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Women Who Cyber brings together a diverse group of aspiring and thriving cybersecurity professionals for dynamic, interactive events where attendees can network with peers, establish meaningful relationships, share knowledge, and enjoy
unique experiences while engaging in conversations around the latest cyber threats, evolving security insights, and emerging industry trends.
Women account for only 22% of the global cybersecurity workforce.
Proofpoint wants to help change that, and we want you to be involved.
Join us in our efforts to bring more women into the industry, retain and elevate more women into leadership positions, and explore how to address the widespread talent shortages critical to driving continued innovation.
You’ll learn from, and be inspired by, our panel of
influential women as they discuss how they broke through the glass ceiling and continue to pave the way for women to lead and excel in the industry.
They’ll also discuss the unique challenges women face, as well as the importance of diversity and gender equality in the workplace.
Learn and be inspired as our panel of influential women discuss:
Build Your Own Bouquet
After the discussion, explore your creative side with a floral workshop hosted by local floral shop, Sip 'N Bloom.
You'll be able to take home a beautiful arrangement created entirely by you and learn tips and tricks that will have all future arrangements looking professional and intentional.
Register now to support women in changing the face of cybersecurity!
Molly McLain Sterling is a Sr. Cybersecurity Strategy Director at Proofpoint, specializing in human-centric security. Previously, she spent 17 years at Medtronic as Director of Security Culture, leading initiatives in human risk management, developing an award-winning Security Ambassador program, and driving engagement across 100,000+ individuals globally. She is active in the cybersecurity and women in tech communities, and she holds degrees in Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management.
Su Gaustad is the Senior Director of Cybersecurity at Ameriprise Financial. She is leading the Cyber Security Defense Center, including 24×7 threat monitoring operation, incident response, threat intelligence, and counter measure development. For nearly two decades, she has delivered enterprise IT solutions and capabilities ranging from secure code development to endpoint and network controls. She has worked in a range of industries, including financial institutions, IT consulting, retail, manufacturing, government, healthcare and education. She also holds both Certified Ethical Hacker and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certifications. Su received a Master of Science in Information Security from Carnegie Mellon University, an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and a Bachelor of Computer Engineering from Kasetsart University.
Melissa Householder is a cybersecurity leader with nearly 20 years of experience who built her foundation the way most great operators do — by being relentlessly curious and community-driven from day one. In 2006, while studying cybersecurity in college, Melissa didn't wait to start practicing. She joined every user group she could find — 2600, the Sonora Desert User Group, IC2 — and when she saw peers struggling to break into the field, she worked with school administration to establish a dedicated cybersecurity club. She secured donated servers and racks, built out hands-on labs, and personally trained 40 to 60 students weekly on foundational skills. To fund student attendance at DEF CON, she organized weekend fundraisers until every student who wanted to go could go, costs fully covered. She went, and she never stopped presenting and competing after that.
In 2008 she turned that momentum into a career. What began as an internship quickly expanded — her ability to identify critical security gaps got her pulled into projects well beyond the intern scope. She moved through forensics and into security operations, where she has spent the last 15 years growing from analyst to mentor to leader.
Today, Melissa leads Cyber Defense Operations, overseeing cyber defense, data loss prevention, operational health, and tactical and strategic threat intelligence. She has deployed multiple SIEMs and SOAR platforms, built automated controls validation programs, and scaled 24/7 security operations centers from the ground up. Her operating philosophy centers on one thing: disrupting adversaries before they ever reach the door saves everyone from a whole world of pain.
Dané Smiley is Vice President of Information Security at Ameriprise Financial, with executive responsibility for Information Security Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC). She has brought more than 35 years of Information Technology experience, including over 25 years specializing in Information Security, with expertise across identity and access management, application security, and governance, risk, and compliance. Dané has held the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) credential since 2004 and is also COBIT and LEAN certified.
While we are dedicated to bringing talented women together to celebrate and foster their passion and drive for cybersecurity, we welcome everyone—all genders, identities, and generations!
This event is suitable for information security decision makers, including: CXO, VP of IT, Director of IT; mid-level information security management (Senior Security Manager, IT Security Manager, IT Manager) and technical information security practitioners (Security Engineer, Messaging Architect, IT Analyst).
Government and public sector employees are reminded to ensure that their acceptance and participation are permitted by applicable rules and regulations.
NOTE: Registration requires a valid email address from your organization’s domain, so Gmail, Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo or any other ISP are not accepted. Yahoo or any other ISP are not accepted.
