What makes Ascension Risk Management unique is the blend of skill sets that we bring to bear on your issues and brought to life in our RiskMAX™ process. Information Risk Management isn’t just about technical controls or IT Systems. It involves a blend of an organization’s culture, its business processes, and its technical information systems. In order to be successful these three aspects need to work in harmony and cooperation.
In order to accomplish this, Ascension brings two diverse backgrounds together. Ascension's President is Molly Delaney-McKee who is an internationally experienced project manager. Molly's experience in cross-cultural communication, cultural diversity, training and research is key to the success of our RiskMax™ process.
Molly Delaney-McKee
Molly’s experience enables Ascension (through the RiskMAX™ process) to conduct focus groups of the impacted populations in order to assess their level of readiness in terms of awareness and understanding of information security issues, mindset or willingness to undergo possible changes, and potential avenues of success or possible pitfalls during the implementation process. Our clients find this qualitative approach useful for demonstrating return on investment, tracking the long-term success of a project, and developing strategic plans.
In addition to being a trained bilingual focus group moderator (Spanish/English), Molly is skilled in the management, preparation and analysis of qualitative, quantitative, and evaluative research. She is a proven project manager, trainer, and researcher with international experience in Latin America, Western Europe, and the South Pacific. Molly’s special interests are in minority populations and diversity in the workplace.
Molly’s clients have included:
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The Department of Health and Human Services: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and Office of Minority Health
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Intermedia: Broadcasting Board of Governors, Latin America Research Services
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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United States Agency for International Development: Child Survival Program
Molly received her education at The American University in Washington, D.C. (Master of Arts in International Communication), The University of California, Santa Barbara (Bachelor of Arts in Spanish) and the University of Madrid Complutense in Madrid, Spain (Spanish Literature and Linguistics).
Graydon McKee
Ascension’s Vice President and Chief Operating Officer is Graydon McKee. Graydon brings over 10 years of experience in Risk Management and Information Security to the RiskMAX™ process. He is an accomplished Risk Management/Information Security professional with extensive experience in developing and implementing Information Risk Management and Information Security Programs to clients in both the public and private sector.
Graydon is a recognized leader in government regulatory compliance (Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) and the Defense Information Technology Security Certification and Accreditation Process compliance (DITSCAP/DIACAP)) and has taught the process to over 2,000 individuals representing over 600 federal government agencies and offices.
Graydon has served as a Manager in Deloitte & Touche LLP's Security and Privacy Practice where he has assisted clients to redesign and implement reasonable Information Security Policy (Large Financial Institution) as well as assess and evaluate the need for Managed Security Services (Large Financial Institution). He interfaces both with the client’s senior management team and the technical team on business, systems architectural and technical issues. Graydon has also served as a Senior Security Architect with the Unisys Federal Information Security Practice serving clients such as:
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Department of Justice;
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Department of Homeland Security – United States Coast Guard;
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An Intelligence Agency;
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General Services Administration; and the
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United States Capitol Police.
Graydon received his education at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont (Master of Science in Information Assurance) where he graduated with High Honors and Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania (Bachelor of Arts – Sociology). Graydon achieved the professional designation of Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) in 2004 and the Global Information Assurance Certification in 2003.
Graydon has been recognized for “Outstanding Contributions to Federal Government Information System Security Education” by the Potomac Forum, Ltd; a non-profit educational foundation. (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), awarded the 2005 Unisys Global Gold Recognition Award for outstanding contributions to Information Security and Unisys and recognized by Unisys Customers as “significantly contributing to their business success” in a 2005-2006 Customer Satisfaction Survey. Graydon has been published in Network World, CSO Magazine and Government Computer News.
These combined backgrounds come together to create the RiskMAX™ process. The process combines both of these backgrounds in order to deliver a comprehensive, holistic approach to Information Risk Management. RiskMAX™ blends an organization’s culture, its business processes, and technical information security requirements to deliver customized, efficient and cost-effective solutions for our clients. RiskMAX™ recognizes the importance of different mindsets and the ability to collaborate – not only effectively – but in a way that achieves a result that is greater than the sum of its parts.
