As a GCA Product Manager, I am responsible for leading development and customer delivery of the Domain Trust intelligence platform product, within GCA’s Internet Integrity Program. Domain Trust is an intelligence platform that provides registries, registrars and cyber protection agencies with high quality, large-scale sets of trusted, actionable data on suspected malicious and criminal domains being used in phishing attempts, malware distribution and command & control (C2) activities that continually threatens global communication systems and our most critical infrastructures.
The offer of an opportunity to work with internationally recognized experts in cybersecurity and related disciplines, in an organization that encourages the utmost in professional integrity and business ethics, was one I was humbled and honored to accept. GCA is a strong team of incredibly talented and motivated individuals working together to “move the needle” and is truly making a real difference in reducing cyber risk and increasing infrastructure security for organizations and individuals worldwide. Life is short and precious, and I can directly help others by helping secure the systems upon which we are all dependent for the products and services that help keep us healthy, safe and connected.
I am a protector by nature, having spent most of my career in roles that help and protect others. From my work as a healthcare provider in hospitals and trauma centers, to my years as a military officer and contractor in the intelligence and cybersecurity communities, as well as my experience as a sworn law enforcement officer, I have a unique perspective on risk and security. And having led the design, build and operations of the very first large-scale, international, cyber-threat intelligence platforms for both the public and private sectors in the 1990s, I have a comprehensive understanding of how the appropriate collection, analysis and use of data can help make all of us, and our loved ones, more healthy and safe.
Each day I have the incredible good fortune to engage with and contribute to a collaborative, global community of colleagues who share a common mission to impact our world in a truly positive way.
What is your favorite quote?
I have many, but was recently reminded by a favorite mentor of this one:
“Err on the side of compassion.”
Who inspires you?
Probably more than anyone, my paternal grandmother was the biggest inspiration in my early years. She raised seven children, mostly by herself, in the very rural Ozarks during and immediately following the Great Depression, which lasted longer there than it did in many other parts of the world. She married and became a mother at a very young age, but subsisted off the land, provided for her family, taught them as best she could how to work hard and love well, and gave so much of herself to others by living out her faith in tangible ways and always treating others better than they treated her. In later years, I am now continually, increasingly and inordinately blessed with inspiration from my children, who often see the world, its many problems and others around them with an intuition, compassion and understanding that often surpasses my own, and that daily challenges me to do…and be…better.
What is the best meal you ever had?
The date was March 21st, 1989. The place was Stiftskeller St. Peter (now known as the St. Peter Stiftskulinarium), in Salzburg, Austria, which claims to be the world’s oldest continually operating restaurant with receipts dating back to 803AD…and was a favorite of Luciano Pavarotti’s. Despite my now seemingly uninspired notes, the meal was a “plate of sausage, pork, veal, chicken, rice, Brussels sprouts, carrots, corn and fries with bread and butter” and it was one of the best and most memorable meals I have ever enjoyed. (I was then a famished college Eurailer who hadn’t been to a real restaurant in quite a while!)
Where’s your favorite place in the world?
Anywhere I can make great memories living life with my closest family and friends.