 Hi, everyone. My name is Erin Mann and I'm the chair of the CIA Rise Searing Committee. This is the Rise Monthly Security Matters Takeover. And I'm so excited to be joined by not only my vice chair for Rise, but my dear industry friend, Kelsey Carnnell. Kelsey, you want to say hello? Sure. Hey, everybody. Thanks so much for having us. And I am super excited, again, to not only share some things that we're doing with Rise, but to be joined by Erin. So, excited. So once a month, Rise is lent a spot on Security Matters, which is Andrew Lanning's industry podcast. And every month, we either have guest speakers or we talk about thought leadership in the industry or something that's going on that's tailored to young professionals. And with ISC West happening this week and a lot going on, the world opening up and being about halfway through the year, a little bit over halfway through the year, we thought it would be a great opportunity to just connect as two people in leadership at Rise and really talk about what we've seen in the last year, which has had to be one of the craziest half of years that we've ever had, some of the stuff that we're doing, the events that are upcoming, and what we're most proud of that the Steering Committee and the Rise community has accomplished this year. So for those who don't know, Rise is a young professional group hosted by the Security Industry Association. We have about 800, a little more than 800 young professionals in our community globally. And we are completely focused around professional development, networking and development opportunities and growth opportunities for the security industry. So with that, I think I will, I'll ask Kelsey this and I'm really excited to hear her answer even though we work pretty closely together on a weekly and daily basis. But what has been the most exciting part about Rise this year in your opinion? That's awesome. And definitely a question. I feel like we internally ask ourselves a lot because to Erin's point, we are on calls monthly with the Steering Committee and then Erin and I and Katie and our whole group speaks quite frequently multiple times a day, some days. But I would say the most exciting thing is just all of the new events that we've done. So I think not, well, okay, that's one. But the other which alludes to this is how close our team is. So our Steering Committee, we have a bunch of new members that started to be any of this year, but our team is so close. Like I feel like I have gained a lot of really close personal industry friends, but it's through some of these events. So not only do we speak to each other monthly or weekly, but the events that we've done are just so dynamic and they're so different in past years. So like trivia night, we're getting closer, we're having some fun altogether. I think another thing too is we're really driving change in the industry through these events. So I think I'm gonna keep my answer short because I could just talk all day about RISE, but I think really the industry events because the things that we've done have really led to multiple other things being those friendships, that thought leadership. And I think direct change in the industry, to be honest with you. I completely agree with you. And I think something that's really special about the RISE Steering Committee and the members on it are how many different industry organizations we have represented. So I'll try and name them all, but I think I might need your help to make sure we get representation from all of them. But we have Allegiant, which is where myself and Mark Faker are from. We have Access Communication, which is where you and Matt Finan are from. We have ADT, which is Holly Sanson and Zach Morris. We've got Securitas, which is Tommy Zarna. We have Group 337 with John Harris. We have Camdex with Dan Krueme. We have Salto Systems with Colin Dupree. We have Convergent with Amanda Payne. We have Northland Control with Brendan McFall. And I know, oh, we have Jake Brown. And I am Secure Access Solutions, or Secure, yes. I think it's Secure Access Solutions. And I'm trying to think about if we are, if we are missing anyone, I sincerely hope not in steering committee if we are. I apologize. But we have great representation from a lot of different organizations in the industry. And I think that's one of the coolest parts about our steering committee meetings is because we're not just all tech companies, we're not just all manufacturing companies. We really bring a diverse set of industry perspectives to the table. And that is really showcased in the events, like you mentioned, like Trivia Night, like our book club, like our time mentorship program, and certainly leading up to our big event of this year, which is Accelerize happening in just a short couple of weeks. It's crazy. I can't believe it's already here. It's almost here, right? We're in like the final planning stages and that steering committee and our rise steering committee, sorry, is really stepping it up. It's, we're meeting bi-weekly and we're excited for everybody that's going to join. And if you aren't signed up yet, here's the shameless plug that it's a conference that honestly, if I can speak five seconds to you really, that's where I met Erin to begin with. And it's really, it was in Minneapolis and it was honestly one of the coolest experiences. I kind of did a dart throw and told my boss I wanted to go. It's a young professionals conference. I was new to the industry when it first started. And I have met so many awesome people from that event and I truly don't think I would be where I am today if it wasn't for that conference because I wouldn't have been involved in Rise as much as I am. So I really, if you have never attended or if you're just curious about it, ask one of us, ask anybody on the steering committee because really it is a monumental event that just keeps on growing and growing. So it's virtual this year, but next year, hopefully we'll be back in person. Yeah, and it's from August 23rd to 25th this year and we'll include a link to registration. But it is like Kelsey said, the only young professional oriented conference in the industry, I completely echo what she said. It was the conference that changed my life in 2019. Not only did I meet Kelsey who have become one of my greatest friends in the industry but it really exposed me to how dynamic the industry was. And I think the conference itself and just the ability to tailor a conference to young professionals speaks volumes to the effort to attract and retain young talent in the industry. And like you said, these events and this engagement