To Prep for MRS2027...

What are the actions that need to be taken by industry and academia over the next year?

Session Speakers

Randy Pugh - Moderator

Co-Host MRS 2027

Randy Pugh served 34 years as a U.S. Marine, first as an enlisted Combat Engineer and then as a Signals Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, and MAGTF Intelligence Officer. He commanded Second Radio Battalion and Marine Corps Intelligence Schools and served in combat in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Southern Philippines. From 2023-26, he was the Naval Postgraduate School’s Vice Provost for Warfare Studies and Director of the Naval Warfare Studies Institute. Col Pugh earned degrees from the U.S. Naval Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, Marine Corps University, and the Naval War College.

Adia Garrett

National University, Co-Host MRS2027

Michael Aspland

IHS/SHSU

Michael Aspland has 36 years of public service that includes a background in criminal justice, homeland security, and public service. He was the first member of the IHS team, bringing together a group of professionals from the public and private sectors to set the Institute on a path to improving critical infrastructure protection for Texas. The journey to the Lone Star State began in 2014 when he retired from law enforcement after 26 years of service in California and started a second career in academics at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Cal. He taught civilian and military partners how to map out and disrupt the networks of illicit organizations. During this time, he founded Set Free Monterey Bay, a restoration home for women escaping sex trafficking. In October 2021, Michael arrived in Texas to launch IHS!

Marco Ayala

ABS Consulting

Marco "Marc" Ayala is Technical Director in the Cybersecurity Center of Excellence at ABS Consulting, with over 30 years of experience in instrumentation, automation, control, and safety systems across energy, oil and gas, chemicals, maritime, and offshore industries. An ISA Fellow (2025) and ISA Executive Board member, he is recognized for advancing global standards and integrating cybersecurity with cloud, edge, and AI technologies. He has trained more than 1,000 professionals worldwide through multiple certification programs. Marc serves as President of the InfraGard Houston Members Alliance and InfraGard National Sector Chief for Energy, partnering with the FBI, CISA, and government stakeholders on critical infrastructure resilience. He is also Cyber & Threat Intel Chair for the AMSC Outer-Continental Shelf for the Gulf.

Scott Blough

Mandiant, Part of Google Cloud

A "Builder and Operator" with over 30 years of security experience, this expert transforms legacy programs into high-performance engines. They bridge the gap between technical risk and business value across Fortune 10 healthcare and global maritime infrastructure. Notable achievements include developing the first NIST-annotated RMF for U.S. Coast Guard movable bridges and advising NATO, DHS, and the DoD. They specialize in stabilizing security postures and ensuring cyber maturity aligns with maritime resilience and growth.

Eric Carrero

President - Greater Houston Port Bureau

CAPT Eric M. Carrero, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.), is the President of the Greater Houston Port Bureau, a maritime trade organization of 230+ companies. The Port Bureau supplies its companies with detail vessel traffic information and maritime expertise in safety, security, and environmental issues and has been instrumental in representing members, the Houston Ship Channel Security District, and the Greater Houston Coffee Association in front of state and federal legislators.

Prior coming to the Port Bureau, Captain Carrero was assigned to the Eighth Coast Guard District as the Director, Western Rivers and Waterways Division, where he facilitated waterborne commerce through aids to navigation and vessel traffic center oversight as well as maintaining federal partnership and coordination in 27 states. His most recent operational assignment included Commanding Officer at Marine Safety Unit Texas where he carried out the Coast Guard’s Homeland Security, Marine Safety, and Marine Environmental Protection missions in the Ports of Galveston, Texas City and Freeport, in over 120-miles of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, a 4,000 square-mile region of the Outer Continental Shelf and the entrance to the nation’s largest petrochemical complex.

With 26 years of experience in maritime operations, Captain Carrero is a certified Marine Safety Professional with numerous qualifications in marine pollution response, marine casualty investigations and vessel inspections. He was deployed to the historic responses to Hurricane Katrina, Haiti Earthquake and served as Operations Section Chief during Hurricane Harvey where he was responsible for all maritime transportation issues related to the successful Coast Guard response in Houston- Galveston.

He is a graduate from the University of Puerto Rico, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Management and Policy from the American Public University System.