Kyle Parks
HOST/SPEAKER
Kyle is a Security Consultant with CP&Y, Inc. A graduate from Southern Methodist University, his studies and thesis
focused on implementing security and safety measures for various critical infrastructures and key resources (CIKR) both
public and private from potential malicious attack or an accidental mishap. He brings innovative insight and knowledge of
security and safety aspects gained from his studies and his military background. His hands-on experience while working
at CP&Y coupled with knowledge gained from working closely with various agencies such as DHS, TSA, FEMA and the
USEPA, have provided him with a significant background in evaluating and overseeing many aspects of security and
safety.
Rick Hidalgo, P.E.
HOST/EMCEE
Rick, Co-founder and President of Signature Automation, has over 25 years of water/wastewater industry experience,
with an emphasis on control systems. Having worked as both a control systems integrator and a design consultant,
he has a thorough understanding of the various technologies on the market today. He has designed, programmed and
commissioned both large scale distributed control systems (DCS) and small to large scale HMI/PLC based control systems
providing him with knowledge of the challenges of each. He received his Bachelors of Science degree in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas and holds a Professional Engineering license in control systems. He is
currently a member of the WEAT E&I Committee and of the IEEE Software Licensure Committee.
Chris Fogle, CISSP
HOST/PANEL MODERATOR
Chris, Founding Partner and CEO of Delta Risk, has over 20 years of experience in the diverse areas of cyber security,
emergency management, and contingency planning and operations. As chief operating officer, He leads development
of tailored solutions for our clients’ toughest cyber risk and resilience challenges. He focuses on aligning the right mix
of technical assessments, advanced training, and realistic exercises as the most effective means of managing today’s
complex cyber threats and achieving business priorities. He is a leader in designing and conducting cyber exercises – from
tabletop discussion-based events to full-scale activities that provide true tests of readiness. He received his Bachelor’s
Degree in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, and a Master’s Degree in Computer Systems - Information
Warfare, from the Air Force Institute of Technology. He is an (ISC)2 Certified Information Systems Security Professional
(CISSP), a member of InfraGard, and the Association of Contingency Planners.
Shelley Lewis
SPEAKER
Shelly has completed 9 years of service in the Federal Government and has been an agent in the US Secret Service
Dallas Field Office for the last six years. In that time she has conducted numerous counterfeit currency investigations,
and is now assigned to the North Texas Electronic Crimes Task Force (N-TEC). Her responsibilities include conducting
network intrusion investigations, digital computer forensics, and Critical Systems Protection (CSP). She received a
bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Dallas and worked as a programmer in the
telecommunications industry for four years prior to joining the Secret Service.
Julie Hunt, P.E.
PANELIST
Julie is the Assistant Regional Manager/Operations for Trinity River Authority (TRA) Northern Region. She joined TRA in
July 2012. Her responsibilities include managing the operation and maintenance of Northern Region Operating Projects
(Plants). This includes 5 regional wastewater plants and 1 regional water treatment plant and their associated collection
systems and distribution system. Prior to joining TRA, she was Director of Water Utilities for the City of Arlington, Texas.
Ms. Hunt just completed serving her second term on the Water Research Foundation Board of Trustees. She received a
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Cum Laude, from Texas A&M University. Julie is a licensed Professional Engineer
in the state of Texas and holds Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection licenses from TCEQ. In 2011, She received
the Top Ten Public Works Leader of the Year Award from the American Public Works Association in 2011.
Eric Meyers
PANELIST
Eric Meyers is the lead analyst at the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC) in Washington DC.
He is responsible for writing proprietary analytic products, identifying member portal content, and serving as a liaison to
or member of a number of partner organizations, including the National Council of ISACs, Water Sector Coordinating
Council, AWWA Process Control Systems Security Guidance Working Group, and DHS National Infrastructure Coordinating
Center. Previously he oversaw a team of analysts supporting the DHS Office of Infrastructure Protection’s management
and implementation of the public-private partnership framework. Mr. Meyers has a BA from Denison University and a MA in
Security Policy Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University.
