Jeff Frisk

Jeff has an engineering degree from The Rochester Institute of Technology and more than 25 years of IT project management experience with computer systems, high tech consumer products, and business development initiatives. Jeff has held various positions including managing operations, product development, and electronic systems/computer engineering. Throughout his years of international and high-tech business experience, Jeff worked with both big and small companies to develop computer hardware/software products and services. With his engineering background, extensive global experiences in bringing consumer electronic products to market, coupled with his ability to hold business discussions with those in the C-suite, make Jeff uniquely qualified to author and teach a project management course to technical people.

During his time with GIAC, Jeff has led the team through the arduous, compliance based ANSI and ISO 17024 accreditation processes, been a primary champion of a move towards more hands-on testing establishing the Cyber Live content, participated development of the SANS Technology Institute, an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and multiple winner of the National Cyber League competition. He’s facilitated bringing dozens of GIAC certs to life and manages both technical and operations teams at GIAC on a daily basis.

In working for and teaching with SANS over the past decade, Jeff has discovered that there are many students who take his course that have deep technical backgrounds, yet have less experience with organizational leadership and communication. He feels that while an organization or a professional can be an expert at detecting intrusions and digital forensics, for example, if they are unable to provide accurate information or drive it successfully up the chain of command through effective leadership and communication, then the appropriate business decisions cannot be made.

Managing technical projects is an area that many organizations aspire to improve and Jeff is the perfect person to help. He brings his years of experience to the classroom, sharing relevant, real-world stories with students and revels in seeing the lightbulb go off as they progress through the course. He enjoys pulling together disparate skill sets and helping polish soft skills to enable others to become a more complete cybersecurity leader. Many of Jeff’s students have come back to him some time later to let him know that LDR525 was one of the most valuable courses they took because it helped the student excel within the organizational structure.

Jeff thoroughly enjoys working with the professionals in the SANS universe, from students in the degree programs, to instructors, and staff. He has a high level of confidence that the people in this ecosystem are doing things for the right reasons, and he loves being a part of that. His biggest reward is seeing his students aspire to and attain higher level leadership roles and become more well-rounded cybersecurity community members.

Jeff holds the PMP® certification from the Project Management Institute and GIAC GSEC and GLSC credentials. In his spare time, Jeff enjoys spending time outside, being on the water, and reading.

Listen to Jeff teaching in this webcast on increasing the success of your projects.