Michael Pleasant

Michael Pleasant has worked for six different companies over the past 14 years. From 2016 to present, they have been the Chief Executive Officer of Open Security. From 2014 to 2016, they served as Senior Training and Technology Analyst at SAIC. During this time, they identified, researched, and evaluated current and emerging technologies associated with military and other security operations, conducted requirements and performance analysis on multiple advanced technologies, and supported the research and analytical development of white papers, test and evaluation assessments, employment recommendations, and development proposals. From 2014 to 2014, they were the Lead Game Designer at CSC - Computer Sciences Corporation, where they integrated ArmA gaming software into military training exercises and provided periods of instruction using Virtual Battlespace (VBS) simulations, analyzed unit performance during gaming environment exercises, conducted outreach with partner organizations to enhance VBS quality and interoperability, trained units preparing for deployment on IED-defeat skills, developed scenarios and modifications to VBS to support unit identified training objectives, and collaborated with military units to capture and virtualize real world scenarios. From 2008 to 2014, they worked for the United States Marine Corps in various roles, including Intelligence Doctrine Author, Senior Intelligence Analyst, Analytic Techniques Instructor, Company Level Intelligence Analyst, and All-Source Intelligence Analyst. During this time, they documented, compiled, and analyzed ground intelligence TTPs from throughout the MCISRE in garrison and deployed operations, created ground intelligence TTPs and operational architectures of varying warfare models for all Marine echelons, conducted gap-analysis of TTPs and mission architectures to brief senior leaders on recommended models, provided periods of instruction, proficiency assessments, and exercise support spanning three regiments, eight battalions, 26 junior Intelligence Analysts, and 47 senior Intelligence Officer/Chief students, was a subject matter expert for instructional design relating to conducting company and tactical level intelligence analysis, developed training aids, student guides, and instructor reference materials to meet local/remote training requirements, participated in mobile training teams to provide intelligence training for fleet Marine forces, developed social science-based methods of intelligence analysis for military operations, developed lethal/non-lethal target packages and tracked HVI's/HVT's utilizing various intelligence disciplines and cross-service capabilities, produced collections plans and interfaced with assets for counter-narcotic and detainee operations, conducted human terrain mapping and social network analysis to support Counter-Intelligence/HUMINT efforts. Finally, from 2006 to 2008, they were the Webmaster at Scrappin' Lounge, where they created content for and maintained the business's storefront website, consulted with business owners and associates on effective web marketing, and led the design, development, and implementation of a newsletter system received by over 650 customers per month.

Michael Pleasant completed a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Information Technology from American Military University between 2013 and 2017. Michael obtained certifications in Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) in March 2016, Microsoft Office Specialist - Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 in August 2012, and Microsoft Office Specialist - Microsoft Word 2007 in August 2012. In 2018, they attended Harvard Business School and completed the Program for Leadership Development.