Architect of the Nation's First Cyber Workforce Strategy Joins Cyberstar Board of Advisors
Cyberstar, the leading cyber workforce management platform for defense and federal organizations, has welcomed Dr. Daniel "Rags" Ragsdale to its Board of Advisors. Dr. Ragsdale brings more than 45 years of experience spanning the White House, the Department of Defense, academia, and industry — including the leadership role that shaped how the nation approaches cyber workforce readiness at scale.
Most recently, Dr. Ragsdale served as Deputy Assistant National Cyber Director at the White House, where he led the implementation of the nation's inaugural National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy. That effort influenced more than $100 billion in federal contracting and secured public and private sector commitments to create over 35,000 new cybersecurity jobs.
"Rags has been in that room. That experience is exactly what we need."
— Marling Engle, CEO, CyberstarFrom National Policy to Platform Strategy
Before his White House tenure, Dr. Ragsdale held senior roles including Principal Director for Cyber at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Program Manager at DARPA, and Vice Dean for Education. A retired Army Colonel, he currently serves as Founder of Full Spectrum Cyber Solutions and Senior Advisor at Cambridge Global Advisors.
For Cyberstar CEO Marling Engle, the appointment is about bringing policy-room insight directly into product strategy. Engle noted that leaders who have helped make national cyber workforce policy understand what is truly at stake when organizations cannot develop, quantify, and prove force readiness at scale — precisely the infrastructure Cyberstar is building for defense organizations.
"The reason I said yes is the mission."
— Dr. Daniel "Rags" Ragsdale, Board Advisor, CyberstarDr. Ragsdale emphasized that while a ready cyber workforce is essential, readiness tracking alone is not enough. He pointed to Cyberstar's push toward a comprehensive cyber workforce talent management system — one that helps organizations find, grow, place, and retain cyber talent at scale, moving beyond passive compliance snapshots toward dynamic, capability-based tracking built on the Defense Cyber Workforce Framework.
What This Means for Defense Cyber Readiness
The appointment reflects Cyberstar's continued focus on assembling a Board of Advisors with deep operational experience at the intersection of defense policy and cyber workforce implementation. Purpose-built for the DCWF and DoDM 8140.03, and backed by more than 20 years supporting defense and federal cyber programs, Cyberstar delivers real-time qualification tracking, automated verification, and workforce analytics — replacing manual tracking and siloed data systems with a single, auditable source of truth for mission readiness.
High-profile appointment. Dr. Daniel "Rags" Ragsdale, architect of the nation's first National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy, has joined Cyberstar's Board of Advisors.
Policy-level pedigree. His 45+ year career spans the White House, DoD, DARPA, and academia, with strategy work that influenced over $100 billion in federal contracting and 35,000+ new cybersecurity job commitments.
Beyond compliance tracking. Cyberstar is evolving from readiness tracking toward a full cyber workforce talent management system that helps organizations find, grow, place, and retain talent at scale.
DCWF and 8140.03 alignment. The platform is purpose-built for the Defense Cyber Workforce Framework and DoDM 8140.03, shifting organizations from static compliance snapshots to dynamic, capability-based tracking.
Strategic board build-out. The move continues Cyberstar's pattern of recruiting advisors with hands-on experience at the intersection of defense policy and cyber workforce implementation.