Mississippi’s cybersecurity leadership spans banking, higher education, healthcare, and state government. The leaders in this feature are working across very different environments, but they face a similar challenge: protecting institutions that people depend on every day. From community banking and university systems to child protection services and academic medical operations, their work shows how cybersecurity leadership in Mississippi is tied directly to trust, continuity, and operational resilience.
Dayle Alsbury — CISO / SVP, BankPlus
Dayle Alsbury is CISO and Senior Vice President at BankPlus, where she brings a long track record in security strategy, risk management, cloud security, and business alignment. Before joining BankPlus, she served as VP of Security at Litmos, Deputy CISO at Stride, and Information Security Director at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, where she led security strategy and operations in highly regulated and heavily audited environments. Her background also includes consulting and leadership roles focused on risk assessments, penetration testing, compliance, incident management, and security program development across industries including finance, healthcare, education, and energy.
Eric Yoakum — Chief Information Security Officer, Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services
Eric Yoakum is Chief Information Security Officer at the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services. Before stepping into that role, he served as Chief Information Officer at the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office, Cybersecurity Team Lead at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, and earlier held multiple technology leadership roles within the Secretary of State’s Office. His career reflects a steady rise through Mississippi public-sector technology and cybersecurity leadership, with experience spanning infrastructure, cybersecurity operations, and agency-level IT oversight.
Ryan Wood — Senior Information Security Officer, Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office
Ryan Wood is Senior Information Security Officer at the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office. He moved into the role after serving as a Cyber Security Analyst and Senior Support Specialist within the same office, building his experience in security operations inside state government. He also worked as an associate instructor in cybersecurity at ThriveDX and held technical support roles with The Solutions Team and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His background reflects a newer generation of cyber talent growing into leadership through hands-on operational work and public-sector experience.
Ray Wolfe — Chief Information Security Officer, Delta State University
Ray Wolfe is Chief Information Security Officer at Delta State University, where he oversees cybersecurity for the institution after many years in higher education technology roles. Before becoming CISO, he served as Technical Director through Ellucian Managed Services at Delta State University and earlier worked in programming, analytics, networking, and systems administration roles connected to the university environment. That long tenure gives him deep institutional knowledge alongside technical experience across enterprise systems, infrastructure, and higher education operations.
J. M. Benson Hill — Information Security and Privacy Officer, University of Mississippi Medical Center
JM. Benson Hill is Information Security and Privacy Officer at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where he leads enterprise privacy, cybersecurity, and data governance across clinical, research, and academic operations. His background is unusually interdisciplinary, combining law, clinical practice, and technical cybersecurity experience, and he previously worked as a senior information security analyst at BancorpSouth and as a registered nurse before moving deeper into privacy, legal, and cyber leadership. At UMMC, he has also served in major incident leadership during a ransomware event, while advising on privilege-sensitive information sharing, regulatory compliance, and institutional risk across one of Mississippi’s most critical healthcare environments.
Where Mississippi’s Cyber Leadership Is Taking Shape
Mississippi’s cyber leadership is taking shape in places that matter deeply to the public: banks, universities, medical centers, and government agencies. What stands out in this group is not just technical depth, but range. Some came up through infrastructure and operations, others through compliance, privacy, consulting, or public service. Together, they reflect a cybersecurity landscape built around practical leadership, institutional trust, and the ability to protect essential systems under real-world pressure.
Explore more profiles of the leaders shaping cybersecurity across numerous industries in our CISOs to Watch collection.