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My name is Teresa Shea and I am a vice president at Raytheon, running a group called Cyber Offense Defense Experts. When I was a little girl, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. We played school all the time. That's what we did. And as I got older, I zeroed in on becoming a math teacher. So I graduated from high school in 1977, which was just about the time Arpanet was turning into the Internet. I really liked math. It was almost an escape for me. And I knew in high school that it wasn't really a common thing for especially for girls to like. What got my attention was when I graduated from high school, the Society of Women Engineering. Have you. You've heard of them? I'm sure. They gave me a scholarship and I was like, wow, this is pretty cool. I need to check out this engineering thing. As I recall, even back then, double E was hard. It was a hard field. There weren't a lot of women, in fact, probably one other woman in most of my classes. And what ended up happening here is while I was in college, I looked into internships and Summer work. And I ended up doing an internship with the National Security Agency up at Fort Meade. And that was a highlight. I mean, a real, real highlight of my experience. I got exposed to the mission there and I got exposed to the people there, and it was just awesome. So they were very focused on electrical engineering. So it really drove me to finish there. And my goal was to go work for them. I was the senior director there in 2013 when the whole Snowden affair happened. And I knew that we were going to have to recover from that quickly in that we were going to have to adapt new technologies faster than we were able to build them ourselves. And so I got exposed to a strategic investor for the intelligence community called in Q Tel. So when I retired in 2015, the next year I went to work for in Q Tel to run a cybersecurity lab there to work on leveraging those startup technologies. And after about three years there, it was clear to me that it was really hard to get startup technology into the intelligence community operational side, largely because the startups don't, you know, they're not all US Persons, sometimes they don't all have US Investments, they certainly don't have security clearances, and they typically aren't interested in getting security clearances or dealing with the acquisition processes that our government and especially intelligence community have for good reason. So I wanted to go with a system integrator that believed in partnering and leveraging some of those advanced technologies. And I knew about this group in Raytheon called Cyber Offense Defense Experts. I knew about them from being in the intelligence community and I knew they had the best people and worked on the cutting edge capabilities. So that, and the leadership there at Raytheon that I wanted to work for, because who you work for is so important, is why I chose to go to Raytheon. There's a lot of discussion about success, right? How do you define success? But really what matters to me is not so much any success that you might think I had, but what matters to me is really about the significance in people's lives. If I can every day encourage people and help them along in their journey, especially if they're in this space with me, then that's how I want to be remembered. I do believe that, you know, every act of encouragement or empowerment really matters. And we need to be doing that for each other and we need to do it with integrity and compassion and character, quite frankly. So it's what I strive for every day, and I hope that's what I'm remembered for.
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CyberWire Daily Podcast Summary
Episode: Teresa Shea: The Challenge of Adapting New Technologies
Host/Author: N2K Networks (CyberWire Daily)
Release Date: November 17, 2024
In this episode of CyberWire Daily, Teresa Shea, Vice President at Raytheon and leader of the Cyber Offense Defense Experts group, shares her extensive experience in the cybersecurity and intelligence sectors. Teresa delves into her career journey, the evolving challenges of integrating new technologies, and her perspectives on leadership and success.
Teresa begins by reflecting on her childhood aspirations and academic pursuits.
"When I was a little girl, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher... I zeroed in on becoming a math teacher." (01:53)
Despite her initial interest in education, Teresa's passion for mathematics led her to explore engineering, a field with few female peers at the time. She credits the Society of Women Engineering for providing her with a scholarship and inspiration to pursue engineering.
Teresa's internship with the National Security Agency (NSA) at Fort Meade marked a pivotal moment in her career.
"I got exposed to the mission there and I got exposed to the people there, and it was just awesome." (02:45)
This experience solidified her commitment to electrical engineering and set her on a path toward contributing to national security through technology.
After her tenure at Raytheon, Teresa transitioned to In-Q-Tel, a strategic investor for the intelligence community.
"When I retired in 2015, the next year I went to work for In-Q-Tel to run a cybersecurity lab there to work on leveraging those startup technologies." (04:10)
At In-Q-Tel, she focused on integrating startup innovations into the intelligence community's operations, aiming to bridge the gap between cutting-edge technologies and governmental needs.
Teresa identifies significant obstacles in incorporating startup technologies into intelligence operations:
"It's really hard to get startup technology into the intelligence community operational side, largely because the startups don't... they certainly don't have security clearances." (05:30)
These challenges underscored the difficulty of fostering innovation within highly regulated environments.
Seeking to overcome these barriers, Teresa joined Raytheon to lead the Cyber Offense Defense Experts group.
"I knew they had the best people and worked on the cutting edge capabilities. So that... is why I chose to go to Raytheon." (06:15)
At Raytheon, Teresa focuses on integrating advanced technologies and fostering partnerships that enhance cybersecurity measures within the intelligence community.
Teresa shares her philosophy on success and leadership, emphasizing the importance of positively impacting others:
"What matters to me is really about the significance in people's lives. If I can every day encourage people and help them along in their journey... that's how I want to be remembered." (06:50)
She advocates for a leadership style grounded in integrity, compassion, and character, highlighting the value of empowering colleagues and fostering a supportive work environment.
Teresa Shea's journey from aspiring teacher to a key figure in cybersecurity and intelligence exemplifies the challenges and rewards of adapting to new technologies within complex organizations. Her commitment to innovation, coupled with her dedication to meaningful leadership, offers valuable insights for professionals navigating the evolving landscape of cybersecurity.
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