Dr. Brian Gardner is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the City of Dallas. Dr. Brian joined the City in 2017 to develop IT risk management and regulatory compliance programs.  Since taking on the role of CISO he has implemented a risk-based framework for cybersecurity strategy to assess and mature the City’s security capabilities, assure regulatory compliance, and mitigate enterprise-wide technology and business risk.  Dr. Brian’s cybersecurity industry experience extends from global financial services, national healthcare services, and Big Four consulting before entering public service. Dr. Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in Forensic Accounting from Syracuse University, a Master’s in Information Security Management, and a PhD in Information Technology, Security and Assurance. As well to research and publication on Disaster Recovery, Dr. Brian also holds certifications in Cloud Security and Privacy.  Dr. Brian is a founding member of the Coalition of City CISOs. The group is dedicated to bring municipal leaders and cybersecurity professionals together advance municipal cybersecurity. Dr. Brian and his family reside in the DFW area with their six children. He and his wife actively foster children from the region in hopes to provide them with a better start. Over the past seven years, they have fostered over 20 kids of all ages from infants to teenagers. In addition, Dr. Brian helps out with the Dallas ISD P-TECH program and actively assists with guidance for students in the IT Security field. Less   View all posts

Christopher is currently the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the University of North Texas System, one of the largest Universities in the the state of Texas with over 50,000 students, faculty, and administrative staff. Pritchard provides leadership and strategy for continued development of an innovative, robust, and secure information technology the environment throughout the University. Christopher was CTO at CP Tech Consultants providing full-time contract support to the City of Dallas. Before that he held roles with TAMKO Building Products, a large manufacturing company, and Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH) as their Sr. Director of IT. AMGH is the largest air ambulance company in the world. He and his team supported 911 call centers, corporate headquarters, and 400+ locations throughout the US. They also provided all levels of support during mergers and acquisitions leading the technical integrations and deployments. Pritchard is an accomplished leadership coach and public speaker and has spoken to large and small crowds across the US on a variety of subjects from personal growth to time management. He enjoys building teams of highly technical individuals that are driven for success. He has keen insight into how to maximize the performance of all individuals to reach peak results in a very short amount of time. He enjoys reading books across all industries and subjects to gain further insight into how one can maximize their potential and the potential of those around one. Less   View all posts