Albuquerque’s security leaders took some of the more unexpected routes in this series. One of the five below spent ten years as a lead paramedic on an ambulance before running security for a state agency, and still owns an IT business called Data Paramedic. Another briefed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as an NSA liaison before a fellowship landed him a state CISO role. A third ran a commercial finance company and worked in construction and customer support in China before moving into IT. Three of the five protect New Mexico state agencies, alongside the state’s largest health system and a credit union.
Barbara McClung – CISO, Presbyterian Healthcare Services
Barbara McClung began as compliance coordinator and security officer at Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, California. She spent more than seven years as an information security advisor at Dell, then worked as a virtual CISO for healthcare clients at CynergisTek. She went on to serve as an IT site director for NTT DATA Services, director of IT security and compliance at Verity Health System, and a senior advisor at Impact Advisors. McClung became CISO of Presbyterian Healthcare Services in Albuquerque in August 2022, bringing a background that spans risk assessments, disaster recovery, security audits, and electronic medical record environments.
David Hunt – CISO, New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department
David Hunt spent ten years as a paramedic with Superior Ambulance Services in Albuquerque, serving as lead paramedic and training EMTs on the job. Alongside that work he earned a computer science degree from the University of New Mexico, interned at Honeywell Aerospace, and founded Data Paramedic, providing IT services to medical practices, billing firms, and call centers. He joined the State of New Mexico in 2013 as deputy chief security officer, leading health systems integration work including immunization reporting, disease surveillance, and an enterprise master patient index. Hunt became CISO of the Early Childhood Education and Care Department in June 2020, where he built the security team and leads compliance with HIPAA, CJIS, and FERPA requirements.
Abel Abeyta – CISO, New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department
Abel Abeyta spent six years in U.S. Air Force intelligence. At U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA in Hawaii he worked as a cyber intelligence analyst and senior reporting officer, managing signals intelligence reporting for teams totaling more than 150 personnel. He then served as an NSA intelligence liaison and watch officer to the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, delivering intelligence briefings to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Through the Hiring Our Heroes corporate fellowship program he served as CISO at the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, which hired him into the role in August 2021. He holds a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity management and policy and a CEH, and earlier worked a summer as an IT assistant at a City of Albuquerque community center.
David Garcia – Director of Information Security & CISO, Sunward Federal Credit Union
David Garcia spent nearly a decade as president and vice president of a commercial finance company, underwriting clients and handling financial analysis. He went on to work as a general contractor in construction management and as a consultant in Shenzhen, China, setting up U.S. customer support for an electronics company. Back in New Mexico he worked as an appraiser at the Sandoval County Assessor’s Office, then moved into IT as a county technician and later a system administrator for the City of Albuquerque, including support for the police department’s technical services. Garcia joined Sunward in 2020 as information security officer and has served as Director of Information Security and CISO since April 2023. He holds CEH, Security+, and Network+ certifications.
Caleb Raymer – CISO & IT Operations Manager, New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department
Caleb Raymer has spent more than 27 years at New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. He started in 1999 supporting desktops across 53 locations, then worked as a systems administrator and spent nearly a decade as network security administrator. Since 2012 he has served as CISO and IT operations manager, responsible for protecting the agency’s systems, managing IT budgets and vendors, leading disaster recovery and business continuity planning, and building long-range technology plans. He has served on the board of the Academy of Technology and the Classics since 2014.
Public Service at the Core
Albuquerque’s CISOs are shaped by public service. Hunt, Abeyta, and Raymer protect state agencies covering early childhood care, tax revenue, and natural resources, and Raymer has done so for nearly three decades. Hunt carried a paramedic’s crisis instincts into health data security, and Abeyta brought Air Force intelligence experience home to New Mexico. McClung leads security for the state’s largest health system after years in healthcare compliance, and Garcia came to credit union security by way of finance, construction, and county government. These leaders know their communities because they serve them.
Discover more CISOs securing their organizations:
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- In the Shadow of Pikes Peak: Colorado Springs’ Cybersecurity Leaders to Watch
- The Bold City’s Cybersecurity Leaders to Watch
- The Insurance Capital’s Cybersecurity Leaders to Watch
John Kevin Hao is a news and feature writer covering cybersecurity, technology, and business targeted for professional audiences.