Bezawit Bezawit Sumner serves as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Senior Director of Security and Compliance at CRISP Shared Services (CSS), a mission-driven nonprofit that operates and supports health information exchange (HIE) and health data utility (HDU) services across multiple states. Bezawit leads enterprise cybersecurity, information security, and compliance programs that protect sensitive health data and support secure, interoperable data exchange. As CISO, Bezawit provides executive leadership across governance, risk management, incident response, and regulatory compliance, to strengthen organizational resilience and cybersecurity maturity across complex healthcare environments.

Bezawit is actively engaged in national and state-level cybersecurity leadership efforts and is a member of the HSCC Cybersecurity Working Group for the Healthcare and Public Health Sector, serving on the board of the Cyber Risk Alliance. In Maryland, Bezawit served on the original Maryland Health Association Legislative Healthcare Ecosystem Stakeholder Cybersecurity Workgroup, contributing to policy discussions on hospital cybersecurity standards, third-party risk assessments, incident reporting, CISO designation, and cybersecurity legislation in other states.

Bez’s professional contributions include serving on the planning committee for Health-ISAC’s annual incident response tabletop exercises (Hobby Exercise) in 2023 and 2024. Her leadership has been recognized with the CIVITAS Community Excellence Award for Dedicated Mentor (2023), finalist honors for Cyber Champion of the Year from the Cybersecurity Association of Maryland (2023 and 2024), and the HSCC Cybersecurity Partnership Medallion Award (2025).