Hi. Good morning. Thank you for attending our session today.I'm excited to share some great insights on what we're doing and why we decided to put a platform together for cybersecurity and technology professionals. I'm turning off my camera so you can immerse yourself as we go on this journey together and provide some takeaways for you to use today. I hope that you find this not only helpful, but inspirational. Let's go. A little bit about me. My name is Melissa Sanford, and I'm a technology industry veteran with 20 years experience throughout my fun and exciting career. I've worked with some of the most influential technology companies such as Palm, Apple, Cat Gemini And Dell Technologies.

In addition, I'm a distinguished combat veteran of the United States Navy earning such medals as the National Defense Metal. Coit liberation in the Southwest Asia metal with 2 bronze stars. And I and I'm proud that I served in desert storm. It taught me a lot from being resilient to having grace under pressure. Following my deployment, 2 desert storm on the USNS Comfort, I came back and worked as a congressional aid. Also supporting Supreme Court justices like the late Sandra Day O'Connor and thurgood Marshall. I've since dedicated myself to the technology industry. I'm passionate about helping others succeed and have founded the tech exec wellness podcast to inspire and informed cyber and tech professionals about the importance of wellness.

Today, I'm working as a fractional executive providing guidance and support to startups and enterprise organizations all over the world. So let's go back in time. In 2022, I joined a startup, setting up go to market strategy, business development, website development with an external, external marketing firm operations and scheduling events to maximize marketing efforts. So in early 2023, juggling many hats, I wasn't sleeping, eating right, and providing the self care that I needed. So, unfortunately, I came down with an illness, and I continue to work from home through a fever, ear infection, and my condition started to deteriorate. So I finally tested negative and but I still felt weak. I had tight deadlines to meet and traveled that I couldn't miss, and I was so exhausted, but I powered through.

I'm sure this is familiar to most, if not all of you. I spoke to other colleagues that were neglecting their health due to budget restraints type deadlines or travel. Mainly, my peers in cybersecurity were suffering from burnout. It was my vision to have a platform where other cyber and technology professionals could share their wellness journey and talk about the things that bring them happiness and activities. You and I have never heard of. I had a guest on there. Her name is Alice. And she mentioned during episode 11, a vibration late. So I bought 1. I think y'all should try it out. It's pretty cool. We all agree that the wellness of employees is vital to fulfilling this mission. The mission. And like my time in the service, keep an eye on my teammates to ensure they are taking care of themselves, getting the rest they need, and raising their hand when they need help.

We have never experienced a period where we were subjected to restricted lockdowns, not seeing our friends or loved ones for a long period of time. I don't know about you, but I'm very social when I like to be around friends. The separation of work and our personal lives started to blend in. Many of us adopted pets I did and found ways to engage with others while isolated in her home. Wellness should be the number one priority with any organization or individual. I will leave you with some takeaways that you can, use today. So for every podcast, if you listen to our podcast, after I introduce the guest, the first icebreaker question is, what is your favorite music genre? And could tell you and and can you tell us about a memorable concert experience?

It is my belief that music connects us whether it is in another language, the instruments, and melody can uplift and inspire us. Our guests have shared their favorite artists and the concert say remember like Natalie Merchant, you 2, The Grateful Dead, Earth Wind And Fire, Jill Scott, and EDM concerts to name a few. While I was working at Apple, if I stayed overnight, it wasn't unusual for me to find a concert in the city with last minute tickets. Okay? I'm gonna admit this, and I'm sure I'll get something after this conference, but I shared my own experience on one of the podcasts of seeing nickel back in Omaha while we were there in business. So as we travel for work, I recommend stepping out of your hotel room, meet friends for dinner, catch a concert, or take a boxing or spin class. You should disconnect so you can come back the next day feeling refreshed. I'm happy to say we've had some awesome guests so far.

