Kalles Group
Industry experts with a passion for solving complex problems
Kalles Group is more than one individual or a select few employees. One of our superpowers lies in our deep network of consulting professionals who are uniquely suited and experienced in the needs of your organization.
This is why we maintain strong relationships across a broad community of security and technology professionals; to bring you the right skills, at the right time, for the right solution.
Founder & CEO
Derek Kalles
Prior to founding Kalles Group, Derek served the needs of enterprise companies as a business and technology consultant with Accenture. After several entrepreneurial ventures, he combined his interests in security, IT, and professional services in order to create a premiere consulting firm to help secure the future for PNW companies and communities.
Derek originally hails from the South Puget Sound and has an obsession interest in Airstream travel trailers.
Director of Business Development
John Stephenson
John brings over 12 years of experience helping clients realize return on their top technology investments. He has provided thought leadership across business and technical roles to companies ranging from early-stage to complex, global scale.
On a normal Saturday, you’ll find John cooking pancakes for his 2 kids & working on home projects. He started a major remodel in 2017, and has made a lifestyle choice to never finish.
Director of Growth
Bryon Scharenberg
Bryon has spent the bulk of his career focused on growing purposeful teams and guiding communications to build relationships. He has experience developing people and growing programs in both the PNW and abroad. He currently leads multiple business functions for Kalles Group and enjoys learning from leaders across the global community. Bryon is passionate about making purposeful connections that serve and help others succeed.
He nurtures his creative side with a hodgepodge of ever-changing DIY projects and wishes he could spend more time mountain biking and eating Metropolitan Market cookies.
Practice Director - Risk
Heather Warnat
Heather grew up in Silicon Valley and brings a wealth of experience (20+ years) in technology and finance. She has served in senior and executive leadership roles at Worldpay, Microsoft, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Oracle, and Franklin Templeton Investments.
Today, Heather lives near Phoenix, AZ, and you’ll most likely find her and her husband on the hiking trail or traveling.
Practice Director - People & Digital
Jeanette Rogers
Jeanette left the Bay Area years ago in search of grayer skies and more rainfall. Her career experience as an instructional designer, productivity expert, and all things learning pro has made life better for customers across the PNW.
When she's not designing innovative programs, you'll find Jeanette swapping cycling stories and reminiscing of the days she pedaled across the USA.
Practice Director - Security
Dan Banick
With over 25 years of IT experience ranging from systems management and cloud-based solutions architecture to incident response, Dan has held leadership roles in IT operations, software development, and risk management organizations in both large-scale global enterprises and entrepreneurial start-ups.
Born a New Englander and raised a Mid-Westerner before relocating to the PNW, Dan now splits his time between Seattle, Cleveland, and the Florida Keys. Aside from enjoying travel to all corners of the globe, his hobbies include reading, hiking, and searching the dark web for lost data.
Practice Director - People & Digital
Jen O'Ryan
Dr. Jen O’Ryan is a strategist and consulting editor specializing in Inclusion, Diversity, and Representation. She combines a PhD in Human Behavior with 25 years of experience leading organizational change. Jen’s background includes designing new customer experiences, managing global delivery teams, and developing systems that are more inclusive.
A data geek at heart, Jen brings an extensive grasp of how people interact with technology, with each other, and with change.
Outside of I&D work, Jen is a travel enthusiast and avid runner. She also has a strange affinity for bad 80’s music, getting lost in new cities, and scary movies.
Senior Consultant- Risk
Joyce DelaCruz
Joyce has worked in the technology space for over 17 years across several industries in software development, healthcare, retail, finance and GRC functions. Her passion as a leader has helped organizations meet and deliver their strategic goals. She partners with Kalles Group delivering data security and risk management across various industries to drive complex secured technology and business decisions.
Joyce and her three kids live in Portland, Oregon. She loves spending time in the beautiful Pacific Northwest hiking, cycling, golfing, and walking their dog, Zion.
Fun facts: she worked in Disneyland, traveled to four different countries, lived in five different states, and is a volunteer golf coach for the Special Olympics.
Practice Manager - Security Programs
Glen Willis
Glen is a cybersecurity and privacy leader with more than 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He has worked across numerous domains from data center operations to software delivery and strategic governance functions. He is passionate about helping organizations solve for their most challenging issues and deliver on their most important strategic initiatives.
Outside of work Glen enjoys teaching and coaching basketball to young people hoping to learn and grow through sports. He believes in bringing one’s whole self and passion to everything he does for the purpose of enriching the lives and growth of others at any opportunity.
