Joshua Scarpino is the founder and CEO of Assessed Intelligence and the architect of the ARISE Framework™, the seven-domain assurance model the firm applies across every engagement. He brings more than two decades of combined experience across the U.S. Department of Defense, enterprise IT, responsible AI, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance, with a career spanning Fortune 500 enterprises, early-stage startups, and the public sector.

Joshua’s foundation was built in the United States Air Force, where he served as a Quality Assurance Inspector, an Operational Security (OPSEC) Manager, and an Aerospace Equipment NCO. The OPSEC discipline, identifying what an adversary could exploit and controlling exposure before exploitation occurs, is the conceptual root of the work Assessed Intelligence does today. That foundation, refined through his doctoral research on the implications of machine learning and artificial intelligence in risk management, forms the basis of the ARISE Framework. ARISE is the seven-domain model that unifies how Assessed Intelligence delivers governance across cybersecurity, AI, and regulatory exposure; it carries operational security forward into a governance discipline that holds up under autonomous systems, algorithmic decision-making, and contested regulatory environments.

After military service, Joshua moved into senior security and audit roles in the private sector, including Senior IT and Security Auditor, Information Security Officer, Head of Security and Compliance, and Vice President of Information Security. In each role, he led the identification and mitigation of enterprise risk, the deployment of critical technologies, and the design of resilient, scalable security programs that exceed regulatory requirements. He has built and scaled global security teams, developed enterprise security architectures, and embedded Responsible AI principles into operating models rather than retrofitting them into policy after the fact.

Joshua holds a Doctor of Science in Cybersecurity from Marymount University. A Master Juris is American Law from Liberty University, and a Master of Science in Cybersecurity. He is a Fellow at ForHumanity, contributing to independent audit criteria for AI and security governance aligned with the EU AI Act, NIST, and ISO standards. He serves with the Ohio Cyber Reserve, sits on the Engineering Leadership Advisory Board at Ashland University, and has taught cybersecurity and computer science as an adjunct instructor at Stark State College. He holds the CISSP and CISM certifications.

His leadership approach combines technical depth with strategic clarity, uniting business requirements and engineering reality in the same conversation. The values he brought out of the Air Force, resilience, discipline, and mission-first execution, continue to define how he runs the firm and how the firm runs engagements: forward-looking, evidence-based, and accountable when it matters most.