?All right. It looks like we're live. Hopefully everybody can hear me. Okay. Just get a thumbs up from the, uh, folks on the hosting side. There we go, right? Yeah, guess LinkedIn is still working on the, uh, little bit of quirks there, but, uh, how's everybody doing? Hopefully. Okay, we'll let the room sort of load in.

We've got a few folks, uh, waiting and joining. Uh, so thank you all for, uh, waiting in that, I guess that waiting room. Mary, I wonder if they play any music there. I don't know. Not really sure. But, uh, thank you all for, uh, for tuning in. We'll let folks file in. This is our weekly fireside chat, so thank you all for joining us.

Uh, if it's the first time you've joined us, well you've. I have to say, you've missed a whole boatload of great interviews that we've done throughout the past year or years, I should say. It's been, wow, two years now. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that something? Um, so if it's the first time you join us, we do this typically every single Wednesday, although this is our last show of the year.

So you're in for a treat. We're joined by Shauna Hoffer, who's the Chief Information Security Officer at St. Luke's Health Systems. Uh, so we're happy to have you here joining us this evening, Shauna. So thank you for taking the time out, your busy schedule. Um, I'm just gonna go through a few quick logistics.

Uh, I'm just waiting for folks to file in. I do see Katie just joined us. So Katie, thanks for, uh, popping in. Uh, so I'm just gonna go over a few quick logistics again, if it's the first time you joined us, we do this every single Wednesday. , uh, but this is our last show of the of the year. So, uh, uh, we will have an opportunity for you to go back and listen to some of our prior, uh, podcasts, uh, at some point in time.

And we'll share that, uh, via LinkedIn once that is available. Uh, so have no fear. There will be more great content for you to listen to. Um, Usually I, I go to a few quick, uh, housekeeping items. And the one thing that I always like to say, it's the middle of the week. It's a Wednesday. Let's have a really good time.

Let's have fun. Let your hair down. We've got a lot of stress going on, probably with your day job or other things that you got going on, but it's middle of the week. Let's use this as an opportunity to really get to know our guests, get to dive in a little bit deeper, learn more about her and her, sort of her career and journey from her, uh, her particular life journey, if you will.

Um, and keep in mind that our opinions expressed this evening are really our own. They're not representative of our current or prior employers. So we ask that you keep that in mind and be, and be respectful of that. Uh, if you do wanna quote us on any sort of, uh, magazines or articles or the likes, uh, cause we said something that really, uh, struck a good chord with you.

You know, we just ask that you reach out to us. Uh, prior to doing so, and, and just obtain that permission. If there's any vendors in the audience, we are happy to have you here. We honestly are happy to have you here, but we do ask that you do keep one rule in mind. If you do jump up on stage and you do, uh, want to ask a question, we are absolutely encouraging of that.

But please don't come on stage and sell us on your latest and greatest project or initiative or product. Uh, use a different time and a different opportunity to sell us on that use this time and opportunity to really get to know our guests, uh, and really get to grow with us as a community. Um, so without further ado, I'm just gonna go quickly around the room.

Shawna, we'll leave you for last. I'm Toma Small Donado. I'm the CISO at the N nfl Russell over to you. So cool to be here. It's hard to believe almost three years of doing this. Really enjoy it. Um, Russell Eubanks here founded my own company three years ago, security ever after, where I help cybersecurity professionals get promoted.

But aneal over to you. Thanks, Russell and Vagi. I'm senior, senior operating advisor for Francisco Partners and, uh, multiple times CISO onto you, Lisa. Hey. Hey, it's Wednesday. Um, it's good to be here. It's good to be in this with all of you. My name's Lisa Beth Valentini Walker. I am a compliance, ethics and corporate governance geek, proudly so.

And, um, I currently work at MARTA and also run a small, uh, consulting firm called Lumen Worldwide Endeavors. Onto you, Hussein. Hi, good evening, Hussein sa uh, CISO at Robert Johnson Healthcare System here in New Jersey. Over to you, Katie. Hi, I'm Katie Hanahan. I'm the, uh, chief Security Officer for the, uh, CISO program at a boutique s i at a Chicago also on the, on the street right now.

So sorry about the noise. Um, been in the industry for 20 years. Thank you.

Thanks, Katie. Thanks co-host, and thank you Shawn. So Shawna, why don't you take a moment and you can take as long as you want. Why don't you introduce yourself and while you're going through your introduction, why don't you tell us a little bit more about you and your origin story? Well, I, I have to say first, Tomas, thank you for having me here and for the, for the panel.

Um, so great to, to hear from all of you. Um, your. Slightly intimidating, so I'll do my best to, uh, meet, uh, your, your caliber. Uh, I'm, I'm really excited to be with all of you. My, my origin story. Uh, you know, I'm, I really don't think I'm that interesting. So I, I hope that you'll, you'll help me, um, just kind of find interest in, in the way I got brought into cybersecurity and how I got here, because it's, it's one of those probably like many, you didn't plan it, um, you just kind of landed here and, and I'm so grateful, uh, that I did.

But when I think about really me and, and how I got here and, and I love the way you call it, my origin story, uh, I think it really comes down to who I am as a. Is, is why I am, is why I am here at St. Luke's in this role. And to kind of provide some context in kind of shaping who I am. I, I will go back quite a bit, even I think to my childhood.

Um, I grew up, I, I live in Boise, Idaho. Um, I grew up in a town for the most part, about two hours south of here, um, called Twin Falls. Um, you know, it's, it's the place, one of the places where Evil Canel jumped, you know, over a canyon on a dirt bike. Um, it's, it's claimed to fame, but it's. , you know, relatively, relatively small.

Um, and it's a, it's a very conservative town, very conservative, um, state in general. And when I was younger, um, my mom came out of the closet and it was, it was really fascinating, I think, and really shaped who I am as, as a person because I, I learned really early on, um, the, the impact of people being treated, um, in ways they don't deserve simply because they were different.

Um, and, and that has been really impactful for me in kind of shaping, shaping me. Uh, in addition to that, um, my family in this same small town, uh, owns, owns a very. Local American, homemade, everything diner, and I grew up working there. Uh, it was so much fun and, and part of what shaped me in that is I learned how.

To focus on customer service, which is, um, I think such a valuable experience for anyone. Uh, but it really, it really challenged me to pursue excellence and, and take on a challenge at a young age. And, and I mean that in simple things, such as some of the most challenging customers were my favorite customers because I really just dug in and made a, a commitment that, you know, this, this customer will soon become my, my favorite and I'm going to become their favorite because I'm committed and I love a challenge.

Um, and, you know, this is, this is something I wanna take on. And I, it really kind of inspired me, uh, to, to wanna, to want to solve problems and. Getting, you know, growing up in, in, through high school, I had big dreams. I wanted to go out and explore, um, an adventure. And, you know, I was actually the first person in my family, um, to go to college.

I didn't know how to pursue looking at colleges. Um, and I remember my mom and I went to one of those college advisor nights and the, the college advisor at the time really encouraged students to pursue liberal arts school. So as a, as a freshman in college, I actually ended up at Hobart and William Smith, which is in upstate New York.

Uh, I learned in, in my time there that I, um, am not. , um, a liberal arts student. Um, so I, I, but, and I got a little homesick, so I, I ended up, uh, transferring to Boise State for a year, but still didn't get that adventure I needed. And I, and I went back, I went actually to Cuny Baruch, um, in New York, uh, for another year.

And also learned that I, I don't think I'm a New Yorker, but I'm so glad that I experienced it. It was fantastic. Um, and, and I ended up coming back, uh, to Boise to finish my undergrad, uh, at Boise State University, um, in, in accounting actually. And as I finished my undergrad, um, looking around at what all the other accounting graduate students do, they, you know, generally they're trying to get into a big four in accounting or in audit or tax.

