Dr. Anmol Agarwal

๐—œ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐˜†๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต…studying computer science at my university. As part of my degree, we had the opportunity to take elective courses, and I signed up to take cybersecurity courses such as Data and Applications Security and Digital Forensics.  As part of my studies, I took part in a Software Engineering internship in an […]

Tarenia Carthan

I got into cybersecurity throughโ€ฆa deep desire to continue my life’s work of public service on a new, digital frontier. After years of serving as an elected official and navigating the complexities of healthcare administration, I realized that the front lines of community protection had shifted. Protecting people now means protecting their data, their identities, […]

Nicole Bucala

I got into cybersecurity by…following problems that truly mattered to me. Early in my career, I worked in highly technical, high-stakes environmentsโ€”including counterterrorism operations for the U.S. governmentโ€”where I saw firsthand how critical digital systems had become to national security, business operations, and everyday life. What drew me in wasnโ€™t just the technology, but the […]

Susan Bernstein

I got into cybersecurity through…when I moved to DC in late 2024, the tech landscape was really different than Silicon Valley, where I’d run an executive coaching practice for two decades. I found Uniting Women in Cyber, asked Debbie Sallis if I should attend, and I was absolutely riveted!ย  Looking at the cyber workforce through […]

Toni Benson

I got into cyber byโ€ฆwanting to serve my country. In my early career, I was an  Air Force communications officer, which shaped how I think about mission, discipline, and accountability.  As a federal civilian, I focused on shaping policy, the protection of critical infrastructure, and bridging the communication lanes between the federal government and private […]

Vandana Padmanabhan

๐—œ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐˜†๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† by…writing tools to look for data leaks as part of privacy and security internal audits and later spearheading and leading privacy engineering programs for devices and services. ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—บ๐—ฒ, ๐—ฎ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐˜†๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€…keeping an open mind to new experiences and continuous learning. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ experience ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฎ […]

Lara Meadows

๐—œ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐˜†๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต…my first job out of college was working for a government contractor, where we were helping the IRS to move their filings online. I worked for a great manager who left our team to start a new project in cybersecurity. He invited several of us to join him, saying this cyber […]

Oana Nedelcu

๐—œ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐˜†๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต…technology has always been my passion. I didn’t pivot into cybersecurity โ€” I evolved into it. After years living and breathing tech and sales at the enterprise level, I saw the intersection of security, data and now AI becoming the most consequential battleground in business. I didn’t want to watch that […]

Michaela Iorga

A Life in a Thousand Words: The Journey of a Butterfly I often think about where someoneโ€™s professional journey truly begins. Does it start with the first breath of air, or with the first step into a classroom? I believe it begins as a small fire – one that slowly ignites and grows stronger over […]

Laura Sawka

๐—œ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐˜†๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต…by accident. I started off my career at a Big 4 accounting firm, thinking I would be delivering business process consulting. However, I found myself on federal IT audits and advisory engagements. As someone with a degree in Finance and Operations Management, conducting audits of server rooms, systems, and access lists […]