Over the past two weeks, I had the opportunity to contribute to the cybersecurity community through both a live conference appearance and a podcast discussion.

At FutureCon St. Louis, I moderated the CISO leadership panel titled “Securing the Future: CISO Insights and Industry Leaders Discussing Current Cyber Threats and Strategic Defense Practices.” The session featured expert practitioners from across industries who shared actionable perspectives on evolving threats, resilience strategies, and leadership challenges. We covered a wide range of topics including incident response readiness, the state of vulnerability management, and how security teams can remain aligned with business priorities.

In addition to moderating, I spent time at the InfraGard STL Chapter booth. I spoke with attendees about the value of public-private partnerships, encouraged membership, and distributed information about upcoming events and resources. Interest in InfraGard remains strong, especially from professionals looking to deepen their engagement in local threat intelligence and critical infrastructure protection.

Later in the week, I joined Marc Ashworth, CISO at First Bank, on The Cyber Executive Podcast. We discussed the unique challenges and opportunities facing cybersecurity leaders in higher education. Topics included budget constraints, the balance between academic freedom and security enforcement, and how universities can take a pragmatic approach to risk. It was a focused and timely conversation with someone who understands the complexity of the role from both a strategic and operational lens.

Both appearances reflect my continued goal of learning from peers, sharing what works, and helping shape stronger security practices across sectors.