The Aegenis Group is led by
Chris Mark, CISSP, CIPP; CEO/President and Founder
Mr. Mark is an experienced information security professional and PCI expert. Over the past six years, Mr. Mark has worked in various information security capacities within the payment services’ segment. Most recently, Mr. Mark was employed at MasterCard Worldwide where he was one of MasterCard’s representatives on the Payment Card Industry Security Standards’ Council (PCI-SSC) Technical Working Group. In addition to founding an information security company and conducting numerous PCI assessments for merchants, service providers, and members, Mr. Mark has worked with both MasterCard Worldwide and Visa USA on components of their respective data security programs.
Mr. Mark is also contracted with Visa to train all of their major acquirers and the top 3000 merchants in the PCI DSS. Prior to joining the civilian sector, Mr. Mark served in both the United States Marine Corps, where he operated as an elite Force Reconnaissance Marine and Marine Scout/Sniper, and in the US Navy where he was selected to serve as a Navy SEAL Officer. Subsequent to sustaining a career ending training injury, Mr. Mark served as the Training Officer and Chief Instructor of the US Marine Corps Basic Reconnaissance Course where he was responsible for screening, selecting, and training elite Reconnaissance Marine Candidates. Mr. Mark is a combat veteran of Operation Continue Hope, Mogadishu, Somalia. Mr. Mark holds the CISSP, and CIPP professional certifications, numerous technical certifications, and has an MBA and BA degrees.
Mike Dahn, MSIA, CISSP; CTO and Founder
Mr. Dahn is an experienced information security professional and PCI expert. Mr. Dahn has performed hundreds of PCI security assessments for merchants, service providers, acquirers, and payment application vendors. He worked with Visa and MasterCard on the continued development of the PCI DSS and PABP standards. Most recently he developed and delivered training of all PCI qualified security assessors (QSA) globally in the US, UK/Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. In addition to performing the first PABP assessment, he has also delivered training on PCI DSS to merchants, acquirers, and payment application vendors in the UK, Australia, Japan, and Korea. Prior to this work he led the internal rollout of the Discover Information Security Compliance (DISC) program for Discover Network.
Mr. Dahn has given numerous speaking engagements for a variety of security and commercial associations such as the FDIC and NCUA, and information security groups on topics including compliance, auditing and network security, and hackers and forensic investigation.
Mr. Dahn holds the CISSP certification, membership in the High Technology Crime Investigation Association (HTCIA), is on the Board of Directors for the National InfraGard Members Alliance, and has a Masters in Information Assurance and a BS in Computer Science.
Dr. Heather Mark, PhD, CISSP, CIPP; Senior Vice President
Dr. Mark is an experienced information security and privacy professional that is both well known and respected within the Payment Services industry. Prior to joining The Aegenis Group, Dr. Mark owned a Qualified Security Assessment Company and worked at various technology companies supporting PCI efforts.
Dr. Mark helped to develop a variety of assessment methods and practices that assisted companies in achieving compliance in a cost-effective, timely manner. Dr. Mark has spoken at numerous industry events on the topic of information security, privacy and the intersection between the two. In addition, Dr. Mark is an experienced instructor and taught for two years at Auburn University while a Doctoral Candidate. Dr. Mark writes a monthly article for Transaction World magazine and has a PhD in Public Administration and Public Policy from Auburn University. Her knowledge of public policy and the ability to analyze the impact of that policy on day-to-day business practices gives her a unique insight into the compliance landscape.
In addition to Dr. Mark’s experience with information security and privacy issues, she is an experienced marketer, having run both competitive intelligence and marketing functions at a variety of companies. She also has significant experience with channel development and management. She has consulted with companies in a variety of industries to help them properly message and position their products and services in complex regulatory environments. Dr Mark was named a 2007 “Mover and Shaker” by Transaction World Magazine.
Dr. Mark holds a Certificate in Marketing Research from the University of Georgia, is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP).
Shelley Henson Johnson, M.Ed; Vice President Training and Instructional Design
Shelley Henson Johnson has over ten years of experience in Instructional Technology and Design. Her expertise lies in supporting learning in the digital age. She comes to us from Utah State University where she was involved in the research, design, and iterative development of a variety of learning environments leveraging emerging technology and the strength of online social networks.
She has experience developing curriculum and managing learning systems in university, government, and corporate settings. Her background in leadership development brought her to work with corporate groups in a high-adventure setting. From there she moved on to work as an Organizational Development and Training Director and to function as a consultant and adjunct faculty through Weber State University’s Continuing Education. While there she did contract work for the United States Air Force, for the State of Utah Public Works department, the university auditor’s office, and a variety of local businesses. She has provided open source learning management system support, instructional evaluation, instructional design, and facilitation support.
Shelley has authored numerous peer-reviewed papers for conferences, workshops and journals on topics including Web 2.0 tools for teaching and learning, copyright in a digital age, and supporting learning in online self-organizing social systems. She is a frequent author and speaker at conferences for organizations such as the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, American Educational Researcher’s Association, Educause, and the International Society for Learning Sciences. She has worked on projects with the Smithsonian American History Museum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the OpenCourseWare Consortium, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Shelley received a B.S. from Brigham Young University and a Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Weber State University. She is currently in the dissertation phase of a Ph.D. program in Instructional Technology. Her research focuses on the learner’s natural web environment, impacting their ability to make sense of digital resources by facilitating human interactions among learners and content experts.