with the young professionals group is really spurring that industry change because we're starting to see individuals who perhaps stumbled into the industry like myself. I never really planned on joining the security industry, find my niche and my passion and wanna stay in the industry for the long haul. And there's not many 27 year olds that can say, I know where I wanna build my career and Accelerize and a lot of the other young professional tailored programs that RISE puts on have been such a conduit for that feeling. And I feel so grateful to be able to lead this group now as we really create these opportunities to other individuals like myself who are new to the industry or who are just trying to find their place in the industry now that they're working for a security organization. Yeah, no, I totally agree. I think too, I know Erin has mentioned this before in the past just in conversation but it's really hard as a young professional to get a seat at the table. And what I mean by that is not only just in your company sometimes but at conferences. So like ICS or GSX or like these larger conferences where they're sending hundreds of people from each company depending on how large you are. This conference is truly for young professionals and you're going to see direct value from it. So if you can't get to one of those larger shows maybe this is an option for you. And that was what it was for me because I've never been to a large trade show in person only virtual, thankfully last year I guess but it really is, it's awesome. It's hard soft skills. It's tailored directly to young professionals and there's a lot of mentorship that goes on in that conference as well. Yeah, whether it's people you find as mentors there or it's just connections that you create. Yeah and I think one of the cool things about this year is it's our second year going virtual with the conference. Our first year was in 2019 like Kelsey said it was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And going virtual has been a challenge that everyone has had to overcome in the last 18 months and it hasn't necessarily been one that's been welcome but it's been a necessary adaptation and a necessary pivot away from in-person events. And so I'm really excited because Accelerize this year our steering committee came together and figured out how are we going to make this not only a conference that is dynamic and engaging but how are we going to facilitate an experience? And so we've invested in an app there's going to be a virtual conference experience we've built networking and getting to know each other into the conference itself. And not only can you jump in and out of sessions with speakers who are industry leaders and subject matter experts on a variety of things from just like professional development to having hard conversations with your manager to IoT and connected spaces and the way that security is becoming a commodity and an amenity. And now you actually get to interact with those individuals and you don't have to necessarily send them a LinkedIn message. You can just pose a question right right on the virtual platform and we're going to have trivia nights we've got game nights we have other virtual networking opportunities that I think are certainly not going to be a replacement for what can happen when you're in person meeting people but it's a fantastic way to start those relationships now and really foster them as we get back to meeting in person and going to industry events and hopefully what we're hoping for is that the young professionals that attend Accelerize the next time that they're at an industry event they recognize someone and they can go up to them and say I know you're a young professional in the industry I saw you at Accelerize let's grab a drink, let's talk, let's connect. Right and I honestly I have a story directly from that Tim Wenzel if you're watching I met him at Accelerize because he was a presenter and he presented on his whole experience and things like that and now he's one of my very close friends but also a mentor of mine so that was someone that I kind of just picked out of the crowd and I'm like I really like your presentation. So really it's an awesome event. It's something that happens yearly keep your eyes out for sure and we want feedback for sure. Yeah and pivoting slightly to that mentorship conversation because we've mentioned it a couple of times while we've been hyping up all of our other events I have been blown away by the time mentorship program that we launched this year. I don't know about you but I have seen nothing but positive feedback and it's been so encouraging to be able to launch a dedicated mentorship program in the industry for young professionals. What have been some of the things that you've seen that have been pretty impactful from the time mentorship program? Yeah, I echo that. I honestly it was a program built from the ground up by Sia and this young professionals group and I think it's a testament to the group that we have and all of the people, the industry professionals that have put hours and hours into helping develop the program. I have seen, I've really seen nothing but positive from it. Lots of people connected. I love that there's a learning path. So you're really, you're following, everyone's following the same structure whether you follow it to a T or you just use it as a guideline but I think it's really, really impressive because it's one of the only structured mentorship programs that I've ever seen and it's something that really you're seeing value out of because of the structure. Again, even if it's used as a guideline because you're furthering relationships, you're connecting with people and you're really working on those hard, soft skills, the tangible skills that you can just see direct improvement from. So I totally, I think it's only been positive that I've seen and I really, I'm jealous because I wanna be involved in it. I wanna be mentored by someone. So I think next year I'm in. We have some pretty rock star mentors on the time, the time list and time for those of you who don't know stands for talent, inclusion, mentorship and education. And like Kelsey said, it was really built from the ground up with an incredible steering committee of both more tenured individuals in the industry and a bunch of young professionals who came together to really build out this semi-structured program that brought representation to the table that connected you to someone who was maybe tailored towards what your career is, but also maybe just had similar interests outside of the industry and we knew it would be