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Edmonds College instructor Steve Hailey was elected as the 2021 president of the Digital Forensics Certification Board (DFCB), a professional organization that advances digital forensic science and provides a certification process for members of the profession.

"Being elected is a great honor," Hailey said. "I now have the opportunity to collaborate with many of the most respected and highly regarded digital forensics scientists the world over."

Hailey has taught at EC since 1999. He began by developing and instructing one of the state's first college-level digital forensics courses, and he later created the college's Cyber Defense and Digital Forensics program. In 2011, he established the state's first physical data recovery class at EC, which includes a surgically sterile clean room for dismantling and repairing hard drives. 

Hailey often collaborates with fellow EC instructor Mike Andrew. Hailey and Andrew are both instructors for programs sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency, and they have trained cybersecurity experts to protect some of the most aggressively targeted information systems in the world. 

"Being an active practitioner in the industry allows me to impart current, relevant information to our students, long before it makes it into any textbook," Hailey said.

"I take great pride in the fact that we have students move here – sometimes from other states or countries – because of our program's reputation." 

EC is certified as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

The college offers several certificates in the subject, as well as an associate's degree. For more information on the EC Cyber Defense and Digital Forensics program, visit edmonds.edu/cis.