07-12, 18:00–18:50 (US/Eastern), Little Theatre
Diverse perspectives are crucial for effective cyber defense strategies. Allen Walker shares his nontraditional path in cybersecurity and the importance of mentoring underrepresented groups. He will discuss the trials in building a cybersecurity education organization on a shoestring budget and how he found his stride, all while assisting over 80 people of color from marginalized communities to graduate school in four years and countless more in gaining certifications in IT and cybersecurity. You will hear how collaboration and knowledge sharing among diverse teams can better tackle cybersecurity challenges.
Allen Walker IV graduated from Old Dominion University (ODU) with a bachelor's in criminal justice in 2011 and later obtained a master's in cyber security from ODU in 2019. He continued his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in their engineering doctoral program and established CySecSol, LLC, which evolved into CyberLINC, a nonprofit program aimed at improving talent pooling in cybersecurity. Through CyberLINC, he has placed nearly 90 interns in Fortune 500 companies and facilitated over 80 students' enrollment in ODU's cybersecurity graduate program. Currently, he is pursuing another PhD in homeland security at Liberty University to further advance his expertise in the field. He currently works as a cyber threat intelligence analyst within The Boeing Company.
