WEBVTT 00:08.440 --> 00:10.662 I've been with the L . A . for going on 00:10.662 --> 00:14.260 24 years now . I started my career as a 00:14.640 --> 00:17.490 17 year old kid . Some are higher . In 00:17.490 --> 00:21.030 fact we there were a few of us at that 00:21.030 --> 00:23.340 time in the building in headquarters . 00:23.350 --> 00:25.870 And I started as a office automation 00:25.870 --> 00:28.092 clerk . I think that's what they called 00:28.092 --> 00:31.080 us . I started as a G . S . Two . And 00:31.090 --> 00:33.146 would you believe ? They were always 00:33.146 --> 00:35.201 here . They make Gs two . Yes , they 00:35.201 --> 00:37.350 make G . S . To S . Um And and I am a 00:37.350 --> 00:41.100 Gs 15 now . At the time I 00:41.100 --> 00:43.510 was in high school I was bright eyed . 00:43.940 --> 00:46.990 I really had no set aspirations . I 00:46.990 --> 00:49.046 knew I wanted to be in computers . I 00:49.046 --> 00:51.490 wanted to be a actually a a graphic 00:51.490 --> 00:54.990 designer . Uh So I like to draw 00:55.000 --> 00:57.300 cartooning , that sort of thing . But 00:57.300 --> 00:59.522 I've always had a thing for computers . 00:59.522 --> 01:03.350 Uh So ironically I uh found a 01:03.350 --> 01:05.900 path in the L . A . If you will . And 01:05.910 --> 01:09.890 it served me well . When I first 01:09.890 --> 01:11.890 started with the L . A . We were on 01:11.890 --> 01:15.180 something called Windows 3.1 . And for 01:15.180 --> 01:17.347 those of us who have been around for a 01:17.347 --> 01:19.513 while we know that when we logged into 01:19.513 --> 01:21.680 our computers , we had to type out the 01:21.680 --> 01:23.902 entire what we call domain name , where 01:23.902 --> 01:26.013 you had to , you know for here it was 01:26.013 --> 01:28.069 HQ dot de ella dot mil your name and 01:28.069 --> 01:30.124 that sort of thing just to log in on 01:30.124 --> 01:32.270 this black screen . Uh We had big 01:32.280 --> 01:34.660 hooking computers with big monitors . 01:35.040 --> 01:38.850 Uh It was clunky and 01:39.340 --> 01:41.562 and I can tell you in those days in the 01:41.562 --> 01:43.660 early days when I first joined email 01:43.660 --> 01:46.810 was thought of as a a luxury if you 01:46.810 --> 01:49.620 will you know for me a lot of folks 01:49.620 --> 01:51.787 will open up email in the morning , go 01:51.787 --> 01:55.760 drink some coffee , come back close it 01:55.770 --> 01:58.010 open it back up at lunchtime , you know 01:58.010 --> 02:00.066 that sort of thing . We did a lot of 02:00.066 --> 02:02.450 correspondents you know through memos 02:02.450 --> 02:04.617 and typing . I should use a typewriter 02:04.617 --> 02:06.810 back then . Um So it's come quite a 02:06.810 --> 02:08.421 long way to what we have now 02:10.540 --> 02:12.762 with cybersecurity it's evolved quite a 02:12.762 --> 02:14.920 bit . Um I didn't start my career 02:14.920 --> 02:17.142 cybersecurity . I kind of worked my way 02:17.142 --> 02:19.390 into it uh And it was it's been a 02:19.390 --> 02:22.920 journey . Um but I stumbled my way in 02:22.920 --> 02:26.310 about 10 years ago when I took over the 02:26.320 --> 02:28.830 IT contingency and coop program for the 02:28.830 --> 02:31.160 agency . And stood that up . So 02:32.540 --> 02:35.160 now with things going on in the world , 02:35.160 --> 02:37.382 cyber security is at the forefront of a 02:37.382 --> 02:39.770 lot of what we do is actually a cross 02:39.770 --> 02:43.400 cutting enabler or well protection of 02:43.400 --> 02:46.920 an enabler I should say . But today is 02:46.920 --> 02:49.031 really a heavy focus on cybersecurity 02:49.031 --> 02:51.160 especially being a The 5th tomato 02:51.160 --> 02:53.600 warfare . Now it's one of those areas 02:53.600 --> 02:57.590 that is at the forefront of the 02:57.590 --> 03:01.450 agencies . Uh thoughts and 03:02.140 --> 03:05.950 desires to keep going . My earliest 03:05.950 --> 03:08.380 memory of a world event that affected 03:08.380 --> 03:12.190 me at work was 9 11 . It was one of 03:12.190 --> 03:14.800 those days where I was in j . One I was 03:14.800 --> 03:18.650 in human resources and it was almost um 03:19.640 --> 03:23.610 it was almost surreal if you will I 03:23.620 --> 03:27.560 was in the at my cubicle a normal day 03:28.040 --> 03:32.020 and my mentor at the time who had told 03:32.020 --> 03:34.260 me that a plane had gone into one of 03:34.260 --> 03:36.370 the buildings and so we went to the 03:36.370 --> 03:39.400 director's office and he had a tv and 03:39.410 --> 03:42.030 so we got to see what was happening . 