We had a former NFL player on the show, an executive from AT and T, and the director of Sysa. All of the conversations gave us an insight into their daily lives and these professions as well as what inspires them outside of work. Jen Easterly, the director of SASSA, treated us to a few songs impromptu, which were fast car by Tracy Chapman and closer to find by the indigo girls. The, Marcus Peterson, the NFL player, shared his volunteerism helping combat youth homelessness in the Ella area with a friend's place. Shannon Brewster from AT and T shared his dedication to helping his own employees balance wellness as well as his outdoor endeavors in Japan. Each guest brings a wealth of information and inspiration to who they are.

And that's one of the things that I like about having guests in a platform is that we get to see the person behind, what they do for work. Aside from our guests, we decided they conver conversations around music, joy, grief, playing, and dogs. Two people from my team recording a few episodes together as most of us have forgotten simple things in life. What type of music we listen to, what motivates us when we listen to this music, enjoy, like, having a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop or being out with friends, laughing. Our episode on grief, we discussed the loss of long time pet, job loss, me losing my mother after I relocated to Dallas for a new position, and one of her cohost lost both of her parents a year apart. And she talked about the emotional toll that took on her. It is my belief we need to address death and grief in the workplace. And why it matters.

Not only from a business risk perspective when I talk about cyber as a threat vector, but we need more empathy in the workplace. You never know what an employee is going through, and as leaders, it's our responsibility to ensure we have conversations in place to address grief and the impact on that employee. Before we had our episode 16 go outside and play, Lisa Sanford authored an article on playing. We sent Erica discussed what they enjoyed when they were younger from Park to bounce houses, walks and shooting hoops can truly disconnect from work. I know sometimes I'll go to the local park and just shoot hoops, which is kind of fun for me. And here's the other thing too. You don't need fancy equipment to move your body. You can walk around your neighborhood. Or to a nearby walking trail.

As I mentioned earlier, some people adopt the dogs during the COVID shutdown. I have 3 dogs and they play an important role in my wellness. From emotional support to leasing up my English Bulldog Sampson for a nice walk. I let him decide where we are going. And, again, wellness does not have to cost a lot of money. Meditation is free. Walking your dog is free. Going to the park is free. So get outside. Enjoy the sunshine. Touch grass, look at the sun, and just immerse yourself in nature and get away from your screens. As I say on our website, we aren't medical professionals, but we encourage people to check-in with their doctors before starting any exercise program. Smart Watches are a great way to keep track of your steps heart rate and use apps for walking, running. Be mindful of sitting too long without breaks.

Sleep is essential to overall wellness and to prevent illness. And I didn't know this. I was the world's biggest Insomniac, and I always had this mantra, which is I'll sleep when I'm dead. So I'll go out and I'll do all these things, and I won't worry about my sleep. But it caught up with me. What it did is it ended up in me gaining weight, ended up in me being sick, and just being a miserable person. It took a while for me to find out what the issue was. And here are some things I did to get a good night's sleep that you can take away today.

Which is maybe use binaural beats or sulfasial frequencies to relax and unwind and guided meditations are also great. I keep my bedroom dark and cool at night and stop scrolling 60 to 90 minutes before sleep. I recently authored an article, sleep better, live better. It's on LinkedIn. Where I discussed my sleep and how the importance of sleep is and not getting sleep can have adverse effects on your mind and body. So as I mentioned earlier, it made me vulnerable to illnesses. So I also have one of those rings out there that track sleeping, and I'll take a look every day at my data. I'm a data driven person. So I really like to look at the stats. Am I getting 8 hours? Am I tossing and turning at night?

So I really recommend, checking that out if you're having some sleep issues. So pivoting to meditation. It isn't always about sitting in a room. It can be walking or another activity like cleaning your house. I love the vacuum and my floor. So when I was in the navy, I used to swab the debts. And I won't listen to anything while I'm doing these chores. I'll just listen to my breathing and allow myself to gain inspiration by being in silence. I think if you're always on your phone or scrolling endlessly, you're not giving your inner guidance and opportunity to speak with you and and, as I would say, inspire you. You're not getting those creative things. And I've noticed since I've made a change over the last year. I'm getting a lot of creative ideas.

