New director heads Missouri Cybersecurity Center of Excellence

Wes Hester: MCCoE's goal is to train 80 students in cybersecurity this year.

Coming off its first full calendar year in operation, a Springfield-based nonprofit centered on cybersecurity and workforce development easily surpassed its revenue from 2024 amid a leadership change.

Matt Powell is the new executive director of the Missouri Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. He replaced Jonathan Dewein, who had led the 501(c)(3) nonprofit for around a year. Dewein was the second executive director for the organization that launched in April 2024 inside the Roy Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center, Missouri State University’s advanced research and development hub. Heather Noggle, who remains on the MCCoE board, served as the first leader of the organization she formed with entrepreneur Wes Hester and Shannon McMurtrey, associate professor of cyber-risk management at Drury University.

Powell, who began as an intern at MCCoE and most recently served as manager of its security operations center, impressed the organization’s founders, Hester said. Hester still volunteers with the nonprofit and serves as its board chair. He also remains CEO of Herndon, Virginia-based managed security service provider Foxhole Technology Inc.

“Coming into the MCCoE, he brought in a lot of networking skills, cybersecurity skills, and also some leadership skills,” Hester said of Powell. “We were really excited to have Matt on the team, so we made him the SOC manager. He did everything from running the security operation center to solutioning technical solutions with the clients. So, when Jonathan Dewein departed the MCCoE, it really opened up a position for Matt to step up.”

Powell said he’s accrued over 20 years of experience in the information technology industry, including positions at Tech10 Networks Inc. and MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI). In 2024, he began offering IT services and consulting through his own venture, An IT Company LLC, which he continues to operate.

Dewein said via LinkedIn that he stepped down from the MCCoE for personal reasons, noting he’s transitioning into his next role. He declined to announce his new employer at this time.

MCCoE offers numerous cybersecurity services for small to midsize businesses and local and state governments, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. Services include risk assessment, penetration testing, security monitoring and training, and development operations support. As a nonprofit, officials say the organization can apply for grants and accept donations. It operates on a reduced-fee model with clients, Hester said, adding it reached $1 million in revenue last year.

“I basically worked my way up from every position to executive director, and I feel that I have a good handle on how this organization works and the structures that are in place,” Powell said. “I do align with its core mission and values. I do believe in what we’re doing, and I do see the difference that we’re making in our students’ lives, in helping individuals get jobs.”

The organization received around $125,000 last year from grants and donations, Powell said. A financial boost arrived early this year as Network Advisors LLC, a technology consulting firm located in Springfield Underground, made a $30,000 donation, officials say. Its CEO, Jordan Smith, also is on the MCCoE board, Hester said.

Program opportunities
A pair of missions for MCCoE are to provide cybersecurity services to the community and offer workforce development through educational and career hands-on training and certifications. Hester said the organization trains its students through a player, coach and mentor model. Cohorts include students from local higher education institutions such as Missouri State University, Drury University, Ozarks Technical Community College, Evangel University and Southeast Missouri State University.

The pay scale ranges $15-$25 per hour, depending on expertise and time the student has been in the program, Powell said. Officials say the organization has helped 16 students land cybersecurity jobs since its formation.

While internship opportunities are still offered, Hester said MCCoE also became a registered cybersecurity apprentice program provider through the U.S. Department of Labor around April 2025. The 12-month, 2,000-hour program is designed to develop job-ready cybersecurity professionals through hands-on, project-based learning and mentor-guided experiences. Additionally, the nonprofit offers an eight-week, 200-hour preapprenticeship program that is designed to provide experience for those seeking to enter the apprenticeship program.

“For the apprenticeship program, we do have qualifiers. We have interviews with the individuals to engage their skills individually,” Powell said. “We want to make sure that they have the basic knowledge for the cybersecurity apprenticeship pathway.

“We do have to turn some folks away if they don’t meet the qualifications,” he added. “We do point them in the right direction and try to help them bolster their education or their knowledge base so that they can come back to us when they’re ready.”

Hester said the goal is to train 60 students per year, which will be a mix of interns, apprentices and active-duty military looking to gain civilian work experience through the U.S. Department of Defense SkillBridge program. He said the organization currently has three military members with seven scheduled to come on board in 2026.

Other Missouri nonprofits that work in the cybersecurity space include CyberUp in St. Louis and EnterpriseKC in Kansas City. However, Hester said while those organizations focus on workforce development, they don’t provide cyberservices to the community such as MCCoE.

Goal setting
MCCoE continues to utilize funding from a roughly $1.6 million grant it was awarded by the state that provided funding for its facility, equipment and software.

As the nonprofit began operations in 2024, revenue was roughly $60,000, Hester said. After reaching revenue of $1 million last year, he said the five-year goal is to try to double the number annually.

“I think it’s reachable with the right people and the right clients,” he said.

Powell said MCCoE is standing on its own and covering costs.

“We are successful in our services that we sell to our clients, and we are able to pay our own way,” Powell said, noting the nonprofit still depends on roughly six volunteers but also employs four with plans to increase staff to seven this year. “We are not dependent on that grant any longer to sustain ourselves.”

While Powell said the nonprofit is unable to share its clients for confidentiality reasons, Hester said the MCCoE currently is working with 10 organizations.

“We actually provide penetration testing, cybersecurity assessments, and we provide SOC services, such as active monitoring of networks,” Hester said.

Beyond a desired growth in revenue and helping more students find cybersecurity jobs, Powell said another goal for the nonprofit this year will be to better promote its purpose in the community.

“We’re going to be having an increased social media and marketing presence in 2026, as well as increasing our business development relations with the community and clients,” he said.