a good match but I've seen so many emails and comments and things in the LinkedIn group just about how helpful it has been to be connected both for the mentors, to be connected with young professionals in the industry and really help guide this new generation of leaders in the industry into the next couple of years of their career. And also how rewarding it's been for the professionals who have been matched with subject matter experts and tenured individuals in the industry and now have a dedicated person that they can go to to talk about their career, their growth, challenges they're facing, they're thinking about a career change and all of those experiences in between. And I am just so excited. It's an annual program, it's 12 months and we're excited to launch the next one after the conclusion of this one. So time has been an absolute rock star program. It's one that's new this year, we just launched it this year but it is probably one of the things that I'm most excited about from a rise legacy standpoint that we've accomplished and hopefully can continue improving on in the future. Yeah, I totally agree. I think another really exciting thing too, not to shift but is DE&I, it kind of aligns because that whole steering committee, I think Erin, you're the inaugural member of it, right? Tongue twister. But probably a year or two ago, it was really created and the things that that subcommittee has done and the leaps and bounds that they've jumped being like highlighting certain diversity and inclusion in months and making sure we're educating people at the same time that we're highlighting certain things. So I think that each subcommittee really has their own purpose, right, within our steering committee but also I'm really impressed of how everybody is integrated because people are not shy to raise their hand and say, hey, I really wanna be involved in this initiative because I'm really passionate about it. I think that's really cool. That's something that I've seen that's really impressive this year. Yeah, speaking of one of the initiatives that definitely needs the most hands on deck, our scholarship, our annual scholarship is coming up, we're launching it at Accelerize but I think actually, so Kelsey and I met at Accelerize in 2019 but we were also winners of the Rise Scholarship in 2018 which is we had a picture taken together and that's pretty much how we reached one another at the conference. And that scholarship has grown tremendously since you and I applied for it for sure but definitely since it started in I think 2017. And traditionally we've given out five scholarships of $3,000 each. And the year that we applied, I think six people applied, Rise was relatively young, it hadn't hit the platform and it hadn't had the community that it does now but certainly we've seen the growth of the community and we've seen the growth of individuals who are taking advantage of the opportunities that we're trying to present to young professionals. So we've seen stupendous growth, I'd say from an application standpoint with the scholarship, we had 19 applicants I think in 2019, we had 46 applicants in 2020. That's a huge growth pattern for people who are ready and willing to use the funds that we can give them to excel in their careers, whether it's for a conference, it's for their MBA, it's for classes that can then be tied back to their careers in the industry. And this year we're so excited because we are not only accepting sponsorships for the scholarship, so if you're at an organization that really feels strongly about young professionals in the industry and you wanna help provide opportunities of advancement, you can sponsor scholarships, but also that we're opening them up to be used for repayment of student loans. And that is something that I would say most individuals in our generation have to deal with, it's just a reality of life and being able to facilitate, giving a young professional the opportunity to put a lump sum on their student loan payment and really alleviate that stress that might be happening from that debt compiling, I think is one of the best things that we could do with the scholarship. So being able to evolve it from just kind of professional development, career development to helping people advance in their financial security as they advance in their careers in the industry has been one of the coolest ways that we've grown the offering of that scholarship. Yeah, I totally agree. It was to be awarded was amazing, but now to be involved, I think is even better to be honest, because it's so cool the applications that you see and you can read and really it's so much work but it's so rewarding, honestly. We have a group of rock stars that help read applications and I think this year is gonna be top notch. It's even, it's growing and growing and growing and I think Aaron to your point I think weren't there four countries that applied last year? We went international last year, I thought even knowing. So I think it's just gonna totally blow up in a good way and I am really, really excited to see. So stay tuned because end of August it will open officially, but donations or sponsorships for the scholarship are open right now. So we can include a link as well if your company wants to sponsor a young professional or scholarships of any sort, we will be sure. We will absolutely take your sponsorships. You're helping really support the leaders of the industry that are upcoming. So I think I'm trying to think through all of the rest of the kind of fun events that we do rise at least for me has been the place where I found some of my best friends in the industry let alone some of the best opportunities that I've had for developing my personal brand being able to do some thought leadership being able to find opportunities to be on panels and give my perspective. But definitely being able to have a place where I can go to find people who are similar to me who are in similar places in their career to talk about the industry has been the most fun. And so we have a variety of networking initiatives I'd say, you know, we have Trivia Night we have a bi-week or a quarterly book club. We have a session called Security and Spirits and that one is a new program this year that's been really fun. Kelsey, do you want to give an overview of what Security and Spirits is? Because it's definitely one that's it was a fantastic pandemic addition to our rise offering for sure. Yeah, it totally was. And it's totally a play on words Security and Spirits. So you pick a drink and we have a virtual bartender it's an actual bartender but we're all on the platform like a