20 languages.

April Boyd-Noronha has over 20 years of experience in academia and advanced technologies. April is a global keynote speaker, thought leader, and global advisor on emerging trends and the future of work with a particular focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion in XR and cybersecurity.

April was named 2018 Educator of the Year by the International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals. Because of these distinct roles and experiences, she’s uniquely positioned to connect academia, corporations, and industry leaders with NextGen talent, especially tomorrow’s workforce that are of color and most times under positioned for success. She is a distinguished author who has been sharing her experience and expertise via publications and books such as “The Top 5 Rules of Engagement for Parents Raising a Girl in STEM”.

XRSI’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Advisor, April Boyd-Noronha serves as the Chief Engagement Strategist at The STEM Broker, LLC and advises many boards such as FinTech4Good, United Way, MindDrive, and Suburban Balance. April is based in North America with her family that includes three future STEM technologists including Cybersecurity Analyst (daughter), Behavior Analyst (daughter), and Drone Pilot (son). As a Professor, she advocates the use of immersive technologies to advance curriculums in Health Information Management (HIM), Cybersecurity, and Computer Information Systems (CIS).

April actively serves her community as an advocate and mentor for girls and youth via virtual reality hackathons, drone racing and events promoting diversity and emerging technologies bringing her real-life experiences and challenges to inspire many generations around the world.

Kristina is a digital governance advisor with two decades of management consulting experience. She has a history of successfully deploying complex digital transformation projects for Fortune 500, government, and not-for-profit organizations, as well as solving organizational challenges related to IT and digital governance. Her specialty is in digital policies and standards. Kristina has a BA in international studies and an MBA in international business from the Dominican University of California and is certified as both a Change Management Practitioner (APMG International) and a Project Management Professional (Project Management Institute).

Many organizations are unaware of the risks they take. They often create unnecessary internal disarray and face stiff penalties and/or lawsuits for ignoring regulations they don’t even know exist. By providing clarity on sound digital operations, Kristina ensures that global leaders understand the digital policy and make the digital domain a place for Safety and Trust.

Trish Ryniak – Chief of Staff to the CEO, has been working in the video game industry for well over 9 years in the digital communications field. Their particular specialty is the ability to create, implement and manage multiple platforms and language content creation plans through various regions. Originally from Canada, Trish has lived and traveled in many various countries and can speak 4 languages. Trish is particularly keen on encouraging businesses to adopt new practices with the special interest of the consumer. Extremely proactive, Trish is able to pinpoint weaknesses in strategies and encourage optimized action points to move plans along.

Currently, Trish is a student in the forensic psychology and cybersecurity field. Patricia foresees a future in which there will be a need to implement appropriate safety processes within the cyber tech and even video game industry for perpetrators. To go further, Trish is exceptionally dedicated to helping encourage rehabilitation processes for victims and perpetrators and believes their studies in both forensic psychology and cybersecurity will be priceless here.

Priscilla Koukoui drives innovation in organisations by designing new ways of working, XR & emerging technologies as Business solutions mainly for AEC.

As a technical director, she leads innovative VR/AR immersive projects for most large infrastructure (Transport, Energy, Construction) projects in Australia. 

She also crafts multisensory XR stories, focusing on olfaction design in immersive environments.

International speaker: Siggraph, Unite by Unity, VR Days Europe, VRTO Toronto, Learn X Melbourne, XR Creativity Symposium

J.D., CISSP President, Women in Cybersecurity Mid-Atlantic Affiliate

Diane is the President, Mid-Atlantic Affiliate (MAA), Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS). She also serves as senior executive and leader whose career spans legal, policy and executive management positions in the US Government at the National Security Agency, the Pentagon and the White House. Her expertise in cyber education, privacy & technology, information security, cyber/fiscal law, data governance & information security, export control/foreign military sales, resource management & inclusion/diversity has informed all her work. Awarded 2020 CybHER Warrior Award, 2019 Cyber Warrior Women of the Year by CAMI, as well as the 2019 Women in Cybersecurity Affiliate Leadership Award by WiCyS. Diane is passionate about giving back and protecting the Nation’s economic security and national security with strong cybersecurity defenses.

Connect with Diane on LinkedIn

Mr. Peter Cassidy is Secretary-General of the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) which he co-founded in 2004. Since then, Mr. Cassidy has developed the institution’s programs of intervention against cybercrime. Mr. Cassidy founded the annual Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (authoring the initial CFP in 2006), the only peer-review research conference dedicated exclusively to cybercrime studies which has published more than 110 papers from leading research laboratories from across the globe. Mr. Cassidy also founded the annual Symposium on Global Cybersecurity Awareness, which has been hosted by the European Commission and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime over the years. Mr. Cassidy is also co-founder and principal architect of the STOP. THINK. CONNECT. cybersecurity awareness campaign, which has been launched by national cabinet-level ministries and national NGOs as a national cybersecurity awareness campaign in 22 countries since 2010.

