professional bio

Tia began her career as a high speed internet installer in the early 2000s, which sparked her interest in the information technology field, and ultimately led to her focus on cybersecurity. She has spent more than two decades in the IT and IT Security industry and is currently the Chief Cyber Resilience Officer & Field CTO at eSentire. In addition to her role at eSentire, Tia is an adjunct professor of Cybersecurity, a women’s tackle football coach, and a LinkedIn Learning Instructor.

She holds several industry certifications including the CISSP, CISM, and GSLC in addition to a BS in Information Technology, MS in Information Security and Assurance, and MS in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance. She is also pursuing an Executive MBA as well as a PhD in Cybersecurity Leadership.

Tia was recognized by SC Media as an outstanding educator in 2019, as well as one of The Software Report's Top 25 Women Leaders in Cybersecurity and Cyber Defense Magazine's Top 100 Women in Cybersecurity; both in 2020. In 2021, Tia was recognized as a Top Influencer in the Security Executives category by IFSEC Global and was most recently recognized by Dark Reading as #1 on the list of ‘8 More Women in Security You May Not Know but Should’ in 2022. 

Tia contributed a chapter to the book The Rise of Cyber Women: Volume 2 in 2021 and co-authored ‘Hack the Cybersecurity Interview’ with Ken Underhill and Chris Foulon in 2022. She is also the Founder of Empow(H)er Cybersecurity, a non-profit organization aimed at inspiring and empowering women of color to pursue cybersecurity careers.