Cheri Caddy, Senior Advisor for Cybersecurity, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
What is your most important career accomplishment, and why?
From 2013 to 2015, I served on the National Security Council as Director of Cybersecurity Policy, leading federal-wide initiatives to grow the U.S. national cyber workforce, including the expansion of tech jobs for women and underserved communities in Detroit. In 2015, I had the honor of working with President Obama to organize student events for Stanford University’s 2015 Cybersecurity Summit.
What do you hope to accomplish in your career? Why?
Since working at the White House, I’ve had an irrepressible need make measurable impact and think national in scale. At DOE, I hope to bring my experience to develop the cyber mission and grow cyber protections for the energy sector. There’s a lot of strategic opportunity and growth here.
What is an example of an amazing opportunity in your STEM career?
I’ll never forget when then-Federal Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith asked me to serve on her panel for Women’s History Month in March 2015. My fellow panelists were a female astronaut and a female tech CEO from Silicon Valley. We spoke to hundreds of teenage girls about women in tech careers. It was truly amazing!