Leaders Who Care. Who Care a Lot about Employee Growth and Customer Success

Joseph (Joe) Karolchik is the President and managing partner of Nteligen®. Since co-founding the company in 2010 with John and Jerry, he has led the business from a startup venture to becoming an industry expert in reducing the risk of sharing information for national defense. Under his leadership, Nteligen® has formed partnerships with Government agencies and cybersecurity vendors to create policies and technology that support critical data movement in secure, managed environments.

From the start, Joe’s career has been dedicated to supporting national defense through his work with government agencies and the DOD. As a software engineer in his early career, he developed applications for satellite telemetry processing, signal collection, data analysis, and training to support analysts. He got started in cybersecurity by leading a research team to build an information security and analysis system that was awarded multiple U.S. and international patents. Continuing to specialize in cybersecurity solutions, he developed security software for interactive voice response, telecommunication systems, and networking devices. Eventually, he took over engineering leadership for a custom hardware enhancement manufacturer.

His career experiences motivated Joe to start a business that could make a focused and meaningful contribution to the defense industry. Nteligen® was co-founded around developing cross-domain solutions (CDS) that led the industry’s efforts to move data between networks and users with widely varying security concerns. Many of the company’s early developments have become exemplars for today’s CDS industry. The business expanded its focus to understanding, managing, and reducing the risk of sharing information to encompass new technology research and evaluation of innovative cybersecurity products. The key concept behind Nteligen®’s business is called Proactive Cyber Threat MitigationTM, which defines the full lifecycle of secure information sharing.

Joe earned his B.S. in Computer Science from IUP and his M.S. in Technical Management from Johns Hopkins. He has been an active member of AFCEA Central Maryland for over 20 years and was integral in creating the STEM Kickstarter program, which awards grants to K-12 teachers in Central Maryland for STEM-related initiatives. He is also a member of the Project Management Institute, having earned his PMP certification in 2009. In his spare time, Joe likes to garden, play piano, and enjoys cooking like a Food Network chef.

John Spicer is the Vice-President of Technical Strategy for Nteligen. John co-founded Nteligen with Joe and Jerry in 2010 to build an organization focused on solving challenging problems using principled engineering approaches. He wanted their organization to be free of the bureaucracy found in larger organizations, focusing on solving customer challenges without artificial limitations. 

John started his career developing software tools for designing and simulating ASIC and FPGA. From there, he moved into the emergent ‘dot com’ market where he helped to bootstrap the capability of multiple pre-ipo organizations, before moving on to the aerospace industry where he developed systems to improve and evolve command and control systems for spacecraft. Ultimately, in 2006, John found himself in the Information Assurance arena, leading engineering teams in designing and developing key Cross Domain capabilities for the federal government.  

Since then, John has acted as an influential voice in this problem space, closely assisting and consulting with the government and industry partners in the areas of technology, policy, and the future direction for secure information sharing; the core business focus of Nteligen. John is responsible for ensuring that Nteligen provides world-class thought leadership, guidance, and technical support to the industry, specifically focusing on Government and commercial leaders. 

John is an alumnus of the Comp Sci department at UMBC and enjoys the challenges that come with difficult tasks. No challenge is as tempting to him as the one that nobody wants to address. He and his partners have worked to build that same ethos into Nteligen’s culture. This ethos makes him a great fit for tackling cybersecurity risk management problems at a national level.  

John lives in Mt. Airy with his wife, daughter, and two cats. He enjoys audio engineering, motorcycles, motorcoach trips with his family, and auto racing. 

Jerry Adams is VP of Finance. He is also a co-founder with Joseph and John. It was a tough decision for him in 2010 to give up an established and successful career in public education and assume a new job managing corporate finances. He has no regrets (smile).

During his tenure, he designed and set up Nteligen®‘s accounting policies and procedures and has headed the accounting department from the start.

Jerry provides strategic oversight and collaborative leadership for all of Nteligen®‘s financial and accounting functions. He is also Nteligen®‘s contact for the government auditing agencies DCAA and DFAS, as well as the IRS.

His educational experience is uniquely diverse, with an undergraduate degree in Biology from Frostburg State University, a master’s degree in Secondary Science Education from Towson University, and an MBA from Frostburg State University.

Outside work, Jerry enjoys spending time with his family, his trusted canine companion, and time relaxing while communing with Nature. He considers himself an amateur naturalist and a botanical enthusiast and spends as much time outdoors as possible, exploring and appreciating everything Nature offers. He also enjoys audiobooks while commuting to and from work, with biographical, detective, and spy novels topping his list of favorites.

Emily de Kouadio is the Director of People and Culture at Nteligen, a role she began in 2024. With a deep passion for fostering a positive and collaborative workplace culture, Emily brings over a decade of experience in both talent acquisition and human resources to her position.