And, and really neither, neither of those sounded very exciting to me. Um, So I kind of looked at what my dad, my dad's a computer programmer, uh, for the US Postal Service, and I wa I was intrigued at the idea of being able to blend it and accounting. And so I went on to get my master's at San Diego State and focused on accounting information systems.

And, and it was there where I kind of saw opportunity for these worlds to come together. Um, and through just ex incredibly unique moments in time, um, I, I was given kind of an opportunity to, to interview with Deloitte non-trad traditionally, and got offered a job with them outside, um, of, of my masters.

And I ended up starting in the Salt Lake City office and ultimately, um, transferred to Boise.  and it was just a great initial experience into the, a professional world, right? I mean, growing up with a, in a small diner, I, I wasn't, I wasn't introduced to the, to the corporate environment. Understanding just general IT controls of course, I think is, gives really a broad understanding, um, of, of a way the business runs and on an IT shop, but also gives you that lens of risk.

And that was really kind of my first foray, I think, into, um, risk management and, and understanding that concept. And as I was at Deloitte, I got a call. St. Luke's, um, one of the, one of the directors are asking me to interview for a manager position leading their identity and access management team. And my gut reaction was, no, thank you.

Um, you know, I'm, I'm on a great track at Deloitte. I'm doing great. I'm gonna stay at least until manager. I know many who have worked in public accounting kind of get in their mind, you know, when they, when they think they'll leave, um, if at all. And my husband, my husband really pushed me, um, to, to at least interview, at least have the conversations and.

I did, and I'm so glad I did. My boss. Um, he's actually still my boss now is, is who I interviewed eight and a half years ago with, and he's very convincing. Um, he, he persuaded me that this job was for me, and though leading the identity and access management team for a couple of years maybe wasn't exactly for me.

What it's grown into has been just right and I'm so grateful. Um, and, and the first two years I led identity and access management and, and my boss, who was the CISO at the time was, was promoted to the c I o and kind of looked around at, you know, do we wanna bring someone external in, uh, to, to fill that ciso.

and, or is there someone internally? And I, and I, you know, quite frankly, um, was, was very naive at the time and just put my hand up and said, Hey, I'll, I'll give it a shot. Um, and the organization, you know, the, just, they, they put their trust in me as a very young, inexperienced leader, um, to grow into, um, honestly, the, the, the role that I'm in today.

Um, you know, if, if they would've given me a CISO title eight years ago, or se six years ago, I would've been terrified. But, but I kind of grew up leading cybersecurity, um, in, in, and I grew into the. The CISO role at St. Luke's, and it's, it's been an incredible experience, um, surrounded by in incredible people and leaders and, and teams, and really has gotten me to where I'm at today.

So, at a high level, Tomas, that's how I, how I became CISO at St. Luke. . That's awesome. And, and that's, that's a very interesting origin story. A lot of interesting points there. I heard. I love New York. I heard that, definitely heard that . Um, I, I, I connected with, uh, with your customer service experience. Uh, you know, I, I think that that's probably one of the benefits.

I don't know that helped me in my career, uh, just having that customer focus and customer service orientation, if you'll, so that's great. No, but, um, I'll pass it over to Russell. Uh, anything you wanna ask, uh, Shawnna? Oh, absolutely. I, I've, Shawna I've loved what you've shared. Uh, the, you started off. Uh, underselling, uh, what you've achieved and, and through what you shared.

I had so many questions, but Yeah. I, I love what you said. You know, a small town girl. I was telling the moderators, I was listening to the certain journey song about that, so I'm like, wow, that's, how neat is that to be thinking about, uh, the words that you said, but the thing that you, you mentioned about growing into your CISO role really intrigued me.

You talked about your customer service focus and literally serving people, uh, in the family restaurant. Uh, a lot of us nerds, a lot of us cyber people, a lot of us geeks and whatever we call ourselves, really suffer with it. We like to go technical, we like to talk about the cyber things, but we don't focus a lot on cybersecurity.

And, and I've seen in me, I've seen in others that, that, that lack. If you could talk to, uh, all of us right now and give us one piece of advice of how we could level up and be more like you a customer service, uh, what would you share with us? For me, it's all about relationships. And you know, I what you, what you highlighted in your strengths, in your technical background is, is, was my greatest fear coming into this role.

Um, you know, I, I was, I was sure that I, I couldn't even do this because I didn't have the technical background and understanding, um, that I needed. And I, I sought out mentors here locally in Boise who, who explained to me at the time, and I didn't understand it until very recently, that it actually was a, it was a strength for me because it allowed me to focus more on building the relationships with my stakeholders, building relationships with my peers, um, networking, all of those things that kind of, as you mentioned as.

As, as technical individuals. And oftentimes kind of those, um, you know, introverted individuals, they, they aren't focused on it. But, but because that's who I am and, and it just comes naturally to me and I, I enjoy it. It's really been my strength and, and why I've been really given the trust, I think, to grow in this role is, is really back to people and relationships.

I, I love that so much. This idea of how to, for you leaning into your strengths and for us, uh, us mere mortals who don't have that strength, be able, the ability to be able to think about it, uh, in that way as I, I love that so much and I appreciate your, uh, response to that. Uh, but ane uh, over to you.

Thanks Russell. Uh, Sean, thanks for carving out the time. Uh, you know, one of the things. Was getting a variety, wide variety of experiences, exposure, whether it's gonna school in New York or coming back. Uh, your roles in consulting. Talk about, uh, your experience in the sense of exposure, uh, and, and what that did for your career in the sense of getting exposed to different environments, different sets of operations, different sets of people.

How did that influence your overarching view of not just your current role, but also where you decided what that led you on to? . I think the greatest value in, in my experience, and, and particularly probably at Deloitte, um, Aneel, is is it, it gave me that exposure as, as you mentioned, to many different sizes of organizations, uh, many different operating models, missions, I mean, you, you name it.

And for me, one of, one of the things that I glean most out of that is, is understanding for me, um, what's important and what I, what I learned and in my time at Deloitte in kind of the exposure working for, you know, a, a profit driven company, for example, is that I, I enjoy working for. Mission driven organization.

And, and for me, I think that's where I've really found kind of my calling in healthcare is I, I can, I have so much passion in being able to help people and so far what I've found and the organizations that I've been introduced to is that healthcare is just a great place to do that and really feel good about what I, what I can offer and what I can contribute back to the, to my community, uh, here locally in Idaho, what I can contribute to the healthcare industry or even the, the cybersecurity industry.

Um, I, I don't know that I would've understood or appreciated that if I hadn't had that exposure to other organizations, if that makes sense. . No, that's great. I appreciate you highlighting that. It's, you know, as, as a, you know, mentor to others, you know, that's, I've also conveyed, tried to share that, that experience cuz you get that perspective that you otherwise wouldn't get.

But in the same vein as you talked about, while you get to see other industries, other organizations, you get to see what you like, but more importantly, what do you don't like? So you can focus that path or say, Hey, maybe this is a direction I want to go to, but you wouldn't have gotten that view, uh, this, that early on in your career, that path.

So it's great to share, for you to share that onto you, Lisa.

I have to say I have been truly enjoying this conversation. Shauna, you have a fascinating background. Um, and I think it's so wonderful to see, um, CISOs in, in, in different industries and the one that you are in, um, a lot of times, you know, we, we worry about, um, making decisions and some of the stresses, stresses and pressures that go with that.

But in the healthcare space, that has always seemed to be a, a place where, you know, human, um, life and the sanctity of, of, of, of each person is something that is always at the forefront and where the decisions and the availability really can be life or death decisions. So my question for you is, as you've experienced these different things in kind of for-profit in industries, et cetera, what is the hardest part.

about the job that you currently have, um, working with St. Luke's, and what's the thing that makes it the best job? I love the question, and I think the answer is, is almost similar for both and it, and it ties back to those lives. Um, you know, I think the, the hardest part for me is, is, is knowing that part of what I'm driving in this organization, um, can impact someone's life truly at the end of the day.

