“At that point, I discovered the innovative, fast-paced and forever-changing world of cybersecurity and was hooked ever since,” she said.
From there, she worked with other NSF grants and nonprofits such as National CyberWatch Center, CyberWatch West and the National Cyber League. In 2014, a colleague dropped a flyer on her desk about the Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) Conference, started by Dr. Ambareen Siraj, a professor at Tennessee Tech University, with a National Science Foundation grant.
Dohm was very interested in attending the event and was disappointed when she found out it was at full capacity. However, in 2015, she worked with Dr. Siraj on various projects for the conference.
In 2018, WiCyS became a nonprofit with the strong mission to recruit, retain and advance women in cybersecurity year-round as a member-based organization. Dohm attended her first WiCyS conference that year.
“I knew from that point forward my heart and soul were guided by the WiCyS mission to recruit, retain and advance women in cybersecurity,” said Dohm.
Once WiCyS became a nonprofit, Dohm started working more closely with the previous executive director in her role to strengthen membership, strategic partnerships and conference preparation. When the executive director position was posted in August 2019, the WiCyS founder reached out to Dohm because of her engagement experience with WiCyS and encouraged her to apply. Dohm did and became the executive director in October 2019.
“Being executive director has been an outstanding experience as all my passions in my personal life intersect with my professional life,” she said. “WiCyS is a community where everyone has a story to share on their career advancement, including me.”
As executive director, she looked forward to planning WiCyS 2020, which was to take place in Colorado in March. But there is much more to WiCyS.
“The conference is an important initiative of ours in addition to our scholarship and awards program, speaking opportunities, Job Board++, market research, career fairs, online member forum, webinar series, newsletters and more,” she said. “We also support our members through various communities. We have 19 professional affiliates, 97 student chapters, an allies and advocates for action community, mentor/mentee community, speaker community and veterans group.”
View the full article HERE
Di Freeze (2020, May 6). Women In Cybersecurity (WiCyS) 2020 Conference Turns Into A Virtual Success. Cybercrime Magazine. https://cybersecurityventures.com/women-in-cybersecurity-wicys-2020-conference-turns-into-a-virtual-success/