Her career began in the field of Intellectual Property, where she held a multifaceted role as a patent administrator. During this time, she also provided support in human resources and talent acquisition, which sparked her interest in people-centered work. This foundational experience laid the groundwork for her transition into HR and talent acquisition roles.

Since 2015, Emily has honed her expertise in the people management space, guiding organizations in attracting top talent and cultivating a culture of growth, engagement, and success. Her journey at Nteligen reflects her dedication to aligning business goals with human capital strategies, helping teams thrive in an ever-evolving workplace.

With a robust career centered around helping small businesses thrive in the federal contracting space, Emily has earned a reputation for her expertise in talent acquisition and strategic workforce planning. Over the course of her career, she has successfully generated over $10 million in revenue through her innovative talent acquisition efforts, making a significant impact on the growth and success of the companies she works with.

Emily specializes in building customized talent and human resources strategies that empower organizations to secure top-tier talent, ensuring that they not only meet their immediate staffing needs but also cultivate a workforce capable of driving long-term success.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Resources Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus, equipping her with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the complexities of HR within the fast-paced federal contracting landscape.  

Outside of work, Emily enjoys volunteering, interior decorating/art collecting, baking, traveling and spending time with her friends and family. She lives in Columbia, MD with her husband, daughter, son, and fur baby (dog).  

Additionally, she is a member of the local Howard County SHRM Chapter, where she frequently attends meetings to collaborate with other Human Resources Executives to gain insight on market trends, strategies, and ways to continuously improve the People & Culture department.  

Erik Carlson is the Vice President of Operations at Nteligen. He joined the company in 2016 as a Systems Security Engineer and was quickly promoted to Program Manager. After successfully establishing the Nteligen PMO, he advanced to Director of Programs before stepping into his current role. 

With a background in program and project management across multiple industries since 2007, Erik was drawn to Nteligen by its culture, growth opportunities, and familiar faces. Since joining, he has continued to learn and grow, tackling technical challenges that make his work both engaging and rewarding. 

Erik’s impact at Nteligen has been significant. He built and led the PMO, and more recently, has taken a holistic approach to business operations, driving improvements across the board. His natural ability to organize complex efforts makes him a key problem-solver within the company. 

 He holds a B.S. in Kinesiology from the University of Maryland, College Park, an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland Global Campus, and an Advanced Certificate in Golf Course Management from the Maryland Institute of Applied Agriculture. His professional certifications include ITIL v4, PMP, and CISSP. In 2006, the Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources named him Student of the Year. 

Outside of work, Erik is an avid golfer, a home DIYer, and a passionate cook. He takes pride in winning multiple Nteligen® chili and cookie competitions. He lives in Millersville, MD, with his wife and two daughters. 

Eric Gudenius is the Vice President of Infrastructure and Compliance. He joined the company in 2012. He started programming at age 13 in a movie theater projection booth.

In his first corporate job, his first role was as an application developer. He then moved into developing system integration tools and file system device drivers. While working for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq, Eric learned about partner nation communication issues that Cross-Domain Solutions (CDS) address. Eric has been working in CDS and related technologies since 2005.

Eric joined Nteligen® after hearing what kind of company they were building. It sounded perfect for his skill set and an opportunity to grow. He likes that the leadership is still learning and knows they can learn from their teams. He continues to evolve and be inspired by colleagues inside and outside Nteligen®.

Eric earned an A.A. in Data Processing from Northern Virginia Community College, a B.S. in Applied Behavioral Sciences from National Louis University, and an M.S. in Computer Systems Management from the University of Maryland, University College. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional with the Information Systems Security Engineering Professional concentration (CISSP-ISSEP). Eric enjoys sailing, 3D printing, laser cutting, computer gaming, drone flying, and model railroading. Eric lives in Mt. Airy with his wife, of 36 years, and has two grown sons and five granddaughters.

Christina Buckner is the Director of Programs. She started with Nteligen in 2020 as a Technical Program Manager and has been working as a federal contractor since 2003.

With leadership experience that goes beyond her time working as a federal contractor, Christina enjoys the challenges and opportunities that working at a small business provides. Christina is drawn to the strategic and tactical opportunities a small business provides and enjoys the engaging environment. She has a passion for mentoring people at all stages of their career, and currently mentors people both inside and outside of Nteligen.

Christina earned her B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, a M.S. in Information Technology from the University of Maryland, University (Global) College, and an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland, University (Global) College. She holds a number of professional certifications, including the PMP, ITIL v3, SAFe Scaled Agile, and Security+.

Outside of work, Christina enjoys snuggling with and showing her Irish Wolfhounds, taking walks along the water’s edge, listening to a varied range of live music, and laughing with friends. Additionally, she’s a trained disaster relief responder who focuses on animals and occasionally trains state employees on Animals in Disasters.