Um, you know, obviously I'm, I didn't go into. Healthcare as a medical professional and, um, I, I am beyond grateful for those who have, and who have confidence in, um, you know, their abilities to, I mean, I think about surgeons and their ability to, to put their , their hands on and in people, um, with, with that pressure of directly impacting their lives.

And that, and the, you know, slightly farther removed. It's, it's stress. I mean, the, i I work in a community and, and this organization serves this community, you know, of my family and of my friends. And as we talk about the adverse effects potentially, A cyber event. Um, you know, we have conversations and people in this organization have conversation about how meaningful it is to them because it could be their family member, um, who's, who's on the table, um, when that happens, and how important it is for all of us, um, to make sure that, that there aren't those, uh, adverse reactions.

And so that, that pressure for me, I think is, is the hardest part. Some while also the most meaningful because going back to I want to be able to help, um, and, and I need to feel like what I'm doing is contributing and, and will provide great outcomes. And I, I think that I am, um, You know, I, I have tremendous confidence in my team and the progress that we've made and the time that we've been here.

Um, but really it does come down to, um, people,

well, you know, oftentimes the things that are the hardest about our, our jobs are the ones that are make the job the best. So I I, I, I love that answer, and I love, you know, that you're able to dedicate yourself to, to, you know, serving lives and serving, you know, human beings in a way that really makes a difference.

We don't have to be surgeons to have impact. So, um, I really appreciate, I really appreciate you sharing that. Um, Hussein, you're up next. Thank you Katie. So Shawna, as you, I am also in healthcare. I've been in healthcare for the last 20 years and as a CSO for the last six years. And, you know, healthcare's going through a huge transformation, not just in the technology and digital side, but also in the diversity inclusion and all that good stuff that needed to happen many years ago.

And it's happening now. Um, so being in a conservative space and have lived through some of that yourself, is there anything you can share about how you feel about diversity inclusion and what do you do in your, you know, spare time to help those causes? Thank you.

I, I love the question. You know, I, I think in Idaho we have an opportunity to, Improve the appreciation of diversity, equity, inclusion efforts. And, and that is, that is true of, of St. Luke's as an organization as well, um, as, as you referenced, right. Very conservative stay. I think Boise, um, with, within Idaho is, is a little bit further along there, um, than some of those other spaces.

And, and for me it's, um, it. It's really making intentional decisions, having intentional conversations. For example, um, you know, in, within St. Luke's, my cybersecurity team, um, you know, it's a, it's a, I'm proud to say it's a pretty diverse team, um, which is, is sometimes actually hard to achieve here because the population isn't as diverse as I wish it was.

Um, and, and, and so really as a, as a leader trying to drive that, um, is, is important to me. Um, you know, as I mentioned, um, you know, I have family and I think, you know, many of us do. Um, my welcoming my moms, I love talking about my mom and her wife and in conversations where I remember, in fact, when I, when I first met or sat down with my boss when I got this job, um, , he, he serves as a, as a leader in his church and, you know, is, um, known to be a, a pretty conservative, um, religion.

And I just told him, you know, right. A right away, you know, um, you know, I'm, you know, my, my mom is married to a, to a woman and I fully embrace and love them. And, and he was just really thrown off and, and really, but, but the fact that I had to have that conversation with him tells me, you know, there's work to be done.

Um, and he was great about it. But nowadays I feel like it's been a while since then. And it's, it's really just more, it's, I don't have to explain it anymore. , my, I'm going to have dinner with my parents. I'm going to have dinner with my moms. And, and if people wanna ask questions, I would love to talk to them about my upbringing and my experience and how me being shaped and grown, um, by female women.

My, my moms. I cannot talk highly enough about how much they have shaped, I think the, the person that I am and the person that I'm proud of. Um, and, and so contributing to that as a, as a positive experience, um, is, is so important to me. Um, and to them and, and anything that I can provide the. Um, that they need as well.

Um, I, I think there's always room to be done there. Um, I, I love the work, um, that's being driven, um, in our organization and others. Um, and, and I, I think we just have some opportunity  in Idaho, um, in particular, unfortunately, to, to get a little bit further than where we're at today. Thank you. You, uh, navigated that terrain quite well there, miss Oh, to you, Katie.

Thank you. Oh, oh, thank you. Hi, Sean. It's so great to meet you. Um, and, uh, appreciate, you know, everything you're, you're bringing to the table in our discussion today. But, um, just even in. You know, physical space that you're in, right? Mm-hmm. . Um, I really appreciated your background. I'm a small town girl. I grew up in a, a town that did not even have a, a stoplight, , you know?

Love it. Yeah. Like, not even a, a flashing light stop sign like we are in a group together. And I, I love that and I love the inclusion that you've, you know, incorporated into this conversation as well. And, um, if I could just real briefly, I just wanna, because we've moved over to LinkedIn audio recently from, um, clubhouse.

I just wanna reset the room a little bit because we, um, have invited a lot of people into this space. And just wanna make sure everyone knows that we're here every single Wednesday night. Um, we have for two years, um, doing a fireside chat where we talk. Not just this industry, um, and what we have to accomplish every day, but really the stories, the people that you know, have make this industry work and, and, and make us function as a community.

So thank you for joining this community, and I'm so thankful to, um, have the opportunity to ask you a question, um, as moderator. And so I wanted to ask you a, a question, uh, and it might be a difficult question, and, um, the question I have is, what is the most difficult situation that you have been in as a, a woman in this industry?

Um, curious, uh, what, uh, what advice you can give, do people as they, um, enter into this industry, and then also as an executive in this industry, what you would say. Yeah. Thank you for the question. I've, I spend a lot of time thinking about, um, how to navigate. The, the balance of, you know, the, the conversation, females, females, um, in this industry, of course, I, I would love to see more.

Um, as I think about my journey, I, I've had such great experiences as a female professional. I've been surrounded by incredible people, very supportive people. Um, and, and, but for me, I think the biggest challenge is, was making a decision and understanding, um, how to balance parenthood and career woman. Um, and, you know, bef before I decided to have children, you know, I, I knew I wanted to.

I wanted a successful career. You know, I, I wanted to be able to support myself independently, if needed, for example. Um, and, and as I started that career and realized how much time and effort you put into it, I honestly didn't understand, um, or comprehend how you, how you fit kids into that. Um, and I remember going to a women leadership, um, conference and there, there was a panel and.

Just these, these incredible women who've just accomplished so much in their careers. And also, you know, were, were moms and, and they, it just blew me away and I could not comprehend, you know, how do you do it? Um, and, and the response I got when I asked the question was, well, you kind of just, you just figure it out.

You just do it. And  all, although it wasn't, you know, a clear cut answer that I'm sure I was hoping for at the time. It, it was, it was the truth. And I think as a mom and I heard, you know, kids and, and Lisa Lisa's background, um, you know, that's, that's what I would want to talk to women about today is, you know, it is hard being a mom and being, um, an executive, a leader, a career driven woman at the same time, quite frankly, it is hard.

Um, , but it's doable. Uh, you know, and it's, it's an incredible experience. Um, and you know, I I, I, I kick myself all the time for, you know, this pressure that I, that I put on myself. And honestly, I think moms put on themselves for having to be the perfect mom while also putting the pressure on myself for having to be the, the perfect leader, um, the perfect team member at school or at work.

And, you know, I, I think having conversations with, with women who want all of those things, the, the advice I would give is find balance. You know, I think. We have to be kind to ourselves in setting realistic expectations on what's achievable and being okay with that being okay to focus on our needs so that we can give back to our, to our family, and that we can give back, um, you know, to, to the, to our careers.

And, uh, just acknowledging that being perfect at everything. And this is something that I've been working on both personally and professionally. Being, being perfect at everything comes at a cost. Um, and, and usually an unnecessary, um, an unnecessary one. And,

it, it's just something that we all have to kind of find in ourselves. And I, and I think for, for, for those of us who have, you know, the privilege of, of raising families, um, while working, um, you know, grateful for those who have, you know, significant others who can, who can weigh in, um, and, and be a, a huge help.