Principal Advisor - Security and Risk
Kathy Ahuja
Kathy Ahuja is an experienced cybersecurity and risk leader, with a wealth of experience from her career in leadership positions with technology companies, including OneLogin, Docusign, Qumulo, Microsoft, Oracle, and others. She is currently serving our clients in the FinTech and Financial Services space with advisory expertise around data governance, data management, and data privacy.
Kathy sits on the Board of Computing for All, a nonprofit organization committed to helping individuals who are under-represented in the IT industry and lacking in opportunities to prepare for and secure successful IT careers.
Senior Consultant - Digital
Michael Epstein
Michael brings over 25 years of IT experience across a wide range of platforms, technologies and business verticals providing him with a unique perspective when engaging with clients. Having worked with companies ranging from start-ups to global enterprises he’s ready to help the client get to the next level.
When Michael isn’t focused on clients, he is looking for anything that goes fast. When he’s not codriving a rally car or taking his two daughters to the racetrack to hone their racing skills he enjoys hiking, sailing, traveling and any excuse to race.
Principal Advisor - Security and People
Jason Leuenberger
Jason has been serving as a leader for over two decades in both startup and Fortune 50 environments. He partners with Kalles Group as a consultant in the areas of Information Security, Privacy, and GRC, bringing a strategic focus on organizational design, systems thinking, and communication.
Jason is a Hudson certified coach who focuses on executive and leadership coaching. He loves public speaking, and strives to bring warmth, empathy, and positive energy to every engagement.
Senior Consultant - Risk and Privacy
Tariq Yusuf
Tariq is a technology policy, digital privacy, and security specialist with 8+ years of experience in the technology industry. He specializes in the intersection of privacy, engineering, legal, and policy, taking a cross-functional approach to problems facing both technology and society. He recently completed his Master in Jurisprudence from the University of Washington School of Law and received his Bachelor's in Computer Science from the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science at the University of Washington in 2011.
If not solving a customer need, Tariq is most likely at a motorsports venue, in the bouldering gym, or behind a microphone as a voice actor.
Account Executive
Kelly Berres
Kelly is a Western Washington native with a career focus in talent and client development in the professional services industry. Kelly has worked with numerous clients across multiple industries, including technology, legal, and healthcare. She has a knack for working with customers and is truly gifted in providing top-tier communication and working tirelessly to find the best possible solutions.
At home in Seattle, Kelly enjoys down time with her husband, her son, and their Labrador retriever named Sammy. On the weekend, you'll find her visiting nearby family on the Olympic Peninsula, spending time in the garden, or cooking up something exquisite in her kitchen.
Head of Talent & Community
Kristen Kibbee
Kristen began her professional life in Mechanical Engineering, but she found her way to Recruiting as a second career. She has worked in a variety of corporate environments, from small startup to international manufacturer. She loves getting to know new candidates and learning about their unique experience. Her passion lies in getting candidates excited about all the great reasons to work at Kalles Group.
When Kristen is not meeting exceptional talent, she enjoys exploring the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, or enjoying a meal at a Seattle restaurant. Kristen relocated to West Seattle in 2018 from the suburbs of Boston to start an empty-nester adventure with her husband. Her three kids soon followed, and now the whole Kibbee family enjoys all things PNW.
Consultant - People and Digital
Katherine Schneider
A graduate of Mercyhurst University’s Intelligence Studies and Applied Sciences program, Katherine has experience in national security, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. She enjoys working with big data, analytic writing and presentation. Katie is motivated by complex problem solving, learning new software, and working with diverse groups of similar out-of-the-box thinkers.
Katie’s ideal Sunday includes solving (attempting) the NYT Sunday crossword, getting breakfast and flowers at the Ballard farmers market, maybe a leisurely hike (pending Washington weather), and swapping movie reviews with anyone that will listen.
Principal Consultant- Security
Bar Lockwood
Bar brings 15 years of experience in the fields of security integration, threat intelligence, cyber assessment, solution leadership, and program management. In 2005, she incorporated the first mandatory security activities into an international SDLC standard (IEEE-P1074 Standard for Developing Software Project Lifecycle Processes), a work recognized by the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Bar's expertise includes organizational security risk profiling, security program tuning, SDLC security integration, threat management, and, most recently, national critical infrastructure protection.
Outside of her security career, Bar is an experienced concert production manager and award-winning music history author.
Senior Consultant - People and Digital
Matt Mobley
Matt is an instructional design and technology training specialist. He has designed, developed, and delivered multiple learning solutions for Kalles Group clients, including productivity and software training workshops, Train the Trainer (TTT) classes, online resources, and marketing campaigns for training global teams.
Matt and his family originally hail from Southern California. Even though they happily call the PNW home, he still holds a special place in his heart for SoCal surfing and In-N-Out burgers.