Robert Bevis
PANELIST
Robert is Founder and Director of RKNeal, Inc., a company specializing in control system engineering and security
systems for the Power, Water, Steel, Paper, and Chemical industries. An Electrical Engineer with 19 years of diverse
experience in Distributed Control Systems, Security, and Networking, he specializes in providing plant control systems and
plant information systems in secured environments. He is familiar with DCS/PLC systems and operating systems and has
expertise with most major Enterprise Historians. He invented the Verve Security Center, a single-solutions product that
specializes in Control System Security and NERC/CIP requirements with focus on control system backups, whitelisting,
AV, patching, SIEM, networking, security, and vulnerability assessments. He has a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical
Engineering from Western Michigan University and a Masters in Business from Purdue University. He has served on the
Paducah Chamber of Commerce since 1995 and played professional baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Lee D. Arning, Jr.
PANELIST/SMU DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS CONTINUITY
Lee, as Director of the University’s emergency preparedness and continuity planning, is responsible for developing
emergency response plans for all three SMU campuses. He coordinates with regional, state, city and campus first
responders at all three campuses to ensure that all of them are trained and exercised to carry the University’s response
plans. He serves as Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Director whenever the SMU EOC is activated. Lee’s experience
includes Homeland Security EOC activations (Bush Center Dedication) along with incidents such as barricaded subjects.
He develops contingency plans for all three SMU campuses that ensure the University’s ability to continue its core
functions during any disruptions that may accompany an emergency event and provides education and training materials
or drills that highlight the basic life-safety actions. He holds a BS in Environmental Science from TCU.
J. Alan Roberson, P.E.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Alan, Director of Federal Relations for the American Water Works Association (AWWA), and his staff work with Congress
on water legislation, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff on development of national drinking water
regulations and with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on development of national water security policy. As part
of the Senior Staff management team at AWWA, he develops financial and operational strategies. He has been with AWWA
for 21 years and has 12 years consulting engineering experience. He served on the Board of Directors of Fairfax Water
and serves on the Finance and Strategic Planning Committees and as Chair of the Water Quality and Supply Committee.
He has published over 20 papers in peer-reviewed journals, four book chapters, and serves as a peer reviewer for several
journals. He has a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Master’s in Civil Engineering from Virginia
Tech. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Virginia.
Brett Whitaker
SPEAKER
Brett, Co-founder and Vice President of Signature Automation, has over 30 years of experience with control systems in
the water/wastewater industry. His responsibilities have including project management, programming, commissioning
and training of controls, HMI development, and historical systems on both traditional SCADA and DCS systems as well
as product development programming of a DCS product line. Throughout his career, he has successfully led several
multimillion dollar construction contracts. He has led an extensive staff in providing preventive maintenance and on-call
services for several clients. He has also served as Training Manager for a national systems integration firm. He has a
Bachelor’s of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas in Arlington.
Suku Nair, PhD
SPEAKER/SMU REPRESENTATIVE, FACILITY HOST
Suku is Chair and Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at Southern Methodist University in
Dallas where he held a J. Lindsay Embrey Trustee Professorship in Engineering. His research interests include Network
Security, Network Restoration, and Fault-Tolerant Computing. He is the director of HACNet (High Assurance Computing
and Networking) Labs. He is a member of the IEEE and Upsilon Pi Epsilon. Dr. Nair received his Bachelor’s degree in
Electronics and Communication Engineering from the University of Kerala. He received his M.S. in Electrical Engineering
and his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana in 1988 and 1990, respectively.
John Bennett
WEAT REPRESENTATIVE, SPONSORING ORGANIZATION
John has been the Manager of the Denton Creek Regional Wastewater System since 2003. His plant treats 100% of
the flow from Texas Motor Speedway during NASCAR sanctioned events three times a year. Under his leadership, the
DCRWS staff has not had a TCEQ permit infraction during any NASCAR-sanction events and in 2012 was recognizes with
its eighth NACWA Platinum Award for eight years without any NPDES permit excursions. In addition to his role with TRA,
he is also the past-president of the Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT). Throughout his career, he has held
several leadership positions at the local executive committee and state board level. He founded WEAT’s safety committee
in 1999 and received the Sidney Bedell Award in 2011 for outstanding contributions to the water environment profession,
as well as to the state and national professional organizations.