Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Websites
Affiliations
Languages
References
Timeline
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Cedric Wilkerson

Cedric Wilkerson

Ft. Washington,MD

Summary

Accomplished IT professional with extensive experience in cybersecurity and project management, notably at the NFL. Expert in risk assessment and strategic planning, enhancing security posture and leading cross-functional teams. Successfully increased P-Win Rate by 30% through innovative solutions. Proficient in cybersecurity governance and vendor risk assessment, driving impactful results.

Overview

30
30
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Senior Information Technology Specialist (Cybersecurity)

United States Government Accountability Office (GAO)
09.2022 - Current
  • IT Security assessment at organizations of audit interest, serving as a contributor on engagement team performing a range of duties that include taking the responsibility for a technical cybersecurity segment of the engagement.

Sr. Information Security Operations Project Manager

National Football League (NFL)
05.2021 - 05.2022
  • Successfully planned, managed, coordinated, and executed to completion various cybersecurity operations, architecture, network/cloud & related IT projects and initiatives for the Information Security Operations (ISO) division of the National Football League (NFL).
  • Increased/hardened cybersecurity posture through the implementation of cyber security controls that included tools, technologies, & support services league wide.
  • Responsibilities are managing project lifecycle, coordination & establishing meetings, communication channels as well as reporting to NFL leadership (CIO, CISO, ISO Directors, IT-VPs), Global Security Operation Services (GSOC), VPs & IT Directors for all 32 Clubs including the Hall of Fame, NFL IT business units (NFL Broadcast Engineering, NFL Digital Media, & IT Core Operations).
  • Successfully planned, managed, documented, & coordinated the collaborative efforts for defending Super Bowl LVI (pre/during/post) from cybersecurity attacks.
  • Responsibilities involved coordinated planning/preparation/and execution between numerous agencies/organizations.
  • Partnerships included NFL-ISO/GSOC, federal (FBI/CISA/DHS) & local law enforcement (LA/Inglewood) agencies in addition to event affiliated organizations (i.e., social media, network broadcast, hotel, transportation, and airport).
  • Successfully planned, executed, and managed a $2.5 million managed security project for 32 Clubs and Hall of Fame (HOF).
  • Project objectives included upgrading & replacing managed security services provider (MSSP) to a managed detection & response (MDR) solution provider.
  • Responsibilities included the formation of a security Club Task Force Committee for project engagement, vendor selection/ validation/ risk assessment, managing & coordinating contracts for the League, 32 Clubs & Hall of Fame.

Vendor Risk/IT Project Manager/IAM Governance

Independent Contractor
03.2020 - 05.2021
  • Successfully managed various cyber security related IT projects for government and non-profit organizations, as well as providing expertise in the area of vendor vetting, security compliance and project management.
  • Responsible for reporting to C-suite leaders and senior management on service and risk reviews, as well as security operations, network engineering and project management initiatives.
  • Successfully created operational governance policy & procedure for Identity and Access Management (IAM) Password Never Expires (PNE) accounts.
  • Successfully led and managed an enterprise-wide project for PNE account lifecycle management which included an annual attestation, and updated procurement process.
  • Successfully worked on IAM & Information Security Directives (ISD) cyber security projects which included CyberArk for PNE identity management.
  • Along with standard project management (PM) responsibilities such as defining scopes, establishing milestones, and meeting deliverables, I also mitigated cybersecurity risks by identifying and implementing NIST best practices & procedures.
  • Successfully managed and implemented a SIEM project for a managed cyber security solutions provider.
  • Worked with security, infrastructure & application teams on establishing priorities, gathering requirements, and ensuring HIPAA compliance.
  • Developed a process for vetting and simplifying vendor outsourcing as well as mapping out a plan for implementation.
  • Successfully designed & implemented a vendor selecting scoring system and comparison matrix for vendor penetration testing engagements.
  • Lead and motivated team of network engineers, testers, and integrators delivering leading-edge cyber tools for DHS projects/initiatives, successfully drove project resources, deliverables, quality, security compliance, sustained growth, and execution.
  • Lead a team of security engineers on POAM remediation projects, established a system framework for efficient reporting, and established document repository for ensuring compliance.

