Joel Scharlat is the Director of Operations at Cyber Bytes Foundation. He brings with him over 24 years of leadership, management, and technical experience across the aviation, IT, AR/VR (XR), and cybersecurity industries. In his current role, he is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to provide education, innovation, and outreach programs in cybersecurity. He is also a Cybersecurity Advisor with the XR Safety Initiative, a global nonprofit dedicated to creating safe and secure experiences in XR, and is developing an AR and IoT-supported app to help low-vision people cross the street more safely. Joel retired from the United States Marine Corps and has a Master of Science degree from the Naval Postgraduate School and earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Arizona.