There certainly is something that, that I have and, um, and very happy for, but it, it doesn't take away kind of that, that urge to still be, be the perfect, it's, it's a constant kind of mental discussion that I have with myself of does, do I need to. Provide, um, my kids for their school, the perfect looking platter, or can I just go buy a, a pre-made set of vegetables and take it to their school party?

It's just a small example, but little things like this that take up the time and space and energy in your brain. Yes, yes. Um, but to focus on, um, it, it, it takes away from your ability to focus on other things. And so for me, kind of thinking about me in that role and how, if, if, if I could kind of just offer that, that advice back, it's, it, it really is.

It's just, it's finding the right balance and knowing that it not everything has to be perfect and it's, it's gonna be okay. Well, I'm very surprised that, uh, people in the community do not think you're perfect because perf perfectly based on this conversation, uh, you're perfect. No, honestly, I, it's so tough.

Uh, I, I'm a person.  in my, you know, age of life where I do have children that are going to school and doing things and having to navigate that. So that's why I asked the question, and I really appreciate you being so candid and so honest about, you know, what it means to be a part of this community, but also being a part of your own community, you know, as a cyber security professional.

So, um, really appreciate that, you know, kind of deep dive into what it looks like to be a person in this industry. You know, whether or not we're we're women or not. Right. Exactly. Um, anyone exactly who has responsibilities related to, you know, what, were traditional, you know, female responsibilities, but are not anymore.

Right. The world has changing. So really appreciate your perspective and, um, so thankful to have met you tonight. And thank you again for joining us. Um, back to you Tamas.

Thanks, Katie. Uh, just wanna open it up to, uh, to the audience and, and great conversation so far. Uh, thank you Shawna, for, for sharing so much, uh, about your, your experiences and your journey. And I, and I do, uh, obviously I'm not a woman, but I do agree with you with a lot of the, uh, challenges that women do face.

I, I see it in my, in the women in my life, uh, for, for my mom and for my, and for my wife. So I do, I do see those challenges. Uh, uh, if there's anybody in the audience that does wanna ask a question and join the conversation, feel free to raise your hand and we'll bring you up on stage. Uh, now's about that time.

So feel free to raise your hand and I'll bring you up on stage and you can ask your question live. Shauna. Shawn, I wanna pivot and ask you. , I usually like to add to my audible list. Um, what are you reading or what are you listening to if you have time? And, and actually before you answer that, I was gonna say and agree with Katie as well.

You know, I'm also a small town boy, you know, I grew up in a small town of, of New York City. You know, we only had like one street light, you know, that worked in the Bronx, uh, in the Bronx, New York. But, uh, no. What are you reading? What are you reading, Shawn? If, if, or, or listening to if you do, uh, sort of audio books?

Yeah. Um, well before I answer that, let me re, let me remind you that career professional and I have very small children, so. My, my audible list is longer on the, would like to read side of it than have actually achieved, um,  in reading it. Um, one of the things that we, I actually just finished reading, um, is a book called Do What Matters Most.

And it was in intentional, really kind of to focus on, um, prioritization. How do you make sure that the things that you're doing, um, are the right things in setting yourself up for, um, success and, um, having a, having a vision, um, that you're achieving. And it was, it was interesting kind of reading it from the aspect of what's your personal vision and for each of the roles that you are as a human being, um, you know, what are your vision for those?

And, and it was a, it was a good reflection for me and in taking a step back and going up. That's a great question. Um, even, even professionally. Um, you know, I ask myself that as well, you know, where, where do I want, what do I wanna be when I grow up? Uh, you know, I, um, have, I don't know. I, I love what I'm doing, um, and I'm, and I'm sure that I'm going to wanna do a whole lot more.

Uh, and so it was, it was a great book just to, to inspire reflection. Um, and, and some just kind of thoughtful, um, planning on long-term and kind of just day-to-day, um, survival and prioritization. I'm surprised you didn't say like the cat in the hat or some ABC book or something like that, that would've been applicable as well.

Some of those books are really helpful to keep you grounded and, and keep you really in tune with what's really important in life. But no, that's a's a good book. I just, it, so maybe I'll get a route to listen to that. Thank you for that, Shawn. Uh, Russell over to you.

Thanks, Toma. You know, and uh, just Shawn just really love this conversation so much. Uh, and the challenges, the path that you've had, again, your focus on customer service is just something that's really stuck with me. Um, what, uh, Uh, and I know I asked that question earlier about, you know, what's some advice, what's some things that we can do to serve our customers and clients, uh, better?

Um, what would be a, another thing? What would be a, a second thing that we could consider, uh, if we wanted to be more like Shauna and focus in on customer service while also being true to yourself, true to your profession, true to, to who you are? Uh, I'd love, uh, love a little bit more on that one. Sure. Um, I think what I, what I would offer, um, and this goes back to, I'm gonna, I'm gonna give you an example that goes all the way back to kind of serving in a diner.

Um, You know, I think looking at that, that customer service lens as, as a fun challenge, I think that that's something for me that, um, it's, it's about perspective and it's about recognizing that you know, the person in front of you, you know, maybe they're a little cranky today, um, for as an example. Um, or maybe they're cranky every time.

You, you never know. Um, but, but if you were to kind of take that on as I'm going to, I'm gonna change the way that this person sees me or that they see this organization every single time that they come in. Um, and how can I do it in a fun way? I think finding, finding humor or finding ways to, um, really just brighten someone's day is part of that.

You know, I, I, for example, um, Going back to customer service, serving in a restaurant. I, I remember I had, um, this, this customer who was so cranky and he absolutely. Was not a fan of grape jelly. I don't know if you remember when you go to the, to a restaurant, they have the little jelly packets, um, that a lot of times they sit on the table and it seems like the grape jelly, there's always grape jelly because no one wants grape jelly.

They're always looking for like the mixed, um, the mixed ones. And you know, for me it was let's, let's take this opportunity to turn this into, let's turn it into fun. I wanna make this guy laugh. Um, so in instead of, you know,  depriving this person who didn't love grape jelly of grape jelly. I would, I would throw piles of grape jelly on his plate, um, on, on his food.

And now, you know, thinking back might not have been, you know, the most, um, hygienic idea, but at the time, um, it, it was just, it, it made him laugh and it made him, um, he just changed. And, and it went from, he was cranky every time he came in to, every time he came in, he sat on my side and he wanted to be served by me because I changed, I changed his experience.

And I, I tried to take that approach in, in my career today. Um, and again, I think finding ways to make people smile, to make people laugh, um, you know, it, it, but you have to know enough about them to know. What, what, what does it for them? Um, what's their perspective? And, and really finding a way, um, to create a positive environment to, to really bring that optimism, um, is, is really just how I live my day to day.

And if I can give that to someone else, um, who may have lost it or needs it or, or wants to find it kind of in, in that context, um, for me it's just a fun challenge. And so it's, it's really finding joy, I think, where otherwise you, you might very easily, um, be dismayed or just dis disappointed. Um, it's just taking it on.

You know, I love that, especially in a healthcare setting, which you, you're probably encountering patients and family members at perhaps their worst day. Well, it could be their worst day. And then the words you said there, that f a fun challenge, a fun, respectable, uh, challenge to serve them in a way where they can, um, uh, be, be a raving fan, uh, instead of, um, someone who's not quite so, uh, happy with the things that we were providing.

I just, I tell you, I love that I've, I'm camping out, if you will, on your focus on customer service and just love that, uh, so, so much Shauna, but Eddie, uh, awesome to see you here. Eddie. I'd love to turn it over to you to ask your question of Shauna. Yeah. Yes. I appreciate that. Russell, I just had a quick question because, and, and I apologize, Shawn, if you asked, answered this already, because this, I, I got in here a little bit later, but two things that I wanted to kind of pick your brain on.

