Full Name
Dr. Serena Chan, Ph.D.
Job Title
Senior Technical Advisor, Operations and Infrastructure Center
Company
Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)
Speaker Bio
Serena Chan, Ph.D., is a member of the scientific and professional cadre of senior executives and the senior technical advisor in the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Operations and Infrastructure Center. In this position, she provides technical leadership and strategic direction to raise the bar for command and control of DISA’s operational environment. Her focus is on refining integrated processes, operationalizing innovative capabilities, and transforming data into meaningful information for improved information sharing and enhanced decision-making.
Previously, Dr. Chan served as the director of DISA’s Cyber Development Directorate, overseeing a diverse portfolio of capabilities and services including public key infrastructure (PKI); identity, credential, and access management (ICAM); zero trust (ZT); software defined environment (SDE); endpoint security; Joint Regional Security Stacks (JRSS); boundary security; cross domain solutions (CDS); big data platform (BDP); cyber situational awareness and data sharing; data analytics; and NetOps solutions.
Prior to joining DISA, Dr. Chan worked as a research staff member with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), where she provided objective analyses and strategic advice on national security issues to senior leaders in the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Office of the Program Manager of the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE) under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). 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 works were 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.
Previously, Dr. Chan served as the director of DISA’s Cyber Development Directorate, overseeing a diverse portfolio of capabilities and services including public key infrastructure (PKI); identity, credential, and access management (ICAM); zero trust (ZT); software defined environment (SDE); endpoint security; Joint Regional Security Stacks (JRSS); boundary security; cross domain solutions (CDS); big data platform (BDP); cyber situational awareness and data sharing; data analytics; and NetOps solutions.
Prior to joining DISA, Dr. Chan worked as a research staff member with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), where she provided objective analyses and strategic advice on national security issues to senior leaders in the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Office of the Program Manager of the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE) under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). 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 works were 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.
