McClure School Day

Join us for this year's

McClure School Day on Thursday, April 9, 2026

9:30AM - 7:30PM

Baker Center Rm. 240 and 242

Parallel sessions, one on ITS/Cybersecurity and one on VR/Game Development

Event is free and open to the public.

 (Dress code: Business Casual)

Cybersecurity, ITS and Broadband Sessions [Baker Rm. 240]

9:00-9:50 AM: Srini Koushik - President, Right Brain Labs.

"AI Fluency in today's IT industry"

10:00-10:50 AM: Kathy Smith - Vice President, Talent Management and Development, Nationwide.

"Navigating Success in an AI-driven World". This talk will explore how talent is evolving in an AI-driven world and how students can intentionally build a skills portfolio that will keep them in demand over the next decade.

11:00-11:50 AM: Chad Weinman, Safe Security

"The Hidden Logic of Cyber: Why Risk Runs Everything", Most people think of cybersecurity as firewalls, hackers, and incident response. But behind every decision about what to protect, what to fix first, and where to invest — there's a risk calculation happening. This talk pulls back the curtain on how cyber risk functions as the operating system of modern security programs. 

LUNCH, provided by the Scripps College of Communication
12:00-1:30PM, Lunch Rm. 240.

1:30-2:20 PM: Chris Lamp, IT/OT Specialist, Rovisys

"IT vs. OT Domains: Improving Cybersecurity in Industrial Environments." This talk will discuss the differences between IT and Operational Technology (OT) domains and why separating them is critical for industrial cybersecurity.

2:30-3:30 PM: Cybersecurity Panel

• Brian Mannion, Privacy and Compliance Officer, Northwest Bank
• Brooke Denney, Senior Security Engineer, NRI
• Matt Christian, AVP Network Engineering, Nationwide.
   

VR and Game Development Sessions [Baker Rm. 242]

To be announced
 

AWARDS CEREMONY and Dinner, Baker Rm. 242

6:00 - 7:30PM, Awards to outstanding undergraduate and graduate students. Dinner provided by the McClure School

Keynote: Kristin Lowery, Chief Information Security Officer, Optiv

"Top security risks for 2026 faced by CISO and the strategies used to mitigate them." The talk will also include a discussion on the impact of the Iran conflict, AI (and return on investment), physical security, data protection, identity—particularly non-human identities—and the convergence of IT/OT programs. Mrs. Lowery, advises CISOs across multiple verticals and can share insights from my peer discussions, as well as from her own vast experience in the field.