Kassandra Pierre
I got interested in cyber when… a family member’s bank account was hacked. I volunteered with the AARP Fraud Fighters program. After, I joined this group to help educate seniors on the dangers lurking on the web. I realized I had a keen interest in the industry and wanted to learn more. I was hooked […]
LaLisha Hurt
I got into cyber by… being in the right place at the right time with the right sponsorship. With a system engineering degree from the University of Virginia (Wahoowa!) and a governance, risk, and compliance background, I had no intentions of pursuing a cyber career path until one day I was asked to lead a […]
Edith Santos
I got into cyber… through my time as a law enforcement officer. As a Detective, I worked on many types of investigations, and criminals began to hide their evidence in computers, servers, and cell phones. This is where my curiosity for digital forensics began. I was then nominated by my local US Secret Service office […]
Michael Dent
I got into cyber… through my military career first working in the Presidential Escort Unit 3rd U. S. Infantry at Fort Myer which dovetailed into me switching my career from Infantry to Communications. My first CISO role came in the Department of Corrections for Virginia back in the 90’s. I have been the CISO here in […]
Mark Montgomery
I got into cyber… through my final job in the Navy and my first job in the Senate. My last job in the Navy was as Director of Operations, or J-3, at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. In that role, I led the day-to-day operations and operational war planning across all services in a very large area […]
Alexandra Guenther
I got into Cyber … by leveraging my non-cyber skill sets. As an engineer with nearly 10 years of experience, I have spent most of my career working in IT and a great deal of those years generating new work through proposal writing, management, and transition. I was well known for tailoring proposals to fit a variety […]
Kris Lovejoy
I got into cyber… through sheer luck. I was asked to take the MS Proxy Server exam so that I could install and configure what was considered a “firewall” at the time. Voila – I became a security person. The experience that set me up for success… was being a mom to 4 kids. It’s […]
Maril Vernon
I got into cyber… through first joining the Nevada Air National Guard. I then started networking myself on LinkedIn because at the time I knew nothing about cyber but everything about growing a social media presence. From there, luckily Reno being the small cyber talent pool that it is (and before a mostly remote workforce) […]
Alex Keedy
I got interested in cyber by… taking a cybersecurity class during graduate school. Then I interned at the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security in their cybersecurity division before starting my first real job at Booz Allen Hamilton in McLean, Virginia. The experience that set me up for success… was having a mentor who trusted in me […]
Meghan Maneval
I got into cyber… Like many in the industry, my journey into cybersecurity was not a direct path. I actually began my college career as an Interior Design major! However, after a semester of C’s in art classes, I realized I wasn’t quite cut out for it. I quickly changed my major and earned my […]