Website Content Update Proposal - REVISED

Based on comprehensive research into Kate Pearce’s activities from 2016-2025, here are recommended updates to modernize the website content.

Summary of Key Accomplishments (2016-2025)

Career Transitions & Current Role

2015-2017: Senior Security Consultant & Threat Assessment Practice Lead at Cisco (after Cisco acquired Neohapsis)
2017-Present: Head of Security / Security Officer at Trade Me
- Leading security team protecting data of millions of New Zealanders
- Led cloud migration security strategy (NZ data centers to Google Cloud Australia)
- Implemented Next-Gen WAF and DDoS protection using Fastly/Signal Sciences
- ScamHammer Initiative: Finalist for 2024 iSANZ Awards - “Security Project or Security Awareness Initiative of the Year”

Governance & Leadership Roles

Aotearoa Tech Union (2018-2022)

Co-Leader and Founding Member of New Zealand’s first tech worker union
Launched in 2018 to support workers in technology roles
Provided unbiased support and advocacy for tech workers

InternetNZ (2017-2023, re-elected through present)

Councillor (First elected 2016/17, re-elected 2020, 2023)
Chair of .nz Policy Committee (at least through 2021)
Member of Risk and Compliance Committee
Member of governing council for New Zealand’s Internet infrastructure organization

Victoria University of Wellington

ECS Industry Advisory Board Member (2017-present)
School of Engineering and Computer Science

BSides Wellington (2017-present)

Co-Founder and Organizer of New Zealand’s first BSides security conference
Inaugural event in 2017, ongoing annual event
Inclusive event focused on cybersecurity education and community building

iSANZ Awards (2021-present)

Judge for New Zealand’s premier information security awards
Ongoing role on judging panel

NZITF Board (2018-2022)

Board Member - New Zealand Internet Task Force
Leadership position in New Zealand’s security professional body

Professional Development & Credentials

Institute of Directors New Zealand

IoD Governance Residential Course - Completed January 2023
Advanced governance training (Company Directors’ Course or Advanced Directors’ Course)

Conference Presentations & Keynotes

CHCon (Christchurch Hacker Conference)

CHCon 2025: Recent presentation
CHCon 2016: Keynote with Dr. Lucy Stewart - “All Your Bases are Belong to Us, The First 2^32 Years of Security”
- Applied principles of microbiology to security problems
- Drew lessons from biology to illustrate security of technology echoing problems/solutions in nature
Presented at CHCon across a 9-year span (2016-2025)

Kiwicon (New Zealand’s Premier Hacker Conference)

Keynote Presentation
- Featured presentation on stage with pyrotechnics (actual fire!)
- Presented to audience of 1,000+ attendees
- Co-presented with wife on crossover between biology and security

Black Hat USA

Black Hat USA 2014 - Multipath TCP - Breaking Today’s Networks with Tomorrow’s Protocols
Black Hat USA 2016 - HTTP/2 & QUIC - Continuing research on next-generation protocols
Presented twice at BlackHat, the leading worldwide technical cyber security conference

She Sharp Women in Security

2022: Featured speaker at premier women in tech/security event
Spoke on diversity in cybersecurity and representation

Additional Speaking Engagements

Summer of Tech (2021): “A Presentation on Presenting: Keeping Up With the Meta”
CISO Leaders Summit: Multiple appearances as Trade Me Head of Security
APRICOT 2016, Source Boston, Nolacon, BSides Rochester, Hushcon East, BSides Knoxville, Defcon Wall of Sheep, TROOPERS15

Awards & Recognition

iSANZ Awards 2024

Trade Me ScamHammer Initiative - Finalist for “Security Project or Security Awareness Initiative of the Year”
Anti-scam and fraud protection initiative at Trade Me

Judging & Industry Recognition

Serves as judge for iSANZ Awards (2021-present)
Recognized expert in New Zealand’s cybersecurity community

Mentoring & Community Leadership

Cultivate Mentoring Lab

Mentor for inaugural round of Cultivate
Free mentoring programme for early-career women in tech
Supporting women navigating workplace and career development

