Lunch and Learn with Study Abroad

Eric Botts

Assistant Professor; Director, Global Cybersecurity Program

University of St. Thomas-Houston

Director, Global Cyber Security Program, Mr. Botts received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from St. Mary’s University and Master of Security Management from the University of Houston Downtown. After serving for 31 years in the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer (Santo Domingo, Seoul, Dublin, and Nassau), Assistant Director of the Houston Passport Agency and an Information Systems Security Officer, he retired in 2014. During his federal career he also served as Program Chairman of the Gulf Coast Federal Safety Council, and as a member of the Federal Executive Board. Mr. Botts teaching experience includes the University of Houston Downtown courses in cybersecurity and organizational resilience at the graduate level and Women’s Institute of Houston teaching courses in international relations. Mr. Botts is a founding board member of the Foreign Policy Alliance and has spoken on foreign policy issues to the media, civic groups, and at universities and colleges. In the private sector, he worked as a security project manager/consultant for Swailes & Co. Inc. specializing in cyber security, risk management, business continuity, due diligence, travel security, and investigations. In the cyber security community, he sits on the Secure World Advisory Council, and served on the Executive Board of the IT Summit.