WHO ARE YOU GOING TO TRUST?

QUALIFICATIONS

I’ve met a lot of self-promoting consultants who talk a lot about being an expert but get very quiet when you ask to see their certifications and proof of formal training.  I've watched sales guys get on stages to promote their compliance tools, and try to make compliance look easy.

If compliance was easy, I wouldn't be here.

I have multiple current certifications that independently validate my cybersecurity and compliance knowledge. I also have current certifications in business continuity planning (since 2006) and cyber resilience.

Recently I earned an exclusive certification to assess the cybersecurity for defense contractors. (If you weren't aware, the new CMMC Draft (2.1) was published at the end of 2023, explaining that businesses with Level 2 Government Contracts must be assessed, and any MSP supporting their business must also pass the same compliance assessment.)

Besides my current certifications, I have hands-on experience as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for a regulated hospital and a regulated K-12 school district, and also as an IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) supporting regulated clients, including defense contractors going back to 1992. That’s where I had to learn how to effectively communicate cybersecurity and compliance to non-technical executives and board members so they could quantify risks and allocate enough resources to protect their organizations.

MIKE SEMEL'S PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

• CMMC-AB CMMC Certified Assessor (CCA) 2024, Certified Professional (CCP) 2023, CMMC Registered Practitioner (RP) 2021
• Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) – since 2006 - Disaster Recovery Institute International Business Continuity Plan for $ 4 billion credit union and a $ 1 billion health plan; plan review for International Tax Service; 200+ smaller businesses; our clients survived Superstorm Sandy, the Joplin Tornado, and more
• Certified Cyber Resilience Professional (CCRP) - 2022 Disaster Recovery Institute International)
• Member, DRI (Disaster Recovery Institute) International Professional Practices Select Committee - 2021
• CompTIA Security Trustmark - Only person to have consulted with CompTIA on the original Security Trustmark (2008), the Security Trustmark Plus (2014), and the Cybersecurity Trustmark (2022)
• Certified HIPAA Administrator, since 2003; Certified HIPAA Professional since 2006 (HIPAA Academy)‑ have conducted many HIPAA Security Rule assessments and compliance projects including medical offices, hospitals, government agencies; led compliance assessment teams for 3 Nevada school districts and HIPAA assessments for a New York county; Maryland State Agency; hospital; medical practices
• Certified Security Compliance Specialist (HIPAA Academy) 2012
• Authored Certified HIPAA Security Professional (CHSP) Training Course—for 4Medapproved, professionally reviewed and qualifies for health care continuing education units
• Member, FBI Infragard – 2003 - present
• Outsourced Chief Information Officer (CIO) for White Pine County School District, Ely, NV, 2007 ‑ 2012 responsible for maintaining all network infrastructure; helped district qualify for over $ 1 million in E-rate discounts
• Apple Education Sales Consultant, 1990 ‑ 1991, responsible for $ 10 million in Apple Sales, Support, and Service to educational institutions in New York and Pennsylvania
• Elected Chair, CompTIA IT Security Community - 2011; Co-chair CompTIA Ambassadors
• CIO,Schuyler Hospital, Montour Falls, NY, 2004 – 2006 ‑ increased IT reliability and flexibility, reduced downtime to zero; lowered IT department operating budget by 32% over 2 years; HIPAA compliance
• Writer - Business Solutions Magazine cover story; Hewlett-Packard Success Story; and D-Link Case Study; Computing Channels Magazine—wrote 4,000 word cover story
• Manager - 30 years managing between 7 and 30 network engineers & service technicians
• Advisor - 18+ years’ experience in IT manufacturer and industry Advisory Councils- Compaq, Ingram, Xerox; Served on Executive Level advisory panels for two multi-billion $$ companies ; Chaired Software Development Team—Intelligent Electronics Service Management Software
• Speaker - Conference speaker—numerous conferences, audiences up to 800 people
• Subject Matter Expert - Computer Technology Industry Association Security Trustmark Development Team, 2008
• Best-Selling Author, How to Avoid HIPAA Headaches, 2017 Co-Author—The CompTIA Security Trustmark Quick Reference Guide, 2009