FIRST.Org - Community & Capacity Building

Klée Aiken - Director of Community & Capacity Building

As director of the CCB team, Klée oversees the work program and initiatives, ensuring that they meet the goal of FIRST and are beneficial to the wider cybersecurity community. This means he works across a wide range of initiatives and can often be found at events around the world connecting people and groups together, while extolling the value our team can bring in collaborations.

Before joining FIRST, Klée worked in the Asia-Pacific region on internet and cybersecurity issues from policy and operational perspectives. First at a think tank; then APNIC; and most recently with CERT NZ, the former national incident response team for New Zealand. Klee's role at CERT NZ was to develop the team's relationships with Pacific partners and build a wide-ranging capacity building program.

Klée is a proud Chicagoan but is currently based in Wellington, New Zealand, where he is unable to get good pizza.

Klée Aiken - Director of Community & Capacity Building

Eric Akumiah - Africa Regional Liaison

Eric Akumiah is a seasoned cybersecurity trainer with a strong background in community development, cybersecurity policy, and CSIRT management. Matched with his good-natured humor and ability to make friends anywhere, Eric is a perfect fit into the Africa Regional Liaison program where collaboration is key.

As the founding manager of Ghana's national CSIRT, Eric was the key focal point for the Security Governance Initiative (SGI) with the United States. He also worked with the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) team to develop several aspects of the operations framework of CERT-GH.

As consultant to World Bank ICT projects in Ghana, Eric contributed to the development of government ICT and cybersecurity infrastructure. He led the development of several cybersecurity interventions including developing the national cybersecurity policy and strategy and was instrumental in setting up the government and communications sector CSIRTs in Ghana.

Eric Akumiah - Africa Regional Liaison

Lawrence Muchilwa - Africa Regional Liaison

Lawrence Muchilwa puts his skills as a distinguished cybersecurity leader and executive, and over a decade of experience into his work in the Africa Regional Liaison program. His extensive skillset is matched by his outgoing nature and ability to make connections.

His expertise spans: digital forensics, the establishment of national Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERT), risk and compliance management, Cybersecurity Operations Centers (CSOCs), and incident response. Lawrence has collaborated with many organizations, steering them through transformative information security programs, compliance enhancements, and risk management initiatives.

He currently serves on the leadership teams for the Internet Society - Kenya Chapter, BSides Nairobi, Kenya Cybersecurity and Forensics Association and the Shield Maidens. Beyond his professional endeavors, he is an active contributor to the open-source community, with publications on Docker-based high and low-interactive honeypots to his name.

Dedicated to fostering the next generation of cybersecurity experts, Lawrence dedicates his spare time to mentoring aspiring professionals in the field, and building and scaling cybersecurity communities, underscoring his dedication to the growth and resilience of the cybersecurity landscape.

Lawrence is based in Kenya, Nairobi, working in his ham radio skills and trying not get more motorbikes.

Lawrence Muchilwa - Africa Regional Liaison

Grace Staley - CORE Ambassador

Grace Staley has been part of the FIRST Events Team since 2018, with her first FIRST being the 2019 edition of the Annual FIRST Conference which was held in Edinburgh, Scotland. She serves as Associate Conference Director and Engagement Coordinator for the FIRST Events Team, which manages FIRST's conferences and programs throughout the year.

In this role, she works closely with sponsors and partners across our global community and serves as the primary point of contact for vendor engagement at FIRST events. She also supports FIRST's Special Interest Groups (SIGs), helping foster collaboration and shared learning across the network.

Grace holds a bachelor's degree in Communication with an emphasis in rhetoric and public communication. She has a strong interest in languages and connection through culture and can often be found nose-deep in a book, attending a play, or diligently fighting for a continued Duolingo streak.

Based in Chicago, she lives with her best friend, Iago Linguini, an impressively fluffy cat. It is known the best pets have wonderfully ridiculous names.

Grace Staley - CORE Ambassador

Hadyn Green - Principal Communications Advisor

Hadyn Green is a former member of CERT NZ and NCSC NZ. He's worked with various groups and agencies over the years, including work in the Pacific and Australia.

Hadyn worked for 12 years as a technology journalist in New Zealand and used that experience, along with his training in incident response, to create a framework for communications that can be followed during a cyber attack.

An avid advocate for good communications, in general, Hadyn believes that cybersecurity professionals need to do more collaboration and training in fields traditionally seen as “soft skills”. In this field we're good at fixing problems but not so good at telling people about them.

Currently based in New Zealand, Hadyn will soon be relocating to Europe which will make time zones and travel a lot easier. He is also doing his best to learn Spanish, German, Portuguese, Japanese and Māori.

Hadyn Green - Principal Communications Advisor

Velimir Radičević - Partnership and Development Lead

With a decade of work in cybersecurity and another five years in managing international projects and programs, Velimir brings expertise in cyber capacity development, diplomacy and project management, as well as a passion for helping grow out cyber ecosystems across the world.

He has previously worked in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), managing higher education and cyber/ICT security programs. Velimir also worked for the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), where he helped guide capacity building initiatives across Africa, the Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Western Balkans.

He also thrives in designing and running hybrid policy-technical table-top exercises and has written and facilitated more than a dozen over the years.

Originally from Serbia, he is currently residing in the Netherlands.

Velimir Radičević - Partnership and Development Lead