Zoom platform and they're mixing a drink. So the first, I think it's an hour long, right? So the first like 10, 15 minutes, 20 minutes the bartender and mixologist mixes a drink and we make it with them on camera. It's quite entertaining, it's awesome. Spilt mine all over the place last time but it's really, really fun. They give you the ingredients list ahead of time and then as you're drinking your cocktail and enjoying it we have a little bit of a networking session and then a presentation. So presentation, different verticals of the industry hardware, software, manufacturing. We had one about cybersecurity or we're going to have one about cybersecurity, I think. I'm trying to remember what the other ones that we planned for. AI, AI. Yeah, so a variety of topics. And I mean, again, shameless plug if you are an organization that wants to get in front of the young professional audience and you're looking for a fun way to do it our Security and Spirits is a quarterly program on demand, we're happy to make it more frequent if we have people who want to sponsor it but we usually have about 30 to 40 young professionals on it. It's a really fun, casual way to mix both networking and a little bit of industry experience and get organizations with what they're doing in front of this young professional audience which is just a really cool way to connect with an audience that you might not have the opportunity to especially in the virtual setting to have a dedicated half an hour just to network and share some of the innovations that your company is going through. Yeah, I totally agree that the past year although tough for everybody was kind of a blessing in disguise because I feel like our group, our initiatives have really taken off because we have the ability to virtually or remotely network with people and host some of these events and maybe get presenters out of from California. I think Sarah was from California but might not be able to travel in normal time. So blessing and a curse right there, I guess. Yeah, and along with that, I think at least one of the coolest things that I've seen from the last year specifically has been the strength of the community through the virtual nature of having to connect over LinkedIn and over Zoom calls and things like that. So from a rise committee standpoint, our steering committee is really close. We have a group chat that we talk in constantly. We're challenging each other to be better. We're supporting each other and our organizations, I think it was Colin Dupree that presented this term. It's co-opetition and there's companies on our steering committee that are technically direct competitors from an organizational standpoint but we're bringing those perspectives to the table and really seeing the way that we can evolve the industry and partner in the industry and it's creating some really cool business opportunities and just some new ways to think about the security industry as a whole but we also have a rise group on LinkedIn and I've been really encouraged by what I've seen in the LinkedIn group. I don't know about you but there's been a ton of thought leadership from the young professionals that I've been blown away. Oh, totally. Good articles or discussions. Sometimes you get people in there that post an article and they're like, what do you think? I think this or they don't even say their opinion because they want other people to their thought provoking questions. So no, I totally agree with you because that really is a platform if people are comfortable messaging on LinkedIn or they maybe will pick up the phone and call that person that posted that so we can have a conversation about it. So I think it's really a good platform to just continue to stay connected because there are millions of ways to be connected these days but I think that's all of our 830 or so members are on that page. So are they available? Yes, and if you're an early career professional new to the industry you've been in the industry for fewer than five years or you're an individual who wants to connect with our demographic, our group, let us know and we'll get you into that LinkedIn group. It's a phenomenal way to build up your network. It's a phenomenal way to get feedback on things. We do have some industry experts I'd say that actually pull our group for their perspective and then kind of make decisions or get informed data from that group and just kind of channeling a little bit of empathy and seeing how the younger talent in the industry is thinking about things which has been a really cool conduit I think for some of the thought leadership in the industry for sure. So if you're interested in joining, let us know or reach out to Katie Griotti who is our absolutely amazing rock star from SIA who is our liaison for RISE and our fearless leader. But we'd love to get you LinkedIn no pun intended to our group to see how we can both build up your network, connect with you, get to know you and hopefully help you find a place to build your career in the industry. I love that. Yeah, well with that, I think we're almost up against time which if you guys know Kelsey and me, we can talk for about seven hours straight without really taking a breather. But if you have any questions about RISE, you wanna get involved, you're interested in sponsoring one of our events, you're interested in participating in one of our events, please reach out to us, let us know. We are a dynamic group that is made up of some of the most wonderful individuals and I am so excited that we were able to do this kind of mid-year update leading up to our big conference in August, Accelerized from the 23rd to the 25th. We'll post a link with this video and as always thank you to Andrew Lanning for loaning us his security matters monthly spot for us to be able to share this update with you. But Kelsey, any closing thoughts? Yeah, no, I would just echo it. I really appreciate the time and everybody who watched and Andrew for letting us host. This is such an awesome platform to be able to share our latest and greatest or if you've seen our past podcasts with security matters, bringing on past scholarship winners so they can share their story or bringing on thought leaders in the industry, industry vets who we want to get feedback and hear some insight on. So I think that this is an awesome platform we're really appreciative and definitely stay tuned for all of the goodness that we got going on the second half of the year. I can't believe we're in July. We're more than halfway through the year but we have a lot more plans. So to Aaron's point, stay tuned. Awesome, we'll see you soon.