Richard Santiago

Richard Santiago's work experience begins in 1989, when they served in the United States Marine Corp at Camp Lejeune, NC until May 1994. After that, they joined the U.S. Army at Fort Bragg, NC in June 1994 and served as an 11B Infantryman and a 37F Psychological Operations Specialist until retiring as a First Sergeant in January 2012.

Following their military service, Santiago worked as an Instructor/Technical Trainer at the Wounded Warrior Project from February 2012 to October 2016, where they trained Wounded Warriors in computer maintenance & repair, computer networking, and security, along with preparing them for industry standard certification exams.

In October 2016, Santiago started working at Miller-Motte Technical College as an IT Instructor and was later promoted to IT Program Director/Lead IT Instructor in October 2018, where they were responsible for providing an effective learning environment for students and engaging in professional and faculty development activities.

In March 2019, Santiago joined CMIT Solutions, Inc. as an IT Manager, and in March 2022, they began working as an Information Technology Specialist at Thomas Construction Group. In their current role, Santiago is responsible for implementing and coordinating Thomas Construction Group's IT program, solving IT problems, and procuring hardware, peripherals, and software for the company.

Richard Santiago completed their Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology at Campbell University from 2013 to 2016. Richard later pursued a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Computer Information Systems at Boston University from 2017 to 2018. Alongside their academic education, Richard obtained various certifications including CompTIA A+ ce, CompTIA Network+ ce, CompTIA Security+ ce, CompTIA CTT+ Classroom Trainer, CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner ce, CompTIA IT Fundamentals (ITF+) Certification, and Cyber Security Fundamentals for Engineers (CCFE).