03:42.030 --> 03:44.290 So that during that time it was very 03:44.290 --> 03:47.320 challenging for all of us . Um We 03:47.320 --> 03:49.487 didn't , it was almost like how do you 03:49.487 --> 03:52.060 react to that ? Um So I could I could 03:52.060 --> 03:54.380 say that That was my earliest memory of 03:54.380 --> 03:56.602 a world changing event . You know I was 03:56.602 --> 03:58.820 still young . I was in my think I was 03:58.830 --> 04:02.350 21 I believe we're close to it . So 04:02.350 --> 04:05.000 it was definitely something that that 04:05.010 --> 04:07.670 rocked me to my core as it did probably 04:07.670 --> 04:11.490 most . Um Yeah and I think something 04:11.490 --> 04:15.310 that we all will remember Approximately 04:15.310 --> 04:17.760 2001 . I was able to see General 04:17.760 --> 04:21.320 McNamara delays first director um as he 04:21.320 --> 04:24.700 came to be honored by the building 04:24.710 --> 04:26.932 headquarters , being named after him uh 04:26.932 --> 04:29.099 Before we all affectionately called it 04:29.099 --> 04:31.550 the D . L . A . Building . But you know , 04:31.550 --> 04:34.130 it was really cool to see the first 04:34.130 --> 04:36.820 director of the L . A . Uh come and 04:36.820 --> 04:39.380 actually witnessed the changing of the 04:39.380 --> 04:41.602 name and to see the fruits of his early 04:41.602 --> 04:44.610 labor uh in D . L . A . In the early 04:44.610 --> 04:46.830 two thousands during during the Iraqi 04:46.840 --> 04:50.140 war . Uh I was actually an information 04:50.140 --> 04:53.410 operations at the time . Uh And during 04:53.410 --> 04:56.350 that time in early two thousand's uh I 04:56.350 --> 04:59.760 was customer relations and over the 04:59.760 --> 05:03.530 tier 12 helped us a desktop support 05:03.540 --> 05:06.930 for headquarters . Um Early I . T . 05:06.930 --> 05:09.570 Building my career it was one of those , 05:09.580 --> 05:12.710 it was one of those times where uh you 05:12.710 --> 05:16.400 never knew what your support uh was was 05:16.400 --> 05:18.511 actually supporting . So you tried to 05:18.511 --> 05:20.710 have your level best at any given time 05:20.720 --> 05:23.450 and I remember there were a few times I 05:23.450 --> 05:27.070 had a mentor at the time uh Mr Glasgow 05:27.300 --> 05:29.411 and some of the things that you would 05:29.411 --> 05:32.980 tell me is to never take for 05:32.980 --> 05:35.740 granted the person who has an outage 05:35.750 --> 05:37.972 because you never know what that person 05:37.972 --> 05:40.028 is doing . And so I always kept that 05:40.028 --> 05:42.290 too close to my heart because I knew 05:42.290 --> 05:44.290 that there may be a situation where 05:44.290 --> 05:46.457 that could that could have long stream 05:46.457 --> 05:48.790 effects that I may never know . And so 05:48.800 --> 05:50.967 to me that's one of the nuggets that I 05:50.967 --> 05:54.400 carry with me today . I've stayed with 05:54.400 --> 05:56.622 the L . A . All these years because the 05:56.622 --> 05:58.733 L . A . Has been very good to me . Um 05:58.733 --> 06:00.678 It's at times it felt like even an 06:00.678 --> 06:02.980 extended family . Uh It supported me 06:02.980 --> 06:05.500 when I was that young kid , you know 06:05.510 --> 06:07.232 coming into the government not 06:07.232 --> 06:09.177 understanding what I was doing and 06:09.177 --> 06:11.232 trying to figure out next steps . It 06:11.232 --> 06:12.954 supported me in my journey and 06:12.954 --> 06:14.960 developing my career . It also 06:15.540 --> 06:17.680 supporting me in my journey and uh 06:17.690 --> 06:21.370 having uh having a family uh my son 06:21.370 --> 06:23.426 who in the building , affectionately 06:23.426 --> 06:25.592 known as the D . L . A . Baby , I will 06:25.592 --> 06:27.703 bring them to work . And it was , you 06:27.703 --> 06:29.870 know , so people could see him . Uh so 06:29.870 --> 06:31.981 D . L . A . Is very been very good to 06:31.981 --> 06:34.037 me and giving me every opportunity I 06:34.037 --> 06:37.360 can imagine to be successful and so 06:37.840 --> 06:40.150 I couldn't imagine being anywhere else .