Consultant- Security
Jayanth Kumar
Jayanth is a Cybersecurity professional specializing in threat intelligence and threat detection.
Jayanth brings blended experiences and a strategic approach to building effective solutions for our clients.
Fun facts: He loves learning about cultures through their food and trying new recipes, enjoys hiking with friends, learned to swim as an adult (overcoming his fear of water), and wants to his private pilot’s license, and eventually build a kitplane.
Senior Consultant - Security
Brett Bentley
Brett has over 25 years of experience in assessing and managing risk, securing applications, infrastructure, operations, and software development processes. He partners with Kalles Group in providing cybersecurity and risk assessments, certification readiness preparation, and information security consulting to startups, SMB’s and Fortune 500 enterprises.
Brett hails from Ohio, graduated with a Chemistry degree and moved to Seattle in 1993. Outside work, he loves spending time on sailboat adventures with his friends.
Community
Community members
We stand on the shoulders of a broader community of security, risk, and technology professionals. Our community is made up of Kalles Group alumni, clients, partners, and thought leaders. We are grateful for their contributions to our work.
Check back often for new insights from our broader community, or you can sign up here.
If you have ideas for partnership or an idea for resources that you'd like to contribute, let us know!
Sr Project Manager / Photographer
Gene Trent
Gene has served Kalles Group both as a technology consultant as well as a photographer. He has a passion for photographing jazz artists, events, travel images, and documenting urban street scenes. Many of Gene's photographs are featured across the K/G website.
Gene lives and works in the Puget Sound area and has been capturing life images for over 50 years.
Cybersecurity Professional – IAM
Alina Dorina
Alina is a Cyber Security Consultant specialized in Identity and Access Management domain.
She is passionate about educating businesses on how IAM can enable growth and increase resilience, identifying and solving IAM challenges, and inspiring teams to deliver great products.
In her free time, Alina enjoys reading, traveling, going to live theaters and museums.
As Alina achieved her dream and moved to Chicago recently, she now spends her weekends walking downtown and exploring nearby grocery stores.
Cyber Risk Professional
Diane Jones
Diane's InfoSec career grew from a background in systems engineering, data analysis, and risk management. She has a passion for helping companies operationalize their security programs in a way that enables business objectives.
In off-hours, she balances multiple hobbies, including wine and music; she is a certified sommelier and the unofficial manager for her son’s rockband.
Cybersecurity Industry Professional
Paul Webb
A West Seattle native, Paul has been meeting the security needs of customers for over 2 decades. He brings in-depth understanding of the cybersecurity industry and experience supporting clients across multiple business, security, and technology domains.
Paul is known as a straight-shooter in nearly everything, but according to his 2 teenagers, this doesn't include his golf game. On weekends, you'll find him competing on the golf course to prove that Dad's still got it.
Photographer and Creative Consultant
Jana Early
Jana Early is a Seattle-based photographer who moonlights for Kalles Group to provide creative and operational support. Much of her inspiration as a photographer came from growing up watching Science Fiction movies, "It was the incredible costumes in SciFi films that caught my eye and made me want to capture fashion, and the quirky moments in life."
Outside of photography, Jana enjoys time with her husband, two kids, and her Bernedoodle, Dempsey.
Marketing Professional
Erin Dienst
Erin brings 6+ years in marketing and digital strategy with nonprofit organizations. She is dedicated to creating environments not only for innovation, but also where people can flourish. A PNW native, she is currently on an adventure in Washington DC, pursuing a masters in Global Communication at George Washington University.
Erin enjoys British black tea with milk since coffee has never been the same since she left Seattle. She is slowly working her way through the Harry Potter series in Russian.
Security Professional
Faith Nyakundi
Faith has extensive experience in cybersecurity and risk research from the University of Washington, where she also served as a Cybersecurity Policy Research Fellow leading a project to survey Artificial Intelligence policies in several countries for Microsoft's AI Policy team. Faith believes that technical solutions should be studied through transnational gender and socio-economic equity lenses.
Outside of work, she enjoys sketching, painting, running, and exploring the PNW outdoors - she's hoping to finally win the lottery for a permit to hike the Enchantments. Faith also volunteers her time with organizations advancing education and safety for girls and women.
Senior Risk Professional
Denise Hollo
Denise brings to the table a multi-faceted product and program management background with the common thread of bridging business and technology. In addition to her domain expertise in payments, financial technology, and privacy, she is adept at bringing order to chaos and identifying creative solutions to business challenges.
Denise is an avid walker, enjoys traveling/visiting family and friends scattered around the globe, and is anxious to get back to being a hospice volunteer.