Chris Apple

As a member of the Capacity & Resilience Program team, Chris Apple serves as the Cybersecurity Solutions Product Manager. He is responsible for fostering collaboration and consensus among GCA’s partners, constituents, and other stakeholders to define, build, and maintain a framework of cybersecurity solutions to make the Internet a safer place for every individual and organization globally.

Chris has always been drawn to serve at LGBQTIA+ nonprofit organizations as a volunteer and board member because of their missions. He understands, first hand, what it is like to be a member of a frequently marginalized community. He also understands how it feels to be a victim of identity theft and fraud, and he has experienced the frustration and cost of cleaning up the resulting mess. The Internet is increasingly used as a tool by oppressors and criminals to violate our basic human right to live free of such abuse. It has never been more critical to protect our collective online presence from those who seek to harm others. In his role at GCA, he will serve the global cybersecurity community by fostering the development and adoption of solutions that enable individuals, communities, and organizations to establish and sustain their agency in cyberspace.

While at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Chris was focused on Applied R&D for Internet-related protocols and technologies; this experience eventually drew him into leadership roles within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), ISO/ITU-T affiliated committees, the Internet Mail Consortium, and the Open Group with a tighter focus on core technologies associated with cybersecurity. Eventually, he shifted his attention to Internet startup work and more recently held various executive level cybersecurity consulting and management roles in the commercial sector.

Chris likes the collaborative and transparent approach that GCA encourages everyone to use regarding their work; and also, the diversity of skills and experiences represented across our staff. GCA’s mission represents an opportunity for Chris to blend a desire to serve, a passion for performing Applied R&D and collaboration with other organizations, and the technical, entrepreneurial, and executive experiences that he’s acquired over the past 32 years.

What is your favorite quote?

“Take care of yourself, and if you can, someone else, too.” ~ Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics Podcast Host

What’s the last book you read?

“We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin – It is often described as inspiring George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-four” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.”

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

Performing self-directed research on a new technology that I’ve never worked with professionally before. Most recently, I’ve been focused on blockchain and cryptocurrency research projects to identify sustainable passive income streams. I also enjoy teaching others about technology using both structured and unstructured methods.