Fireside Chat with Jen Easterly

Jen Easterly, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), was in conversation with Judi Germano, Adjunct Professor of Law and Distinguished/Senior Fellow, CCS/RCLS to discuss current issues in cybersecurity, key takeaways from Easterly’s role at CISA, and the intersection between national security and AI.

This event was co-hosted by the NYU Center for Cybersecurity, Reiss Center on Law and Security, and Women Leaders in Cybersecurity.

Monday, December 2, 2024

11:00a.m. – 12:00p.m.

Snow Dining Room, Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South

©Hollenshead: Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau.

Speakers:

Jen Easterly is the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). She was nominated by President Biden in April 2021 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on July 12, 2021. As Director, Jen leads CISA’s efforts to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the cyber and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every day. She is a proud Mom, a mental health advocate, a Rubik’s Cube enthusiast, and an aspiring electric guitarist.
Before serving in her current role, Jen was the head of Firm Resilience at Morgan Stanley, responsible for ensuring preparedness and response to business-disrupting operational incidents and risks to the Firm. She also helped build and served as the first Global Head of Morgan Stanley’s Cybersecurity Fusion Center, the Firm’s center of gravity for cyber defense operations. Jen has a long tradition of public service, to include two tours at the White House, serving as both Special Assistant to President Obama for Counterterrorism and as Executive Assistant to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. She also served as the Deputy for Counterterrorism at the National Security Agency.
A two-time recipient of the Bronze Star, Jen retired from the U.S. Army after more than twenty years of service in intelligence and cyber operations, including tours of duty in Haiti, the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Responsible for standing up the Army’s first cyber battalion, she was also instrumental in the design and creation of United States Cyber Command.

Judi Germano is an internationally-recognized thought leader on cybersecurity governance and privacy issues. She is a Distinguished Fellow at the NYU Center for Cybersecurity (CCS) and Senior Fellow at the Reiss Center on Law and Security, and an Adjunct Professor of Law at NYU School of Law and NYU Stern School of Business. Judi founded the Women Leaders in Cybersecurity series, and leads the CCS Cybersecurity Leaders Roundtable series of corporate executives and senior government officials addressing critical cybersecurity concerns. Judi is the founder of GermanoLaw LLC, advising public and privately-held companies and executives on enterprise risk management, cybersecurity and privacy matters, securities fraud and other complex white-collar criminal and regulatory-compliance issues. Judi is a member of the board of directors of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: DCOM).