Cortney Mathews, PMP

Curiosity — and the willingness to follow it even when it doesn't look like a straight line.

My career has moved through government operations, manufacturing, procurement, client success, risk, and now entrepreneurship. None of those pivots were accidents. Each one started with a question I couldn't stop asking, and a decision to lean in rather than play it safe. That same curiosity is what led me to help build Clarity360 at Sandia Insights, to launch Refined Cadence as a fractional advisory practice, and to develop the Movement Medicine Method™ through Real Life Refined — three very different ventures that are all, at their core, about helping people and organizations operate with more clarity and intention.

I'd also be dishonest if I didn't name movement as part of this. Running, Pilates, and the daily practice of showing up in my body have taught me more about resilience, focus, and regulation than any certification or course. Being a working parent sharpens you in ways nothing else does — you get very clear about what matters and where your energy actually goes.

What I've learned is that success, for me, isn't a destination I arrived at. It's what happens when I stay genuinely curious about the problem in front of me — whether that's a client's risk exposure, a broken operational process, or my own next chapter.

About five years into my career, a boss told me something that genuinely changed how I operate: "If you aren't making mistakes, you aren't trying hard enough."

That landed differently than I expected. It wasn't permission to be careless — it was permission to be bold. It reframed risk-taking from something to fear into something to pursue, and it gave me a framework I've returned to ever since: if everything feels comfortable, you're probably not growing.

That advice is a big part of why I've been willing to step into spaces where I didn't have all the answers. Moving into cybersecurity and risk intelligence was completely outside my background, but I leaned in anyway — and that leap became the foundation for the work I do now at Sandia Insights. The mistakes along the way weren't detours. They were the education.

Never stop learning — and mean it, not just as something you say.

The women I've watched thrive in risk, tech, and operations aren't necessarily the ones who had the most credentials coming in. They're the ones who stayed curious when things got hard, asked questions others were afraid to ask, and didn't wait for someone to hand them a seat at the table. They built their own.

My most practical advice: say yes to the thing that scares you a little. Take the role outside your comfort zone. Raise your hand for the project nobody fully understands yet. That's where the real development happens — not in the work you already know how to do.

And build your network with intention, not just opportunistically. The relationships you invest in genuinely — mentors, peers, even people earlier in their careers than you — will show up for you in ways you can't predict.

Finally, trust that your path doesn't have to look linear to be credible. Some of the most valuable perspective I bring to my work today came from roles that had nothing to do with cybersecurity or SaaS. Own the full arc of your experience. It's an asset, not a liability.

The biggest challenge — and honestly, the biggest opportunity — is figuring out how to harness what technology can do without losing what only humans can do.

In risk intelligence and client success, we're at an inflection point. AI is changing how we surface insights, flag exposures, and scale operations in ways that weren't possible even a few years ago. That's genuinely exciting. But the organizations that will get it right aren't the ones that automate everything they can — they're the ones that stay clear on where human judgment, relationships, and trust are irreplaceable.

For me, that tension is personal. My clients aren't data points. They're teams navigating real risk, real pressure, and real stakes. The work that matters most — helping them understand their exposure, build confidence in their processes, and actually change behavior — requires presence and trust that no platform delivers on its own.

So the opportunity I'm leaning into is integration: using technology to do more, faster, while doubling down on the human connection that makes the insight actionable. The firms that find that balance will have a real edge. The ones that don't will have very efficient processes and very shallow relationships.

People first — always. That's not a tagline for me, it's the lens through which I make decisions, build teams, and show up for clients.

I genuinely believe there's something worth finding in everyone. Not in a naive way, but in a practical one — when you take the time to understand what someone is good at and what they need, you get better outcomes. Full stop. That belief shapes how I lead, how I advise, and honestly, how I parent.

Closely tied to that is communication — and I mean the kind that requires real listening. The ability to read a room, understand your audience, and deliver a message in the way it will actually land is one of the most undervalued professional skills there is. It doesn't show up on a resume, but it's often the difference between insight that changes behavior and insight that gets ignored.

Beyond that, I'm driven by challenge and the satisfaction of solving hard problems. I love the moment when something clicks — when a complex situation finally has a clear path forward. That's what keeps me engaged, whether I'm working through a client's risk exposure or building something new from scratch.

Ambition, curiosity, and a people-first mentality. Those are my constants.