Dr. Laura L. Downey, the chief of applied architecture in the Enterprise Architecture Division of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, will be joining Northwood University’s advisory council for computer science, management information systems, and cyber security.
“Having someone with Dr. Downey’s extensive experience join our advisory council provides the insight of someone from the government sector,” stated Dr. Ann-Marie Horcher, program lead for Northwood’s cybersecurity program. “The federal government has a deficit of talent to fill the technology jobs, and her guidance will allow our program design to recognize this need.”
At the TSA, Dr. Downey provides actionable guidance to help keep the nation’s transportation systems safe. She conceived and led the development of the first enterprise cybersecurity architecture. This led to the evolution of the TSA’s Enterprise Architecture (EA) Division and a new way of doing EA, including actionable architecture.
Dr. Downey has earned awards for leadership, architecture, and technology solutions. She has over 25 years of experience in information technology roles with significant expertise in human-computer interaction, architecture, and information management.
Based on her leadership, scholarship, and public service, Dr. Downey was selected as a Distinguished Alumni of Nova Southeastern University. Her dissertation, Well-being Technologies: Meditation Using Virtual Worlds, was one of the first on positive technology, and using technology to promote more well-being in the world. She has shared her professional work and research in multiple forms including articles, conference presentations, technical reports, and book contributions.
Active in the technical community, Dr. Downey also is a strong advocate for women and girls in STEM.
Northwood’s advisory council consists of industry experts who provide reviews and recommendations to Northwood for the content and direction of the MIS, computer science, and cybersecurity programs.
“We are honored to have someone of Dr. Downey’s caliber join this team,” Horcher noted.