The first thing is, The idea of like accessibility. So I know you talked a lot about, you know, customer service approach to, uh, to your role in things that you do, but I'm just curious of how accessible you are, not just to your team that you manage, but also the rest of the organization and kind of what, how that impacts the culture and, and the organization following that same persona that you do.

And then the second question would more so be around your role as a mama, right? And understanding or, well, I guess asking what kind of tips that you would have specifically around calendar planning so that you can be both of those things to fullest of your ability. Right. You know, balancing that, that full workload that you have, but also the demanding family part of it as well.

And wanting to understand what kind of calendar planning tips you, you do to make sure that both of those things happen. Great questions, Eddie. Um, thank you all. Um, Maybe, maybe starting with the first one on, on kind of accessibility. You know, I, I'm a people person. I love people. If I could just, and you know, I, I, I find that, you know, part of my role of being a ciso, um, especially in a, in an organization like St.

St Luke's, which is a very, I would call it a very friendly organization, we're very nice. Um, there's a lot of meetings, uh, and, and when I describe to my three and six year old what I do, um, you know, I keep people safe and I, and I talk to people all day long, quite, quite frankly. Um, and, and part of that is, is you, You have to be accessible to build those relationships.

And, and I think going even further than that, you have to seek, um, building those relationships. And so for me, that accessibility, you know, of course I'm always accessible, but I'm always kind of reaching out and trying to build, um, build on, um, in those relationships as well. And I think where I'm most challenged in that I, I'll add is, you know, my, my growing team, you know, when I, when I became kind of the leader of the cybersecurity team, we were a small group of, you know, eight people.

And when you have a small team like that, you know, It, it feels like a family. Um, and we've grown over years and, you know, having kind of those type bonds with a, with a bigger team, um, is, is harder to do. And I think you, you have to be more intentional about the time, um, that you do get, I think, in those conversations.

And, and part of that's just, just part of that is, is just maturing. Um, but, but making sure that one, people know that you're accessible, but, but proving that I think more and just knowing it's, it's really pursuing, um, that is, is is part of my strategy. And again, just part of who I am as a person and, and kind of the roles and tips of, of managing career woman in manna, I take to heart, um, the, the concept of work-life balance.

I mean, I. , I sometimes am not the best example, and I'm grateful that I've had people on my team who will call me out. Um, Hey, you know, you've been, you've been working really late. Um, hey, you were working while you were off. And you know what that shows to me as, as an employee is that, is that, that's what you expect as well.

And of course, we're in cybersecurity. There's some element of that that absolutely would be cr required, you know, to, Tomas and I were talking about that a little bit tonight as well. Um, but to the, to the best that I can, um, I, I try my best to get home. As close to five, close to after five as I can, because bedtime at my house starts at seven 30.

And so it's during the weeknights, you know, that's only a couple of hours to get to spend with kiddos. Um, and on the weekends, you know, making sure that my time on the weekends to again, to the best that I can, it's not working. It's spending that quality time with my kids, um, that, that I miss during the week.

And, you know, I actually wrote an article. Um, for, for our IT department a while ago. Just, just highlighting the, that balance, you know, that even I sh that I even, I struggle with and, and really kind of going back to, um, you know, there's nights when I'm putting, putting my kids to bed and, you know, I, I, I feel guilty because on, on one hand, you know, I, I want them to fall asleep so quickly so that, you know, I can, I can go back to work and, and on the other hand, I don't want the moment to end.

And so, Eddie, the, the best I can provide is, is find the balance that works the most, taking advantage of the time that you have, um, knowing that work will always be there. Um, . And, and if you can, you know, surround yourself with a great team who can help support you, who will support that, that work life balance, um, both above you and below you.

Um, and, and really, um, make, make the time for the things that are most important, which for me, um, is my family. Absolutely. I appreciate all those insights. We, uh, we have a, a three year old and two year old boys at my house, so it definitely gets Oh wow.  gets very fun, very active all the time, but very similar to you.

It's, uh, You know, as close as I can to five. Thankfully I do work from home, but as close as I can to five, it is a process of like, okay, let me go ahead and turn work off and spend time with them. Yes. Because that's, uh, that's what's really important. And if you don't, if you don't mind, cuz you said something that I thought was very intriguing about the accessibility part and the fact that you are proactive, right.

In initiating, um, conversations, it sounds like with the rest of the organization. I'm just curious to know what some of that, that that proactive interaction looks like. You know, are you planning internal meetings with people? Are you just, are you having lunch with different people from different, you know Yeah.

Pieces of the organization? Like, what does that look like? ? Oh, great question. Um, I, I, I try it from all angles. Um, you know, for me it's, I wanna establish, especially if I'm trying to establish a relationship with an, with an executive that I don't yet have a relationship with, um, In fact, I, I met with one today, and it's the initial discussion I started with.

I'd love to learn more about, um, the strategy that you're driving and as, as an executive and how I make sure I can support it. And then naturally that conversation, you know, often leads to, well, how can I support you in return? Um, and then to me, what, where I like to go with that is, hey, you know, can we, can we grab coffee?

Can we grab lunch at some regular cadence so that we can stay connected? Even just as, as people, um, you know, how are your, how's your family? You know, what are you doing for the holidays, right? Being able to, to build trust in that relationship. So, Down the road when there are, um, harder conversations that need to happen regarding, you know, a cybersecurity incident that could impact their services, for example, or a vendor that they wanna bring in that's high risk.

And I need a very, have a very frank conversation with, you know, my executives about making decisions in that the trust has already been built and it's so much easier to have, um, that dialogue, um, when that relationship is already there. So I think, you know, various ways, um, really seeking to understand, seeking to learn the things that are important to them, um, both from a work and from a kind of a, a personal, um, aspect as well.

But I, I love taking advantage of coffees and lunches and, um, you know, happy hours if that works best for folks as well.

Thanks, Eddie. Thanks for hopefully to answer your question. Thanks for contributing to our conversation this evening. Shawn, when, you know, Octavia Octavia, who's usually here is not here, so I can say my dad joke, but when I was thinking about, you know, the, the kids and the, and the young ones, I was just thinking, you know, my baby's, he's 240 months old now,  and, um,

So my, my young one is 20 years old, and I was just, I was just thinking, I, I completely agree with you along the lines of, you know, they grow up so fast and I can tell you as, as someone who has a 20 year old, I talk to my son a lot, and I might text him a lot, but man, I missed those times when he was very, very little and, and was very dependent and, and almost codependent.

If you'll, now, he's just on my expense account and he's not in the audience. I can talk about this now. He's just on my expense. Can't wait to get him off of my expense account. There's no more t e reimbursements for him. But, uh, uh, we, it is, it is almost, uh, top of the hour. So there's about, we're gonna go for another 30 minutes or so.

I wanna be respectful of everybody's time, and obviously Shawn needs to get back to her kids because we're taking time away from her and her family. Uh, but if you do have a question in the, and you are in the audience and you want to raise your hand, and we'll bring you up on stage and you can ask a question.

Uh, if you want me to read it off to you, you can just send me a quick d uh, direct message. Uh, hopefully I can find it in my inbox and, uh, and I'll read it off on online. Uh, with that, Veronica, thanks for joining us. Anything you wanna ask, uh, Shauna. Yeah. Thank you so much, uh, Tama and uh, Shauna, you know, I, I really love hearing, um, your, your lens on one, just your, your path, your background, and, and then just your focus, right?

I don't think, oftentimes when we think of cybersecurity professionals that we think, um, uh, the customers first. A lot of times people think of the technology and we think of the threats and all of the other things. So thank you for, for bringing that lens and that, that angle of it, um, to the forefront.

Uh, really the, the other only other thing I was just gonna mention, uh, I, I like how you mentioned about the books. I think all of us are in that boat too, right? Where we have all of these books that we truly, really want to read. . Yeah. Listen, you are not alone. I, I, um, I recently, I will add a book though, to the list for anyone who's looking for something.