Rachel Michelson is a Medical XR Advisor at XRSI, helping to remove obstacles in incorporating Extended Reality into regulated ecosystems like healthcare while keeping technology safe, secure, ethical, and inclusive. Rachel’s specific focus is on cybersecurity.

Rachel’s experience is a potent combination of software development for public safety, followed by cybersecurity evaluation of medical and other IoT devices. This allows her to see the trade-offs of a cybersecurity risk management from multiple angles. As an evaluator, Rachel strives for solutions that are fully compliant to the best industry standards. As a hands-on software developer, she is used to operating within practical constraints of legacy components, limited device resources, budget, and prioritization challenges facing a manufacturer and an integrator alike, Rachel spent 20 years at Motorola, mostly working on adding security (audio and data encryption and authentication) into multiple components of Motorola’s two-way radio systems for public safety. She traversed the technical ladder from a software developer to a software architect. Rachel has led her products through FIPS 140-2 certification and other regulatory approvals. To build upon this experience, Rachel then joined UL to evaluate other manufacturers’  medical devices against appropriate standards, such as IEC 62304 and UL 2900. This includes device testing and documentation and corporate processes reviews alike. Rachel is fascinated by an opportunity to witness and perhaps influence multiple designs from both established and up-and-coming technology vendors.

Rachel holds a Bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from MIT and a Master’s degree in the same discipline from National Technological University (currently Walden University, one of the first online universities). Rachel volunteers with MIT’s Educational Council.

Nancy Baker Cahill is an artist working at the intersection of fine art, new media and activism. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of 4th Wall, a free Augmented Reality (AR) public art platform exploring resistance and inclusive creative expression. Her recent AR public art project, Liberty Bell, commissioned by Art Production Fund, earned features in the New York Times, frieze Magazine, Artnet, Smithsonian Magazine and the Washington Post, among many other publications. The project, on view through 2021, spans six historic and culturally significant sites along the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. and appeared in Artnews’ list, The Defining Public Artworks of 2020.

Baker Cahill was also included in ARTnews’ list of 2021 Deciders.

Her 2018 TED talk, Augmented Reality (AR) as an Artist’s Tool for Equity and Access, launched her international public speaking practice. She has since delivered keynotes at the 2019 Games For Change, 2020 A.W.E. (Augmented World Expo) and has spoken at the Hirshhorn Museum and numerous academic institutions and conferences. She is one of ten artist scholars in the Berggruen Institute’s inaugural 2020 Transformations of the Human Fellowship. In May of 2021, Baker Cahill will receive the Williams College Bicentennial Medal of Honor.

Emmy-winning Immersive Experience Designer, Game/Puzzle/Escape Room Designer, Creative Director, Audio Producer/Director, and Storyteller, with years of experience in leading creative teams, game design, AR/VR, location-based games, theme park installations, escape rooms, podcast production, Alternate Reality Games, buzz and viral marketing techniques, production, and physical installations/events.

Clients include Walt Disney Imagineering, Amazon Studios, Legendary TV, Paramount, Google, Microsoft/Xbox, Caffeine TV, DDB Canada and more.

Previously, was Founder/CCO at No Mimes Media, Lead Experience Designer at Google’s Niantic Labs, and VP of Experience Design at Fourth Wall Studios, working on projects like the interactive Emmy Award-winning web series “Dirty Work” and “6 Minutes to Midnight” (for the feature film Watchmen).

Has guest-lectured at schools and universities including USC, Georgia Tech and Cal Arts, spoken at media conferences like GDC and SXSW, and projects worked on have won multiple awards including an Emmy, Cannes Lions Grand Prix Awards, SXSW Web Awards, and Webby Awards. 

Vivian Chazen created The Hive VR in 2017, a production for live talk shows and events inside virtual platforms. The Hive spawned spin-off talk shows and events in the metaverse and continues to be known as a community connector. The Hive and VRespawn, a media group focused on competitive gaming, joined forces and together create remote live events to showcase games and engage communities. Vivian also created The Killettos, an all-female lineup of the best competitive gamers and streamers. When not competing in esports, Vivian contributes content and shoutcasts live games. 

Her professional work also includes teaching immersive technology to older adults and contributing to research for using VR beyond gaming.

Dennis Bonilla is a Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Baltu Technologies. At Baltu, Mr. Bonilla is creating human-centered tools to augment and improve the future of work.

Over 20 years of technology experience, Dennis has helped develop software and decision support systems for NASA and other U.S. agencies, created groundbreaking data visualization systems, and served in roles supporting committees advising U.S. President Barack Obama about options for future human space flight. 

Alyssa Sweetman is the Director of Creator Social Impact at Twitch, an Amazon-owned company, and a thought leader in the influencer social impact space. Her six years of experience have collectively helped organizations raise over $200 million globally. 

Her tenure working in D&I and social impact verticals has equipped her to start her organization providing accessible education and information at scale to influencers and charities, InfluencerFundraising.com. 

Alyssa understands the potential organizations can reach working with influencers. Her work with charities, influencer fundraising, mental health advocacy, and diversity has earned her a place in #Forbes30Under30.

