Zachary Kight

Zachary Kight has extensive experience in the IT field, starting with their role as a Computer Specialist at the National Cancer Institute from 1999 to 2001. Zachary then moved on to become a Network Administrator, overseeing a federal-user environment and managing an Active Directory and Novell eDirectory infrastructure. From 2006 to 2010, they served as a Network Engineer, focusing on the engineering of a large-scale Linux and Windows infrastructure for web hosting.

In 2013, Zachary became the Senior Systems Engineer and Team Lead at the National Cancer Institute, where they led a team of Network Engineers and implemented projects using emerging technologies.

From 2014 to 2016, they worked as a Senior System Engineer at the University of Maryland University College, where they implemented Linux server patching policies, managed a large-scale AWS environment, and deployed Centrify for server access control.

In 2016, they transitioned to the role of Senior IT Security Engineer at the University of Maryland University College, where they analyzed risk and ensured security standards for critical systems.

Currently, Zachary is the Director of Network and Security at AccelerEd, leading a team of engineers supporting UMUC Security, Network, and Telecom operations. In this role, they focus on customer service, project management, researching emerging technologies, and improving disaster recovery capabilities. Zachary has also drafted and engineered incident response policies and procedures for UMUC.

Zachary Kight obtained a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Biology, General from Salisbury University from 1994 to 1998. During the same period, they also pursued another Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Environmental Science from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Furthermore, Zachary Kight has acquired several certifications throughout their career. In 1999, they obtained the A+ certification from CompTIA. In 2001, they obtained the Network + (N+) certification from CompTIA and the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification from Microsoft. In 2003, they achieved the Certified Novell Engineer (CNE) certification from Novell. In 2005, they obtained the Certified Linux Professional (CLP) certification from Novell. In 2010, they acquired the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) certification from Red Hat. Lastly, in 2012, they obtained both the ITIL Foundation certification from ITIL and the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification from ISC.