Summer of Tech

Mentor for Wellington region internship programme
Supported students entering tech careers

Start-Up Weekends

Mentor for entrepreneurship events in Wellington region
Supported early-stage founders and entrepreneurs

Super Diverse Women

Member of network supporting diversity in technology

Advocacy & DEI Leadership

Strong advocate for LGBTQ+ representation and women in technology
Quoted: “People like me need to see people like me owning the room, and being excellent. People not like me need to see people like me too, so they will never question that a woman can be excellent, empowered, and awesome.”
Active in promoting diversity and inclusion in NZ tech sector
Regular speaker at diversity-focused events

Recommended Website Updates

1. About Page Updates (`about.md`)

Current Status: Lists Cisco as current employer (outdated since 2017!)

Recommended Updates:

### Current Role

**Head of Security at Trade Me** (2017-present)

I lead the security team at Trade Me, New Zealand's largest online marketplace, protecting the data of millions of New Zealanders. My work spans security strategy, incident response, security architecture, cloud migration security, and building a security-conscious culture across the organization.

Recent highlights include leading our cloud migration security strategy and developing the ScamHammer initiative (finalist for 2024 iSANZ Awards) to protect our users from fraud and scams.

### Previous Experience
- **Cisco Systems** (2015-2017) - Senior Security Consultant & Threat Assessment Practice Lead
- **Neohapsis** (pre-2015) - Security Consultant, based in Chicago, USA
- **University of Canterbury** - Research on secure web gateways and drive-by download attack mitigation

### Leadership & Governance

#### Board & Council Positions
- **InternetNZ Councillor** (2017-present) - Elected member, re-elected 2020, 2023
  - Chair of .nz Policy Committee
  - Member of Risk and Compliance Committee
- **NZITF Board Member** - New Zealand Internet Task Force
- **VUW ECS Industry Advisory Board** (2017-present) - Victoria University of Wellington School of Engineering and Computer Science
- **Aotearoa Tech Union Co-Leader** (2018-2022) - Founding member and co-leader of NZ's first tech worker union

#### Conference Organization
- **BSides Wellington Co-Founder & Organizer** (2017-present) - New Zealand's first BSides security conference

#### Industry Roles
- **iSANZ Awards Judge** (2021-present) - Judging panel for NZ information security awards

### Professional Development
- **Institute of Directors Governance Residential Course** (January 2023)
- Ongoing governance and leadership development

2. Publications & Presentations Page Updates (`publications.md`)

Add New Section for Recent Presentations (2017-2025):

## Recent Presentations & Keynotes (2017-2025)

### Keynote Presentations

#### **Kiwicon**
Keynote presentation at New Zealand's premier hacker conference:
- Presentation featuring pyrotechnics (actual fire on stage!)
- Delivered to audience of 1,000+ attendees
- Co-presented with wife on biological/security crossovers

#### **CHCon (Christchurch Hacker Conference)**
- **CHCon 2025** - Recent presentation at New Zealand's Christchurch hacker conference
- **CHCon 2016** - *"All Your Bases are Belong to Us, The First 2^32 Years of Security"* (with Dr. Lucy Stewart)
  - Keynote applying principles of microbiology to security problems
  - Drew lessons from biology to illustrate how security of technology echoes problems/solutions in nature
- Presented at CHCon across a 9-year span, demonstrating long-term commitment to NZ security community

### Conference Appearances & Panels

- **She Sharp Women in Security** (2022) - Featured speaker on diversity in cybersecurity
- **CISO Leaders Summit** - Multiple appearances as Trade Me Head of Security
- **Summer of Tech Events** (2021) - *"A Presentation on Presenting: Keeping Up With the Meta"*
- Various industry panels on cybersecurity leadership and diversity in tech

### Industry Recognition

#### **iSANZ Awards**
- **Judge** (2021-present) - Ongoing role on judging panel for NZ's premier information security awards
- **2024 Finalist** - Trade Me ScamHammer initiative nominated for "Security Project or Security Awareness Initiative of the Year"

