Breaking the Illusion Webinar

Please join The WICT Network: Rocky Mountain for a webinar: Breaking the Illusion- Leading through Innovation in a Disruptive Era

Event Highlights:

• Webinar (on May 8, 2025 from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm MT)

Cost: Free for members, $10 for non-members

Overview:

Organizations face a persistent challenge—the “Innovation-Protection Paradox.” They acknowledge the necessity of innovation to stay competitive but often resist meaningful change due to IT or security concerns. This paradox results in an illusion of progress, where organizations appear to embrace transformation while remaining stagnant in reality.

This panel brings together IT, cybersecurity and business leaders to debunk the illusion and discuss actionable strategies for fostering a culture of responsible, impactful innovation. The discussion will focus on balancing security and growth, addressing regulatory challenges, and moving beyond “Innovation Theater” to create sustainable, scalable transformation.

Key Discussion Points:

1. How organizations unknowingly sabotage innovation efforts through excessive risk aversion while believing they are advancing.
2. Proactive security approaches, transparent decision-making, and strategies to minimize liability.
3. Identifying the difference between superficial innovation and meaningful transformation.
4. How security and innovation leaders can collaborate to develop a strategy that enables calculated risk-taking and long-term value creation.

Why This Matters:

This panel is a call to action for leaders who want to redefine security as a strategic enabler rather than a barrier. Attendees will walk away with practical frameworks for aligning innovation with resilience, fostering a culture of transparency, and ensuring their organizations can adapt to emerging threats while staying ahead of the competition.

About the Speaker:

Gina holds the position of Regional and Advisory Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Trace3, focusing on the Mountain State Region and resides in Denver, Colorado. Her role includes advising senior security leaders on emerging trends in cybersecurity, identifying and addressing security gaps, developing robust defense mechanisms, and implementing targeted, advanced security measures to protect critical digital information. Additionally, Gina leads compliance efforts within her region and provides virtual CISO (vCISO) services to two organizations.

Gina received several prestigious honors, including Cybersecurity Woman of the Year 2024, LinkedIn Top Security Voice (x2), recognition as one of the Top 9 vCISO Influencers of 2024, and a spot among the Top 20 Women of the World.

Gina is a purpose-driven technology leader, bridging technical expertise with strategic vision, championing both organizational excellence and individual potential. Her approach centers on cultivating high-performing teams through intentional leadership that values each person’s unique strengths and collective achievement, as well as a lot of continuous research and education – technology never stops evolving.

As a firm believer in continuous professional development and active community engagement, Gina earned a master’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of New Hampshire’s School of Engineering, and is highly regarded figure in cybersecurity, she has spoken at over 100 conferences and/or events and is an active member of several industry organizations, including the Colorado Technology Association (CTA), InfraGard, ISSA, ISACA, and Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS). Gina currently serves as Vice President of ISSA Denver, which is the 3rd largest ISSA chapter in the world.