GenCyber 2025 

Dr. William T. Sabados is a bit of a nerd and there’s really not much that can be done about it.  Only people looking for official signatures call him William, so most people just call him Bill.  As a young nerdling Bill moved around a lot growing up in seven different states on the East Coast and Midwest.  He has a BS, MS, and PhD in Computer Science from The University of Alabama in Huntsville where he has worked for more than 20 years.  He has been a programmer, research scientist, and mentor for most of his career.  Today he is an associate director of the University’s largest research center.  He still does technical work and is currently working on a project as a web developer.  His hobbies include video games, cooking, wood working, and learning ASL. 

Steven Forney is a mad geek and military brat, and 2003 Alabama School for the Deaf (ASD) alumnus. He is currently a research engineer at the Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education (CCRE) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

Previously, Steven has been working for the System Management and Production Center at the UAH as researcher, he received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and Master of Science in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). For over a decade, Steven has conducted a large number of Do-It-Yourself research and projects at both work and home. For his entire life, from the moment he opened his eyes to this world for the first time, he always LOVED disassembling the new electric toy stuff just to learn how it works before putting it back together -- AND most of the time, it still worked.

His hobbies-orbited, he has plenty of those, include anything from playing games, paintball sport, reading, and much more. However, his all-time favorite hobbies are house projects and yard work.  

Jesse Hairston is a North Alabama native and assistant director at the UAH Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education (CCRE). He earned both a master's degree in cybersecurity and a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from UAH, but he's also proud of his associate's degree from an amazing community college. Jesse is trained as a Certified Ethical Hacker, but he promises to only use his powers for good. When he's not helping others learn about cybersecurity, Jesse's hobbies include video games, anime, Dungeons & Dragons, learning ASL, and finding the hottest ramen shop in every city. 

Tania Williams lives in a tiny community just outside of Huntsville, AL. She has a lot of teaching related degrees and has a masters in cybersecurity. She currently is working on a Ph.D. in information systems, which deals with keeping computers safe. She is a Research Engineer at UAH, where she helps make resources to teach students about cybersecurity. In her spare time, she loves to bake, read books, and practice ASL. She is married to a football coach and has two sons -- one loves physics and the other is crazy about computers.

Benjamin Cummins is a former elementary educator turned cybersecurity enthusiast. He joined the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in 2020. He has since obtained a Master's degree in information systems.

He is a self-proclaimed "Stuff Goblin", always on the lookout for new videogames and tech. In his free time, he enjoys gaming, music, watching horror movies, and hanging out with his wife and two cats.

Ashley Mahoney is a dedicated research engineer at the Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education (CCRE) at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). She holds a bachelor's and master's degree in cybersecurity from UAH, with the distinction of being a Scholarship for Service (SFS) recipient.

Ashley is driven to expand her expertise and has obtained a CompTIA Security+ certification, with plans for further certifications.

Beyond work, she enjoys watching anime with her husband and cats, playing guitar, singing, and playing video games. She also shares the joy of practicing American Sign Language (ASL) with her three-year-old daughter.

Jessica Pockrus is a multitude of things (mostly nerdy, or at least of the variety). Currently, she works as a Research Scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. As a kid, she was always interested in numbers and patterns; despite entering college in political science, she went back to her roots and exited with a bachelor’s in mathematics and a masters in secondary mathematics education. Before she had a classroom of her own, though, she landed a job at UAH, where she now gets to develop cybersecurity curriculum, perform data analysis, and create graphic designs! (Once, she was called the Center’s “Swiss-Army knife,” but there’s no need to brag about it.) In her free time, she likes to read, write, knit, and try out all the special coffees in Huntsville.