Meet the Doctor
Cyber Senior Executive
For nearly three decades, Dr. Cynthia Sutherland has been at the forefront of cybersecurity and technology leadership, shaping the future of digital resilience for the American people.
As an award-winning, multi-certified executive, she brings 28+ years of cross-sector expertise spanning 16 industries—including military, federal civilian, automotive, and aerospace.
Dr. Sutherland’s career is defined by leadership in mission-critical roles such as Incident Response Lead, Cyber Policy Developer, Senior Cyber Analyst, and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). A trusted strategist, innovator, and advocate, she is known for building secure environments where technology, innovation, and human resilience converge.
Cybersecurity Public Speaker
Electrifying public speaker who brings cybersecurity to life with passion, clarity, and heart.
Known for her relatable storytelling and empowering style, she transforms complex cybersecurity challenges into powerful calls to action for diverse audiences—from students to C-suite executives. Blending technical depth with emotional intelligence, Dr. Sutherland equips her listeners with practical strategies while inspiring them to lead with resilience and courage. Whether addressing innovation, national security, or the human side of cyber defense, her talks leave audiences energized, informed, and ready to secure a safer digital future.
Resilience in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Threats
As we innovate in the digital space, we must also safeguard the minds leading the charge. Drawing from two decades of service across public and private sectors—I’ll explore how emotional intelligence and psychological resilience are essential to thriving in high-stakes cyber environments.
This conversation is for the next generation of tech leaders who want to secure more than systems—they want to secure people.
Transition into Cyber
As a result of my #techsgiving Talk, my tip to help some of you transitioning into cyber and some who are graduating.
#1 tip: if you did it, you OWN it. Learning objectives from core syllabi are activities that you performed throughout the semester. You learn from those activities....you get experience from those activities. It may not be in a operational environment, but you perform the task. OWN it! Add it to your resume.
RSAC 365 Virtual Seminar: People, Process & Technology
Strength in the Pillars—How People and Process Collaborate with Technology
Learn the importance of the connection between Mental Health and Workforce Retention.
Empowering the Next Generation of Cyber Guardians
Dr. Cynthia Sutherland delivered a keynote at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) NICE K12 Cybersecurity Conference, receiving a standing ovation and heartfelt appreciation. She honored the K12 educators who are shaping the future of cybersecurity by launching Coding Clubs, Robotics Clubs, Cyber Patriot Programs, and peer tutoring initiatives, often in partnership with industry leaders.
Dr. Sutherland also celebrated the students signing their commitments to join the cybersecurity workforce, reminding all that cyber is a team sport—and the team is growing stronger every day.
To continue empowering educators and students, Dr. Sutherland shared a collection of free resources, including:
- NIST NICE Framework: Competency models for cybersecurity education (Learn more)
- Cyber.org Curricula: Free cyber curricula for K-12 educators (Explore curricula).
- FedVTE Training: Free online cybersecurity training from the DoD and DHS (Access courses).
- AWS Skill Builder: No-cost cloud and security skills training (Start learning).
- AWS Technical Resources: Whitepapers, guides, and architecture diagrams (View resources).
Dr. Sutherland remains committed to building resilient cyber defenders, one classroom—and one courageous student—at a time.
DEFCON 2023
Military Cyber Professional Association & Blacks in Cybersecurity - National Service Panel
Join cybersecurity professionals as they discuss how to get into a cyber role for the government.
Blacks in Cybersecurity Conference
Navigating Cybersecurity Getting In and Staying In!.
Learn about the Competency. Individuality. Awareness activities to become successful in cybersecurity.
Women in Cybersecurity Conference
Navigating Cybersecurity Getting In and Staying In!.
This was the most impactful conference of my career...the emotional connection with my audience was beautiful yet humbling. Truly look forward to next year.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) re:Inforce 2022
Global Expansion: Compliance and GDPR implications.
Is it time for your IT solution to scale and go global? It is very likely to have compliance implications, such as new regulations, restrictions, or country requirements that need to be considered before you make the move. In this session, learn about expansion considerations, GDPR implications, and how you can use AWS Control Tower to implement compliance guardrails and data residency requirements. Learn about best practices of experts in newly emerging markets.
Dr. CyS Contributions to Cyber
Case Study: Integration of Cybersecurity Content into Juris Doctor Curriculum (2018)
This dissertation generated best practices for integrating cybersecurity content into Juris Doctor curriculum to increase cybersecurity knowledge of Juris Doctor students prior to graduation to address these problems.
Studying the Challenges and Factors Encouraging Girls in Cybersecurity: A Case Study (2021)
Today, there is a clear gender gap in cyberspace. Many barriers hinder the advancement of women in Cybersecurity. This study provides a roadmap to cybersecurity awareness and training of young girls in developing countries, with a focus in Western Balkans Countries, and help them to understand that the cybersecurity field offers a rewarding career for women.
Our thesis is that increased awareness opportunities offered would help to increase the participation of girls and women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) for the long term. In general, this paper identifies the challenges in encouraging young girls to seek cybersecurity related careers.
The Challenges of Cybersecurity Education: A Case Study of Kosovo (2021)
Preventing cyberattacks depends on educating and training staff to acquire sufficient knowledge and skills to protect against such attacks. So far, in developing countries, there is little research focused on identifying factors that hinder the development of cybersecurity education in those countries. Therefore, studying these factors is very important. Cybersecurity is a relatively new profession and as such, suffers from a lack of standard mechanisms to bring the results of research into the curriculum and include students in academic research. This strategy emphasizes the need to focus on providing a roadmap to develop a cybersecurity curriculum and advanced learning modules.
Inspiring Future Innovators
Tots for Teens Expo
Dr. Cynthia Sutherland is passionate about inspiring the next generation of innovators. She brought hands-on STEM experiences to young minds at the Tots for Teens Expo, Black Girls Code, National Society of Black Engineers, Vex IQ Robotics Coach, and Cyber Patriots Coach...showing that creativity, curiosity, and opportunity can open doors at any age. Her mission is simple: to spark a lifelong love of learning and empower future leaders to dream bigger, build boldly, and believe in their power to change the world.
