A native of Minnesota, Travis Howard is an enterprise IT and information security leader focused on optimizing technology and security programs, managing information risk, and building defenses to combat cyber threats. He has a passion for how we move, absorb, and defend information in the digital age, and knows how to drive efficiency and deliver value by leading cross-functional teams of talented people, developing collaborative processes, and implementing proven technology solutions.

Mr. Howard is a decorated career U.S. naval officer, where he honed his expertise through two decades in a breadth of rare and impactful leadership, technical, and advisory roles, including over eight years of operational duty aboard deploying warships. He culminated over 20 years of military service as a legislative liaison for information warfare programs, assigned to the Secretary of the Navy's Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) in Washington, D.C. 

He is a frequent contributing subject matter expert, writer, and presenter in peer-reviewed professional journals, think-tanks, and communities of practice such as (ISC)2. His professional views have been published nearly a dozen times, and he is an active LinkedIn Pulse writer on emerging technology, leadership, and information security topics. He is the 2014 recipient of the AFCEA Meritorious Rising Star Award for Achievement in Information Technology, the first naval officer so recognized. 

Mr. Howard holds an MBA and MS in cybersecurity policy from the University of Maryland Global Campus, a BS in information technology management from Trident University, and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College’s Command and Staff program. He is a certified information systems security professional (CISSP) with an additional credential from the Cloud Security Alliance (CCSK).