Michael Klein is Senior Director for Preparedness and Response at the Institute for Security and Technology (IST), where he focuses on improving the resilience of “target rich, cyber poor” critical infrastructure sectors. He comes to the role with nearly 20 years of experience across K-12 education as a teacher, coach, consultant, and district leader as well as federal cyber policy.

Most recently, as the US Department of Education’s (ED) Senior Advisor for Cybersecurity, Michael led ED’s K-12 cybersecurity work with the National Security Council, Office of the National Cyber Director, CISA, FBI, the Intelligence Community, as well as State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) partners, and the private sector. In his 2 years at ED, he had the honor of briefing senior leaders in the Situation Room during the largest K-12 cyber incident, organizing 3 White House events, including the “Back to School Safely” K-12 Cyber Summit hosted by the First Lady, leading the implementation of National Security Memorandum 22, and establishing a Government Coordinating Council (GCC) that engages key stakeholders around K-12 cybersecurity, ransomware, and critical infrastructure resilience. 

Prior to his federal service, Michael was a school district IT Director during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he led a team supporting 2500 students and 550 staff as they navigated in-person, hybrid, and remote learning safely and securely. Michael has also led coaching for a team of educational consultants, helped grow 2 edtech startups, taught elementary school in Brooklyn and Harlem, and served as a founding teacher at a High Tech High school just south of San Diego.