Location: Liberty Lake, Washington, USA

Q: What was your first job ever?
A: My first job was as an agricultural farmhand in 2006. I was responsible for sorting and transporting Christmas trees across the farm, which included repotting trees, isolating those showing signs of mold or disease, and loading semitrailers with trees prepared for sale.

Q: What was your first job at Itron?
A: My first job was as an information security intern.

Q: What is your alma mater? 
A: I graduated from Eastern Washington University.

Q: What is your current role at Itron?
A: I’m an information security associate—specifically, a tier 3 security engineer.

Q: What gets you excited each day to show up to work?
A: I am motivated each day by the constantly evolving nature of information security. I genuinely enjoy coming to work knowing I’m part of a talented and collaborative team, and that my work contributes directly to building the foundation of our security program. It’s incredibly rewarding to look back over the past two years and see features and solutions that exist because I designed and implemented them. This role truly offers limitless opportunities, and I feel fortunate to be in an environment where innovation is encouraged and supported.

Q: How would you describe the culture at Itron to someone considering a career here?
A: With more than 20 years of work experience, I can confidently say that Itron has the best culture I’ve ever been part of. The environment is family-oriented and the people are always willing to help, even when something falls outside their direct responsibilities.

Q: If you could swap jobs with anyone at Itron for a day, who would it be and why?
A: I’m fortunate to already be in the role I aspire to at Itron. However, if I had the opportunity to switch jobs for a day, I would choose to work alongside one of our technical developers or engineers. Gaining first-hand insight into how our products and solutions are designed, built, and refined would be incredibly valuable. I’ve always been impressed by the innovation behind our technologies, and seeing that process up close would be both fascinating and enriching.

Q: Is there a class you’d wish you’d taken in college, or a skill you wish you’d spent more time building before jumping into the workforce?
A: A skill I wish I had spent more time developing in college is systems administration in both Linux and Windows. I have a strong foundation in programming and problem solving, but a large part of my day-to-day work involves understanding operating systems at a deeper level and configuring or troubleshooting security tools within them.

While I now consider myself proficient with Windows, that proficiency was largely self-taught after entering the workforce—Windows systems administration was not covered in depth during my college coursework. Having more formal exposure to how operating systems function under the hood would have made the transition into my role much smoother.

Q: Do you have a favorite artist or genre of music that you love to jam to during the workday?
A: Blues. I enjoy listening to artists ranging from B.B. King to Etta James.

Q: How has your background or identity shaped your experience at Itron?
A: My background in law enforcement and military logistics has significantly shaped my experience at Itron. Both careers were fast-paced and required a holistic understanding of each situation while staying calm under pressure.

Although those roles didn’t directly prepare me for the technical aspects of cybersecurity, they provided invaluable skills that help me adapt to the constantly changing threat landscape.

Throughout those careers, I worked in small, close-knit teams where trust, communication, and shared responsibility were essential. That same environment exists in InfoSec at Itron.

We rely on one another’s expertise to identify threats and strengthen our security posture, and the collaborative culture feels very natural to me. My past experiences helped me blend into the team quickly, contribute effectively, and appreciate the strong teamwork that defines our security organization.

Q: What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received?
A: The best career advice I’ve ever received is to always work and carry yourself at the level you aspire to, not just the level you’re currently in.