Courtney Barry, PMP

I attribute my success to grit, adaptability, and the willingness to keep moving forward even when I did not have a clear roadmap.

I did not grow up surrounded by career-minded women or examples of what professional success could look like for someone like me. There was no clear path to follow, no blueprint handed to me, and no one showing me how to step confidently into the rooms I hoped to one day enter. I had to build that path for myself, one decision at a time. A lot of my growth came from small but meaningful choices: taking the next opportunity, learning from every environment, asking better questions, and refusing to let fear or self-doubt make decisions for me.

I also think my success comes from learning how to turn what once felt like weaknesses into strengths. I was a quiet child who learned to observe closely, prepare carefully, and notice what others needed. As an adult, those qualities became part of how I lead. They help me recognize gaps, translate complicated information, build structure where none exists, and bring people together around a shared goal.

My career has not been traditional or linear, but every experience has given me something valuable. Healthcare, sales, government contracting, cyber, AI, and strategic communications have all taught me how to communicate with different people, build trust, and solve problems in practical ways.

I also credit motherhood and advocacy with shaping me. Advocating for my children taught me that being capable is not the same as being supported, and that sometimes leadership means asking difficult questions, challenging incomplete answers, and speaking even when you are afraid.

I did not become successful because I had everything figured out. I became successful because I kept learning, kept building, and kept choosing to move forward.

The best career advice I have ever received is to stop disqualifying myself before I even try.

For a long time, I focused on what I did not have. I did not have the traditional degree path. I did not have a perfect career plan. I did not always have someone mentoring me or showing me the next step. Because of that, I sometimes questioned whether I belonged in certain rooms or whether I was qualified for certain opportunities.

Eventually, I learned that growth does not happen by waiting until you feel fully ready. Sometimes you have to step into the room, prepare as much as possible, ask thoughtful questions, and trust that your experience has value.

That advice changed how I viewed my career. I stopped seeing my nonlinear path as something I had to explain away and started seeing it as something that made me more adaptable. Every role had taught me something—how to communicate, how to build relationships, how to understand people, how to solve problems, and how to bring clarity to complicated situations.

Now I remind myself and other women: do not let one missing credential, one unconventional path, or one moment of self-doubt make you underestimate the value of everything you have already survived, learned, and built.

My advice to young women entering cyber, AI or any technical and mission-focused field is this: do not wait until you feel completely ready to take up space.

These environments can be intimidating, especially when they are male-dominated or highly technical. But you do not have to know everything on day one to add value. Be curious. Learn the mission. Understand your audience. Ask thoughtful questions. Follow through. Become someone people can trust to bring clarity, structure, and solutions.

I would also tell young women not to shrink themselves to fit someone else’s idea of leadership. You do not have to become louder, harder, or less empathetic to be taken seriously. You can be direct and still be compassionate. You can be confident and still be willing to learn. You can listen carefully and still lead with authority.

Build relationships at every level, not just with people who have titles. Some of the most important lessons come from understanding what people are experiencing closest to the work. The person closest to a problem often sees what the system has learned to overlook.

Document your accomplishments. Advocate for yourself. Find mentors and sponsors when you can, but do not wait for someone else to hand you a roadmap. Build one.

And when you enter rooms that were not built with you in mind, remember that your presence can make it easier for the next woman who walks in after you.

One of the biggest challenges in my field is the speed of change. Cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and emerging technology are moving incredibly fast, and organizations are trying to understand not only what these technologies can do, but how to use them responsibly, securely, and effectively.

There is a lot of excitement around AI, but there is also a need for clear strategy, governance, realistic implementation plans, and strong communication between technical experts and decision-makers. Technology alone does not solve a mission problem. People still have to define the need, understand the risk, align the right stakeholders, and create the structure to move from idea to execution.

That is also one of the greatest opportunities.

We need leaders who can translate complexity. We need people who can sit between technical teams, operational users, and senior leadership and help each group understand the other. We need professionals who can identify gaps, ask the right questions, and make sure innovation is tied to real outcomes rather than just the newest tool.

Another major opportunity is bringing more diverse voices into cyber and AI. These fields are shaping the future, and the people involved in that work should bring different experiences, perspectives, and ways of thinking. Women, especially those who have had nonlinear paths, bring tremendous value because many of us have learned how to adapt, communicate across differences, manage complexity, and lead through uncertainty.

The future of this field will not only depend on technical expertise. It will depend on trust, communication, judgment, ethics, and the ability to build solutions that people can actually use.

The values that matter most to me are integrity, empathy, accountability, growth, and service.

Integrity is important because trust is everything. Whether I am working with leadership, supporting a team, or advocating for my children, I want people to know that I am honest, prepared, and committed to doing what is right.

Empathy is equally important. I believe people perform better and communicate better when they feel seen and understood. Empathy does not mean avoiding hard conversations or lowering expectations. It means recognizing that every person is carrying something, and the way we lead can either add weight or help create clarity.

Accountability matters because I believe in following through. If I say I am going to do something, I want people to trust that I will do it. I also believe in asking the hard questions when something is not working instead of accepting vague answers or letting problems continue because they are uncomfortable to address.

Growth has shaped my entire life. I did not follow a perfect plan. I had to keep learning, keep adjusting, and keep building as I went. That experience taught me that where you start does not have to determine where you end up.

Service is the value that ties everything together. I want to use what I have learned to make someone else’s path clearer. Whether I am leading a project, supporting a coworker, advocating as a mother, or encouraging another woman, I want to be the kind of person who helps others feel less alone and more capable of moving forward.

For me, success is not just about what I accomplish. It is about whether my presence, my work, and my voice help create clarity, confidence, and opportunity for someone else.