Cynthia Wyre is a senior strategic engagement project manager at Rapid7, where she helps connect academic research and industry. Her path into cybersecurity innovation was untraditional, moving from health care and construction project management into vulnerability research and academic partnerships.
Cynthia reflects how she applied for a role she did not think she was qualified for, why professionals of all backgrounds belong in cyber, and how project management skills can open unexpected doors.
Jack Clabby of Carlton Fields and K. Melton of the Cognitive Security Institute welcome Cynthia live from CyberBay 2026 in Tampa for a conversation about research, resilience, and relationship-building in cybersecurity. Cynthia explains Rapid7’s partnership with the University of South Florida and Cyber Florida, including her efforts to support research around SOC analyst training and burnout, and the future of cyber education.
Throughout the conversation, Cynthia highlights the importance of community, mentorship, and helping people see that cybersecurity is not limited to one path or one type of person. The episode wraps with the lifestyle polygraph segment, where Cynthia reveals how she would work a room full of strangers and how she won a costume contest moments before meeting rapper Yung Gravy. She also earns a crown of her own, officially joining the No Password Required fantasy cybersecurity squad as queen of the podcast.
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