Start over the, the holiday. Um, I started reading Oliver Berkman's 4,000 weeks. Um, so I don't know if anyone, if you, have you read that, Shauna? I haven't. I'm writing it down though, as you mentioned. All right. Yeah. 4,000 weeks Oliver Berkman. It is, I mean, right on target with what you're talking about here.

Like we, we have a finite time on this earth, right? So if you live, uh, to 80, that's 4,000 weeks. And, um, he kind of goes through the book, I don't wanna steal in the thunder for anyone, but he basically just talks about, you know, at a high level, one of the things that we don't realize is we have far less control than we think even over that time.

Um, so, you know, how should we look at that basically and make the most of the life, um, that we have with, with the time that we have while we're here? So, um, I, I love that the customer focus and, and, and, and, and the other thing that you said about really trying to. , um, like make a difference, right? Like I, I, I heard that theme earlier on is that this is about making a difference for you.

You want to do meaningful work. So I really like bringing that focus again to the front, um, for what we're doing. I, I think the only question that I would probably ask is around, um, you know, as you think about, you know, where we are now, we've gone through, what does it feel like, three years of a pandemic?

I think we're in a triple demo now, um, going into next year. I won't call it a fourth year. I refuse to, to put that burden on 2023. But as we approach 2023, you know, how are you looking at, um, continuing, uh, to kind of have, have impact, um, Where in some of these areas that you talked about, right? In some of these areas that Russell mentioned, right?

And, and, and Tomas around like, you know, diversity, equity, and inclusion. How do we bring more women? How do we get more diverse voices? How do we even get more people who may have different, um, who are differently able or different abilities, right? To kind of com compliment that, um, diversity lens. So any, any thoughts around that impact, as you mentioned about E S G earlier on?

Yeah. Um, thank you and thanks for, for sharing your thoughts. Um, and, and the, the book idea as well. When I, when I think about how to, how I feel like I can provide the most influence on diversity in, in cybersecurity, um, my focus has really always been on students. Um, how do we encourage. Students across any type of, um, major, for example, or how do we influence students, um, in even, you know, high school or and younger to be interested in a career in cybersecurity.

And, and I, I partner with a couple of our colleges, um, here locally, and I, I, I try to focus, um, that my time, yes, for the, for the cybersecurity programs, but I try to go kind of beyond that as well, because I would imagine that if I asked, you know, all of you, or even kind of everyone on this call, You know, a lot of us probably come from very diverse educational backgrounds, and I, I think that there is value in that, in cybersecurity.

And I think that, you know, we as, so educational diversity is really important to me, um, in cybersecurity. And I think that the more that you welcome and embrace that naturally you're gonna invite an insight, um, more diversity overall. Um, You know, so, so when I go and partner with, with colleges, you know, I'm, I'm talking to the accounting program, I'm talking to the business programs, um, obviously computer science and cybersecurity programs.

Um, you know, I'm partnering with our, our, um, local school boards and creating content for high school to focus on cybersecurity. And when I do that, and when I'm having those conversations, I'm very intentional about making sure that we're focusing on what I think is the right things, which.  isn't necessarily the technology yet.

It's Right. What is business and why is cybersecurity important to a business? Yeah. What is, what is the purpose of cybersecurity? It's not about technology, right? It's about enabling business and helping young students understand that and frame it in a way that inspires them to, to, to feel like they can participate regardless of what their, their technical interest or, or capabilities are.

I love that. I think, I think that's the answer to where the pipeline is, right? Like the big, the big question, right? The big elephant in the room is how do we increase the pipeline? I think that's it. I I love that. Thank you so much, Shauna. Yeah. No. Thanks, Veronica. Thanks for, uh, raising Hand and joining the conversation this evening.

And I was just gonna say, you know, I don't have any issues listening to audiobooks because I'm always stuck in traffic for almost two, actually, almost three hours out my day going in and out of the, going into work and coming home. So, you know, in New York, in this small town of New York, you could listen to a lot of audiobooks in that , in that commute.

Um, so that might help, uh, you know, Shawn, if you, if you, uh, wanted, wanted to Sure. Increase your, uh, commute time. Um, Mo thanks for, uh, thanks for raising your hand, joining the conversation. Anything you wanna ask Shauna? Yes, thank you Thomas for, uh, including me in here and, uh, Shauna listening to your story.

Um, it is absolutely inspiring, um, to how, you know, you got to where you are. Um, amazing story. So my question is to you is, you know, I've had, uh, countless, uh, interviews, uh, with CSOs, um, and I've noticed that, you know, this question, um, you know, is very interesting to the CSOs when I ask is, what traits do you look for when assembling your leadership team and your cybersecurity team around, you know, uh, where you work?

Yeah. Um, Mo thank you. Thank you for the question. Um, and, and I'm, I'm glad that you ask. I think it's important, and I think if you're looking for a role, um, You know, I, I would wanna know that whatever that person says is, is important to me too. Um, for me, when I'm building a team, you know, one of the most important things for me, um, and probably no surprise given, you know, the discussion you've heard from me over the, the last hour is, uh, the people.

I mean, are you someone that I wanna work with every day? Are you someone who is going to create a positive culture? Enable really kind of a, an, um, a great experience for the rest of my team? Um, I can teach people the things that they need to know. We can teach people their, their, the technical aspects of their job, but do they have really.

Um, the, a personality I think that that fits, um, with, within what we're wanting. And for me, you know, what I want to see is I wanna see someone who's a go-getter, someone who's gonna drive, um, but who's gonna do it in a positive way, um, who aren't going to, um, push people down to get there. Um, but who's gonna do it in a way that's gonna benefit the organization?

and, and that's important, right? We're not here to serve ourselves. We're here to serve our organization. And in healthcare, we're here to serve our communities. And so really looking at it from that lens of kind of being a servant, um, to, to, to the people that we're trying to keep safe, um, and to being part of a family of these, you know, this team, and I know a lot of people work from home today, but you know, some of us still come in the office and, you know, we're spending more time, um, you know, with the people that we work with than we, we, we do with our small children like we talked about today.

And so for me, it's important that we're making that a positive experience for everyone. And that means having the right people there. Um, really kind of that concept of, you know, you have to make sure that you have the right people on the bus, and then it doesn't matter where the bus goes, as long as you've got the right people there.

So, um, for me it's um, Do you have those traits? Um, to, to be a team player, to drive, um, and, um, be, be part of a team. Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. And Thomas, thank you very much for, uh, giving me the opportunity to ask Shawna that question. Yeah, no worries. And thanks for, thanks for joining us again this evening.

Uh, again, if it's, uh, it, it, we've got about 20, 20 more minutes left in the segment. So if there's anybody that wants to raise their hand and uh, ask a question, feel free to do so and I'll bring you up on stage. Uh, I'll pass it over to you.

Thanks Thomas. Uh, Shauna, one of the things you touched upon was intriguing is, you know, we're all involved at varying levels, uh, you know, finding mentorship, finding guidance. I'm also involved with some of the schools in our district and college programs. Uh, tell us a little bit more about, about your current involvement, what you're doing on that front, and how you got got involved with that aspect of it, uh, and you trying to set the table for the next generation of leaders.

Yeah. Happy to. Um, so I serve on, um, so Boise State recently created what they call the Institute of Pervasive Cybersecurity. Um, and you know, what I, what I love about what Boise State is doing is they've, they've created what they, they call, um, the cyber dome. It's, it's conceptually, um, a soc that could, that is, that is staffed by students, um, and can serve, um, local, um, a lot of county type, um, organization, state, tribal, um, et cetera.

And it's, to me, it's, it's important because, It's creating opportunities for students, people who are interested in cyber security to get experience while they're getting education, and I love that. Um, and what's great about what Boise State is doing is, um, they're, they're pulling other schools in, in our state in so that students, students from anywhere, um, at least in, in Idaho, um, and in the partnerships that they've built, get the opportunity to participate.

