Meet Lynn Dohm, Keynote Speaker for the Women in Cyber Summit

This year’s keynote speaker for Champlain College’s Women in Cyber Summit is none other than Lynn Dohm, the executive director of Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS).

Dohm has been the executive director of WiCyS since 2019, where she helps pioneer the initiative for women to pursue and retain careers within cybersecurity fields. By working with WiCyS, she aims to solve the cybersecurity job shortage by expanding the diversity of the field entirely. During our conversation, Dohm’s passion about this initiative came through clearly, offering valuable insights ahead of her upcoming presentation.

I got to learn more about how she got to where she is now, and what drives her to pursue it further.

What is your role at WiCyS, and what has it been like working there?

My role is Executive Director of the Global Organization. Each and every day we reach hundreds of thousands of individuals as we create accessibility and opportunity for women to not only get into cybersecurity but also for the women that are already in the workforce to be retained and advanced. My role is always first and foremost, being here to serve the community. I am always here listening to the community and what their needs, demands, and challenges are. Whether it’s building the pipeline—or for folks that are already in their cybersecurity careers—we’re always listening about how we, as a nonprofit, build programs that make sense and also align to over 60 strategic partners and their priorities. We sit in the middle as a catalyst to listen to both the community and our partners. That is where we start seeing progress being made in the workforce.

Not only am I responsible for programming efforts of the organization, but I am also responsible for the funding arm. I work with a lot of corporate partners to identify their priorities and make sure that WiCyS is in alignment.

What led you to this position?

WiCyS really changed my life.

In 2015, I started working for WiCyS in a support capacity, but I had my own business. I was working for many other government grants, for-profits, and nonprofits. So, I had a whole portfolio of clients, but WiCyS was one of them, and it was my heart and soul. It was my passion, closing the gender wage gap, and I had been working in cybersecurity for the past 16 years. However, I wasn’t able to attend my first WiCyS conference until 2018. It was the first time in my life that I was actually in a room with like-minded individuals.

Prior to that, I was always seeking camaraderie in my work. At all the different events I was going to I was surrounded by men. I was trying to find my own self worth. I joined many different cybersecurity organizations in the Chicagoland area, but they were vendor focused. I started looking at female entrepreneur groups, but they weren’t focused on cybersecurity.

Lo-and-behold, it was right in front of me the whole time! In August of 2019, our founder Dr. Ambareen Siraj reached out to me to ask if I would consider applying for the Executive Director role. She believed in me before I even believed in myself. By October, I was appointed as Executive Director.

Is there something we’re not talking about in the field of Cybersecurity? What needs to be changed?

What we need to be talking about is the advancement opportunities for women in cybersecurity. There needs to be more of them, and there needs to be intentional action by employers to pay attention to potential glass ceilings placed on women and other underrepresented individuals. So, we know that we can recruit all we want in cybersecurity, but if we can’t retain there are systemic challenges.

Our research shows itself: we need to pay attention to the retention. That’s why I travel all over the world, to make these connections and have these conversations: to make people aware of this research. People need to be intentional and pay attention to these issues to bridge that gap. Instead of the industry always focusing on recruiting, we need to put the same amount of attention on advancement. More women will be elevated into senior roles, and the diversity will naturally expand. When you have a seat for inclusion, diversity will expand. Inclusion is what you do, diversity is what you get. That is building a sustainable workforce.

I think you’ve touched upon this a couple of times, but what makes you passionate about this initiative?

We’re changing lives. At the end of the day, cybersecurity is a lucrative career. Women should be a part of the clear-cut advancement opportunities to be able to make the money that is being made. It’s a security risk not to have a diverse perspective, women bring forward that to the workforce.

To solve challenges that never previously existed before—and that’s what cybersecurity is—you need all genders, all identities, all ethnicities, you need it all. My presentation will touch on that. We need everyone to be able to contribute to the cybersecurity workforce. If you don’t have diverse perspectives, you’re putting yourself at risk. That’s what makes me so passionate, there’s such a need for it. Women need to explore cybersecurity and the lucrative careers it has to offer to support ourselves, our families, and to get out of generational disparity, and elevate ourselves up. Cybersecurity is the best place to do it, and there’s no better time than now.

What has been your biggest accomplishment while working with WiCyS?

Oh, that’s a hard one. I’d have to say we’re challenged often as an organization because there’s so much change. Going from COVID into a virtual space, I have to say there was a silver lining. We took down our own preconceived barriers, and by being virtual we opened up to becoming an international organization. Our growth as an organization is something I’m very proud of. The community, partners, programming efforts have all grown so much. It’s what keeps me going, it’s what makes me passionate, most of all it’s the life changing experience that everyone comes to WiCyS for.

What would you say to a woman that is aspiring to get into the cybersecurity field?

Dive right in. Don’t think about it. Just dive in.

If you’re mission focused, passionate, if you’re willing to go down the rabbit hole, if you like to problem solve, if you’re curious, then cybersecurity is right there. It takes aptitude, and grit, but you could learn anything. If you’re even thinking about it, just dive right in, join WiCyS. Enter this community of aspiring professionals all around you. It’s only going to elevate you. We’re all working towards the same goal, and it makes it easier. You don’t have to do anything alone.