About Me

I did not originally plan to work in the IT field, but my work experience helped me find that my interests were best met within this area. As a teenager, I volunteered as a firefighter beginning at the age of 16. After graduation, I pursued an Associate Degree in Administration of Justice with the goal of becoming a fire marshal. Throughout the following two years, my goal changed to working within law enforcement.

After graduating from college, I began working for my local law enforcement agency in a civilian capacity, eventually becoming the first civilian terminal agency coordinator for the department. In this role, one area I was responsible for was compliance audits conducted by Virginia State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. During the department’s first security audit of the agency by the FBI, I was responsible for ensuring the agency was in compliance with both state and federal information and technology security requirements. This is where my fire was ignited in me to pursue both a degree and career within cybersecurity.

During the preparation for the audit, I learned quickly I was not very familiar with the technical language and did not fully understand all that was being required of the department. I spent a lot of time discussing the necessary requirements with department heads to ensure all requirements were properly met, and if not, were brought in line. Due to the short timeline between the audit notification and the actual audit, I was not able to educate myself in all the areas at that time. However, I have spent the last 6 years pursuing my education, first by completing an Associate Degree in Computer Science, then transferring to ODU to complete my Bachelor’s Degree in Cyber Security. At the same time, I worked for the state in a compliance officer position, quickly rising to Lead Safety and Compliance Officer, until recently landing a position as a software tester with an international company.