Sector Chiefs & Programs

The InfraGard Sector Chief Program was created to aid in the protection of the nation’s critical infrastructure by establishing a network of members with sector-specific expertise to facilitate timely information sharing between the FBI and the private sector. These are the pillars of our national infrastructure. This exchange of information enhances the ability of the FBI and partnering federal agencies to address threats to the sixteen recognized sectors of our nation’s critical infrastructure. The sectors are based on the DHS 16 critical sectors. These are the pillars of our national infrastructure.

Sector Chiefs are expected to be the “tip of the spear” for InfraGard South Florida. They are leaders who provide the greatest value proposition to our chapter’s stakeholders for sector-specific expertise and service.

Sector Chief Qualifications and Responsibilities

• Motivated and active leaders within the InfraGard membership.
• Subject matter experts with comprehensive knowledge and experience in one of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors.
• Serves as an ambassador/spokesperson for InfraGard.
• Serves as the primary point of contact for collecting and sharing sector-specific information to assist the FBI, and other law enforcement and emergency management agencies.
• Promote two-way information sharing and collaboration among sector members and across other sectors (regular meetings, etc.)
• Initiate training, exercises and continuing education on a regular basis.
• Build effective relationships within their sectors and with partner agencies and organizations.
• Provide tips, leads and subject matter expertise to the FBI, and other law enforcement authorities as needed.

Sector Chiefs:

Filled Positions

Sergio Piñon is currently the senior vice president and director of security for Ocean Bank. He is a former Intelligence Officer with expertise in terrorism and espionage. He is a former US Army Specialist war veteran who earned the Bronze Star Medal for bravery during a special Rescue operation in the Republic Vietnam.

He is a graduate of the US Army Missile & Munitions School at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama where he trained in Improvised Explosive Devices. He is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, US Secret Service Miami Electronic Crimes Task Force and currently Sector Chief of the Financial Sector of InfraGard South Florida Chapter.

Joseph R. Pinon, presently, Vice President of South Florida InfraGard Chapter; Member of AFIO-(Association of former Intelligence officers), RDSTF and JISTF; Chief Operation Officer for SFM Security Services, Inc.; Senior Advisor to the U.S. Department of State in charge of the reconstruction in Iraq in Salah Adin Province; Director of Homeland Security for Miami Dade County; Assistant City Manager for the cities of Miami and Miami Beach in charge of operations including Police, Fire, and Public Works; Police officer in the City of Miami Beach; U.S Marine Corp and Vietnam War Combat Veteran

Yair Levy, Ph.D. is a Professor of IS and Cybersecurity at Nova Southeastern University (NSU), the Director of the Center for Information Protection, Education, and Research (CIPhER), and chair of the Cybersecurity Faculty Group at the college. He earned BS.c. in Aerospace Engineering (Technion), MBA and Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from Florida International University.

During the mid to late 1990s, Dr. Levy assisted NASA to develop e-learning platforms as well as manage Internet and Web infrastructures.He heads the Levy CyLab, which conducts innovative research from the human-centric research areas of: cybersecurity, social engineering, and cyber threat mitigation. He authored numerous peer-review publications and his publications were cited over 4200 times.

He was trained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on various topics as part of the Citizen’s Academy, and actively serves as a Board Member and the Education Sector Chief of the FBI/InfraGard South-Florida chapter, as well as consults local, state, and federal agencies on cybersecurity topics. He advices the National Security Agency (NSA) on cybersecurity education matters and recently received $128K grant from NSA. He is frequently invited as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on cybersecurity topics to provide keynote talks at national and international meetings, as well as regular media interviews in print, radio, and TV. Click Here to find out more about Dr. Levy and his research lab.

Sanjay Deo combines over 25 years of Cyber Security and Compliance experience. At 24By7Security, the corporate mission is to assist clients with building a “defensible platform” in the face of rising Cybersecurity incidents and increased Regulations and Legal Action.

Company clients include healthcare, financial services, media & entertainment, travel and cruise and industrial companies.

• Designed various assessment methodologies for HIPAA, GLBA and Cyber Security.
• Assisted in the implementation of EMR, Population Health and Patient Engagement Solutions.
• Conducted HIPAA-HITECH readiness audit, and risk assessment for a multi-center healthcare provider organization based in South Florida with over two hundred and forty centers located nationwide.
• Conducted HIPAA Security Risk Assessment for a major South Florida medical center and participated in the subsequent remediation and implementation of enhanced security measures and comprehensive ongoing risk management program.
• He currently serves on the Board of the South Florida CIO Council, he is also Co-Chairs the South Florida CISO Forum.
• Sanjay is a member of the South Florida FBI-InfraGard Alliance and Sector Chief for the Information Technology track.

Vincent joined the University of Miami Health System & Miller School of Medicine in 2017, where he currently serves as the Emergency Management Director. In this role, Vincent supervises a team of emergency management professionals to mitigate risk and ensures the resiliency of the only academic health system in South Florida. Vincent’s enterprise wide responsibility, includes three hospitals and mix of over 40 outpatient clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, academic, research, and administrative facilities spread across four counties on the east and west coasts of Florida.

Additionally, Vincent services an adjacent instructor for the UM Gordon Center for Simulation and Innovation in Medical Education Tactical Medicine Program where he provides instruction to first responders on Active Shooter and Mass Causality Incidents.

In addition to his full time career at UM, Vincent is also an active duty Deputy Sheriff (Reserve) with the Broward Sheriff’s Office, where he spends his weekends patrolling Unincorporated Central Broward County and the City of Lauderdale Lakes as well as manages deployments of the Regional Domestic Security Taskforce’s Mobile Joint Information Center. From 2014-2018, Vincent served as the Emergency Preparedness & Campus Safety Manager for the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science.

Throughout his career, Vincent has held various positions in the public and private sectors. Some positions include; Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s I.C.E. Office of Investigations (Now Homeland Security Investigations), Executive Protection Specialist, Corporate Security Specialist and Sr. Project Manager (Business Continuity/Emergency Operations) with Verizon Terremark. Later, returning to law enforcement where he served as a Federal Law Enforcement Officer (Corporal-Business Continuity Liaison) with the U.S. Federal Reserve Police, before joining the University of Miami emergency management team and the Broward Sheriff’s Office. In addition to his extensive emergency management and law enforcement training, he is a certified Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Deputy.

Since 2005, Vincent has responded to and managed various aspects of major emergency incidents, disasters events, large scale special events and countless exercises.

His diverse background and experience, supported by his degree in Criminal Justice from Florida International University, has resulted in a comprehensive approach to Emergency Management.

Vincent sits on the Board of Directors, as the Administrative Co-Chair for the Miami Dade County Healthcare Preparedness Coalition was the founding Co-Chair of the Security & Intelligence Committee.

Tyra Phillips
Agriculture and Food

Tyra Phillips is the Executive Director of the Dade County Farm Bureau. Tyra brings her professional mix of working in the non-profit sector, being former law enforcement and running her own farm in Homestead as key additions to Miami Dade’s oldest and largest agricultural organization. Tyra thrives on community outreach and is excited to continue that with the farmers of Dade County. One of her many goals is to unite the farming community even tighter, making sure to include the many smaller farms that dot the landscape of unconventional farmland. Ensuring farmland in Dade County is preserved for future generations of farmers to provide a sustainable way of living is another goal of Tyra’s. Tyra enjoys her horses, kayaking and family gatherings on her farm.

Vacant Positions