So I serve on, um, their board and every opportunity I get, I'm there reviewing resumes, I'm, I'm there, um, you know, speaking with the students and, um, building relationships with those students, encouraging the students to reach out to me, whether it be, um, you know, via LinkedIn or, or however I can, um, really kind of offer them them guidance, you know?

Um, I, I wish that. , uh, I had, you know, the funding and support to hire, you know, tons and tons and tons of interns so that I could give them the experience they really, truly need, um, to head out into the workforce. You know, we are working on building a more robust intern program. Um, but, but we're not quite there, um, where I'd like to be yet.

Um, in addition to serving kind of on the Boise State Board, I serve on another, um, local, um, Community college, um, board. And then I've participated, um, with a, with a local, um, state board of education in building the high school curriculum. And, and, and how I got those opportunities, um, really comes down to one.

I'm, I, it's a passion of mine, and so I'm, I'm looking for them, but really it's because I've built connections, um, with, with the people in my community who are also passionate about doing the same things. And so, you know, it's Boise's a small community, the cyber community, the cybersecurity community, and Boise's even smaller.

Um, and so when, when you, when you find kind of that group of people who have that shared passion, um, generally we, we tend to serve on a lot of these things. Um, because we all, um, really kind of feel that need, uh, to give back. So I would encourage those who, who have that passion and have that interest, um, reach out and, and offer.

Um, recently I've, I've expanded. Um, I also serve, um, now on a new board committee for, um, our local Y M C A. And, um, for me, um, this, this was really important and a great opportunity because I feel like the Y M C A is, um, in a different way, such a valued asset, um, to our community. I just think the, the mission, um, is, is so important and I love what they do to, to truly help people of all.

Right. All, all socioeconomic classes at any, um, you know, the, the health programs that they're driving are, are just incredible. And so being able to serve, um, uh, a a group like that also is just, um, such a great opportunity. And, and again, finding, finding those opportunities through the, the connections, um, that I've built, um, is, is really how, um, I've, I've gotten there.

And so again, stressing just, um, build those relationships and find the people who have shared passion. Oh, that's awesome. Thanks for sharing that, Shauna. I think, like you said, you know, we, we always talk about the tenon shortage and the pipeline, but look, you gotta start earlier and earlier in, in getting out in front of there, showing folks that this is a path.

So, uh, kudos to all your efforts on that front, uh, onto you, Katie. . Oh, thank you. Um, yeah, so listen, I've, I've been listening, uh, throughout the evening, and I'm so curious, um, because I, because I come from the same background, , you know, like mm-hmm. , um, you know, small town girl. Um, I'm super interested, uh, and, and I don't know if I missed it, the very beginnings.

I missed like five minutes. Uh, what was your very, very, very, very, very first job.  working in the family's diner. I mean, it was the diner. Ok. Of course you sprinkled that in. So let me ask you a question. Cause I thought I heard it later, right? So I was like, okay, is that, does that mean that's what she did her first?

So tell me more about, um, you know, in looking into the next 2, 3, 5, 10 years or your career and, and where you are. Right. And you know, and I, I appreciate it so much because I'm looking back at my community and trying to figure out how do I help my community that didn't even have, you know, a, a. Computer class when I was in high school, which by the way, wasn't that long ago.

you know? So it was really, they should have, so my point is, and based on your story, what are, what are you thinking about in terms of going back into your community and, or I mean, globally, I mean, or nationally, you know, what are, what are the things that we can do? Cuz you've, you've given us so many amazing examples, we can actually go out and do these things, and I wanna make sure that, um, you know, our listeners, you know, have, you know, links and things that we can do to actually go out and do the work.

You know, I, one of the things that I think just any of us could be doing, um, especially, you know, with, with cybersecurity skills and experience, um, Is just having conversations. I, I've reached out over the years to high schools and, and junior highs just to say, Hey, can we come talk to your class? Um, you know, can it, it can be any class, but can, can we just come, come talk to 'em about what, what it's like to be, um, a cybersecurity professional?

Um, and never have I been turned down. I mean, it's really on each of us just to take the time and the initiative to go have a, a very easy, um, you know, 20 minute conversation. With a class here and there, and you never know, even if you inspire one student in that class to be a little bit interested or if you scare the students enough to, you know, pay more attention on social media, um, regardless, um, it's gonna most likely have, you know, positive outcomes.

And that's something that regardless of what level you are, um, in cybersecurity, we all have enough knowledge that we can be sharing, um, and, and could do so very easily without having to be on a board or without having, um, you know, to, to make the right connections. They're, they're very simple things, um, that we could do right away.

Well, I appreciate that. And then also, I mean, when we think about like our day-to-day, right? Um mm-hmm. , was there ever a moment in your career where you just completely were like, okay, that's not gonna be the direction I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go this direction. Um, I kind of heard that in your story earlier, but would love to hear some more clarity around like, when that moment was when you, cuz you're so clear in your direction and I love it and I appreciate it, especially with, um, you know, teenage kids.

Right. I love it. So tell us more about that moment and kind of what that meant to you and where that has taken you.

Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm thinking Katie, about what I would, what I would declare that moment to be. Um, you know, for me, uh, I look at even my career now, and I actually don't know that I am. I know what I love. I'll, I'll say that, right? I know that I find passion, um, in, in healthcare and in cybersecurity and in helping.

Um, um, do I know what that looks like five years from now? I don't know. You know, I'm, uh, if there was a way that I could give back bigger, um, and broader, I mean, you, you mentioned nationally or, or globally, you know, that is intriguing to me. Um, if, if I could find a way to do that caveat, um, in a way where I.

Still have the, the right work-life balance to raise a, a three and six year old . Right. Um, as, as a good parent, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm intrigued. Um, but I don't think that I understood how much I appreciated all of that until I, until I got there, you know, when I was at Deloitte, um, you know, I, I loved that drive of, uh, you know, just, just working hard and doing great at it.

I, I loved that, and it really wasn't until I left and gained the perspective. Um, and, and, you know, we talked about this earlier, kind of that opportunity and of, of having different perspectives and those different experiences, I think help you appreciate in different ways, um, where you've been and, and, and where you're at now.

And I think for me, um, it's, it's really been. In this role and, and here, in this organization, in this industry that I've really, truly come to realize, you know, wow, I fell into a great thing and, and sometimes I don't even think I can give myself credit for having gotten here. I, I took advantage of opportunities and I'm surrounded by incredible people.

Um, and it's, it's, it's now in this moment, I think, Katie, that I'm like, yeah, I love this. I don't know if this is forever, but today, in this moment, I am so grateful to be able to do the things I do with the people I do it with. Um, and that for me, kind of sets a bar for where I go from here. Um, I, I have to love, I have to love those things.

That's, that's beautiful. Really is. Um, and that's why we do these meetings of the minds, you know, on Wednesday nights to really understand, you know, why it is that all of us, it's, they spent, we spent all this time, right. Uh, going and committing to this industry. So, uh, TOAs over to you to bring us home.

Do you have, uh, any, any, uh, other question or any of the other sort of, uh, cohost? Um, if you guys have any other question before I get to the final question.

Okay. I guess, I guess it's up to me then we gonna bring it home. We wanna know Shawna, Shawna, you, are you on the edge of your seat? This is the last question. This is the one that we didn't talk about. Actually, we didn't talk about any of the questions really, but No, this has a session this evening. It's great to, uh, to listen to you, to your, your journey and your, your origin story and commonalities between experiences and backgrounds.

You know, the, the customer service, the small town, uh, boy slash girl. Um, and I'll say Girl for Katie, boy for me in New York, right? Small towns. Um, obviously you, you've got, um, I'll say a. Very inspirational is what I'll say, inspirational leadership skill, leadership ability, not skills, leadership ability.

And it sounds, uh, it sounds fantastic. You know, I, I, I, I aspire to, uh, wanna work for you one of these days and I, and I really don't mean that, um, because you sound like you, you would be a really gr you would be a, a great leader for, uh, for me to learn from. Um, there is one person that is raising their hand.

