Pittsburgh ISSA Career Village at the
Three Rivers Information Security Symposium
October 29th 2025
The David L. Lawrence Convention Center
1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
🗓️ Career Village Schedule
09:00 AM – 10:00 AM Building Technical Skills
Join Jake Mayhew and James Ringold for a discussion about Cyber Security certifications, including resources to help you build your technical skills to be more marketable and advance your career. Jake is an experienced cybersecurity professional with a particular emphasis on offensive security, especially internal & assumed breach penetration tests. In addition to several years in consulting performing penetration tests & offensive security engagements for clients in a wide range of industries, he has also led internal red teams. We will discuss various resources on-line and local that can help you build your skills and successfully achieve certification in the cyber security industry.
10:00 AM – 10:15 AM Break
10:15 AM – 11:05 AM Panel Discussion, “A View into the Cyber Security Professional Career”, moderated by Heather Sprung
Join Heather and panelists at various stages of career for a discussion around getting started in the industry, a view into how they advanced and the daily responsibilities at various positions for a view into the day of a Cyber Security Professional. Panelists: Andrew Belsick, Rick Farina, Brandon Franklin, Laurie Iacono and Don Tedrow.
11:15 AM – 12:05 PM Building a Powerful LinkedIn Profile
Pittsburgh ISSA Chapter President, James Ringold , will describe how hiring managers use LinkedIn and other professional social networking sites when evaluating candidates and provide tips for creating a profile that can help differentiate you from other candidates. Receive tips on creating headlines, summaries, and sending networking introductions while leveraging AI to get the most from your profile views. Bring your laptop and spend some time to update your own profile.
12:15 PM – 1:00 PM Lunch & Networking
1:00 PM – 1:50 PM Panel Discussion, "How to Get Started and Navigate Career Transitions", moderated by David Spehar
Join David and panelists for a discussion on their experiences in the cyber security industry. This moderated panel with industry professionals at various stages of their career (Early, Mid, Senior, Executive), will discuss starting in the industry, making advancement moves, including pivoting into management and advancing into executive management, and also the transition into consulting or sales careers. Panelists: Nicole Conklin, Crystal Morgan, Ian Pastorok, Justin Domachowski and Gary Warzala.
2:00 PM – 2:50 PM Building a Powerful Resume
Steve Smith will review how recruiters review resumes providing strategies to build a great resume and prepare for an interview. Steve will discuss what employers seek in resumes and how you can highlight your skills to differentiate you from other candidates. Bring your laptop and update your resume while you listen.
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM Break
3:15 PM – 4:05 PM Building Your Personal Brand
Are you looking for ways to build your personal brand and increase your visibility in the industry? Join Zero_Chaos and GreyFox for a discussion on developing and submitting responses for presentations to local and national conferences. They will talk about how they develop presentations and select topics. How they approach the CFP process and other avenues for networking and public speaking that increase your visibility and personal brand.
What to Expect at the Career Village: