Tarah Wheeler

Today, every single person at an organization must feel confident in their ability to protect themselves against a minefield of risks. Password hacking, email phishing, ransomware attacks—these emerging threats against every business have only been made stronger by the global move towards remote and hybrid work. And while it might be easy to fault someone who unwittingly clicks on a link—what people don’t realize is how vast and systematic this issue really is. Fortunately, Tarah Wheeler does. A skilled practitioner in the realm of digital security, Wheeler’s dazzling resume includes working with organizations like Symatenc, Splunk, and Microsoft, as well as revered institutions from Harvard to Oxford.  A white hat hacker, Wheeler knows how to proactively find security weaknesses and fix them before they can be exploited. As a result, her smart, effective talks show leaders how to turn potentially major and costly security problems into non-issues. Wheeler’s on-the-ground technical expertise is combined with such a clear, compelling presentation style that it’s easy to understand even the most complex concepts. Because we’re facing opponents who are highly sophisticated, we must learn and apply stronger defense behaviors at every level—whether that’s teaching employees how to properly create and store passwords, or building and implementing a company-wide security system. Under Wheeler’s leadership, audiences will learn how to build resilient systems; create a sense of accountability among team members; and personally empower themselves with an arsenal of tools for safe-guarding their privacy.

Tarah Wheeler Van Vlack is a brilliant role model.Elissa Shevinsky, editor of Lean Out

Once named the top female cybersecurity influencer in the world, Wheeler is also the author of Women in Tech: Take Your Career to The Next Level with Practical Advice and Inspiring Stories, which details her experience in the male-dominated space of cybersecurity. It was a #1 Amazon career guide bestseller, and topped both the women in business and technology nonfiction lists. In addition to her technical know-how, she can expertly advise on how to improve the industry to include, support, and uplift women based on her own personal experience.

A global leader in keeping private citizens and corporations safe from cyber attacks, Wheeler is an International Security Fellow at New America; a Belfer Cybersecurity Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government; a contributing cybersecurity expert for The Washington Post; and a Foreign Policy contributor on cyber warfare. She was selected for the prestigious Fulbright Cyber Security Scholar Award; she conducted research at Oxford University, in conjunction with the UK National Health Service, on mitigating the harms civilians face in nation-state sponsored cyberattacks. In 2022, she became a a senior fellow for global cyber policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Wheeler is an advisory board member for the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a board of directors member at several cybersecurity companies. She has also led projects at Microsoft Game Studios, including the iconic video game franchise Halo. She holds an MSc from Portland State University, and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), a Certified Scrum Master (CSM), and a Certified Scrum Developer (CSD). She is also a pre-candidate for a PhD in Complex Systems and Political Science from the University of Michigan and a National Science Foundation Fellow. A Texas holdem poker player, she acquired her startup funds by cleaning out poker rooms in the Northwest and Las Vegas.