Darrion Rakestraw

Darrion Rakestraw has over 10 years of professional experience in the field of Information Security. Darrion began their career in 2008 as a Senior Program Manager at Kaiser Permanente, where they were in charge of direction and oversight for a hosting transition between Benefits Enhancement Tracking Systems (BETS) and Kaiser Permanente IT Division (KPIT). In 2009, they moved to Cisco Systems Inc as a Senior Program Manager. In 2010, they returned to Kaiser Permanente as a Portfolio Program Manager, managing a staff of up to 10 program managers. In 2013, they joined Restoration Hardware as the Director of Information Security, responsible for the development of comprehensive security- and privacy-related policies and standards. In 2015, they became the Chief Information Security Officer at the University of the Pacific, where they were responsible for setting information security strategic objectives and direction. In 2016, they were the Senior Vice President Chief Information Security Officer at Mercantil Commercebank, accountable for all systems security, and the Interim-Vice President Chief Information Security Officer at OhioHealth. In 2018, they joined World Wide Technology as the Advisory Services Leader: Security Strategy, Risk, and Compliance. Currently, they are the Chief Information Risk Officer at Alluma, focusing on building strong security governance, policies and procedures, and offering leadership to organizations with developing and defining enterprise-level information security programs.

Darrion Rakestraw began their educational career in 2000, when they obtained a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) in Telecommunications Engineering from Golden Gate University. Darrion then went on to earn a Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) in Systems Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2011. In 2014, they began their doctorate studies in Law and Policy at Northeastern University, which they are currently still pursuing. In 2015, they also obtained the HCISPP certification from (ISC)².