NSU Horizons Spring 2016

33 NSU HORIZONS an inundation of data and human cognitive load. It is important to develop interfaces that consider human cognitive load and create ‘better’ interfaces to be more efficient and accurate in processing the volumes of data a security analyst is faced with on a daily basis,” she added. Ellis’ love of computer security blossomed when she was a teenager growing up in Norfolk, Virginia. She pursued that passion during her undergraduate years, earning a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Norfolk State University. After graduating, Ellis said she began “applying all over the place.” NASA answered the call and she began as a graduate research assistant at its Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. She has been with NASA now for 26 years. Eventually, she moved to the Cleveland area and began working at NASA’s John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, a complex of more than 150 buildings set on 300 acres near Hopkins International Airport. Along the way, Ellis earned a master’s degree in adult learning and development (with emphasis in computer security and how people learn) from Cleveland State University, a management certificate from the University of Notre Dame, and her Ph.D. in Computer Information Systems from NSU. In addition to her promotion at NASA, Ellis also began teaching at the university level since her NSU graduation. She is an adjunct associate professor at the University of Maryland University College, where she teaches remotely, communicating with students on discussion boards and via email. Many of her students are military personnel or retired military. In 1993, Ellis was the first African American woman at NASA’s John H. Glenn Research Center chosen to serve as an undergraduate consultant to her alma mater, Norfolk State University. She has tutored and mentored high school and college students. Ellis has been a member of the Association of Computing Machinery, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, NASA Glenn’s Business and Professional Women Organization, and the National Technical Association. She is a lifetime member of the Norfolk State University Alumni Association, where she received a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2008. Ellis also has been awarded the National Technical Association’s Humanitarian Award, the BPW Young Careerist of the Year Award, the Cleveland Federal Executive Board Wings of Excellence Award, and, most recently, a NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal. Throughout her career, Ellis has remained enthralled with the evolution of technology, particularly from the perspective of data security, computer security, and information security. To unwind from work, she enjoys playing viola and horseback riding near her Strongsville, Ohio, home—which she shares with her husband of 16 years, Lyle Hollowell, J.D. “I’ve been at this for a while,” she proclaimed. Still, she said, she has days where she wonders: “When did I become a geek?” Î Brenda Ellis now works as agency program manager for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Information Technology Security Awareness and Training Center in Cleveland, Ohio.