Biography

Paul is the Cybersecurity Awareness Training and Outreach program manager in the Information Security Office at the University of Oregon. Like many people in cybersecurity, his professional path has been anything but direct. He was a scenic designer and technical director for nearly 22 years and taught undergraduate and graduate students. Teaching design and other technical elements of theatre production motivated him to earn his Ph. D. in Educational Psychology. His area of study is the psychology of creativity, with a focus on working with constraints in the creative problem-solving process. Paul also has a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Design and Technology for Theatre, a BA in Philosophy, and a BA in Theatre from the University of Missouri - Kansas City. 

His work in cybersecurity awareness came out of a combination of his love for technology, and his experiences teaching technical content to non-technical people. He relies on elements of educational psychology, creative problem-solving, design, influence, behavioral psychology, learning, and cognition to connect with users, cultivate understanding, and promote better cyber habits.