Thursday, April 28, 2016

Because She’s the Most Qualified – An Interview with Cathy Tilton



By Laura Harcourt

Cathy Tilton is Chief Technologist for Biometrics at CSRA.  She has over 30 yearsof technology development and management experience including systems architecture/engineering, system integration & test, and project management in both government and commercial environments covering a broad range of applications.  Professionally, she is best known as a subject matter expert on biometrics and biometric standards, having served as the US head of delegation to ISO on this topic and industry advisor to Purdue’s biometrics program.  Personally, she is active in her church and community.  She is a former Army officer with degrees in Systems and Nuclear Engineering.

Today, Cathy speaks with us about:

The project she’s most proud of:
I’ve been blessed to have a lot of interesting projects…right now, I’m working on applying technology to child sexual exploitation. Being able to make a difference in that area, I think, is really rewarding.

The best manager she’s known:
I had a manager early in my career that made a difference for me. On the outside, he was very gruff, and, you know, not your warm, fuzzy kind of manager, but he really gave me a lot of opportunities. I remember I was working on my Masters degree, down to writing the thesis, and I was really having trouble finding the time to do it. I thought I’d have to take a leave of absence to finish it – I was working sixty hours a week or more – and I went in to tell him I was going to take a month or two off to do this, and – like I said, he was kind of a gruff guy – he came back and told me that because my thesis was related to work, he’d put me on a special project which would allow me to work on my thesis as my job. It just blew me away, the last thing I expected him to say when I walked in his office was “we’re gonna support you on that.” It took me six years to finish my Masters, working full-time, with kids, and I didn’t want to stumble at the finish line.

Her favorite travel adventures:
I was really fortunate that for years I got to head the U.S. delegation to ISO (International Organization for Standardization). They have a subcommittee on biometrics, and I headed the U.S. delegation to that subcommittee for, oh, gosh, twelve years. They would meet every six months in a different country. Some places were more interesting than others, you know, you went with whatever country offered to host the meeting, but it not only gave me the opportunity to see those countries, but to interact over the years with people from the different countries, and get their perspectives and get to know them. I have friends now in Korea, and the U.K., and Germany, who I still keep in touch with from doing that.
It was funny, at the first meeting where I came in as head of the U.S. delegation – I didn’t find this out until a couple years later – one of the guys on the U.S. delegation came to me and told me about how one of other heads said to him: “Why does the U.S. have a woman head of delegation?” He was surprised they asked that question and said, “Well, I think it’s because she’s the most qualified!”

Cultural differences:
I think having so much international travel broadens me, and helps me to be a lot more accepting of other people, the way they think and where they’re coming from. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything, but you can at least understand better, and sometimes you just agree to disagree about certain things.

On challenges for women in the workplace:
I never saw myself that way…I came into the workplace from the Army, and engineering school, where there wasn’t a lot of women, so I came into my career with those previous steps. I saw myself just like everybody else…I think if you have confidence in yourself, you can overcome a lot of the challenges that you have.


Work Hard, Be Confident – An Interview with Jo Decker


By Laura Harcourt



Jo A. Decker serves as Vice President of Business Development, Sales and Operations for the Global Solutions Division of General Dynamics Information Technology. In this role, she is responsible for the strategic development of solutions and services for U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, federal and commercial customers.  Ms. Decker served as Vice President of Business Development for the Defense Solutions Division until December of 2015.



Ms. Decker came to General Dynamics IT after a 30-year career as a senior executive with the U.S. Navy. She served in many of the most senior positions in the Department, her most recent as Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Fleet Readiness and Logistics.  She has been recognized for her many accomplishments including the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Award, the highest award that a defense civilian can receive, several Department of Navy distinguished civilian awards, the Department of Defense Senior Women’s Leadership Award and the Naval Intelligence Distinguished Civilian Award.



If your job could grant you any wish with regards to working there, what would it be?

To do more to expose youth to a wider range of aspects of our business. People coming in often don’t see a career path except becoming more specialized in whatever they started as, and they find themselves bucketed by narrow positions. Confidence is key. Don’t be intimidated. Try things you think you’re not qualified for. If you’re competent and hard-working, there are plenty of opportunities for you.



In the theme of trying new things, can you tell us a little about your early career?

I started off in the first generation of professional women, beginning in naval intelligence, then moving to building fighter jets, neither of which I had studied for, but you get there and learn enough about the technical aspects to become conversational in the subject.



Describe some of the specialized skills you use regularly. How did you come by them?

I often reverse engineer my thinking. In chess, you don’t think chess move by chess move, you think in terms of checkmate – the strategic, big picture. Envision an outcome and the steps to get there. Patience is a skill, and it takes patience to get through all your steps until you arrive at your goal.



What music are you grooving on?

I love music and dancing. Blues, jazz…niche stuff like flamenco and EDM. I love listening to my loud music and driving down the road. Can’t beat it.

Monday, April 18, 2016

WIT Cyber Tips: Educating Kids on Cyber Safety


This month’s blog posting is an excerpt from the WIT.Wire on kids and cyber safety.

WIT Cyber Tips: Educating Kids on Cyber Safety  
By: Lauren from WIT's Cyber SIG

"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything - A. Einstein".

