Aaron Zylla is a Senior Physical Security Engineer at High Point Networks. Aaron has been with HPN since 2017, designing and deploying video surveillance, access control, and wireless solutions that connect physical security with the broader technology environment organizations depend on every day. 

Andrew joined Colorado School of Mines as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in 2022 after developing his IT and executive leadership skills at Chevron, Sun Microsystems, and Boulder Valley School District. He initially committed himself to public service during three terms as Mayor of the Town of Erie, a 42,000-person suburb of Boulder. His passion for ensuring all students have an equitable and engaging learning opportunity guides his policy and program decision-making. Andrew leads the AI Acceleration efforts at Mines.  He earned his MBA from the University of Colorado and holds degrees in computer science and sociology. 

Brandon Conkins is the Director of SMART Services at High Point Networks. With 20 years of experience in channel development, operations, and leadership, Brandon leads a team that takes a distinctive approach to managed services — partnering with existing IT departments rather than replacing them, and providing expert support where it's needed most.

Brian Bensen a Sales Engineer at High Point Networks, where he's been since 2018. Brian specializes in helping organizations architect and understand their on-premises and cloud solutions — servers, storage, virtualization, backup, business continuity, and more. When the infrastructure conversation gets complex, Brian is the person in the room who makes it make sense. 

Chris Watson is a Solutions Architect at High Point Networks with over 13 years of industry experience. He specializes in Microsoft 365, Azure, and cloud and on-premise architecture, and holds Microsoft Certified Cloud Solutions Provider and Enterprise Mobility and Security certifications. Chris works closely with organizations to evaluate, deploy, and optimize their Microsoft environments — including helping teams navigate AI readiness and Copilot rollouts in a way that's practical, secure, and built to last.

Dan Heckaman is an accomplished technology and administrative executive with over 25 years of experience driving strategic innovation and aligning technology with business goals. He founded Mindset Partners, a fractional CIO consultancy helping small to mid-sized businesses elevate IT team performance and align technology with strategy.

Most recently, Dan served as Associate VP for Finance and Administration/CIO at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM), overseeing enterprise IT services and multi-source budgeting totaling over $106 million annually. Before that, he spent over a decade as MSUM's Chief Information Officer, leading major digital transformations including a university-wide website redesign and data warehouse development. Prior to higher education, Dan held IT leadership roles at MeritCare Health System (now Sanford Health).

Dan holds an MBA from Minnesota State University Moorhead and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems.

Dean Sheley is a Senior Security Architect and Consultant at High Point Networks, bringing nearly 30 years of experience across global financial institutions, higher education, and the SMB sector. He holds a CISSP certification and a Master's in Information Security and Assurance from Dakota State University. Dean previously served as CISO for the South Dakota Board of Regents, overseeing cybersecurity across six South Dakota public universities.

Doug Remboldt is President & CEO of NISC, a member-owned technology cooperative serving nearly 750 utility and telecom providers across the country. Doug brings 33 years of experience with NISC, having started his career installing and supporting accounting products at one of NISC's predecessor companies. As NISC grew, Doug moved through progressively senior roles in technical infrastructure, utility support, and professional services — including Vice President of Utility Solutions and Technical Service, and later Vice President of Member Success — before being named President & CEO in 2023.

Doug is a graduate of the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he earned a degree in Accounting and Computer Science and a master's degree in Management. He is based in Bismarck, N.D.

Ashley is the Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Dakota State University, a Professor of Digital Forensics, and the co-founder of CybHER — a cyber outreach program that has reached thousands of people from K–12 through college and beyond. Her research teams have secured more than $26.5 million in competitive grants and contracts from organizations including the NSA, NSF, and Google. She serves on the Board of Directors for First Bank and Trust, was appointed by Governor Rhoden to the Governor's Resilience and Infrastructure Task Force, and has been honored at the Smithsonian as one of 120 women recognized for excellence in STEM. 

Ashley has spent her career making cybersecurity feel accessible, relevant, and possible for people who never imagined it was for them. That's exactly what we're getting to the point of today.

 Jasmine Joy is the producer and podcast manager behind Get to the Point, handling everything from research and scripting to post-production for the show. In this episode, she joins Andy and Brandi as a guest voice — asking questions, keeping the conversation grounded, and leading the Question from the Jar. Jasmine is currently deep into learning French and shares a bit of that journey during the episode's closing conversation on languages. 

Jim is the Cybersecurity Coordinator for the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in South Dakota. As Cybersecurity Coordinator, Jim works with critical industry sectors across the state on cyber risk management and improved cybersecurity hygiene.

