BOARD MEMBERS

Neelan Choksi is an entrepreneur and advisor, providing his expertise in board work focused on growth and go-to market for early-stage technology companies.

As an entrepreneur, Choksi develops and builds successful, sustainable software companies. He was formerly president and COO of Tasktop Technologies where he managed sales, marketing and business development for a growing open-source software infrastructure provider.

He has been involved with TechGirlz, a program powered by CompTIA Spark, for more than 11 years and is also an official member of Forbes Technology Council.

Paul Cronin is the CEO of Apogee IT Services. Cronin has 40 years of leadership experience as an IT services company executive and owner, skilled in all aspects of service leadership, sales and business development.

He is focused on giving back through high-level board and executive engagement for nonprofit organizations. In addition to his work with CompTIA Spark, he works with other IT-focused nonprofits and provides pro bono business consulting services to enable organizations and leaders to reach their full potential.

Guy Fruda has more than 25 years of IT support and technology consulting experience. He is the chief technology support leader at Deloitte, where he is responsible for the technology experience of more than 175,000 practitioners. During his tenure at Deloitte, Fruda has been involved with many large-scale transformative technology integration programs. 

Now part of the CompTIA Spark board of advisors, Fruda previously served as board chair. He is also active in many national programs focused on inclusion, equity and empowerment. His expertise includes supporting technology initiatives and programs that look to grow and foster technology in underserved communities across the U.S.

Tracy Welson-Rossman is an expert in building sustainable companies and organizations, and a tireless promoter of women and girls in tech. She is a founding member and chief marketing officer at Chariot Solutions, a leading Philadelphia area enterprise application and mobile development consulting firm. Welson-Rossman's latest start up, Journal My Health, is a health tech company helping patients with chronic conditions tell their health stories with data.

Welson-Rossman is also the founder of TechGirlz, now powered by CompTIA Spark, which she created to address girls lacking the belief that technology is a promising career for them. Acquired by CompTIA Spark in 2019, the Techgirlz program inspires middle school girls through engaging technology workshops.

Masha Sedova is an award-winning cybersecurity expert, speaker and trainer who focuses on helping companies transform their workforce from a security risk into a key element of cyber defense. She is co-founder and president of Elevate Security, which provides the first-of-its kind platform to enable organizations to reduce risks from their workforce.

In addition to her work with the CompTIA Spark board of advisors, Sedova serves as a mentor for science, technology and education nonprofit programs. She also serves on the faculty of IANS, founded as the Institute for Applied Network Security.

Terry West is a proven business leader with more than 20 years of experience in DEI, with skills in coaching/mentoring, leading sales teams, talent acquisition and business development. He is currently diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) senior manager at TEKsystems, where he develops executes and manages key programs, initiatives, and events in support of the DEI strategy that will directly impact clients and consultants and internal employees.

John C. Malonson III is currently a senior cybersecurity manager at Raytheon Technologies, where he leads and manages cybersecurity risks and ROI-based solutions to improve business growth. Malonson’s experience includes more than 20 years of aligning business strategy to people, process, and technical solutions in Fortune 100 and nonprofit organizations.

In addition to his leadership as board chair for CompTIA Spark, he serves on the CompTIA board of directors as well as several other nonprofits focused on creating pathways in technology for people who have been traditionally under-represented in the industry.

Charles Eaton is chief of staff at CompTIA. He was formerly EVP of Social Innovation at CompTIA and CEO of CompTIA Spark. Eaton joined CompTIA in June 2010. He has over 20 years of nonprofit management experience and a commitment to build problem-solving philanthropy with an emphasis on outcome-based approaches to social change.

Prior to joining CompTIA, he was responsible for fundraising, business development and marketing for the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), a growing health care association focused on improving health care quality and patient safety.

Courtney Fong is the chief operating officer for CompTIA.

Prior to joining CompTIA, Fong was the general counsel, chief compliance officer and chief privacy officer for a number of leading companies within the financial services industry. He also spent nine years as adjunct professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a regular speaker at industry and legal events, and is a past TEDx speaker.

Brian Laffey is chief financial officer for CompTIA where he is responsible for monitoring, controlling, and reporting on the association’s financial results and investment portfolio. He also manages CompTIA's operations department.

Previously, Laffey worked for the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago as associate vice president for finance and as controller. In these roles he was responsible for the financial stewardship of the university’s assets totaling over $500 million. Laffey also served as the director of financial reporting and systems for the American Bar Association and as assistant controller for Loyola University Chicago. 

Todd Thibodeaux is president and chief executive officer of CompTIA. Since joining CompTIA in 2008, Thibodeaux has expanded commitment to industry growth through education and training programs, market intelligence and research, networking events, professional certifications, and public advocacy.

He is a frequent commentator and source quoted in news coverage of the technology industry and workforce, including the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, CNBC, Entrepreneur, and the Wall Street Journal. Thibodeaux is a tech enthusiast dating back to his very early years as the son of an electrical and mechanical engineer.