MindPoint Group Leadership Team

MPG leaders are dedicated to offering customers, partners, and employees innovation and excellence in everything they do.

Senior Leadership

Patti Chanthaphone

Patti Chanthaphone

President, Federal Civilian Group - Tyto Athene
Patti Chanthaphone is a MindPoint Group co-founder and current President of the Tyto Athene Federal Civilian Group. She sets the strategic vision for the company and presides over all elements of the company to ensure MPG meets its operational goals, delivers leading-edge services, drives high client satisfaction, and provides employees with an environment to grow and achieve professional excellence. Patti is a cybersecurity SME who has been providing IT security program and project management, executive leadership, and leading business development since 1999. She has a successful track record in leading business growth and delivering exceptional cybersecurity services. Patti is a Certified Information Security System Professional (CISSP) with a Master’s degree in Engineering Management (Information Security Management concentration) from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s degree in Administration of Justice with a Minor in Legal Studies from George Mason University.
Matt Shepherd

Matt Shepherd

Senior Vice President, Director of Innovation - Tyto Athene
Matt Shepherd is a MindPoint Group co-founder and Senior Vice President as well as the Director of Innovation at Tyto Athene. Matt is responsible for the delivery of all of MPG's Information Security and Privacy (IS&P) services. He is a cybersecurity SME accountable for managing and developing IS&P solutions teams and delivering excellent support services for government and commercial sector clients. In addition to overseeing and implementing IS&P service offerings, Matt is responsible for developing a portfolio of contracts to leverage the company’s strong IS&P capabilities across all applicable markets. Matt has provided technical leadership, and program and project management in Information Technology since 1999. Matt has a Master’s degree in Information Assurance from Capital College and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Philosophy from St. Mary’s College.

MindPoint Group Directors

Peter Davies

Director, Proactive Security
Peter is responsible for building out our penetration testing and red team solutions, which are designed to assist clients in the assessment of complex networks and applications to identify and remediate security issues in a diverse range of environments. With over 20 years of IT experience, over 15 of those years have been focused on providing vulnerability assessments and penetration testing support to commercial and government clients.

Davida Gray

Director, Corporate Operations
Davida directs MindPoint Group’s Corporate Operations where she oversees the relationship between MPG and employees as well as our contracting department. She has 20 years of extensive business experience in Human Resources Management, Employee Relations, Training, and HR Business Partner services. Davida is a tenured HR leader supporting cyber security programs, NASA, and many other federal government contractors.

James Rodgers

Director, Cybersecurity Defense
James is responsible for managing our cyber threat, cyber hunt, incident response, and insider threat solutions teams. He is a cybersecurity expert with over 20 years’ experience in information assurance, security engineering/architecture, vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, cyber threat intelligence, and security operations centers (SOC), and he has successfully led the development of enterprise security programs and organizations to include establishing four SOCs across both the U.S. Federal Government and Financial Sector.

Simon Shtipelman

Director, Information Technology

Gabriela Smith-Sherman

Director, Governance, Risk, and Compliance
Gabriela is a former Federal agency CISO with over 15 years of experience in leading and implementing comprehensive enterprise cybersecurity programs and initiatives. She leads our GRC services portfolio, and is directly engaged in our support for multiple cabinet-level Department CISOs. She is a U.S. combat disabled veteran who understands the importance of mission and is dedicated to delivering high-quality results and value to customers through innovative solutions.

Elaine Toennies

Director, IS&P Chief of Staff
Elaine is a passionate servant leader with over 20 years of professional experience supporting people and driving service delivery excellence across programs, projects, and initiatives in Federal IT, banking, and healthcare. She supports Matt Shepherd in his role by acting as a force multiplier for achieving the company’s strategic vision. She leads up some of MindPoint Group’s most important initiatives and coordinates with leaders across the company to achieve these goals. She continually works to mature internal processes, reinforce corporate culture, and to become indispensable to everyone around her.

Gregory Turk

Director, Architecture & Engineering
With over 30 years of expertise in designing, managing, and optimizing multi-platform, enterprise-level IT infrastructures, Gregory Turk brings a wealth of experience to MindPoint Group. His deep knowledge spans Critical Infrastructure and IT Service Management, with a proven track record of delivering innovative solutions in System Engineering, Enterprise Architecture, Information Security, DevOps, and Operations & Maintenance across both federal and commercial sectors. Gregory combines a strong technical foundation in Computer Science and Psychology with an advanced degree in Information Systems, enabling him to bridge the gap between technical challenges and strategic business outcomes. His leadership in service delivery and project management reflects his commitment to driving operational excellence and delivering impactful results for mission-critical environments.

Eron Covington

Associate Director, Proactive Security Services
Eron has over 20 years of experience in Information Technology and 15+ years as a Penetration Tester and holds various Red Teaming and Penetration Testing certifications. In addition to these skills and certifications, Eron has experience in helping MPG customers design, implement, and manage their Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT) infrastructure.

Anthony Mercaldo

Associate Director, Cybersecurity Shared Services
Anthony has been providing management consulting support to federal shared service centers for over ten years. He is responsible for designing, implementing, and managing cybersecurity shared services for customers, which provide them with highly effective cybersecurity capabilities through standard, cost-effective service models. He has a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as Bachelor’s in Psychology and Criminology & Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland.

Lindsay Van Dyke

Associate Director, Growth
Lindsay provides strategic and advisory support to the Growth Department’s federal, commercial, and marketing teams. Her focus is on aligning and leading cross-departmental major strategic company initiatives. Lindsay also directly oversees MPG’s federal and commercial proposal department. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business.
Team MPG

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Our team has been handpicked from the best in the industry to ensure a versatile range of perspectives from all cultures. We are a proud minority-owned business.
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