Prior to joining CISA in 2021, Jim worked with South Dakota state government in the Bureau of Information and Telecommunications (BIT) with experience in applications development and networking technologies for state government, K-12 and Higher Education. Jim served as Chief Information Security Officer for the last 13 years. Establishing operational, strategic, and collaborative platforms to successfully safeguard constituent and government data. He also served as the Broadband Manager for the ConnectSD project to bring high speed broadband to every South Dakotan. Other positions include Deputy Chief Information Officer and acting Chief Information Officer. 

John Hernandez is a Senior Network Engineer and Team Lead at UCAR, where he brings over two decades of experience designing and managing enterprise-level network and telecommunications infrastructure for research and academic environments. He leads high-performing teams and oversees critical network initiatives, with deep technical expertise spanning routing and switching (BGP, MPLS, OSPF, ISIS, VXLAN), datacenter design, virtualization, and cloud networking across AWS, GCP, and Azure. Beyond the technical work, John is an active voice in the research and education community, contributing to industry-wide collaboration and open science initiatives.

Kevin has worked for the state public health agency for over 23 years in a variety of roles. He currently serves as the Executive Director for South Dakota Health Link and has been leading State, Regional, and National efforts of Health IT and Health Information Exchange for 18 years. Health Link is a multi-state network that serves 69 hospitals and more than 450 primary care clinics in SD, WY, NE, IA, MN, and ND. Kevin also serves on the South Dakota Health Link Advisory Council, is a member of the Informatics Directors Peer Network and Executive Leaders Forum for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and serves in an advisory capacity on the Wyoming Frontier Information Exchange Executive Steering Committee. Kevin also previously served as the state leader for the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration, task force member on the National Governor’s Association State Alliance for eHealth, and SME for the State Health Policy Consortium. 

Lynn Soeth is the Service Manager of Security Services and Sales Engineering at High Point Networks, where she has been part of the team since 2015. Since 2017 she has led HPN's security teams with a distinctly human-first philosophy — one built on education, culture, and removing the barriers that make security feel intimidating rather than empowering.

Lynn is passionate about helping organizations strengthen their security posture through planning, awareness programs, conference education, and tabletop exercises that identify gaps before a bad day arrives. Her approach is simple: security isn't a product. It's a culture.

Melissa has been involved in South Dakota healthcare for over 30 years. She is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and co-owner of Quick Care SD. She served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2011 to 2014 and was a member of the House Committee on Health and Human Services. Her education includes a Master’s in Science from South Dakota State University with a focus on family nurse practitioner. She also has a Master’s in Business Administration from Mount Marty University. She graduated from the Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute at the University of Nebraska and completed her fellowship at the University of Arizona’s Center for Integrated Medicine. Magstadt is a born and raised South Dakotan residing in the northeast part of the state. 

Shawn Mendel is the Director of Professional Services at High Point Networks, where he has served since 2017. He leads a team of over 80 service managers, engineers, technicians, and technical account managers dedicated to delivering exceptional service to HPN's customers.

With nearly 30 years of industry experience — 15 of those as an engineer — Shawn brings both deep technical expertise and steady leadership to every challenge. He serves as High Point Networks' go-to Incident Response Manager, meaning when a breach happens — whether internally or with a customer — Shawn is the one leading the charge. He's earned a reputation among cyber insurance firms and forensics teams alike for his calm, clear-headed approach under pressure.

Simon grew up living all over the world, with stops in the UK, Bahrain, South Korea, the Philippines, Kenya, and the US. He got into IT just in time for Y2K to become a concern for many people. He worked in a university setting where he ran the Help Desk, was the Windows and Linux admin, ran the network gear, and punched down old-style phone lines.

He switched things up in 2007, when he became a Windows Systems Administrator for the SIPR and JWICS networks at Buckley Air Force Base. There, he worked closely with security personnel, including the CISO representative, and transitioned into a security role. He earned his CISSP certification in 2011 and became an ISSO a few years later.

After a while, he realized he preferred doing security over writing about it, so he joined UCAR as a Security Engineer in 2016. Over the past decade, he's worked with firewalls and other security tools while collaborating with scientists, IT groups, and colleagues at other institutions.

Travis Kroger is the Cyber Insurance Practice Lead at Ukon, where he partners with insurance agencies to develop comprehensive cyber insurance strategies that protect their clients' operations, mitigate financial exposure, and provide peace of mind. Rather than writing business directly, Travis works alongside agents — bridging carriers, agencies, and the businesses they serve — to make sure the right coverage is in place. With 8 years of hands-on experience in the cyber insurance industry and partnerships with more than 50 cyber insurance carriers, he helps ensure his agent partners are presenting the correct solution for each client's needs.

Travis holds the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Certified Risk Manager (CRM), and Certified Cyber Insurance Specialist (CCIS) designations, and considers himself a lifelong student of insurance. Outside of work, he's a devoted family man, enjoying life with his wife and their three children, ages 4, 6, and 8.