WIS: Celebrating International Women’s Day and the Progression of Women’s Careers and Successes in Cybersecurity

Avani Desai

Avani Desai is a Partner and President at Schellman & Company, LLC, the largest niche CPA firm in the world that focuses on technology and security assessments. She is also CEO and co-founder of MyCryptoAlert, a push notification and portfolio app for cryptocurrency. Avani started her career working at a Big 4 accounting firm (KPMG) for over 10 years, where she led a team and oversaw IT Risk Management and Privacy across national service-lines. In addition, Avani managed the development of internal and external privacy programs and related practices, leveraging her deep knowledge with healthcare and emerging technologies, such as blockchain, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, internet of things, and virtualization. Now at Schellman & Company, Avani has been focusing on growth strategies, strategic client and market development, industry analysis, and new services for the last seven years. She has been featured in Forbes, CIO.com, and the Wall Street Journal, and is a sought after speaker as a voice on a variety of emerging topics, including security, privacy, information security, future technology trends, and the expansion of young women involved in technology. In 2017, Avani, a crypto enthusiast, launched MyCryptoAlert, an app that provides a mobile solution for the alert and portfolio problems crypto investors face and a tool to buy and sell coins on arbitrage. Also passionate about strategic philanthropy, Avani sits on the board of Arnold Palmer Medical Center, the Central Florida Foundation, and is the co-chair of 100 Women Strong, a female-only venture capitalist based giving circle that focuses on solving community-based problems specific to women and children by using data analytics and big data. Avani is also an avid runner, always looking to sign up for the next Disney marathon. With all that being said, Avani still considers her greatest accomplishment to be personal rather than professional—she is the proud mother to her 8-year-old son, Sahil, and her 5-year-old daughter, Sareena. Certifications: CPA, CISA, CIPP, CCSK, CRISC, CIA, ISO Lead Auditor Education: Bachelor’s in Science, Computer Science – University of Florida Master’s in Business Administration, Finance – Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

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Diana Kelley – Chief Information Security Officer, Protect AI

Diana Kelley is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Protect AI. She also serves on the boards of WiCyS, The Executive Women’s Forum (EWF), InfoSec World, CyberFuture Foundation, TechTarget Security Editorial, and DevNet AI/ML. Diana was Cybersecurity Field CTO for Microsoft, Global Executive Security Advisor at IBM Security, GM at Symantec, VP at Burton Group (now Gartner), a Manager at KPMG, CTO and co-founder of SecurityCurve, and Chief vCISO at SaltCybersecurity. Her extensive volunteer work has included serving on the ACM Ethics & Plagiarism Committee, Cybersecurity Committee Advisor at CompTIA, CTO and Board Member at Sightline Security, Advisory Board Chair at WOPLLI Technologies, Advisory Council member Bartlett College of Science and Mathematics, Bridgewater State University, and RSAC US Program Committee. She is a sought-after keynote speaker, the host of BrightTALK’s The (Security) Balancing Act, co-author of the books Practical Cybersecurity Architecture and Cryptographic Libraries for Developers, instructor for the LinkedIn Learning class on Security in AI and ML, has been a lecturer at Boston College’s Masters program in cybersecurity, a 2023 Global Cyber Security Hall of Fame Inductee, the EWF 2020 Executive of the Year and EWF Conference Chair 2021-Present, an SCMedia Power Player, and one of Cybersecurity Ventures 100 Fascinating Females Fighting Cybercrime.

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Jenai Marinkovic – Chief Information Security and Chief Technology Officer, Tiro Security

Jenai Marinkovic is a multidisciplinary technologist and strategist with 20 years of experience in architecting, building, and securing systems at scale. She has designed and operated cybersecurity capabilities in media, live sports, gaming, and entertainment. She’s also worked in biomedical manufacturing and laboratory diagnostics, healthcare tech, and robotics in agriculture. She has designed cybersecurity and auditing frameworks around artificially intelligent systems including their impact on diversity. Jenai has worked for large enterprise brands including DIRECTV, Electronic Arts, Beyond, and Beckman Coulter, and international investigations firms such as Kroll. She is the virtual CISO for Tiro Security, an award-winning cybersecurity recruitment and consulting firm.

Jenai is also the Executive Director and one of the founders of the startup nonprofit GRC for Intelligent Ecosystems (GRCIE). GRCIE is dedicated to training people from socio and economically disadvantaged communities into GRC and cybersecurity and is home to the award-nominated, NextCISO Apprenticeship school.

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Swati Handa

Swati is Microsoft 365’s Trust Leader, where she steers the ship towards safer digital shores, ensuring that trust and security are not just features but foundations of user experience. Her journey with Twitter, Cisco, and American Express—has been fueled by a passion for making a tangible impact, guided by a deep belief in trust and empathy. Her ethos is simple yet profound: Impact, Trust, and Empathy drive her to excel and innovate, both professionally and personally. When not architecting digital safety, Swati unwinds by solving puzzles and hiking California’s trails with her family, finding balance and inspiration in nature’s tranquility.

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