About Me

Hello, and welcome to my website. I am an engineering, project management and cyber security compliance professional with more than a decade of experience in the utilities industry. I am also the founder of Practikit Solutions, a small software development business, and the creator of Magus: The Awakening, an online multiplayer FPS in a fantasy setting.

My professional career began in 2009 after graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, and dual minors in Mathematics and Software Engineering. I had a wonderful time at RIT and made many friendships that have lasted even to today. In 2015, I earned my Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from New York University (NYU). The coursework focused on microelectronics, including microprocessor design and power converters. The switch from Computer Science to Electric Engineering made a lot of sense since I was working as an engineering supervisor at the time. I was quite fortunate that my undergraduate coursework, particularly in Calculus and Physics, was rigorous enough that I did not need to take any remedial / introductory engineering courses prior to enrollment. It was around this time that I earned my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute. The certification is important to me, and I intend to remain in good standing for the entirety of my career.

In 2017, I moved on from my position in engineering to a new role that focused on regulatory compliance, particularly the NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Standards. The shift from engineering to compliance was challenging, but I was blessed to work with friendly and knowledgeable professionals that made the transition easier. To further broaden my skillset, I enrolled in an MBA program at St. John’s University. I chose St. John’s University because their MBA program offered a great deal of flexibility through their fully-online program, which was important to me since I was working full time. I graduated summa cum laude with an MBA in Interdisciplinary Business in 2021. In addition, my term paper, Lessons Learned from BP: Deepwater Horizon and the Transition to Renewables, was published in the Journal of Global Awareness in Decemeber 2021. In 2022, I earned my Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification from ISC2. The experience I gained working in the compliance and security fields over the prior four years was sufficient to meet the CISSP eligibility requirements.

My interests include computers, programming, cyber security, history, baseball, basketball and cooking. I am happily married and currently live in the New York City metropolitan area. Please feel free to follow or friend me on one or more of the following platforms:

Thanks for visiting.

Regards,

Dan Valle