Community is a Control: Strengthening Cybersecurity Through Connection (<– add to your schedule)
Strong cybersecurity programs are not built by tools alone. This session explores how trust, mentorship, and community can directly impact incident response effectiveness, analyst retention, and long term resilience within security teams.
Chelsea Bryan:
Chelsea Bryan is a Security Operations Analyst at Virginia Commonwealth University with four years of hands on experience supporting enterprise security operations in a complex higher education environment. She works daily with SIEM platforms, endpoint detection and response tools, and network monitoring systems to triage alerts, investigate suspicious activity, respond to phishing and malware incidents, and contribute to continuous improvement of detection and response processes. In addition to her operational responsibilities, Chelsea is deeply committed to mentoring aspiring cybersecurity professionals and career changers who are working to break into the field. She provides practical guidance on building foundational knowledge, and navigating early career growth. She believes strong security teams are built through consistency, collaboration, and investing in people, and she is passionate about helping the next generation of analysts build confidence and capability in cybersecurity.