What inspires you in your current role? Knowing that the work my team and I do each day furthers our company’s mission and we are actively protecting the data of members that we serve. 

What do you enjoy most about your company or role? I love that each day is different. One day I’ll be sitting in meetings for exciting projects, the next the team and I are researching an emerging threat and putting proactive controls in place. Working in cybersecurity can be stressful and chaotic at times, but grounding myself in what all of that hard work is doing to protect company and member data makes those long days worthwhile. 

How did your journey into cybersecurity begin—was it a twist, a calling, or a leap of faith? I would certainly call my path to a cybersecurity career unconventional. I had just earned my Masters degree from The University of Pittsburgh in Security and Intelligence Studies, intending to move to Washington D.C. to pursue a career in intelligence. But I ended up landing a position at a healthcare organization in Pittsburgh as an information security analyst. I learned everything I know about cybersecurity from that job, and was able to apply my intelligence knowledge and skills from graduate school to create a threat intelligence program there. I look back at that experience with gratitude for leading me into such an exciting field and career path. 

What do you like most about cybersecurity? Cybersecurity constantly changing. New threats emerge faster than security teams can keep up with, which forces us to always be vigilant and improving our defenses to keep our organizations safe. This fast paced environment allows me to be creative in the ways I think about security, plan for future projects and tool purchases, and still be involved in the intelligence work I’m so passionate about. 

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #AccelerateAction. What does that mean to you? #AccelerateAction to me means taking ownership of your future through actions you take, not by waiting around for circumstances to change or for someone else to pave the way for you. Relying on someone else means that you will be doing things according to their timeline, not yours. I’ve had to decide for myself what my career path should look like as a woman in cyber, and take the necessary steps on my own to achieve my goals and advance my career. By taking charge of my own journey, I’ve also learned how to be a mentor for other women who are trying to succeed in a largely male-dominated field. I work to #AccelerateAction by lifting up women around me and challenging the biases and barriers we face as women in cybersecurity. 

If you could give your younger self a piece of career advice, what would it be? Impostor syndrome will always try to convince you that you aren’t good enough to be where you are. Trust yourself, be confident, and speak loudly. You deserve to be here.

LinkedIn: Katie Michael