TheBridge profile: Tia Hopkins

Name: Tia Hopkins

Current city: Greensboro, N.C.

Current job: Field CTO & Chief Cyber Risk Strategist at eSentire, Inc. & Founder and Partner in Advocacy at Empow(H)er Cybersecurity

Past job: VP, Global Solutions Architecture at eSentire, Inc.; Senior Security Solutions Architect and Systems Engineer at Zones, Inc.

Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting: Starbucks

Q. Describe how a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your current job. Early in my career, I learned the importance of asking why. Whether you're asking yourself or someone else this question, understanding the "why" of a task, goal, or situation provides an additional level of clarity that is incredibly valuable when deciding on or working towards a desired outcome. For example, when pursuing a career in cybersecurity, understanding your "why" can help shape the path you choose to pursue. Similarly, asking "why" in a professional capacity helps to ensure that your process is leading toward the appropriate outcome.

Q. Job advice in three words? Failure is temporary.

Q. How are you (or your organization) currently bridging the gap between innovation and regulation? My focus and the focus of my nonprofit is to drive more diversity within the industry. The more diverse we are in our experiences, opinions, knowledge, preferences, thought process, etc. as an organization and/or industry, the more equipped we are to bridge gaps, practice creative problem solving, take informed risks, and learn from each other and our surroundings.

Q. What can innovators learn from policymakers? Consider the long-term impact of short-term improvements. Solving one problem could potentially create another problem.

Q. What can policymakers learn from innovators? Always ask if the current approach is the best approach. Avoid the "this is the way we've always done it" trap and continue to evaluate and improve policies and procedures according to the current need. Policy creates change, change creates opportunity. There will always be an opportunity to improve and it is important to be able to adapt.

Q. Favorite podcast you recommend? Hacker Valley Studio Podcast

Q. Everyday is probably different, but can you describe a "day in the life" of your job? My job is a combination of providing strategic support to solve for complex customer issues/requirements and aligning the capabilities and strategic initiatives of my team to corporate goals.

Q. Most underrated virtue in an employee? Grit. Employees with grit are passionate, mentally tough, and perseverant. I do not consider grit a hard or soft skill. In my opinion, it is a mindset.

Q. How often do you work from home? I work from home every day. I travel occasionally (much less than I did prior to the pandemic), so I have a nice balance of being home and being away.

Q. Startup to watch? rThreat. Their platform aims to be the future of breach and attack simulation by going beyond signature-based simulation and enabling emulation.

Q. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself in the beginning of your career? Do your research, ask the hard questions, and be specific. I did not have a mentor until about 2-3 years ago so early in my career I made a lot of mistakes, wasted a lot of time, and missed out on a lot of opportunities. Back then, my approach was to try things and see what worked. Over time I learned that the more I researched and asked questions, I began to see better results from the decisions I made. I wouldn't change a thing about my past because every bit of it played a role in the woman I've become, but a bit more efficiency early on may have set me up for success sooner in life.

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