Experienced, results-driven executive and information technology professional managing diverse groups and teams for over 19 years. Focus on vision and strategy, business development and growth, and organizational leadership and management to accomplish business strategies and goals. Detail-oriented strategic thinker and decision maker with the ability to map high-level vision to actionable steps through excellent written and verbal communications skills. Comfortable leading and managing technical and business-oriented teams to successful project outcomes. 

Ross Newman is a doctoral researcher at the Human/Machine Intelligence and Language Technologies Lab at the University of North Texas, specializing in research in Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence. Ross’ interest in the cross-section of artificial intelligence and virtual worlds emerged from an experiment in Second Life by Linden Labs, where he attempted to create a virtual “fish tank” with fish that would grow, reproduce, and compete using genetic algorithms. After watching his first creation’s rapid demise, his intrigue into discovering a set of guiding principles for AI was firmly established. Ross’ personal interest in the moral and ethical dilemmas intrinsic to the intersection of AI and XR guides his work today.

XRSI’s AI advisor, Ross Newman, helps investigate and identify critical ethical issues where artificial intelligence meets society. Ross’s work includes identifying product vulnerabilities and recommending detection/prevention strategy adjustments based on trends and patterns. Ross represents XRSI for global collaboration with international institutions for governing AI while advising on various aspects, including

• Anthropocentrism in AI ethics
• Corporate governance of AI
• Expert judgment on long-term AI
• Global strategy for AGI
• National security dimensions of AI
• Transfer of safety techniques to AI projects

After working in the industry for a number of years, in 2019 Ross returned to the world of academia and research. His research interests include object recognition, neural network design, and defense against adversarial attacks on neural networks.

David Clarke FBCS C|CISO is highly experienced Head Of/CTO/Cyber Security, Data Protection Consultant operating across FTSE 100, SME and start-ups within Financial Services, Government, FinTech, Telecoms, Technology and Utilities sectors.

Author of GDPR, Breach and Marketing Accredited global online courses by CEPAS.APMG/GCHQ.

Contributing Author to a number of GDPR and Cybersecurity books

Founder of The Linkedin GDPR Technology Forum – Founder LinkedIn Forum   17700 + Members

• Top 10 influencers by Thompson Reuter top 30 most influential thought-leaders and thinkers on social media, in risk management, compliance and regtech in the UK.
• Top 50 Global Expert by Kingston Technology,
• No 2 by  Thinkers360 in  Cybersecurity
• Listed in the (Data protection World Forum) DPO Top 200.
• Listed in the Telensa Top 50 Smart City Influencers

Brian D. Wassom is a partner in the law firm of Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, where he litigates disputes and counsels clients in a wide range of commercial and intellectual property matters. Mr. Wassom is also a globally recognized thought leader in the brand-new legal issues raised by augmented reality and other cutting-edge emerging media, including through his blog at AugmentedLegality.com and his book Augmented Reality Law, Privacy, and Ethics (Elsevier 2015). He has achieved victories for his clients in federal and state trial and appeal courts across the country, including in Candy Lab AR v. Milwaukee (E.D. Wis. 2017), the first case to apply First Amendment freedoms of speech to location-based augmented reality games.

Tamas is an instinctive, meticulous, and forward-thinking security professional with years of leadership experiences that have created a passion for implementing effective cyber security programs, best practices, strategies and technologies via a combination of exceptional thought leadership and innovative directions. Solid history utilizing out-of-the-box approaches, adapting to new business environments, and negotiating win-win agreements. Skilled strategist recognized for ability to incorporate innovative management techniques that result in enhanced business practices, increased productivity, and increase in security posture.

Through his career Tamas has held various roles across various security disciples and launched numerous successful programs that aimed at effectively reaching its goal vs “checking the box”. With his work in Third Party Security he aimed at not only minimizing risks unilaterally but to work with third parties to increase their security posture and help them be a better digital citizen. Across other disciplines he fought against CEI in collaboration with We Are Thorn and collaborated with the Technology Coalition to help distribute technology to companies to fight CEI.  

Tamas has a passion for gaming and he is actively involved in various gaming communities like Minecraft. There he helps with the Modding community on Security, Privacy and general business direction. Secondly, Tamas works with YouTube, Twitch and Mixer content creators to enable them to connect with various businesses, advise on go to market strategies and analytics for community growth.

A seasoned CTO, with experience in AI, Blockchain, Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Disaster Recovery, Bigdata, &managed services professional focused on business value. Jorge As delivered advice in several AI, ML, ICO, STO with comprehensive understanding of technology disruption effects caused by both Artificial Intelligence & Blockchain technology.

He created the process A⁶ of security: Assess, Architect, Apply, Administer, Awareness and Agility. He architects practical & business focused solutions using standards and industry best practices, designed SLAs to meet today’s business resiliency using cloud computing & managed services business requirements. Mr. Sebastião has been the speaker at numerous international conferences with topics including: Blockchain, AI, Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Big Data, & Managed Services.

Jorge is action and results oriented with passion to deliver a results…