Cassandra Mack

I've always been driven, and I was raised by a Marine Corps officer who always preached to us that if you see something that needs to be done, you just go do it. That's served me well. I've always looked around and said, okay, where do they need help? Where are there not enough people? Where are there no women? I want to be somewhere where nobody's doing that thing. I don't want to be one of a pack of people doing something that are mediocre. So always wanting to be better and strive and learn something new, I think, has been to my advantage, because people are very accepting of someone who's a striver or an achiever and wants to do something, because people want those people around. They don't want somebody who's just phoning it in, waiting to retire. Lifelong education has also been critical. I've gone back to school probably five times, and there's never enough for me. I read constantly, I'm a non-fiction reader, I just can't get enough information. And then I married somebody who's even more like that, so now I tell him to tell me a science story, and he'll fill me in on the stuff I don't ever read or understand in terms I can understand. It's a little bit like learning through osmosis, but those are pretty important. I actually look for that stuff in the team that I build to make sure that we're aligned, because it's really hard to get people in that mindset if they just aren't.

The best career advice I ever received was from my husband, who told me to think like a man. He would ask me, how would a man answer that? It was really good advice. As a strong female or as a feminist, you might think, no, I'm not gonna think like a man, I'm gonna think like a woman, and I'm gonna own it. But when you're going in a room with 99 men, they're not gonna resonate with you if you're speaking your own language. There's plenty of time for that later, after you've gotten their attention. In the beginning, you need to be able to be on those same levels with engineers and other people, and the more you learn, the more you can speak intelligently, the more they actually can identify with you and resonate, and the more they'll be listening. Now I'll go to speak, and I can see they might be looking at me a little skeptical, but once I start talking and owning my space, they're sitting up on the edge of their chair with their arm raised because they want to ask me a question. It's a really powerful and impactful thing when you realize, okay, I feel comfortable in my own skin, and you're kind of like, why did I wait so long to figure this out?

It's very hard to find people who are competent and capable and experienced in critical infrastructure because it's so new, and most of the equipment being used is being repurposed for something it wasn't intended for. You're dealing with the most cutting-edge tech, the smartest engineers, the best troubleshooters, and it's really easy in security and in a space like that to be intimidated and not feel like you belong there and develop imposter syndrome if you don't already have it. Largely, this is still middle-aged white man's territory, and we're starting to get more diversity and more minorities with the younger generations, but it's still pretty overwhelming sometimes. I like to tell people to build your board of advisors, build your peer network, go out and find rooms that you feel comfortable in and that are excited to find you there. Really explore that and build it out, and make sure that you're building an environment where you feel comfortable and you can own your space. Because the sooner you do that, the more other people will treat you with respect, and they'll have confidence in you, and they'll invite you to more things. When you look scared, other people are thinking, hmm, I'm not really sure. Don't be afraid to go out on a limb and do something and be in a niche, and do something other people aren't doing, because it's pretty fun, there's never a dull moment, and people respect you for being brave enough to come and do it and own it. A lot of times, if you just say, hey, I don't know, but I'm trying to learn, a lot of people will respect that. The more you are relatable and honest about where you're at, the more people will feel comfortable talking to you, and the more you'll realize, oh, I am one of them, or I am just like them. If you never get to that conversation level, you're basically living with your own internal thoughts that are telling you you're not good enough. But breakthroughs aren't the rule - breaking through that wall, you'll be surprised by what you learn.