Welcoming INFO Alums Aderonke Adeniji, Gabriel Cruz, Natalie Edington, and John Eubank IV
Left to right: Natalie Edington, Aderonke Adeniji, Keith Marzullo (INFO College Dean), John Eubank IV and Gabriel Cruz
Aderonke Adeniji serves as the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer for the U.S. House of Representatives. In this role, Ms. Adeniji provides strategic leadership in the continuous evolution of the House’s Cybersecurity Program. She directs risk management and audit compliance efforts, oversees cybersecurity standards and process development, and manages the day-to-day operations. She works with the House and other Legislative entities to promote cybersecurity risk management in multiple facets of the Legislative process.
Ms. Adeniji is an experienced cybersecurity professional with a strong background in information technology (IT) governance, risk management, compliance, and project management. During her tenure, Ms. Adeniji established the House’s first security risk management program, eliminating a 20-year financial statement deficiency. Additionally, she actively supports House cloud security initiatives, as evidenced by her leadership of the House’s first cloud FedRAMP authorization through the General Services Administration.
Ms. Adeniji possesses two UMD degrees, a Bachelor’s degree from the Smith School of Business and a Master’s degree from the INFO College. She also holds several industry cybersecurity certifications, including the CRISC, CISSP, and CISA certifications. She is a recognized contributor to NIST SP 800-100, Information Security Handbook: A Guide for Managers, and has served on several panels advocating for women in cybersecurity.
Adeniji is “excited to serve on the College of Information Studies’ iLEAD Council. As an alumnus of MIM’s first graduating class, I feel deeply connected to seeing the program and its graduates succeed. As the landscape for information continues to change, I want to serve as a champion advocating for and working with professionals committed to shaping data, information, and knowledge for future generations.”
Gabriel Cruz is an experienced Solutions Developer with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. He has over 4 years of ERP and Enterprise System implementation and configuration experience focusing on technology solutions and complex configurations. He is also a double graduate of the University of Maryland’s INFO College, first as part of the founding class of Information Studies, and secondly as a graduate of the MIM program.
Since graduating he has taken a role as an Engineering Manager at PARA Consulting where he leads the technical delivery team as well as the service delivery branch. He regularly assists clients with discovery, design and implementations of Enterprise Business Systems and custom development therein. He also coaches new developers and works on initiatives for instigating growth at the individual and organizational levels. In addition to his consulting work, Gabriel is an adjunct lecturer at the INFO College teaching INST326: Object Oriented Programming in Python.
As a new member of iLEAD, Cruz hopes “to provide a fresh and unique perspective from the standpoint of a recent alumnus and current lecturer and to work towards adding value to the student experience at the iSchool.”
Natalie Edington is Chief Customer Experience Officer of Baltimore County Public Library in Maryland where she oversees the operations, services and staff of 19 branch libraries and three customer-facing departments, as well as public services and initiatives for all ages. Her desire to become a librarian started in elementary school and has led to more than 20 years of a challenging and rewarding career in public libraries. At the foundation of Edington’s leadership are her passion for the important role of public libraries in breaking down barriers, desire to develop programs and services that meet the changing needs of the community and goal to develop lifelong library users.
Edington advocates for libraries at both the state and national level and has served on the Legislative Advisory Panel of the Maryland Library Association for more than ten years.
As a new member of iLead and alumna of INFO, Edington hopes to “help ensure that the school equips students with the skills, knowledge and experiences necessary to work, lead and thrive in careers in the dynamic field of libraries and beyond.”
John Eubank IV spent the last decade of his career supporting the implementation of a multi-petabyte scaled cyber data analytics platform in the cloud. After taking a successful exit, John has taken a role as head of sales and strategy for a defense contractor, REDLattice.
In addition to his work in the Defense Sector, John is an angel investor in over 20 startups and runs a real estate portfolio that includes apartments, RV parks, and hotels across the East Coast and South East. John started the Eubank Family Charitable Fund in 2021. His philanthropic efforts support focuses in Education, Child Welfare, Mental Health, History, and Economic Development.
As a new member of iLEAD, Eubank hopes to “enable students to gain relevant knowledge that can be applied to solving real world problems at scale.”