In the military, we work as a team. No one person can do everything, and we rely on each other to get things done in service of our country. During my time in the military, I knew I depended on my team and they depended on me. We worked together on shared goals to achieve and complete assignments.

During my service from 1998 to 2019, the United States Air Force impacted and continues to impact how I approach the challenges I face. Early in my career, I worked closely with my team. I spent years setting up tents for operations and crawling around in aircraft hangars pulling communications cable through less than favorable conditions because that’s what my team was challenged to do. I believed (and still believe) I could not lead the team without experiencing the mission from their point of view.

Mid career, the Air Force transitioned my career field to cyber warfare. Initially, this had to do with defense of federal assets, but eventually shifted focus to strategic policy making. In the Rhode Island Air National Guard, I developed the information technology part of the state Strategic Plan to determine how we would respond to unforeseen security and natural calamities. I’m proud to say I developed a plan to deal with a regional pandemic much like the global pandemic we saw a few years ago.

I spent my final years in the military working on developing policies for how the military would interact with public and private businesses in the event of a cyber warfare attack. This requires deep interaction with legal and business experts at the regional and national levels. The invaluable perspective I gained in these roles enabled me to see the big picture and plan for an uncertain future.

Along the way, I had the honor of being selected for some high profile roles in the organization. Because of my speaking skills (thanks, Toastmasters!), I was given the opportunity to lead an educational program for 1,000 airmen to help them understand how to stop sexual harassment by being more proactive when we see something wrong. The program relied on us being approachable, relatable, and committed to making the organization better. I also led initiatives to recruit members that made the organization look more like the population we served. Finally, I spent time developed a pipeline of information technology leaders for our organization’s future by rotating up-and-coming officers through a series of high visibility leadership positions. This promised to create leaders that know about all aspects of our technology capability.

Military ROLES HELD

Director of Communications (A6)

Deputy Director of Logistics

Executive Officer

Deputy Commander

Operations Officer

Officer in Charge — Network Operations