Greater Boston
Michael Klein is Senior Director for Preparedness and Response at the Institute for Security and Technology (IST), where he focuses on improving the resilience of “target rich, cyber poor” critical infrastructure sectors. He comes to the role with nearly 20 years of experience across K-12 education as a teacher, coach, consultant, and district leader as well as federal cyber policy. Most recently, as the US Department of Education’s (ED) Senior Advisor for Cybersecurity, Michael led ED’s K-12 cybersecurity work with the National Security Council, Office of the National Cyber Director, CISA, FBI, the Intelligence Community, as well as State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) partners, and the private sector. In his 2 years at ED, he had the honor of briefing senior leaders in the Situation Room during the largest K-12 cyber incident, organizing 3 White House events, including the “Back to School Safely” K-12 Cyber Summit hosted by the First Lady, leading the implementation of National Security Memorandum 22, and establishing a Government Coordinating Council (GCC) that engages key stakeholders around K-12 cybersecurity, ransomware, and critical infrastructure resilience. Prior to his federal service, Michael was a school district IT Director during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he led a team supporting 2500 students and 550 staff as they navigated in-person, hybrid, and remote learning safely and securely. Michael has also led coaching for a team of educational consultants, helped grow 2 edtech startups, taught elementary school in Brooklyn and Harlem, and served as a founding teacher at a High Tech High school just south of San Diego.
-Lead ED’s K-12 cybersecurity work with the White House, CISA, FBI, the IC, FSLTT partners, and private sector. -Lead ED’s Sector Risk Management Agency (SRMA) work & implementation of NSM-22 for the Deputy Secretary, including acting as ED’s principal representative to the Federal Senior Leadership Council (FSLC) & Homeland and Critical Infrastructure Resilience Interagency Policy Committee (HCIR IPC). -Launched the Partnership for Advancing Cybersecurity in Education (PACE) to help vendors secure the edtech products that all school districts need for their operations. -Co-led 2nd Annual Quad Cyber Challenge White House event with NSC Cyber Directorate (#Cyber). Established & co-lead the Government Coordinating Council (GCC) for the Education Facilities Sub-Sector.
-Organized White House ”Back to School Safely” Summit focused on K-12 Cybersecurity hosted by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden with ED Secretary Cardona, DHS Secretary Mayorkas, and leaders from CISA, FBI, FCC, and NSC. -Published guidance on K-12 cybersecurity, interoperability, and data privacy to support district and state leaders. -Organized Inaugural Quad Cyber Challenge Cyber Career Pathways event at the White House with NSC #Cyber.