Faculty and Staff

Dr. Mary Aiken serves as Chair and Professor of the  Cyberpsychology Department. She holds a Ph.D. in Forensic Cyberpsychology. Professor Mary Aiken is a world leading expert in Cyberpsychology – the study of the impact of technology on human behaviour and is a Professor of Forensic Cyberpsychology in the Department of Law and Criminology at the University of East London. Dr. Aiken is a member of INTERPOL's Global Cybercrime Expert Group and an Academic Advisor to Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3). She is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine, Global Fellow at the Washington DC Wilson Center, a member of the Medico-Legal Society, an International Affiliate Member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and a Fellow of the Society for Chartered IT Professionals.

Dr. Soren Ashmall is a seasoned professor who has taught many of the Business, English, Humanities, and Social Science courses at Capitol Technology University. In addition to his career in academia, Dr. Ashmall has worked as a Senior Director of Business Development for General Dynamics Information Technology and in senior positions at other companies and U.S. government agencies. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the United States Marine Corps in 2009 following over 21 years of continuous active duty service. He held positions of increasing authority throughout his career, including service as a Vice Chairman, Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, Operations Officer, Company Commander, Officer-In-Charge, and Division Head multiple times at Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. He directed all resources, programming, and budgeting for Marine Corps Intelligence, regularly briefed U.S. Congressional Committees, directed all signals intelligence policy for the Marine Corps, led a large national event for the Marine Corps, and held fiscal responsibility for hundreds of millions of dollars during his military career. Dr. Ashmall is the Chairman Emeritus of the Faculty Advisory Council for the Maryland Higher Education Commission. He also serves on multiple workgroups and roundtable councils for the Maryland Higher Education Commission. Dr. Ashmall is married to Professor Tammie Ashmall. He has two adult children who hold leadership positions in major companies.

Dr. Richard Baker is Associate Dean of Graduate Programs at Capitol Technology University. He previously served as associate professor in Indiana State University’s Department of Aviation Technology, and as executive director of the Center for Unmanned Systems and Human Capital Development.  Richard holds a BS in mathematics and an MS in computer science from Indiana State University. He received his doctorate in information systems from Nova Southeastern University.  

Gary Burke has an MBA from Southern Methodist University and a BS in Building Science from Auburn University.  He has extensive experience in business operations and management, commercial and residential construction, real estate and land development, residential and commercial property.  Professor Burke has a passion for education and has mentored hundreds of students in the construction management field.  

Dr. Juanita Butler is Doctoral Faculty and the Assistant Dean of Doctoral Programs at Capitol Technology University. She has served as a Professor of Practice at Capitol in the Master's program and is currently teaching Doctoral courses. She has previously taught at the University of South Florida in the CCA program and University of the People.

Dr. William (Bill) Butler is currently the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Capitol Technology University. Prior to this appointment in 2021, Dr. Butler served as Cybersecurity Chair for 8 years at Capitol Tech. Earlier in his career, he worked in the networking and IT industries as a network engineer and consultant for over 20 years. He also served as a joint qualified communications information systems officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and retired as a Colonel with 30 years of service (active and reserve). Dr. Butler holds a Doctorate in cybersecurity earned from Capitol focusing on preserving cellphone privacy and countering illegal cell towers (IMSI catchers).

Dr. Kellep Charles completed his Doctorate in Cybersecurity at Capitol Technology University.  He also holds a Master of Science in Telecommunication Management from the University of Maryland University College and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Dr. Charles Conner has worked in industry and academia since 1980.  His specialty is digital signal and image processing and has worked with Catholic University as well as many government agencies.  He started teaching (part-time) in 1984.

A native of Louisville, KY. Dr. Michael Fain, currently serves as a Professor. When not working with students and faculty, Fain spends time mentoring several African American undergraduate students on campus. He brings over 25 years of higher education experience to Capitol Tech.

Rick Hansen is a Professor of Practice in Cybersecurity. He mentors and supports student projects from the university’s Cybersecurity program, the Cybersecurity Competition Team (“Signal 9”) and the Astronautical Engineering Program. He also provides outreach to government and industry. Rick has a Masters Degree in Computer Science from the Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelors Degree in Electronic Engineering from Capitol College. His research interests include Cybersecurity for the Internet of Things, application of Socratic Learning for technology training & education, autonomous vehicle communications & countermeasures, and Entrepreneurship. Professor Hansen is a military veteran and serves as the CEO of a Cybersecurity and Research firm.

Dr. Jones is an award-winning, risk strategist who helps others think strategically about the future of technology and cybersecurity, and how to address potential barriers to success. Laura also served for 10 years as a global management consultant where she developed quality assurance and risk management programs for organizations such as The Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Treasury and various Army agencies. In the corporate sector, Laura led the development of cybersecurity risk management programs for two publicly traded companies; a Fortune 500 company, a newly publicly traded company experiencing hyper growth in their industry and a privately held conglomerate organization comprised of over 360 businesses. She is known driving programs from conceptual framework to global execution. Dr. Jones previously served as an Associate Dean of Students for Academic Affairs. A United States Army veteran, Dr. Jones served 21 years on active duty and earned the rank of Master Sergeant/E8- before achieving an honorable retirement. Dr. Jones is an educator, speaker, author and entrepreneur. She serves as a mentor to other professionals seeking to learn more about risk management.

