Meet the Founder

Cybersecurity.
Policy. Law.

Founder, Cipher & Counsel

InstitutionUTSA · Honors College
DegreeBBA Cybersecurity
MinorPublic Policy & Law
GPA4.0 · President's List
Class2027
CitizenshipU.S. Citizen
Websitecipherandcounsel.com
The founder of Cipher & Counsel at a security operations workstation
The Founder

A platform built at the junction.

As an undergraduate in the UTSA Honors College, I founded Cipher & Counsel as a platform whose name reflects its purpose: the convergence of cyber and law. The vision is larger than a portfolio — it is an online community built to raise digital footprint awareness and develop the next generation of women working in cybersecurity, policy, and law.

Four completed Palo Alto Networks certifications feed directly into the research and lab work published here — SOC workflow design, cloud and network security documentation, SIEM playbook engineering, and threat intelligence reporting at Unit 42 standards.

Mission Statement

Why this platform exists

"Most people do not understand or actively manage their digital footprint, leaving them vulnerable to privacy, security, and legal risks. Cipher & Counsel was built to change that."

Cipher & Counsel · Founded 2025
4.0
GPA · President's List
5yr
Professional PM Experience
5+
Research Publications
7+
Industry Certifications
Certifications & Credentials

Professional credential stack

Four completed Palo Alto Networks certifications anchor the stack, alongside project-management, privacy, and compliance credentials in progress.

Palo Alto Networks 4 Completed
Security Operations (SecOps)
Completed 2026
Cloud Security Professional
Completed 2026
Network Security
Completed 2026
Cybersecurity Fundamentals
Completed 2026
Project Mgmt & Foundational
Google Project Management Certificate
Completed 2025
Agile Product Owner Certification
Completed 2025
PMI CAPM · Certified Associate in Project Management
In Progress 2026
Security & Compliance
Google Cybersecurity Foundations
Completed 2025
NIST SP 800-53 · 800-53A · 800-53B
In Progress 2026
CompTIA Security+
In Progress 2026
ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)
In Progress 2026
CIPP/US · Certified Information Privacy Professional · IAPP
In Progress 2026
Cybersecurity · Policy · Law

Security does not stay inside a network.

It shows up in boardrooms, courtrooms, and policy hearings where the people making decisions rarely speak the language of the practitioners who briefed them. That disconnect is where the real damage happens.

A degree in Cybersecurity with a Minor in Public Policy and Law is a deliberate commitment to working at that junction — translating technical risk into the language of governance, compliance, and accountability.

Scales of justice beside Cybersecurity, Policy, and Law volumes
Lab Projects · Technical Skills

Hands-on lab simulations

Hands-on technical work across SIEM deployment, network traffic analysis, and vulnerability assessment — each documented in a published lab report.

Lab 01In Progress 2026
SIEM Deployment & Detection Engineering
Deploying Splunk Free with Windows event log ingestion and detection rules for brute-force and privilege-escalation indicators, with methodology and findings published in a lab report.
Splunk Free · SPL · Windows Event Logs · MITRE ATT&CK T1110
Lab 02In Progress 2026
Network Traffic Analysis
Capturing and analyzing live network traffic with Wireshark — identifying anomalous patterns including unusual DNS queries, unencrypted credential transmission, and beaconing behavior.
Wireshark · PCAP analysis · TCP/IP · DNS · HTTP/S
Lab 03In Progress 2026
Vulnerability Assessment & Scanning
Conducting network vulnerability assessment using Nmap for port scanning, service enumeration, and OS fingerprinting — documenting findings with risk ratings and remediation recommendations.
Nmap · Port scanning · Service enumeration · OS fingerprinting
Experience

Professional & academic history

2025 to Present
Founder & Creative Director
Cipher & Counsel · cipherandcounsel.com
Manages all platform workstreams independently across research, content, web infrastructure, and social media, applying the same concurrent project-management discipline developed across five years of professional agency work. Applies four completed Palo Alto Networks certifications directly to research and lab output — SOC workflow design, cloud and network security documentation, SIEM playbook engineering, and threat-intelligence reporting at Unit 42 standards.
GRC ResearchDigital Safety EducationOSINTNIST SP 800-53CloudflareGitHub Pages
2025 to Present
Undergraduate Researcher
University of Texas at San Antonio · BBA Cybersecurity · Honors College
Active undergraduate research across cybersecurity frameworks, threat intelligence, and policy communication — applying NIST SP 800-53, ISO 22301, and MITRE ATT&CK methodology to real-world cybersecurity challenges.
MITRE ATT&CKNIST SP 800-53ISO 22301Incident Response
Aug 2020 to Aug 2025
Project Manager
Digital Marketing Agency
Managed 10+ concurrent client engagements using Agile and Scrum methodology across five years without a missed deadline. Primary client-facing contact for SOW-based scheduling, status reporting, risk identification, and delivery. Built internal documentation frameworks, process playbooks, and onboarding systems establishing PMO-level operational discipline adopted across the team.
Agile · ScrumSOW DeliveryStakeholder ManagementTechnical Writing
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