The global skills and competency framework for the digital world

SFIA Specialist

Dr Blake Curtis

Dr. Blake Curtis is a cybersecurity governance advisor, research scientist, and practitioner-consultant whose work bridges science, standards, and real-world execution. He builds secure software development life cycle (SSDLC) programs, AI governance, audit and assurance programs, and provides cyber-legal advisory grounded in the operational realities of engineering, risk, evidence, and executive decision-making. His pioneering study, The Next Generation Cybersecurity Auditor, applied the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) and NIST's National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) to challenge the 10,000-hour rule and the years-of-experience fallacy. It demonstrated that task-based experience provides a more objective and predictive measure of cybersecurity-audit capability than years of experience or tenure alone. That research continues to inform workforce development, certification design, and performance evaluation at institutions such as ISACA, NIST, CompTIA, APMG, and SFIA.

Dr Blake Curtis

Blake Curtis is a specialist consultant practitioner based in United States

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reginaldblakecurtis/

About Dr Blake Curtis

His career includes systems engineering; Principal Security Architect for Governance, Risk & Compliance at Vanderbilt University; Global Cybersecurity Strategy & Technical Program Manager at Deloitte; and Senior Leader of AI Governance for AWS Support at Amazon. At Deloitte, he architected a global SSDLC transformation across 33 geographies and 350,000 employees. His technical program leadership was recognized with the 2025 Amazon Leadership Principle Excellence Award, the 2024 Amazon Smile Award, Deloitte Applause Awards for global SSDLC standardization and architecture-review governance, and Deloitte's Making an Impact - Living Our Shared Values. Blake received that recognition for translating the firm's Shared Values into measurable, observable practices tailored to Global Cyber Architecture & Engineering, strengthening team culture and communication while elevating minority voices in how the organization worked and made decisions.

Dr. Curtis is also the architect and pioneer behind Cybersecurity & AI Auditing: Auditing Beyond Checklists in the Age of AI, Cloud, and Automation. This Packt publication is a practical guide to evidence-centered cybersecurity and AI auditing. His body of work also includes The Truth Trap: When Confidence Is Not Evidence: A plain-language guide to credible research, evidence evaluation, and AI-assisted inquiry and Self-Governance: How to Reclaim Your Attention, Choose Under Pressure, and Decide What Gets a Vote. Through his writing and teaching, he helps aspiring scientists, researchers, and journalists approach qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research in plain language through critical thinking, interrogative reading, discourse analysis, and intellectual humility practices that help reduce avoidable oversights and overstatements.

His industry-specific professional publications and contributions include authorship of ISACA's CISM Official Review Manual, 17th Edition; technical editing and co-authorship of ISACA's Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework (DTEF); and work as a subject matter expert reviewer and exam-preparation consultant for ISACA's Advanced in AI Audit (AAIA) certification, including curriculum and scenario-based modules. His ISACA contributions have also included advisory work with its Emerging Technology Advisory Board, leadership of the Global Governance Topic Leader forum, and technical consulting for the Future of ISACA Certifications initiative. Across this work, he has advanced hands-on assessment, deliberate practice, and micro-course pathways that distinguish theoretical knowledge from demonstrated competence.

A former high school dropout, Dr. Curtis later completed his master's degree in 10 weeks and earned his doctorate in under two years, receiving the Western Governors University's Distinguished Alumni Award and induction into the National Society of Leadership and Success. His article, How to Complete Your Master's Degree in One Semester, has helped more than 150 students accelerate their degrees through evidence-based learning strategies. Recognized as a Top 25 Cybersecurity Leader of 2024 and a Top 50 Cybersecurity Mentor of 2025, he has built assurance and governance programs across government, healthcare, and private sectors. His unique teaching blends hybrid pedagogical methods, including spaced repetition, memory anchors, and deliberate practice, to strengthen memory retention, judgment, and cognitive performance.

Across an unusually extensive list of LinkedIn recommendations, CISOs, CIOs, scientists, executives, practitioners, clients, and educators consistently describe Dr. Curtis as an uncommon combination of distinguished practitioner-scientist and influential executive. They point to his ability to build enterprise cybersecurity, AI governance, and audit programs and translate technical and governance requirements into practical decisions that protect customers. They also cite his work developing workforce and education programs through clear teaching and mentorship and building collaborative, values-led teams that work backward from their customers' needs. 

Active Certifications & Licenses

Cybersecurity & Information Assurance

  • Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

  • Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

  • ISACA Advanced in AI Audit (AAIA)

  • ISACA Advanced in AI Security Management (AAISM)

  • NIST Cybersecurity Framework Professional – Foundation

  • AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

  • Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

  • Certified Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI)

  • Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP)

  • CompTIA Security+

Governance, Risk, & Compliance (GRC)

  • Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

  • Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE)

  • Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT)

  • Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC)

  • COBIT®: Implementing the NIST Cybersecurity Framework Using COBIT 2019

  • COBIT®: Designing and Implementing a Governance Framework

  • COBIT®: Foundation

  • COSO Enterprise Risk Management Certification

  • COSO Internal Controls Certification

Organizational & Business Consulting Psychology

  • Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) – Foundation Certification

  • SFIA Accredited Practitioner

  • SFIA Accredited Consultant

Technical Implementation & Operations

  • Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE): Server Infrastructure

  • MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure

  • Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA): Server Infrastructure

  • Certified SAFe® 5 Practitioner

  • Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)

  • CompTIA A+

  • Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)

Scientific Research & Communication

  • QuestionPro: Research Professional

  • QuestionPro: Research Expert

  • American Copy Editors Society: Certificate in Editing

Leadership & Management

  • Cornell University: Psychology of Leadership

  • NSLS: Foundations of Leadership I

  • NSLS: Foundations of Leadership II

  • NSLS: Advanced Leadership

  • NSLS: Executive Leadership

  • Harvard University: Exercising Leadership – Foundational Principles

Dr. Blake Curtis, Sc.D | LinkedIn