ReliaQuest exists to Make Security Possible, allowing security teams to detect, contain and respond to threats within minutes — anytime, anywhere. Our GreyMatter platform empowers enterprise security teams to leverage their current or future technology to drive greater visibility and automation without the need to centralize data or standardize tools. Built on over a decade of experience, ReliaQuest is the only cybersecurity technology company at scale, at the enterprise, that provides optionality and modularity – making the customer the platform. With over 1,000 customers worldwide and 1,200 teammates across six global operating centers, ReliaQuest delivers security outcomes for the most trusted enterprise brands in the world. As Chief of Staff, I help drive the strategic priorities of our founder/CEO and the company at large. I oversee public relations, executive communications, internal communications and community relations programs.

In this role, I oversee communications and marketing teams across USF's three campuses, which includes media relations, executive communications, social media, content and multimedia production, brand management, paid media and partnerships, web and digital. In addition, I lead a professional development network of about 100 communications and marketing professionals across the university’s diverse units, colleges and campuses. I also oversee crisis communications and issues management, directing the organization's proactive and emergency responses to major issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic. This appointment, initially in an interim capacity that was later made permanent, came as the university was developing a new 10-year strategic plan, allowing our team to contribute a new brand positioning narrative to the plan that differentiates USF as an urban research university.

USF recruited me for a newly created position to lead all public relations and communications efforts for the university. This job give me more leadership experience with an expanded team that included media relations, a multimedia news bureau, social media, executive communications, internal communications and university publications. In this role, I created a new PR/marketing strategic plan focused on a differentiated brand identity for the university that set us apart as the fastest-rising university in the country. We also implemented new process improvements for communications and marketing projects and revived a 100+ network of university-wide communications and marketing professionals.

Prior work supporting the development of Cyber Florida at USF led to a relationship with the leadership of ReliaQuest, a fast-growing cybersecurity firm. The CEO of the company asked me to design a communications role to help position the company as a global leader within the dynamic cybersecurity market after its first major VC investment. This was my first experience in a start-up environment, and I relished the opportunity for creativity and the roll-up-your-sleeves culture. We designed a communications plan that helped support the company’s rapid growth and international expansion. In a year’s time, the company had earned coverage in dozens of local, national, international and tech trade outlets and was becoming known across the industry as a global cybersecurity company to watch. Our website traffic increased by 200% and social media engagement doubled. We earned numerous high-profile accolades, including:o Great Place to Work® (2017, 2018);o FORTUNE Magazine’s Top 100 Workplaces (2017);o FORTUNE Magazine's Best Workplaces in Technology (2018);o Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™ (2017). o ReliaQuest CEO Brian Murphy was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year for Florida (2017)

While working in statewide higher education advocacy, the University of South Florida recruited me to help with the university’s outreach and engagement strategies with its government leaders. In this job I created communications for new major university initiatives, such as Cyber Florida – the first statewide organization dedicated to fostering cybersecurity education and research among Florida’s public universities. While in this role, I was asked by the university president to lead her executive communications. I also became her liaison between the Office of the President and the central university communications and marketing department.

While covering statewide higher education as a reporter, I was approached by the leaders of the State University System of Florida and offered the position of Director of Communications. At the time, the organization was looking for someone to help tell a more approachable story about public higher education in Florida that would help support advocacy efforts at the highest levels of Florida's government. Jumping head-first into my first PR job, I overhauled the organization’s media relations strategy, redesigned the website, launched its social media channels and created a new thought leadership plan that re-positioned the system as a major economic driver creating positive change throughout the state. I also brought together the communications/marketing staff members from the system’s 12 public universities as a united team. Together we implemented the first-ever coordinated statewide public relations campaign for higher education called "Aim Higher," which resulted in an increase of $300 million in funding to the State University System in the 2013 Legislative session.

My first assignment was as one of the first reporters on the newspaper’s breaking news desk. This meant starting every day at 5 a.m. in the newsroom with the police scanner... and I loved it. It was my job to make sense of the biggest stories of the day and position them with the appropriate, compassionate context before most of our readership woke up for the day.From there, I was promoted to increasingly responsible roles, including as a general assignment reporter covering business and trends across the Tampa Bay region; a member of the newspaper’s political team based in the state Capitol; and as the statewide higher education reporter.