UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) recently announced four new additions to its Dean’s Advisory Board: David Brannon, Greg Dracon, Karen Presley and Greg Roszyk. They join the 12-member board of Penn State alumni, friends and corporate leaders in providing strategic guidance and counsel to shape the future of the college. Each will serve a three-year term.
“These four individuals bring diverse experience and expertise that will shape the future of our college,” said Andrea Tapia, dean of the College of IST. “We are amid an incredible period of growth and change — for both IST and technology as a whole — and I’m excited for the leadership and perspectives each will bring to strengthen and diversify our position as a leading information school.”
David Brannon
Brannon most recently led the development of growth strategies for Leidos, a global technology and science solutions leader. There, he worked with the organization’s chief executive officer and board of directors to ensure that acquisitions and divestitures were aligned with the company’s strategic direction, address competitive gaps, and create long-term value for the enterprise. Previously, Brannon led Leidos’ business development and strategy for the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, as well as strategic development for Lockheed Martin’s $5 billion IT services business and $3 billion civil IT services business.
Brannon earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Penn State in 1991, an executive MBA from Purdue University, and a master’s degree in government IT from Syracuse University. He served on the strategic advisory board for Penn State Outreach and Online Education and was the Leidos executive liaison to Penn State for six years, where he doubled the number of Penn State students hired by the organization and helped establish Leidos as a member of the Penn State World Campus Educational Alliance Program. Brannon and his wife, Kim, a 1991 graduate of the Eberly College of Science, established the David and Kimberly Brannon Open Doors Scholarship for Penn State World Campus.
Greg Dracon
Dracon is a general partner at .406 Ventures, a leading venture capital firm based in Boston with over $1.4 billion in assets under management, where he focuses on data and artificial intelligence investments while leading the firm’s cybersecurity practice. Before joining .406, Dracon was a vice president at Core Capital Partners, where he concentrated on early-stage investments in infrastructure and cybersecurity companies. Earlier in his career, Dracon spent almost 12 years in various operational and management roles within the high-tech industry.
Dracon serves on the Massachusetts Cybersecurity Strategy Council and is a director emeritus of the Advanced Cyber Security Center, a nonprofit consortium comprised of industry, academic and government leaders dedicated to establishing New England as a center of excellence for cybersecurity thought leadership. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Penn State in 1994 and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
Karen Presley
Presley is the deputy director of the Office of Research and Technology Applications at the National Security Agency (NSA), where she leads a team that accelerates and improves the exchange of expertise between the NSA and other government agencies, academia and industry. Previously, she owned and operated an intellectual property (IP) solutions business; worked as an IP attorney with two law firms in the Washington, D.C., area; and held roles with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the FBI.
Presley is an attorney with a juris doctorate from Texas Southern University. She earned an MBA from New York University, a master’s degree in intellectual property from George Washington University Law School, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University. She has received numerous government awards, most recently the 2023 Intelligence Community Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Professional Award for Outstanding Leadership and the Federal Laboratory Consortium Representative of the Year Award.
Greg Roszyk
Roszyk is a partner at EMF Industries, where he provides business and engineering leadership to programs in the defense and intelligence communities. He has more than 35 years of experience in simulation, wargaming and analysis, satellite mission analysis, and design and cloud computing initiatives. Roszyk previously held leadership positions with the Department of Defense, Booz Allen Hamilton and Apogee Integration.
Roszyk earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Penn State in 1989. In 2019, he and his family created the Roszyk Family Scholarship in Data Science for the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State.