Sr. Cybersecurity Advisory/ IT Project Manager

Verizon Business
05.2011 - 03.2020
  • Advise management on 40+ managed security services with commercial and government clients and $3M+ in total revenue.
  • Report to C-suite leaders and senior management on service and risk reviews, and security operations that include incident response (IR) reports, security engineer, and project management initiatives.
  • Monitor, report and validate security services, compose IR technical reports while ensuring all agreements and SLA’s/SLO’s compliance.
  • Moreover, support numerous teams by creating process improvements and educating them on best practices for all Service Management delivery, and client training on MSS services.
  • Due to IT acumen, I was selected to serve as the primary liaison for all Identity and Access Management (IAM) customers.
  • Grew revenue by cross-collaborating with Sales and Sales Engineer on customer initiatives sales meetings, and presentations.
  • Advocated for company-wider continuous improvement by focusing on protecting client data, (ensuring C.I.A) by working with clients and MSS teams to ensure sound security posture, incident response and risk reduction.
  • Successfully managed IT projects & initiatives that include POA&M remediation, managed security services platform migration, security services customer onboarding and off-boarding, as well as project risk mitigation.
  • Increased customer retention by monitoring all aspects of Managed Security Services, as well as serving as the escalation point of contact along with SOC and others in Root Cause Analysis, Incident Response Reports, Service Improvement Plans, Rolling Action Items Lists, Feature Requests and other activities.

IT Project Manager

United States Investigative Services (USIS)
04.2009 - 12.2010
  • Hired to manage innovative IT projects, which included project presentations, executive briefings, and weekly PMO meetings.
  • Additionally, I worked cross-functionally managing both senior management and staff.
  • Frequently traveled to secured client locations for project scoping, requirements gathering, stakeholder meetings, project piloting & deployment.
  • Selected by key decision-makers to head projects with budgets between $25k - $500k, resulting in an increased P-Win Rate by 30.
  • Designed and implemented a state-of-the-art web, handheld, laptop system for construction surveillance, termed by client as 'revolutionary'.
  • Led a team of developers in a grassroots project initiative which consisted of advising members and staffers on Capitol Hill.
  • Directed a project for POAM remediation, based on company-wide security threat scans.
  • Managed a special virtual training simulation project, enacted by military Special Forces for program enhancement and curriculum development.
  • Spearheaded a project for replacing and centralizing the company’s service desk with an advanced, ITIL based system for automation and integration of incidents, purchasing, asset management, knowledge management, and change management.

IT Manager

DynCorp, International
06.2006 - 04.2009
  • Recruited in the role of assisting the CEO and C-Suite partners with their IT support and services’ needs.
  • Served as the IT Manager and directed 8 Technicians for the build out and standing up of the Remote Regional Recruiting Centers and the Deployment Center nationwide, as well as for a major government contractor, with primary duties consisting of server maintenance and administration, VTC implementation, corporate office buildouts, solicitation, approval of vendor contracts, and service desk support for its international operations.
  • Likewise, vetted cabling contractors; monitored the installation of the infrastructure backbone and frame, standing up the LAN, and managing network support.
  • Awarded 2x Performance Awards from the Chief Information Officer and the Chief of Staff/Facilities Director for exemplary IT services.
  • Successfully, directed and oversaw the office buildouts for 500+ users and 5,000+ end users nationwide.
  • Managed Microsoft Certified Professionals, as well as Cisco Certified Network Professionals.
  • Directed all IT services from the corporate headquarters and local offices for linguist recruiters, processors, and trainers.
  • Responsible for IT vendor RFQ solicitation, vetting, and selection for various corporate office project build outs.

