Cybersecurity in the Age of AI: What You Need to Know (But May Be Afraid to Ask)
To celebrate Cybersecurity Awareness Month, AWTC is offering a two-part cybersecurity series designed for association leaders.
The first session will provide association leaders with a foundational understanding of cybersecurity and today’s evolving security landscape.
As associations race to understand and adopt AI, the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve. Association leaders need a working knowledge of cybersecurity to ask informed questions, understand emerging risks, and recognize where their organizations may be vulnerable.
This judgment-free session will give association leaders a practical foundation in cybersecurity without the technical overload. Our expert panel will break down key terms and concepts, explain how AI is changing cyber risk, and clarify what leaders need to understand, ask, and prioritize.
Bring your questions, whether you’re building your cybersecurity knowledge or looking to sharpen what you already know.
Learn more about Session 2(opens in new tab).
Speakers
Iulia Griffin, CEO
The Cactus Group
Iulia Griffin(opens in new tab), is CEO and Co-Founder of The Cactus Group, a cybersecurity and technology firm helping organizations make practical, informed decisions about security, technology, and risk. Her work spans cybersecurity engineering and assurance, compliance and readiness, technology modernization, and purpose-built applications, with a focus on translating complex technical requirements into solutions that work for the organizations and people behind them. Drawing on a background in regulatory and audit environments as well as hands-on experience supporting organizations with evolving security needs, Iulia brings a business-first perspective to cybersecurity, helping leaders ask better questions, understand where their risks really are, and make more informed decisions about the technology partners they rely on.
Alison Maher, CEO
Skybrid Solutions
Alison Maher is President and CEO of Skybrid Solutions, where she advises public and private sector clients on emerging technologies and digital modernization. A geopolitical strategist and former U.S. diplomat, she brings 25 years of executive level policy and leadership experience across domestic and global settings.
Clare Espina
designDATA
Clare Espina is the General Manager of designDATA, where she provides overall leadership and strategic direction for the organization. Based in the Washington, D.C. area, she aligns designDATA’s strategy and operations with the broader goals of Doyon Technology Group while supporting teams, clients, and long-term growth. Before joining designDATA, Clare most recently served as Vice President of Business Operations and Strategy at Datum Consulting, where she led operational processes, systems, reporting, and organizational structure to support business growth and scalability. Prior to Datum Consulting, she held senior leadership roles at Proscia, Tenable, and WealthEngine, overseeing professional services operations, global delivery functions, and cross‑functional initiatives that improved client outcomes, internal alignment, and financial performance. Clare holds an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph’s University.
Ben Muscolino
AMS Geek, Data Sangria, Vortacity Cyber, TrapLine.io
Benjamin Muscolino is the founder and CEO of AssociationWire, the company behind AMS Geek and Data Sangria, and co-founder and Executive Chairman of Vortacity Cyber. With more than 20 years of experience in association technology, Ben helps organizations make smarter decisions about technology, data, and cybersecurity. He also helped develop TrapLine, a managed active-defense solution that combines deception technology with AI-assisted analysis of Microsoft Entra ID activity. His work helps association leaders better understand cyber risk, ask the right questions, and take a practical, defense-in-depth approach to protecting their organizations.
Facilitators
Nicole Araujo, CAE
Nicole connects. With organizations. With ideas. With people. She understands that associations do more to improve life than most people realize and that’s why she’s made the association industry her career focus. As the Senior Client Engagement Director at Mighty Citizen, she connects organizations to solutions that increase engagement, impact, and revenue by creating deeper connections with their audiences. The Mighty Citizen team marries data with human-centered design to craft brands, develop content strategies, build websites, and launch marketing campaigns that improve the world. She’s a past member of the ASAE Board, current member of the Key Consultants Committee, and proud member of the AWTC Planning Committee.
Trace Wilkins
Never Search Alone
Trace Wilkins is a business development and technology sales professional with experience across cloud, AI, and cybersecurity. Previously with AWS, she brings a background in helping organizations align technology with business outcomes. Trace holds the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC), AWS Certified AI Practitioner, and AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner credentials and serves on the Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC) Programming Committee. She is passionate about technology, continuous learning, and building stronger professional communities.