my expertise

Innovation Stage | guest speaker

The Innovation Stage demanded something completely different as the Barcelona Cyber Security Congress Hacking Village made its debut in 2022.

I contributed to the agenda on two separate occasions; to welcome the Barcelona Chapter Lead of the Women4Cyber Foundation into her new role with a discussion about what it means to be an activist for women’s essential role in the industry, and to lead my own workshop on why a healthier relationship with our devices makes us better cyber security professionals.

Guest speaker

It was in Barcelona when I first heard the term ‘super connector’ and decided I too could become one. The founders of The Tell Me More Project invited me to run an intimate session to showcase my specialist subjects to their exclusively female community of entrepreneurs and freelance professionals on Being More Mindful Online. Attendees left with a deeper understanding of why we must protect our information online, that privacy is much more than just a policy, and with practical tips on maintaining dialogue with our teens to both encourage safe online behaviour and to step forward in the name of achieving better gender equality in the cyber security industry.

Google's Women Techmakers program provides visibility, community and resources for women in technology.

I was selected from hundreds of speaker applications to present my talk: Insecurities + In Security to mark International Women’s Day 2018. We explored the role of women in cyber security with a focus on educating girls to be smart online and encouraging them to shift the balance for greater gender equality in the industry.

Told from the perspective of a young woman immersed in what’s historically been a man’s world, the audience left with practical tips on how to empower the next generation of girls to take the lead and experience the rewards firsthand. Watch the replay.

Campaign Manager

In collaboration with Cyber Security Challenge UK and Northrop Grumman, I managed the entire content creation and communication strategy for the CyberCenturion competition from 2020-2022 – an annual programme designed by the American Air Force Association to engage students with STEM and cyber security through a series of computer-based challenges.

Sustaining engagement with the competition as schools navigated online lessons and remote learning was a challenge overcome with an extra-large dose of creativity, PR effort and programme endorsements from industry, which ensured no decrease in engagement versus previous years. More than 100 schools in the UK and Overseas Territories entered 400+ teams for the seventh edition of the renowned competition.

Assembly Speaker

Benjamin Franklin International School recognises the need to educate both teaching staff, students and parents on the importance of responsible use of tech and devices within the school environment.

Using pop-culture to bring challenging scenarios involving social media to life, I delivered assembly sessions to parents and upper and lower secondary students to inspire more conscious attitudes towards modelling the use of technology and handling difficult situations, such as cyber bullying.

“The assembly was interesting and informative. It was great to hear from a woman who’s built something herself, and that there are opportunities for us in cyber security.” – founders of BFIS Feminist Society

Campaign Manager

The National Crime Agency in the UK sought to explore new ways to engage with secondary-age students when lockdown first hit in 2020.

Since then, I have led the production and delivery of multiple online seasonal cyber challenges, including resource management and budget responsibilities, as well as the launch of Cyber Security Challenge UK’s first app-based gaming experience. Annually this sponsorship has connected 500,000+ students in UK schools and across the globe with cyber learning resources since 2020.

Subject matter expert + workshop lead

Intaso ran its first wellness week campaign in 2022. I delivered daily virtual workshops to the team designed to provide insight, develop greater self-awareness of tech habits, and equip individuals with tools and techniques to adjust their routine in the context of technology.

Before and after the campaign, I distributed a short survey to help measure effectiveness. Results showed that having participated in each daily workshop, 100% colleagues shifted their mindset to associate tech breaks with productivity, and felt they had the tools to maintain a more balanced relationship with tech.

Webinar facilitator

MeetCyber founder and Secure by Design Manager at Vodafone, Enkeleda Ibrahimi, got in touch after discovering my vlog posts on LinkedIn.

50+ guests tuned in for my flagship Detox your inbox session in which the audience are invited to join in with simple guided breathing exercises and practical activities to kick-start decluttering their tech lives before logging off.

One attendee commented that this was the best MeetCyber talk they’d ever attended, and voiced demand for more content on the subject of wellbeing.

Agenda mastermind

As BigSASIG went virtual for the first time during the Covid-19 crisis, the webinar and events team enlisted my support in masterminding a two-day agenda devoted to wellbeing topics in the context of cyber security as both a profession and a subject.

Facilitating multiple panel discussions with experts from the NSPCC and Consciously Digital among others, delegates relished the chance to start day two with some deep breathing and guided movement – and I got to fulfil a daring ambition at the same time. Sessions attracted up to 150 attendees live on the day.