So I'm gonna bring up on stage, allow, ask that question and we'll sort of bring ourselves to a do respectful. So if you saw somebody raise. All right. Maybe they change their mind, which happens sometimes. Um, but again, if you just joined us, you've missed a good sort of hour and a half, uh, just about an hour and a half of, of great conversation getting to know Shauna and, and her experience and her origin story as I, as, as I've always said, The reason why I asked the origin story is because I do think that we are truly superheroes in what we do.

Um, that we're, we're here to inspire, we're here to, to shape companies and, you know, for your CISOs or CEOs or other types of leaders within your organization, and you're here to inspire that next generation of, of, of individuals and talent that are looking to want to be you and want to grow into your role at some point in time in, in their lives.

So, you know, very, very key and critical. There was a, something that you said that actually resonated with me around going into the communities and teaching into, in teaching the class or just speaking to the class, uh, you know, the high schools or the elementary schools. And I, I agree with that a hundred percent.

I, I think, you know, not to sort of, I, I've said this before in other forum, Not that I'm a McDonald's sort of supporter, but if you think about that sort of McDonald's way, right? Everybody remember those golden arches from those happy meals because you remember the happy meals as you when you were a little kid.

And, and where am I going with that? Well, if you start young, if you start in the schools and you start educating around cybersecurity, it'll continue to foster and continue to grow. And, and you've got an almost instant pipeline of talent. And so what inspired me is that, you know, we, in, in my role, I'm in different communities, uh, just by every year putting on a, a big event.

And I'm going to add that I know we do a, a summit where we meet with our partners and, and our key stakeholders in that sort of cyber summit, um, that we did specifically in Arizona a few weeks ago. But I'm gonna add the component around going into the schools. I think that's, uh, that's probably a good thing to do.

Um, and I like that. And so you've inspired me to, to add that into, into our playbook. So, you know, Las Vegas. We'll see you, we'll see you school. The school is in Las Vegas as we get to, uh, the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. But, um, cause it might be a little bit too late for us to, to do something in, in Arizona.

But, um, with that said, I do wanna get back to you and you, sorry I'm rambling so much, but I just, uh, just, uh, I just wanted you to know that that actually did inspire me. And so, um, was typing up a message to my team, trying to figure out how can we do this and, and who do we need to connect with inside the, uh, the nfl.

But with that said, this, this question I like asking of our guests is really a, a reflection question. And, and so if you had one piece of advice, and I do know that you're just turned 25, so you know, you're relatively young,  uh, You know, as is Katie and Lisa Beth and all of us on stage, we're all in that in our twenties.

Um, if you have one piece of advice for the younger Shauna, what would it be? And why?

Don't try to find what you believe is the perfect path to get where you wanna go. And, and I, I was thinking about this this morning, um, you know, an excitement of our conversation tonight. And I, and I think that if as a young student, as a student, as a young career, um, driven professional, if I knew that I wanted to be where I'm at today, I think I would've taken what I would've.

Perceived to be a direct path, I would've said, Hmm, I have to have education in cybersecurity. I have to start my career in cybersecurity. And, you know, I have to do that in order to get, um, a CISO role. And I'm, and I'm, well, I'm glad that I didn't know, uh, that I wanted to be a ciso. Um, but I truly believe that if I had taken that path, I wouldn't be here.

And I certainly wouldn't be here at the time that I, that I was. Um, and so just recognize, I think I would've told myself, accept your journey. Um, accept and take on challenges that scare you. Um,  and embrace them. And,

and I, and, and I think if, you know, I had known what I was doing as I had done it, um, I, I might have made different choices. And, and so I'm, I'm glad obviously, um, that I made the choices that I did to get me where I am. Um, but if I had been more intentional about some of them, I, I made out of, landed where I was.

So, um, just really kind of, um, being okay with, with not, and I mentioned this earlier and this is again, something I've been working on as an individual and as a professional, doesn't have to be perfect. And the way you get there does not have to be perfect. Um, just, just take advantage of, of what's in front of you.

Um, work hard, have fun. Um, and, and above all, I think, you know, just, just be a good person.

I love that. I love that. Oh, that, that's such a great response. Uh, I love that. And I like the fact that it, it was very candid, , sorry to put you on the spotlight, that Shawn, but that was, that was so awesome. Um, I, I, I recognize that my fault, I, I missed, uh, Hussein. Yes, sir. Who did? I did bring him up on stage.

So, Hussein, I, uh, if, if, and, and rest of the calls, if you guys us a few more minutes, uh, Hussein, why don't you ask a question of, uh, I would like to thank you all for this great conversation.

You are very welcome. Uh, is there anything that you wanna ask, uh, of Shauna? If, if not then, uh, no. Thanks a lot. Okay. No, we appreciate you coming up and thanks for the, uh, the, the shout out. Um, so look, uh, mo moderators, anything, anything, uh, any, any comments, any final closing comments that you wanna share, uh, as we, uh, to close up for evening?

Thank you, Shawn, for coming on fellow healthcare, cso, great conversation, great things you're doing. Um, if you ever need to chat, um, my ears are open and I would love to hear from you and bounce some ideas as well. Thank you. I would love that. Same. Thank you. And Shawn, I'll say, I've said it before, the, your focus on customer service has been a big impact on me.

I've got a lot of notes from other folks attending, like, wow, I really like Shauna. So you, your impact is, uh, profound, uh, whether you've heard me say it or, or have me, uh, let you know whether the folks are sharing with me, um, uh, privately about what you shared this evening. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. That's very nice. Appreciate that. And Shauna, I'll echo, um, you know, just the whole story you had about just kind of not being afraid, you know, and just going out and doing the work, um, and having an altruistic approach and, um, doing the right thing. I love that. Um, from a healthcare perspective as an individual person in general, , I just really appreciate your approach to our business and, and your contribution to our industry.

So just it, it was a gift to learn more about you tonight. And thank you again for sharing your story. Thank you, small town, Katie. It's been great getting to know you as well. Thanks for the conversation, Shauna. Your passion definitely shines through, so I'm glad we had an opportunity to connect collectively.

And sh Sean, I'm, I'm so very happy and fortunate to have, uh, have met you at the FBI, CISO Academy. So we're both, uh, alum. So I'm glad we, I'm glad we met. I'm glad we, we crossed paths and I'm glad you agreed to, to being on the, on the show and adding to our community. So thank you for, for that. Um, and before we sort of wrap, I do wanna thank everybody for, for joining us.

Uh, we will be back in the new year. We, we have a, we're gonna try to take some time off, so we won't be here next Wednesday, but we will be back in the new year. You'll see, you'll see a, a new post come out from, uh, from one of us, uh, around our, our next guest, uh, sometime in, in that will arrive sometime in January.

So we hope that you all have a great holidays, uh, with your family and your loved one. And spend the time that's necessary to recuperate If you're, uh, feeling like you're burnt out, take care of your mental health, uh, and take care of your family's mental health. Shawna, I'll leave the final words from you and on behalf of everybody, uh, thank you.

So I'll leave the final words from you. It's, it's been a great night and I truly appreciate, um, the opportunity that each of you gave to me to, to just reflect, you know, I don't know that I take the time enough to do that, and, and you've really given me that opportunity tonight, and I can't thank you enough for that.

Um, it's, it's. Uh, you've all inspired me, um, just in, in the conversation in your questions. So, so thank you. Um, thank you for what you do, um, on, on this podcast. I love that you're giving a, a, a platform for, um, cybersecurity, um, leaders and individuals and, um, really helping provide, um, that leadership and thoughts, um, for, for our industry.

Um, this is a lot out of your time, um, every week, so I can't, I can't thank you all enough and I appreciate you having me. Thank you. We'll see you in a new year, Sean. I'll talk to you soon. Cheers everybody. Bye-bye. Thank you all.