About Us

Mike Semel

CEO & Founder

35-year IT industry veteran; Hospital & K-12 School District Chief Information Officer (CIO); IT solution provider business owner; certified in HIPAA, Compliance, & Business Continuity Planning; nationally-recognized compliance consultant, speaker, and HIPAA courseware author

Employment

• Semel Consulting, September 2012 – present -- President, Chief Compliance Officer
• Business Continuity Technologies, June, 2010 – Sept. 2012 -- VP/Chief Security Officer
• White Pine County School District, Ely, NV - 2007 - 2012, - Outsourced School District CIO
• XiloCore (online backup & Cloud recovery provider) January 2010 – June, 2010 – Interim Chief Operating Officer
• Connecting Point of Las Vegas, 2006 – 2010 -- VP of Business Continuity & Compliance
• Schuyler Hospital, Montour Falls, NY - 2004 - 2006 - Outsourced Hospital CIO
• Databranch, Elmira Heights, NY, 2004 – 2006 -- General Manager
• Chemung Computer, Elmira Heights, NY, 1980 – 2004 -- Owner

2011 “Channelnomics Influencer” Award Winner

Primary Skills

IT Management; Disaster and Business Continuity Planning (certified); assessments for compliance and business continuity; HIPAA Compliance (certified) & JCAHO compliance; IT Assessments for School Districts; Executive Level consulting; CIO for hire; network design; IT policies and procedures; project management; ROI evaluation; training; Able to create marketing materials, write effective proposals, write executive level reports; IT costs control & budgeting; IT investment justification; able to effectively communicate technology with non-technical executives

Professional Summary

• CHSP (Certified HIPAA Security Professional, 4Medapproved.com) -- co-authored courseware that has been professionally reviewed & qualifies for Continuing Education Units
• CBCP (Certified Business Continuity Professional # 11055, Disaster Recovery Institute International) – Nov. 2007 - completed Business Continuity Plan for $ 4 billion credit union and many smaller businesses
• Certified HIPAA Administrator, 2003; Certified HIPAA Professional, 2012 (HIPAA Academy) – have conducted many HIPAA Security Rule assessments and compliance projects including medical offices, hospitals, government agencies; led compliance assessment teams for 3 Nevada school districts and HIPAA assessments for a New York county; Maryland State Agency; hospital; medical practices
• Certified Security Compliance Specialist (HIPAA Academy) 2012
• Member, FBI Infragard
• Outsourced Chief Information Officer (CIO,) for White Pine County School District, Ely, NV, 2007 – 2012 responsible for maintaining all network infrastructure; helped district qualify for over $ 1 million in E-rate discounts
• Apple Education Sales Consultant, 1990 – 1991, responsible for $ 10 million in Apple Sales, Support, and Service to educational institutions in New York and Pennsylvania
• ASCII Resident Expert – Business Continuity, Healthcare, Compliance, Security
• Elected Chair, CompTIA IT Security Community (retired)
• Chief Information Officer (CIO,) Schuyler Hospital, Montour Falls, NY, 2004 - 2006 – increased IT reliability and flexibility, reduced downtime to zero; lowered IT department operating budget by 32% over 2 years; HIPAA compliance
• Business Solutions Magazine cover story; Hewlett-Packard Success Story; and D-Link Case Study
• 30 years managing between 7 and 30 network engineers & service technicians
• 18+ years experience in IT manufacturer and industry Advisory Councils- Compaq, Ingram, Xerox
• Served on Executive Level advisory panels for two multi-billion $$ companies
• Managed Work at Home implementation for Corning Incorporated
• Chaired Software Development Team—Intelligent Electronics Service Management Software
• Chaired Software Selection Team—Ingram Micro National Service Network
• Computing Channels Magazine—wrote 4,000 word cover story
• Corning Community College Computer Repair Technology Advisory Committee
• Conference speaker—numerous conferences, audiences up to 800 people
• Computer Technology Industry Association Security Trustmark Development Team, 2008
• Co-Author—The CompTIA Security Trustmark Quick Reference Guide, 2009
• Article – How to Write Winning Proposals, CompTIA, 2011
• Article -- Are You A Security Threat to Your Clients?, ChannelInsider, 2011
• Article – Protecting your Country While Protecting Your Clients, ChannelInsider, 2011
• Article – Disruptions, Disasters do happen in Las Vegas, LVLCC Comunicacion, 2011
• Webinar – Vertical Markets You Can Attack for Profit & Recurring Revenue, MSPU University, 2011

Education

• Syracuse University – Public Relations/Print Journalism
• Franklin-Covey—Helping Clients Succeed

Healthcare / Compliance

• New York State Certified Emergency Medical Technician (1977 - 1996)
• Past Chairman, Chemung County Emergency Medical Services Fire Advisory Council
• Schuyler Hospital CIO -- Managed IT & HIPAA compliance for 400-employee hospital
• HIPAA Academy – Administrator Certification
• HIPAA Academy Certified HIPAA Professional
• EC First – Certified Security Compliance Specialist

Emergency Services

• Hazardous Materials Instructor, New York State Academy of Fire Science (1982 – 1987)
• Rescue Captain, Emergency Medical Technician, West Elmira Vol. Fire Department (1975 – 1995)
• Safety Director, Watkins Glen International racetrack (1975 – 1986)
• Rescue Specialist, Indycar Safety Team (1981 – 1999)
• Chairman, Chemung-Schuyler Red Cross Emergency Community Services (1985 – 2001)
• Past Board of Directors, Chemung Schuyler Red Cross (1987 – 1993)