Many of us have gone through Black History Month this year, reflecting on those that have come before us. The ones that put it on the line to give us knowledge, inspiration and empowerment for our lives. Chris and Ron speak often about their favorite icons Booker T Washington, Maya Angelou, Muhammad Ali, Oprah, and Barack Obama and how they how inspired them to highlight others. Today someone wanted to highlight Ron and Chris in a similar fashion.

It all began a few months ago when Chris wrote a LinkedIn post about the Hacker Valley journey. This post caught the eye and captured the heart of Emily Van Norden of CrowdStrike the presenting sponsor for this special episode. She takes the guest host chair with dear friend and Hacker Valley veteran, Charles Nwatu, to ask Chris and Ron questions about their journeys with the podcast and media company.

Thank you to CrowdStrike for your continued partnership, thank you to Emily and Charles, and huge thank you to YOU the listener. We hope you enjoy.

02:41 Introducing Emily and Charles

09:27 Fighting to Belong

11:27 Performers and Guides

13:00 Excellence in all that you do

13:59 Permission to be Great

15:33 Mastery is a Pursuit not a Destination

21:01 Valuing your Own Story

23:06 The Scary Part of Success

28:34 The Future of Hacker Valley

Visit CrowdStrike to see a company that is making a difference in more way than one here.

Visit Charles on LinkedIn

Visit Charles on Twitter

Visit Emily on LinkedIn

In the finale of We Are Here, Chris and Ron are joined by Emily Van Norden, branding and DE&I leader, and Nikki Thornton, Chief of Staff, both at CrowdStrike. The group talks about Diversity, equity and inclusion in this jam-packed episode. Emily and Nikki peel a layer off of the CrowdStrike brand to unveil a plethora of tips, tricks, and advice from their experience with people and standing up the DE&I function company-wide.

Key Takeaways:

01:56 Bio – Nikki

02:48 Bio – Emily

04:58 The chronology of CrowdStrike

10:12 Standing up the DE&I program

15:44 From adversity comes opportunity

20:21 Executives promoting DE&I

23:23 The deeper meaning of DE&I and why it matters at CrowdStrike

34:25 Advice for new professionals; making allies

37:55 Get in touch

LInks:

Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website

Emily Van Norden: LinkedIn | Website

Nikki Thornton: LinkedIn

Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon

Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon

We Are Here is proudly presented by CrowdStrike. Join the team here.

On this episode of We Are Here, Ron and Chris join Dave Zawdie and Nina Padavil, two champion's of allyship and representation. The group dives deep into what that really means and how we can use the past to change the future for the good of the industry and its people.

Key Takeaways:

01:54: Nina – Bio

03:36 David – Bio

05:25 Role models and influencers

11:24 How can the majority help the minority in the future?

14:33 Mentoring and impacting the future

17:38 Setbacks and advice for a discouraged cyber security professional

20:26 Committing to being an ally to another

22:52 The future of DE&I and how we contribute

25:14 Get in touch

Hacker Valley Studio: Swag | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Email Ron & Chris | Website

Nina Padavil: LinkedIn

Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon

Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon

We Are Here is proudly presented by CrowdStrike. Join the CrowdStrike team here.