I'm thinking about different products with the customers I work with. And I really think it's important to just really disconnect and allow yourself to sit in silence. Again, consult your doctor if you wanna use binaural beats or sulfagio frequencies and also before you take on anything physical. I'll be the first to admit when I traveled for work, it was easy to hop off the plane into a rental car or taxi to the hotel and order room service or go to dinner. I wasn't mindful. Again, I was scrolling on my device. Travel was lost, rinse repeat. Am I going to Detroit this week? Am I going to Dallas this week? Am I going to Ohio? So it was just although I was having a lot of fun at my job, it was kind of routine and I wasn't taking care of myself.

So All of this led to weight gain and back pain. Not moving. My body was very detrimental to my health. So today, I lift weights, I ride the Peloton and I walk around my neighborhood. I also eat mindfully. Again, I'm not scrolling on my device while I'm eating. I have no devices at my table, and I enjoy the conversation as it's happening in front of me. And the company in my present again, I talk about how we were locked down for a year, and I miss talking to people. So for me, I really cherish those good times when I'm in front of other people. We must take our lives back and everything we do. We are not point operated. I've overcome These challenges and what inspires me most about doing this podcast is helping others take back control of their health and well-being.

As we begin to see artificial intelligence technology emerge, it is vital that we are prepared mentally and physically for these new and exciting challenges. If you'd like to check this out, we're on the following platforms, tiktok, instagram, at and LinkedIn. I probably do most of my content on LinkedIn, but we're gonna have short clips and different things on interactive socials like tiktok and Instagram. We also have a website, w w techexecwellness.com. And what I'd like to say is we continue to learn so much from our guests. They're really unique and amazing. What I want you to know, if you're sitting here listening and you're thinking about your own challenges that you've had, remember, The setback to the comeback is inspirational, and I hope you share your stories with others and inspire them as well. Our podcast is available on numerous platforms such as Iheart, Apple Podcasts and Spotify, I like to keep the episodes 30 to 45 minutes max, not only out of respect to the guests, but also to the listeners.

So we have a lot of exciting guests coming up. We have some that I didn't mention, but I always wanna make sure that they have 30 minutes because they're traveling. They're back in the thick of things. So I just wanna be mindful of that. To participate in this fire chat fireside chat today. I feel we pioneered open communication about wellness with cyber security and technology professionals. Maybe I got the inspiration from my days working at Apple. The crazy ones. And I knew that this would probably be met with, enthusiasm and maybe met with doubt, but so far, we're doing a really great job in getting our message out. So these resilient individuals in technology and cyber, they're responsible for protecting our critical infrastructure innovative, innovating, and creating the next generation of tech.

I thank them all for the exciting things they have done and continue to do. Thank you for your support, and I'm grateful that we got to talk about this very important and relevant conversation. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. My link is in my vial and take this away. If anything else, Find time this week to go outside and play. And I am finished. I will be around if you have any questions you could connect with me on LinkedIn, but thank you so much for the time. Oh, I got some questions in the chat. Oh, okay. Stephanie, you know what? I do and I didn't think of mentioning this, but I had the Apple Watch So I'll set up challenges with friends, and I hate to lose. I'm very competitive.

So that's one of the things that I do. And having a dog helps a lot. So having a dog, we'll get you out and about because they'll sit and stare at you. They'll pot you while you're working at your desk, and that's great. But It really does when they say 30 days to, you know, get a habit going. I truly believe that's the case. So just push yourself out there even if it's just walking, I don't know, to the end of the block and just approving upon that. Yeah. The dot, the paw in the face. Absolutely. And that guilty look of mom, let's go out for a walk. But I truly want you I want everybody just to get up from their desk. I don't care where you're walking to. You have kids, whatever.

Get out and and just move your body. Do not make the mistakes I made. It's It was tough to come back from some of those illnesses. Any other questions in the chat? Stephanie, that was a great question, by the way. Okay. Well, I'm going to, get the floor up to someone else, and thank you very much for coming to my Fireside chat.