Ash Clements
Sr. Professional Services Consultant — SASE & AI Security
I got my first job at 15 — waiting tables, helping the family, buying computer parts with what was left. Never stopped working. By my early twenties I was so burned out on tech I got my real estate license and made $10k a month deliberately staying away from computers. Lasted three years before the industry hunted me down anyway: brokerages kept asking me to fix their networks, and I was too good at it to say no.
1997 — Unisys fly-and-fix team. We rolled out the Y2K remediation across the entire Social Security Administration. Nearly every state, Thursday to Monday, for two years straight. That's where carrier-grade infrastructure stopped being theory and became instinct.
2001: tech bubble burst, laid off from GE Spacenet, back in Richmond with nothing. That year hit hard on multiple fronts. Building something wasn't just about the money — it was about having something to show up for every day. Downloaded pirated Dreamweaver and Flash, taught myself HTML, CSS, Flash, and Java from scratch, built ProFilesPC from zero — web, security, and network consulting — $125k working from home. First paycheck went to a legal Adobe license. That's still how I operate: figure it out, put it back together better, pay it forward when you can.
Senior security consultant specializing in enterprise SASE deployments and AI security architecture. At Palo Alto Networks, I lead complex Prisma Access implementations for Fortune 500 organizations across critical infrastructure — gas & oil, telecommunications, and global financial services. PCNSE certified with deep expertise in Zero Trust architecture and the emerging field of AI runtime security.
Experience
SASE & AI Security · Enterprise Architecture · Professional Services
- ›Lead complex Prisma Access and SASE deployments for Fortune 500 clients across gas & oil, telecom, and financial services
- ›Architect Zero Trust network security for high-stakes enterprise environments — critical infrastructure, carrier-grade, global finance
- ›PCNSE certified with deep expertise in PAN-OS, GlobalProtect, SD-WAN, and Prisma Access
- ›Pursuing AIRS Specialist designation — building production AI security tooling to validate the threat models behind the platform
Enterprise network security · Financial infrastructure
- ›Secured global financial transaction infrastructure at enterprise scale
- ›Network segmentation, access control, and perimeter security for one of the world's largest payment networks
- ›Operated in a compliance-first environment with direct exposure to financial-grade security standards
Telecom infrastructure · Channel sales · Partner development
- ›Channel sales and partner development at a regional telecom provider
- ›Leveraged deep network engineering background to bridge technical and commercial conversations
Managed security services · Network infrastructure · Enterprise clients
- ›Senior network security engineering at a dedicated MSP — longest tenure in the gap years
- ›Security hardening, network design, and infrastructure builds across enterprise clients
- ›Deepened the enterprise consulting skillset that feeds directly into current PAN work
Federal network security · Government infrastructure · Compliance
- ›Senior network security engineering within a federal regulatory agency
- ›Security-conscious, compliance-driven infrastructure with federal-grade requirements
ISP / CLEC operations · Carrier networking · Network engineering
- ›Carrier-grade networking at a regional CLEC — where enterprise networking fundamentals got built
- ›Earned CCNA certification during this role
Web development · Security consulting · Network infrastructure
- ›Founded after the 2001 tech bubble collapse — built from scratch, no capital, no investors
- ›Full-stack shop: web design, graphic design, security hardening, and network infrastructure — clients included VCU Art School, Carytown retail, and ecommerce
- ›Grew to $125k/yr; sold stake 2008
- ›Ran network buildouts alongside web work — switches, firewalls, VPNs — the beginning of what became a career in enterprise infrastructure
Satellite networking · Carrier infrastructure
- ›Network engineering at a pioneer satellite broadband provider during the early internet build-out
- ›Carrier-grade infrastructure — the beginning of a career built on moving traffic at scale
Y2K remediation · Federal government · Social Security Administration
- ›Part of the Unisys team that executed the Y2K fix rollout across the entire Social Security Administration
- ›Fly-and-fix field deployment — visited nearly every state in the US over two years
- ›One of the largest coordinated government IT rollouts in US history; Thursday-to-Monday travel cadence at peak
Residential sales · Client relations · Business development
- ›Started at 22 specifically to get away from computers — made $10k/month within the first year
- ›The escape didn't last: local real estate firms discovered I knew networks, kept their offices running, and pulled me back into tech
- ›Three years of sales, negotiation, and client management — skills that quietly inform every enterprise engagement since
Core Competencies
Security Tooling
Production tools built at the intersection of AI security, cloud, and enterprise network security.
Multi-agent LLM security framework demonstrating cross-service attack detection and runtime monitoring — the architectural pattern behind Palo Alto Networks' AIRS offering.
Automated scanner testing AI endpoints against the full OWASP LLM Top 10. Semantic detection catches paraphrased attacks that bypass pattern matching — 35+ payloads, production-ready.
Multi-cloud misconfiguration scanner mapping findings to CIS Benchmarks with executive PDF reporting. Covers AWS, Azure, and GCP in a single read-only scan.
What I Care About
The work funds the mission. The mission is bigger than the work.
I grew up going to St. George's Camp because people at my church donated so kids like me could go. Now that I do well, I pay it forward — funding spots for underprivileged kids to have the same experience I did.
Shrine Mont / St. George's Camp ↗One of the largest food banks in the United States. I give time and money here because food insecurity is a solvable problem and no one in Phoenix should go hungry.
St. Mary's Food Bank ↗I spend a lot of time in dark corners of the internet. If you see something — child exploitation, animal cruelty — say something. All of these resources accept anonymous reports. You don't have to give your name. You just have to make the call.
Report online child sexual exploitation — anonymous submissions accepted
Report child exploitation and abuse to federal law enforcement
24/7 anonymous crisis intervention and reporting — call or text
International anonymous reporting — CSAM, 50+ countries
How and where to report animal abuse — anonymous tips accepted
Report animal cruelty anonymously — national resources and local referrals
Report animal cruelty in Arizona — anonymous tips accepted
Report animal cruelty anonymously — no name required, potential reward
Contact
Available for consulting engagements, speaking opportunities, and technical advisory roles in enterprise security and AI security architecture.