I’m Brian – Instructor, Coach, and Researcher.

I’ve worked as an engineer, architect, and manager. These roles have been as a customer, consultant, vendor, and manufacturer over the course of my career. My passion has always been learning about new technology and sharing what I learned with others.

Below are some of the cerifications that I have earned and maintain today.

My formal education began in the late 1980s when I attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook where I earned a B.S. in Computer Science. In 2013 I earned an M.S. in Information Assurance with a concentration in Digital Forensics and Incident Response Management from Norwich University while working at Cisco Systems full-time.

I learned early in my career the value of certifications. I started in networking working with Novell Netware and achieved Certified Netware Engineer (CNE), Enterprise CNE (or ECNE) and Certified Netware Instructor (CNI) certifications. I went on to spend a year as a full time contract Netware Instructor.

I earned Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification in 1997 after 18 months of grueling study and preparation. That certification provided me with a myriad of employment opportunities. My employer challenged me to build a team of CCIEs. That challenge tested my teaching and team building skills as I developed a team of five professionals; all of whom also achieved CCIE status.

After accepting a job at Cisco Systems in 1998 I found the place where I would spend most of my career. Starting in Sales I moved to a positions in Corporate, Engineering, and Product Management. I left briefly in 2014 to take on the position of Senior Solution Architect at Lancope; only to have that company acquired by Cisco 14 months later.

In 2020 after 24 years employment I retired from my full time position in order to focus on training and content development.