What gets you going every day (besides coffee/tea/alarm clock), and what keeps you motivated?
My biggest motivators are our ISO mission to protect the resources and data that support the world class research and education that happens here at Stanford and my ISO team that professionally accomplishes this mission every day. I am fortunate to be part of a highly motivated, skilled, and passionate team who honestly loves and enjoys what we have the privilege to do here every day. My personal motto is mission first, people always.
My day starts and ends with our critical mission here at Stanford. However, it’s my team that makes it happen. Their motivation is infectious! Being the leader they need me to be keeps me focused on protecting them, their personal goals and values, while ensuring they have the resources needed to do their critical jobs effectively and efficiently. Our mission is what drives me to keep learning and growing so that together we can secure and defend Stanford, giving our community the ability to do their jobs in a secure way without constraints.
What IT initiatives/programs/goals are you most interested in pursuing in the next 2-3 years?
Some of my short term goals are around process improvements, automation, and developing metrics that matter. These efforts will give an accurate picture of our security posture to our senior leaders, providing the valuable information they need to make decisions. However, as we move more and more data to the cloud environment, we need to diligently work to consistently and reliably apply security controls and guardrails across all three major cloud infrastructure providers to protect Stanford digital assets.
I’m also focused on continuing our journey toward a zero-trust architecture by continuing to secure endpoints and providing our customers solutions that support their unique environments. This will also include strengthening multifactor authentication and our Minimum Security Standards with collaborative efforts across multiple entities. Strengthening our first line of defense to protect our customers (faculty, staff, and students) is a critical part of our security road map as well. We will be working on creating robust, fun, and relevant education, awareness, and outreach programs designed to reach our customers where they are and provide the information they need to know to stay cyber safe.
How do your colleagues and team members help you achieve your vision? What challenges do you face?
We have incredibly talented and motivated University IT leadership and ISO teams who work together on a collective vision that complements our overall mission. It’s one of the many perks of working here and being part of this organization. A collaborative mindset is really part of our culture here and it consistently proves that we are stronger together. The challenges are not a surprise: resource constraints and a race to keep up with ever evolving cyber threats and tactics, techniques and procedures of our threat actors. These are not only our biggest challenges, but also our greatest opportunities.
How do you decompress outside of work?
This is actually a really tough topic that I struggle with. I’m no stranger to working 12-14 hour days. I don’t say that as a badge of honor; it’s just part of spending a long career in the military working in classified environments. I often worked long days because I couldn’t bring work home. In that environment, there was always a long commute to allow for decompressing from the emotional and mental toll it took, so it made a clear line between work and family or personal time. Looking back, this was much easier to manage.
At Stanford, my work is always an arm’s length away; I can carry it with me wherever I go. That’s not a complaint, it’s actually a wonderful opportunity to be accessible for anyone who needs me. When I’m not on campus, my commute most days consists of walking out of my office and into my kitchen just a few feet away. So I have to make a very conscious effort to slowly walk through my office door and mentally switch from CISO to mom, wife, grandmother, and student. Yes, I said student. I’m currently pursuing a master’s degree in cybersecurity law, which is proving to be much more difficult than I had anticipated and tends to devour the free time I would have to decompress outside of work. But I keep reminding myself that the chaos is only temporary, and will be worth it in the long run. And let’s be honest…I thrive in chaos! When we get the chance, my husband and I enjoy hitting the road in our RV with our dogs. Even when it’s just a quick weekend trip, sitting by a campfire is always good for the soul.
What advice would you give early or mid-career IT professionals looking to grow at Stanford?
From my experience, a career journey is never a straight line. And odds are, you won’t end up where you think you will. So even if you don’t know where your path is going or where you want it to go, just pick a direction and start walking. Every challenge you inevitably will face is an opportunity to excel or fail. If you fail, great! Fail fast, learn from it, and move on. Every struggle that you successfully overcome is a skill that you’ve now honed to help you navigate the future.
My team has heard me say, “always volunteer for a combat assignment,” which means take those jobs and projects that no one else wants. Use those opportunities to learn a new skill and evolve your capabilities, take pride in what you’re doing, and focus on turning that job or project into something special. Always leave it better than you found it.
Success doesn’t happen without a growth mindset, a collaborative spirit, a willingness to ask for help, and a desire to offer help. Strive to be a subject matter expert in your field, lead from where you are, and work to grow and help others.
Most importantly, know your worth! Never let anyone else define your worth for you. You are not bound by your upbringing, your gender, your race, or your current position and title. Only you can define your worth and I promise, you are worth more than you think. It’s not about money or pay, it’s about your value, how you are treated, and the capabilities that you bring to the team.
And finally, make time for mental health breaks and don’t feel guilty about it. When those tough days hit you hard (and they will) give yourself grace. No one is harder on you than you are. Congratulate yourself for listening to your body and reward yourself with rest. You never need to apologize for it, you earned it.
