Overview - 2026 ISACA LA Annual Career Night

Whether you're launching your cybersecurity career or preparing to pivot into the field, this interactive workshop is designed to help you build a powerful career toolkit. Attendees will rotate every 15 minutes between small-group sessions, each focused on a different career-building topic. You’ll meet directly with professionals, and subject-matter experts offering insights you can apply right away.

Bring several copies of your resume and come ready to network!! (Space is limited—arrive early to get a seat.)

Resume Reviews & Tips - Hosted by the CPP Career Center. Get real-time feedback on how to make your resume stand out.
Interview Do’s and Don’ts - Learn how to ace both virtual and in-person interviews—with tips on what to say (and what to avoid).
Certifications & Professional Memberships - Which ones really matter? When to get them—and how to leverage student memberships.
Flash Intros: Your 60-Second Pitch - Practice your "elevator pitch" for when you meet the right person and have only a minute to shine.
Power Portfolios: Show What You Can Do - Learn how to build and present a portfolio that showcases your projects, labs, or competition experience.
Cyber Soft Skills: Think & Communicate Like a Pro - Technical skills may get you the job, but soft skills help you nail-it. Learn how to communicate like a security professional.

For more than fifty years, ISACA certifications have tracked the evolution of an entire profession — from the earliest days of EDP auditing to today’s AI-driven world of assurance, security, risk, and privacy. In this keynote, Mike Villegas draws on more than three decades of certification training and volunteer leadership with the ISACA Los Angeles and San Francisco chapters to demystify what these credentials really mean for students standing at the start of their careers. Attendees will learn how ISACA’s certifications have evolved alongside the profession, how CISA, CISM, CRISC, CGEIT, and CDPSE — and the new AI credentials AAIA, AAISM, and AAIR — differ from one another, how they compare to vendor and other professional certifications, and, most importantly, how to choose the certification that aligns with their strengths, values, and career goals. He will also answer the question of whether a student or recent graduate should take these certifications even if they do not meet the years experience requirements. Equal parts roadmap and rallying cry, this session helps students see certification not as a hoop to jump through, but as a lifelong companion on a rewarding career in IS audit, GRC, and cybersecurity.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this keynote, attendees will be able to:

Understand how ISACA certifications have evolved alongside the profession.
Understand the differences between the ISACA certifications.
Understand how to choose the ISACA certification that fits their goals.
Understand how ISACA certifications differ from other professional and vendor certifications.
Understand the difference between ISACA other professional certifications

Mr. Villegas is the Founder and President of iSecurePrivacy LLC, a technology consulting firm focused on cybersecurity and privacy of critical risk information. He is also CTO and CISO for Xahive, a startup secure email solution and security awareness provider. Mr. Villegas was recently CISO for Tristar Insurance Group, the largest privately owned Third Party Administrator (TPA) serving the entire USA. He was previously a Senior Vice President for K3DES, a technology consulting firm focused on the security of electronic payments systems. Mr. Villegas is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), AC|CISO, CSX|F, CSX|A, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), and ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Implementer. He was the 2010-2012 President of the ISACA Los Angeles Chapter and the 2005-2006 President of the ISACA San Francisco Chapter. He was Co-Chair of the SF ISACA Fall Conference from 2002 through 2008. He is currently the Certification Chair for the ISACA Los Angeles Chapter, a member of the LA Spring Conference Committee, and the COBIT Technical Review Committee for LA ISACA. He was also a Board Member for the ISSA Los Angeles, CA Chapter, and a member of ISSA, ISC(2), and OWASP. Mr. Villegas was also a contributing writer for SearchSecurity—TechTarget, with over 150 articles written. Specialties: vCISO, vCTO, IT Risk Management, IT Regulatory Compliance, IT Privacy, IT Audit, Vendor Risk Management, Information Security (mainframe, C/S, and web infrastructures), z/OS RACF, ACF2, TopSecret, z/OS CICS, z/OS IMS, z/OS DB2, IBMi (prev. aka iSeries/AS400), PCI DSS, PCI SSF, FFIEC CAT, NY DFS, DFARS/NIST SP 800-53/171, HIPAA, and ISO 27001.

Michael Herman, CISA, is a Senior Manager in PwC's Cybersecurity practice with 20 years of experience building and running cybersecurity governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) programs for clients across technology, aerospace, financial services, retail and manufacturing. His work centers on helping leadership understand and act on cyber risk, and he increasingly brings AI into that work to strengthen how security organizations evaluate and audit their cyber posture.

Across his career he has delivered cyber risk and controls frameworks, capability maturity benchmarking, strategic road mapping, and tech/security audit readiness for many complex and global clients in the commercial and public sectors. These efforts align to standards including NIST practices, ISO 27001, CMMC, COBIT, SOX, and others. He holds ISACA's Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certification and is currently working toward ISACA's Advanced in AI Audit (AAIA) certification.

Daniel Razmjou is an IT assurance and cybersecurity professional with over 20 years of experience in governance, risk management, audit, and security awareness training. As Director of IT Assurance, he leads initiatives that strengthen internal controls, improve cybersecurity posture, and translate complex risks into actionable insights for leadership and business stakeholders.

Since 2019, Daniel has served as a lecturer at CSU Los Angeles, teaching cybersecurity, IT architecture, and risk management with a focus on real world application and career readiness. He is also an active leader within ISACA Los Angeles, serving as CISM Certification Chair, CISM Accredited Trainer, and mentor through ISACA’s Global Mentorship Program.

Daniel has contributed to ISACA certification development as a CISM Review Manual SME, CISA Q/A item writer, and beta tester for the AAIA and AAISM certifications. He regularly supports academic and professional events as a speaker, judge, mentor, and advocate for cybersecurity education, digital trust, and professional development.

Date: Tuesday, September 8th, 2026

Location: Golden Eagle Ballroom, Building #314, California State University Los Angeles
5151 State University Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90032 For Directions, click here.
For CSULA Campus Map, click here.

Two events:

1. Workshop – 3:30 - 5:15pm (Registration starts at 3:00pm) - Free

CPE: Up to 1 CPE

2. Dinner & Panel Discussion – 6:00 - 8:30pm (Registration starts at 5pm with paid registration, see rate details below)

Meal Type: Buffet Style

CPE: Up to 2.5 CPEs

Parking Information & Pricing:

1 hour: $4
All day: $13
2 wheels (Motorcycles): $5

Visitors without passes should park in areas with permit dispensers or meters: top level of Parking Structure C, all levels of Parking Structure A, Lot 2, Lot 5, or Lot 7.

ISACA reserves the right to alter or delete items from the program in the event of unforeseen circumstances. Material has been prepared for the professional development of ISACA members and others in the IT audit, control, security, and governance community. Neither the presenters nor ISACA can warrant that the use of material presented will be adequate to discharge the legal or professional liability of the members in the conduct of their practices. All materials used in the preparation and delivery of presentations on behalf of ISACA are original materials created by the speakers, or otherwise are materials which the speakers have all rights and authority to use and/or reproduce in connection with such presentation. All applicable copyrights, trade secrets, and other intellectual property rights in the materials are and remain with the speakers.

Please note: unauthorized recording, in any form, of presentations and workshops is prohibited

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2026 ISACA LA Annual Career Night

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