Keeping our children safe in the physical world comes natural for most parents, as we were all raised in that world and are well familiar with good safety practices. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case for the online/cyber world - where many of us have had little or limited exposure. Our children on the other hand, have fully adopted this cyber world as an intricate part of their lives. Unfortunately, so have the bad guys. So time for us to jump in and extend our safety nets!

Here are some simple things that will go a long way in protecting our children.

1.    Lock the doors!  
Just as in the real world, it's important to protect our valuables, including our privacy:
  • Use good strong passwords on every computer or device, and change them regularly
  • Don't give away passwords, even not to good friends, instead find a save way to store them in case they get lost
  • Don't give out private information to people you don't know in real life - including names, address, phone, email, date of birth, age

2.    There is no such thing as a free puppy!  
Good clicking behavior is critical, so it's important to teach our children good online behavior.
  • Explain what pop-ups are, when they can and should not be used.
  • Go to your spam box, and show examples of SPAM mail
  • Never open attachments or click embedded links in mails of unknown senders and/or mails that look suspicious
  • If you do know the sender, but the mail looks suspicious, call the sender and verify if he/she genuinely sent the message

3.    Stranger Danger 
Similar to real world safety, explain the dangers of strangers with your children:
  • Only communicate with people you know in the real world - don't let people trick you in pretending they know you. Friends of friends aren't real until you meet them in the real world
  • Coach your child to reach out to you when they encounter anything uncomfortable or creepy on the net, ensure that no matter what we're there to help and protect.
  • Online friends stay online - coach them never meet in person with people they met online. If they do intent to, make sure they let you know and take a trusted friend with them
  • Leverage real life examples (news, ...) to highlight the dangers

4.    Everything can and will be used against you 
    Whatever gets on the net, stays on the net and becomes part of one's digital footprint. So proper education is needed. Every post or silly picture might not seem to matter now, but it can matter 10 years from now as most colleges will screen student's digital footprints before admitting them to their program.  
  • News headlines are an effective tool to teach the effects of posting of improper content

5.    One app a day keeps the bad guys away 
    When it comes to cyber safety, there's no better way to help your kids than by being involved.  Ask them what about the latest cool app, or their favorite game, play with them, connect with them. You'll get to know their habits and attitude, and it will be far easier to adjust where needed.

6.    Internet - 911  
 Mistakes happen, and when they do it's important that kids know where to turn to. Parents and trusted adults should always be their first go-to person. We are there to protect them both offline as online.

  • Additional help is available and can easily be found online. Here are just a few to go:

o    Report a cyber crime

o    Additional resources for parents and children:

Caps fan appreciates when employees ask “Why?” – An interview with Sonia Kendall



Ms. Sonia Kendall works at United States Coast Guard (USCG) headquarters, Office of Information Assurance and Spectrum Management.  She represents the USCG telecommunications program in the areas of public safety & interagency (DHS/DOD) interoperability coordination and policy.  Ms. Kendall is a retired USCG Lieutenant; her 25 year Navy/USCG career was solely focused on C4IT related work.  Ms. Kendall is actively pursuing her Doctorate in Business Administration through Columbia Southern University.  She holds a Master in Business Administration Degree from Columbia Southern University, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland University College, and an General Associate’s Degree from Phoenix University.

So, Ms. Kendall. You win the lottery for $10 million. What do you do?  
Considering that I live in Maryland, the take-away from a $10 million lottery win would probably only be $5 million. With that money, I would give part of it to a reputable organization or charity and invest the rest of it.

Describe a decision you made early in your career that has had a big impact for you.
When I first started my career, it was in the military during the early 1980’s. At that time, it was a male dominated world in the military and women were not provided a lot of the opportunities that were available to the men. Women also didn’t have the voice that men had. I made it a point to ensure that no matter where I was, no matter what paygrade I was, and no matter who I worked with, I wouldn’t let gender differences build a wall for when I want to be heard.  The military has gone a long way to bring equality to women these days, which is a welcomed change.

Any tips on staying energized when the going gets tough?
I keep a positive attitude at all times. I know that every day is not going to be a perfect day, but in most cases there are more good days that an average person experiences than bad days. By keeping a smile on my face, it helps me work through any difficult situation.

Which skills or attributes do you value most in coworkers that are just starting their careers?
Willingness to learn and to teach others. A co-worker that is just starting their career has a lot that they can learn from those around them, listening to experiences, watching how people interact and handle themselves, etc. But they also have a lot to offer to others because they come in with a fresh perspective and are open-minded. Sometimes we get stagnant in our ways and it’s nice to have a new perspective on how we’ve done business. I like when a new employee questions “why do we do it this way” and the response is NOT “because that’s the way we always do it”, which is often a standard response. People need to think “why do we do it that way?”….Just because it’s always been done that way doesn’t mean that it is always the right way.

What music are you grooving on recently?
This is an easy one. I am grooving on RA’s “We won’t back down”, which was written specifically for the Washington Capitals. I am a die-hard Capitals fan and with the playoffs starting this week, there is no other song in my mind!

Any words you would like to say about WIT or its programs?
I actually had never heard of WIT until this award submission/selection came up. I am excited to say that I plan to not only join WIT but also to bring awareness of it throughout my organization.