Welcome to Cascade STEAM’s Cyber-focused community group!
Upcoming Meetings
We meet on the second Thursday of the month from ~5:30–7:00pm at various locations. Meeting details will be available on this page, the Cascade STEAM Community Hub, and the Cascade STEAM Meetup Page. We will not hold meetings in July, August, or December; join us for Cascade STEAM Socials on these months instead!
Join us as we continue to work on organizing our group and building a local cybersecurity community. Our meetings are free and anyone with an interest in Cybersecurity is welcome to attend.
Mark your calendars and watch this space as we confirm meeting locations. Consider creating a Meetup account and following Cascade STEAM to receive email notices about our events.
May (Meeting #11): Cloud Security & CSA
- When: Thursday May 14, 5:20–7:00pm
- Where: Brandywine Kitchen (upstairs)
Featured Speaker: Ryan Bergsma, Technology Director and Security Manager, Cloud Security Alliance
Ryan will discuss the most important aspects of cloud security, including how to protect your most important data when it is in the cloud, and how cybersecurity is different for cloud-based systems. He can also talk about what is involved in being the Security Manager for a Security organization, and what the CSA is all about.
Ryan is an alumni of Whatcom Community College, and a graduate of the WWU Bachelor’s Degree program in Cybersecurity. He started at CSA as a Research Analyst and has served in a number of roles there, including Training Director, before achieving his current role.
Timeline:
5:20pm - Doors open
5:45pm - Meeting begins
6:45pm - Wrap-up
Past Meetings
- 5/25 — What does the community want from this group?
- 6/25 — Steven Reed, IT Cybersecurity Auditor, Washington State Auditor’s Office (SAO): Cybersecurity Audits & Tools
- 7/25 — Chris Ranallo, Director of IT, Lummi Nation: How to build a cybersecurity and IT program
- 9/25 — Donavon Swinney, CISSP, CISA, CISM, Director of Information Security, Whatcom Educational Credit Union (WECU): Cybersecurity in Financial Services
- 10/25 — Brent Hurtig and Ianthe Andress, Motive Search Inc: Recruiting for Big Tech & Tech Startups
- 11/25 — Mike Hamilton, Field CISO, Lumifi; Co-Founder & Board Chairman, PISCES: Changes at CISA, PISCES Program, & Cyber Trends and Stories
- 1/26 — Panel Discussion: What cybersecurity professionals should expect in 2026
- 2/26 — Member Networking: Rapid-fire Networking by Topic
- 3/12 — Cascade Breach Launch Discussion
- 4/9 — Miranda Skar, CISSP, Senior Pen Tester at LevelBlue: Pen Testing
Community Project: Cascade Breach
The Cyber group is the home of Cascade Breach — our monthly collaborative Capture The Flag event at Bellingham Makerspace. All skill levels welcome; cooperative format designed for learning.
Organizers
Volunteer Organizers of the Cascade STEAM Cyber Community Group are Marty Mulholland and David Hirsch. Please contact cyber@cascadesteam.org for community group inquiries.