Dr. Vijay Kowtha is a strong and visible leader in the support and encouragement of young people in their studies in Engineering and specifically in formulating areas of responsive research. He was a leader in STEM education endeavor long before it became a national acronym, and his accomplishments stand as a foundation to the quest in the promotion of STEM since 1980s in the inner cities. Shortly after returning from England in 2007, he promoted basic research within DOD establishment using undergraduates who visited basic research facilities both in US and abroad. Several midshipmen completed their doctoral work under his guidance at Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College in UK and Chalmers in Sweden. These doctoral students worked in basic research in USA and mentored US college students locally in diverse engineering fields. Dr. Kowtha has organized STEM events promoting basic research at the USA science festival, US Navy, Sea and Air Exposition and Sigma Xi annual research meetings. His efforts resulted in responsive research and workforce development. Recently he formed a new non-profit called MASER (Mentors Advancing STEM Education and Research) with two MOUs with local universities. Dr. Kowtha also mentored high school students in First Robotics competitions for two decades, teams won national level competitions and many students have graduated and are now gainfully employed in federal workforce.

Dr. Mitch Levy is Dean of Academics at Capitol Technology University. He previously served as interim Vice President of Academic Affairs, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Executive Assistant to the President for Senior Leadership Development for the College of Southern Maryland. Dr. Levy holds a Ph.D. from Florida State University in addition to a Master of Education and B.A. from Boston University. In 2021, Dr. Levy completed a Harvard University Graduate School of Education Institute for Higher Education Certificate program.

Born in the great state of Hawaii while my mother was stationed on the Naval base. I have always enjoyed science from a young age, my uncle introduced me to space while we were watching an Apollo documentary. Since then, I always knew a career in space is something that I wanted to do. While in Elementary school I would read any book I could about space, I even could tell you the names of all the space shuttles, what year they built and there first launch, I also began learning about astronomy and became fascinated in the field. On my 5th bday my godparents gifted me my first telescope and on that same night we looked at the planet Saturn, small in size that telescope allowed me learn more about astronomy and take what I learned in books and see them in real life. My junior year of high school, I wanted to get an early start to my college search, I knew astronomy and space were my ideal fields but many colleges and universities I attended open houses seemed too large and I felt I wouldn’t get the exposure I required in the field. I attended an open house at Capitol Technology University (then Capitol College) and knew their AE program would be my best track to working on a NASA mission. In fall of 2006 I was selected as a flight operator on NASA’s TOMS-EP mission and that was my stepping stone to greater missions. Since graduation I have worked on over 12 NASA and commercial missions, attended various conference and help run the Space Flight Operations Training Center (SFOTC), to train the next generation of spacecraft operators.

Through his consultancy, Dr. Ron Martin maintains professional relationships with a diverse mix of businesses. He served as a board of directors for-profit and non-profit organizations. Dr. Martin retired from the United States (U. S.) Army in 1999 and the U. S. Government in 2011. In between his tours of Federal Service, he served five years as a civilian police officer in the Commonwealth of Virginia. During his Federal Service, he served with the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services as the program director for the development and implementation of the department’s Identity, Credentialing and Access Management (ICAM) Program.

An internationally recognized leader in research and expert on low-speed flight, Dr. McAndrew has five degrees: a PhD, two master’s degrees and two bachelor’s degrees. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Dr. McAndrew chairs several international conferences and journals and is invited to give keynote speeches all over the world. He started his career in the automotive industry as an engine designer, and has worked at several universities across the globe. Dr. McAndrew is Dean of doctoral programs at Capitol Technology University. An external examiner on the world wide stage (UK USA, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Japan, Australia, Greece and Kenya) his experience includes over 115 successful Doctorate successes.

Jessica Richardson, CSP, CIT is the Professional and Organizational Advancement Manager for the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP). She has comprehensive experience developing and managing occupational health and safety management systems, training, and performance improvement programs in construction & energy. She also specializes in instructional design in the workplace and at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Jessica has a BS in Safety and Environmental Management from Slippery Rock University, MS in Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning from Boise State University and is a PhD Candidate (ABD) in Safety Sciences at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2017, Jessica was awarded the American Society of Safety Professional’s (ASSP) Utilities Practice Specialty Safety Professional of the Year.

Dr. Sims has always been involved with technology starting with receiving a Commodore 64 for his birthday and teaching himself basic programming to do more with the Commodore 64.  He went on to obtain a BS in Building Construction Management from Purdue University and worked coast to coast in the United States and briefly in Europe in the project management area of industrial construction and by default of his experience with technology being involved with the computer systems as well at each company.  Later, he went back to Higher Education to obtain an MS in Building Construction from the University of Florida and a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from Purdue University that lead him to his first position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida.  As he moved to different universities, he advanced in the administrative positions becoming a Department Head, Dean, Chief Academic Officer, and President.  Now at Capitol Technology University, he is bringing together his background in construction and technology along with Capitol Tech’s strong cybersecurity to build the first degree programs in Critical Infrastructure design to help protect the nation.  This is an area of special interest to Dr. Sims as he sees the needs of those protecting are critical infrastructure from cyber attacks to also understand how these facilities operate to better defend against such attacks.

Based in the Washington, DC region, Dr. Sinai has more than 30 years’ experience in international security/national security/homeland security studies, assessments, and curriculum development for the U.S. government, academia, and the corporate sector.

Dr. Ronald Wakeham’s career encompasses over 40 years working and teaching emergency and protective services. After joining law enforcement following military service, his career track shifted to fire and emergency services. There he rose through the ranks from firefighter to fire chief and served in that capacity for three different departments. As his formal education progressed further opportunities led him into emergency management and teaching. From 1996 – 2016 he was a course developer and contract faculty member (1996 – 2016) for the Department of Homeland Security/National Emergency Training Center/National Fire Academy. He also served as undergraduate faculty at several universities before taking a position as Department Chair of Security Emergency Services for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University from 2011-2019. He earned an Associate in Applied Science in Fire Science from Tidewater Community College, a Bachelor of Science in Governmental Administration from Christopher Newport University, a Master of Public Administration from Old Dominion University and a Doctorate in Public Administration from NOVA Southeastern University. He also has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals.