Course Abstract:
Every cybersecurity professional knows how to audit a network, assess risk in a system, and implement controls that scale, yet most are running their own lives like an unpatched legacy system waiting to fail. This workshop applies the GRC framework you already know to the system you've been ignoring: yourself. Governance means knowing what actually matters and building structures that protect it, not hoping willpower will save you when the on-call rotation hits. Risk assessment means identifying your burnout vulnerabilities before they become incidents, treating your energy like the finite resource it is. Compliance means creating mechanisms that enforce boundaries automatically, because "trying harder" isn't a control that works at 2 AM. The truth is simple: habits fail under pressure, systems don't, and if you can architect a security program, you can architect a sustainable career. Attendees will leave with a personal audit framework, risk assessment of their current life systems, and three automated controls to implement immediately, no motivational speeches required, just engineering.
alejandro ibaÑez
Bio:
Gabriel Alejandro Ibanez is the Head of Security at Upward Financial Inc., where he built the company’s security, compliance, and IT programs from the ground up. With over eight years of leadership experience spanning cybersecurity, compliance, and fintech infrastructure, Gabriel specializes in scaling identity governance, driving enterprise automation, and leading frameworks like SOC 2 and NIST CSF.
Prior to his current role, Gabriel served as a Software Engineer at Facebook, supporting large-scale production systems, and led a team of 25 IT professionals at Remitly Global Inc. through massive identity migrations and regional GDPR and PCI-DSS compliance initiatives.
He holds a Master of Science in Information Systems from the University of Washington, a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Western Washington University, four GIAC certifications, and is currently pursuing his CISSP . A strong advocate for inclusion in tech, he channels his passion into action as the Director of Alumni Relations for the MiC community, working to close the representation gap in cybersecurity.