Meghan Martinez

Current position:

Cyber Incident Response Lead, Digital Forensics and Incident Response team, MassMutual (finance/insurance company in Springfield, MA)

Education (degrees and school):

Bachelor of Arts: Political Science (minor in Sociology) from University of Rhode Island

Master of Science: Marriage and Family Therapy from University of Rhode Island

Master of Science: Cybersecurity, Concentration: Intelligence from Utica College (online program)

Hobbies:

Reading, Walking the dogs, Weekend trips to Maine and Vermont, Looking at real estate

Where were you born and where did you grow up? Where did you go to high school?

I was born in South Korea and adopted at 3 months. For the most part, I grew up in Warwick, RI, but before we moved to RI, I lived in Massachusetts and outside of Chicago, IL. As an adult, I moved to the northeast corner of CT, and now live in Worcester, MA.

I went to high school at Warwick Veterans Memorial High School in Warwick, which was recently turned into a middle school.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I grew up with immediate family members in and out of hospitals, so I always thought I wanted to be a doctor. Turns out, although I did fine in math and science in high school, I couldn’t see myself laden with those subjects for another 8 years.

Later, I focused on a career in international relations (which is why I majored in Political Science in college). My parents instilled in me a love for other cultures and traveling, and I wanted to incorporate that into a job. For me, I ended up marrying my high school sweetheart after college, and I made the choice to put my career second. I don’t regret that choice, but I encourage young women to focus on themselves first as much as possible.

How did you get into computer science?

I was lucky to have a computer at a very early age, and I loved to tinker and play with it, and electronics in general. I never knew that computer science was something you could major in. In all my other jobs, I was the informal “tech support” because it was just something I loved to do. When I was working as a social worker after my first grad degree, I ended up getting connected with the Computer Crimes Unit with the State Police, and that was how I finally merged my love of tech into a job.

What other jobs have you had?

When I first got out of school, I worked for the university (URI) running a mentoring program. I loved academia, and I enjoyed being able to work in that environment. Eventually, I went back to school and got a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, where I became a clinical provider working with adults, children, and families who had PTSD and other traumatic experiences. One of the partnerships that I coordinated was with local police departments, where we would ride along with officers and respond to calls involving children/families. I ended up working closely with the Rhode Island State Police Computer Crimes Unit, and they were divided up between investigating internet crimes against children and investigations/policy related to cybersecurity. The cybersecurity work included a little bit of everything: working on integrating cyber skills in K-12, workforce pipeline, government policy, building technical skills, etc.

What is an average day at work like for you?

Lately, it is lots of meetings! Right now, I am very lucky to be full time remote, but I miss being in the office where anything could come up at a moment’s notice. Basically, my job is a balance of “day-to-day” (working on policies, playbooks, longer term projects), as well as immediate response to an “incident.” So at any moment, day or night, I could get a call or IM saying something is going on that we need to investigate.

What is your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of my job is my team. I am very, very lucky to have great colleagues that I can rely on and learn from. This is so important! No job is perfect, and there are days when my job really stinks, but my teammates make the hard days worth it.

What is the best opportunity you have had because of computer science?

Any tech-related field typically is going to come with a lot of great learning perks. I have gotten two very expensive certifications paid for by my job. These were great immediate learning opportunities for me on various subjects, but it also helps make me more attractive as I continue to look at my career goals within the industry at large. There’s so many opportunities within computer science/tech. Take advantage of any and all conferences and training.

Any great stories about working in computer science?

The tech field is hard for women, in general. Last year, I experienced a particularly challenging situation with a boss that I believe was related to an “old [White] boys club.” That being said, it has helped me find my people. If you’re a woman interested in a technical field, go online and start looking for groups. I have connected with a lot of great women on Twitter and there are a lot of great online groups (that also have in-person meet ups when not in a pandemic). Female groups in tech are traditional super supportive, so get in on them. You may not know when you need their support!