cyber-experts
From The Navy Reserves to Client Advocate Manager: Meet Our Deep Elena Easton
May 3, 2024
We had the pleasure of interviewing Client Advocate Manager at DeepSeas, Elena Easton. In the interview below, Elena shares more about her background, expertise, and role at DeepSeas.
Hi, Elena. As you know, many of our Deeps have a background in military service. How would you say your service has prepared you for your current career? And how does it help you serve in your role at DeepSeas?
The military provides so many opportunities for leadership development, some of which are taught psychology models such as the Johari Window which is a framework for understanding conscious and unconscious bias to improve upon our self-awareness and understanding of others. I’ve been able to use this model at work and at home to better understand the people I interact with daily. Without open communication and understanding of how my words and actions impact others, I wouldn’t be able to effectively navigate our clients through the cyber seas.
My military experience has also prepared me for serving our clients at DeepSeas in ways I am still learning. I’ve learned ways to work better with others to reach a common goal. I have the privilege of working with customers from around the world with one goal in mind: to protect them from threat actors.
How has being a woman veteran impacted your sense of identity and belonging, and what support have you found within the veteran community?
Being a woman veteran gives me a sense of privilege to be part of a network of women who have served and sacrificed. My fellow veterans’ support runs as deep as the ocean. They cheer me on and provide invaluable advice.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a cybersecurity career?
I would say good advice for anyone is to always be willing to learn. I like to say, “The cyber seas run deep, and the waves of technology change as fast as the tides.”
As a woman in cybersecurity how do you think women have shaped the cybersecurity industry?
As a woman in cyber, I think I’ve shaped the cybersecurity industry by incorporating my experience as a female veteran and mom into our efforts to nurture our client relationships. Creating strong relationships with clients allows us to protect them from threats, making the jobs of threat actors more difficult.
We’re fortunate to have Elena as a Client Advocate Manager at DeepSeas, and thank her for her service. Come back to meet more of our DeepSeas cybersecurity experts in future issues of our “Meet Our Deeps” series.