Valarian Couch

Chief Information Officer Champaign County School District

Valarian Couch is a visionary leader with more than 15 years of expertise in the Information Technology sector. He currently serves as the Chief Information Officer for Champaign Unit 4 Schools (Illinois).

In a short time, Valarian has transformed the District’s IT Department rebuilding the team based on a culture of accountability and collaboration. He has led efforts to install 960 security cameras across 19 school buildings as well as a successful implementation of security detectors at both high schools. He is responsible for the Risk Management Framework, security documentation, Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M) remediation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication documentation.

As a visionary leader, he harnesses his depth of working knowledge and extensive training to lead and train Networking Architecture teams in proper overall operations and detailed analysis and investigative techniques. Passionate about the user interaction with the technology solution he provided, he delivers web application assessments utilizing commercial and open-source software to perform automated scans as well as manual tests. He aims to ensure the integrity of high availability network infrastructure, so he provides Cyber Threat Modeling, Risk Management Frameworks for multiple large companies.

Also, he develops their Wiki Security and Networking Teams for managing SOC/NOC and facilitating Incident Response during critical times. Prior to joining Unit 4 Schools, Valarian served as the Network Security Administrator for Flex-N-Gate. He was also the Cyber Security Manager for C2C Innovated Technology, as well as the IT Manager & Senior Network Engineer for TransCore.

Those who take the time out to get to know Valarian would describe him as an analytical thinker, capable of raising expectations while interfacing effectively with networks at all levels. He likes working and nurturing relationships with people from various backgrounds and cultures, alongside his excellent communication skills.

Despite his accomplishments and dexterity, he still remains down-to-earth, making him an effective team player with the ability to prioritize and multitask. Ornamented with a dynamic personality, Valarian prefers to take the extra step in staying unique while reaching his aspirations.

Valarian has honorably served his country as a member of the U.S. Army. He has a B.S. in Information Management, an M.S. in Computer Science, and is working on a doctorate in Computer Science and Cyber Security, all from Colorado Technical University. He has also acquired various certificate programs in areas like PMP / CISM / CISA / CRISC / C|EHv11 / C|HFI / CSIE / CSCP / CNVP / CNSP / CCAP / CLNP / CSAE / CNIP / CCNA / CCNP ENCOR / ITILv4.