Using Cyber Skills and Leadership to Make the World a Safer Place

Jen Anthony, CISO and VP for Think|Stack: “We truly can use our skills and work to make the world a better place”

A Vice President of Think|Stack, a company specializing in cloud and cybersecurity with human-centered design, Jennifer Anthony is motivated to integrate cybersecurity into the success culture of the credit union organizations she serves. “Cybersecurity is no longer just a problem for the IT department; it impacts business at every level,” Anthony said when she was appointed VP. She had not realized the level of impact and influence that cybersecurity professionals can have. “We truly can use our skills and work to make the world a better place,” Anthony added. In her VP role, Jennifer Anthony leads Think|Stack’s consulting services, which include virtual Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), virtual Chief Information Officer (CIO), and cybersecurity training to improve clients’ security posture in a growing threat landscape. She also oversees technical teams as they identify, analyze, manage, mitigate, and remediate cybersecurity risks. Asked what some of the most important skills in her work are, she emphasized the soft skills: “a growth mindset, always striving to learn new things, empathy, curiosity, and perpetual optimism.” 

Before becoming a VP for Think| Stack, Anthony was the Director of Programs for The COMMIT Foundation. Before that, she was a program manager for the Wounded Warrior Foundation and a CIO for Lorien Health Services. Anthony is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, for which she served in various roles, including as the Director of Workforce Development for the Air Force Cyber Command and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the Air Force Cyber Operations Center. She mentioned the most important factors that helped her become who she is today: “the support and encouragement from mentors, family, friends, and colleagues; and being prepared to take advantage of unique opportunities as they have been presented along my journey.”

 Jen Anthony applied to the Duke CISO Executive Certificate Program to expand her knowledge and connect with experts who are doing similar work. “I learned about the most recent and current updates in our field, I connected with some of the most impressive cyber experts and had the opportunity to learn about some of the international work being done in our industry,” she said. Asked what her favorite session of the in-person week was, Jen Anthony mentioned the session on “Artificial Intelligence taught by Professor Michael Roman. “I appreciated how he broke down some of the complex theories around AI into tangible, comprehensive data sets that dynamically increased my understanding of the topic,” Anthony explained. Jennifer Anthony will share her experience in cybersecurity as it relates to artificial intelligence at the Cybersecurity at Duke 2024 Conference as part of the panel “Artificial Intelligence through the eyes of the CISO,” scheduled for October 25, 2024. Interested professionals can secure their seats by registering on the conference website.