Senior IT Specialist

Hogan and Hartson, LLP
06.1998 - 05.2006
  • Served as Senior IT Specialist for the Firm’s Information Resource Center and provided level 3 technical support.
  • Daily activities consisted of, installation, setup, configuration, monitoring, maintenance, troubleshooting, documentation, and backup of litigation servers totaling 10+ Terabyte in data.
  • Produced, reviewed, and maintained daily, weekly, monthly, and AD-HOC reports of active data backups on litigation servers for remote offsite storage.
  • Additionally, partnered with IT personnel, such as Support Desk Supervisors, Network Technicians, Engineers, Administrators, and other key stakeholders on complex matters.
  • Successfully, rebuilt, recovered, and restored data and servers from fatal errors, by conducting security checks including backing up Terabyte volumes of data, and enacting Disaster Recovery policies and procedures.
  • Selected by senior management to serve as the primary point-of-contact for the Disaster Recovery Team.
  • Administered a Citrix Farm consisting of 4 servers and 20+ applications.
  • Trained and server as a mentor to all IT technicians and desktop design analysts.
  • Log management and monitoring for incident detection and remediation.
  • Performed necessary server system patching and updates to ensure proper security posture.

Network/Telecommunications Manager

EKA
08.1995 - 06.1998
  • Managed & administered WAN and user accounts for 40+ clients, encompassing 2 office locations.
  • General functions included, network administration, maintenance on interoperability and optimization of system servers, such as SCO UNIX System V, Novell 4.1, MVX, and SL Mail 2.0.
  • Administered the AT&T Merlin Legend Switchboard, as well as upgraded innovative hardware and software.
  • Trained management and staff on upgrades and IT best practices for such upgrades.
  • Documented the network system and architecture and communication system.
  • Extensive experience in SCO UNIX System V and Novell servers.

Education

Master of Business Administration -

University of Phoenix
Alexandria
06-2022

Master of Cybersecurity and Information Assurance -

Virginia Institute of Science & Technology
McLean, VA
05-2021

Bachelor of Science - Information Technology

University of The District of Columbia
Washington
05-2017

Skills

  • Project management
  • Cybersecurity governance
  • Strategic planning
  • Risk assessment and management
  • Cross-functional leadership
  • Resource allocation
  • Performance benchmarking
  • Training and mentoring
  • Workflow optimization
  • Vendor risk assessment
  • IT security compliance
  • Cybersecurity controls
  • Internal auditing

Certification

  • Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
  • ITIL Foundation v3 Certified
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Foundation
  • Certified AppDetectivePRO Database Auditor
  • MCDST
  • Certified Novell Administrator
  • A+ Certified
  • SCO UNIX Sys. Adm
  • Citrix Admin
  • Microsoft Certified Professional
  • Risk Management
  • Identity & Access Management
  • Cybersecurity

Affiliations

  • University of the District of Columbia CSIT Board of Directors
  • Certified Scrum Alliance Member

Languages

Spanish
Professional

References

References available upon request.

Timeline

Senior Information Technology Specialist (Cybersecurity)

United States Government Accountability Office (GAO)
09.2022 - Current

Sr. Information Security Operations Project Manager

National Football League (NFL)
05.2021 - 05.2022

Vendor Risk/IT Project Manager/IAM Governance

Independent Contractor
03.2020 - 05.2021

Sr. Cybersecurity Advisory/ IT Project Manager

Verizon Business
05.2011 - 03.2020

IT Project Manager

United States Investigative Services (USIS)
04.2009 - 12.2010

IT Manager

DynCorp, International
06.2006 - 04.2009

Senior IT Specialist

Hogan and Hartson, LLP
06.1998 - 05.2006

Network/Telecommunications Manager

EKA
08.1995 - 06.1998

Master of Business Administration -

University of Phoenix

Master of Cybersecurity and Information Assurance -

Virginia Institute of Science & Technology

Bachelor of Science - Information Technology

University of The District of Columbia

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