Full Name
Serena Chan
Job Title
Director, Cyber Development Directorate
Company
DISA
Speaker Bio
Serena Chan, Ph.D., is a member of the scientific and professional cadre of senior executives and the director of the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Cyber Development Directorate. In this position, she provides technical leadership and strategic direction to a diverse workforce of uniformed service members, civilian employees, and defense contractors. She is responsible for leading the acquisition, development, technology insertion, direction, and control over cybersecurity and network operations solutions from the enterprise level down to the endpoint. In addition, Dr. Chan oversees a diverse portfolio of services including cyber situational awareness capabilities and the development of solutions for identity management and zero trust. Her team oversees cyber development efforts, in partnership with industry and academia, for the Department of Defense to ensure our nation’s warfighters have the tools they need in cyberspace to enable freedom of maneuver in all domains.

Prior to joining DISA, Dr. Chan worked as a research staff member with the Institute for Defense Analyses, where she provided objective analyses and strategic advice on national security issues to senior leaders in DoD, Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Program Manager of the Information Sharing Environment under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. She managed a portfolio that included survivable, resilient, enduring, effective and interoperable communications for national security, emergency management and continuity of operations; as well as cybersecurity developmental test and evaluation.

A prolific scholar, she has led research teams that have published numerous papers for IDA impacting policy for the whole of government. Her most recent work was in supply chain risk management, mission assurance, and public safety communications. Her research efforts helped drive policy and ensured the operational effectiveness and resilience of critical national systems and infrastructures.

Dr. Chan received her bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering with a minor in economics, a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science, and a doctorate in engineering systems from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. She is a member of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, Asian American Government Executives Network, and Sigma Xi, a national scientific research honor society.
Serena Chan