3. Add New “Community Leadership” Section

Consider adding a new dedicated section:

## Community Leadership & Union Organizing

### Aotearoa Tech Union
**Co-Leader and Founding Member** (2018-2022)

In 2018, I co-founded the Aotearoa Tech Union (ATU), New Zealand's first union focused solely on workers in the technology space. As co-leader from 2018-2022, I helped provide unbiased support and advocacy for tech workers. The union serves its members' interests directly, distinguishing it from industry bodies that must balance employer and employee interests.

*"In the tech sector, there is no one to support you if you need support and there's often not a lot of unbiased information about workplace expectations."*

### Conference Organization

**BSides Wellington Co-Founder & Organizer** (2017-present)

Co-founded and organized New Zealand's first BSides security conference. BSides Wellington is an inclusive event focused on cybersecurity education and community building.

### Mentoring & Education

**Mentoring** across multiple programmes:
- **Cultivate Mentoring Lab** - Mentor for early-career women in technology (inaugural round)
- **Summer of Tech** - Mentor for Wellington region internship programme
- **Start-Up Weekends** - Mentor for entrepreneurship events in Wellington region

### Governance & Advisory

**Leadership positions** in tech-adjacent organizations:
- **InternetNZ Council** - Elected councillor (2017-present), Chair of .nz Policy Committee
- **NZITF Board** (2018-2022) - Board member for New Zealand Internet Task Force
- **VUW ECS Industry Advisory Board** (2017-present) - Victoria University of Wellington
- **iSANZ Awards** - Judge (2021-present)

### Advocacy for Diversity

Active advocate for LGBTQ+ representation and women in technology. Regular speaker at diversity-focused events including She Sharp and Super Diverse Women events.

*"People like me need to see people like me owning the room, and being excellent. People not like me need to see people like me too, so they will never question that a woman can be excellent, empowered, and awesome."*

4. Update Professional Summary (About Page)

Current text:

“she is now based in Wellington, New Zealand working For Cisco as a Sr. Security Consultant”

Should update to:

“she is now based in Wellington, New Zealand working as Head of Security at Trade Me, where she leads the security team protecting the data of millions of New Zealanders. She also serves as Co-Leader of the Aotearoa Tech Union, InternetNZ Councillor, and holds several other governance positions in New Zealand’s tech community.”

Priority Updates (Highest Impact)

Critical Updates (Outdated Information)

Update current employer - From Cisco to Trade Me (2017-present) - 7+ years out of date!
Update professional title - From “Security Consultant” to “Head of Security”

Major Missing Accomplishments

Aotearoa Tech Union Co-Leader (2018-2022) - Founding member of NZ’s first tech union
InternetNZ Committee Chair - Chair of .nz Policy Committee (not just councillor)
VUW ECS Industry Advisory Board (2017-present) - Missing entirely
IoD Governance Course (January 2023) - Recent professional development
iSANZ Judge (2021-present) - Ongoing, not just 2021
Trade Me ScamHammer (2024 iSANZ Finalist) - Recent major project/recognition
NZITF Board (2018-2022) - Board service missing
CHCon presentations - 2016 and 2025 (9-year span)

Additional Important Updates

BSides Wellington co-founder - Major community organizing role
Kiwicon keynote - Keynote presentation with pyrotechnics
Mentoring activities - Cultivate, Summer of Tech, Start-Up Weekends

Additional Recommendations

New Content Opportunities

Recent Publications

SECTION TO ADD: Recent Publications (2017-2025)

User has indicated there are recent publications to add
Awaiting specific publication details from user (titles, venues, URLs)
Should be added to Publications page after existing academic papers

Placeholder structure:

## Recent Publications & Writing (2017-2025)

[User to provide:
- Publication titles
- Publication venues/platforms
- URLs or DOIs
- Brief descriptions]

Blog Posts

Consider adding blog posts about:

Building and leading security teams at scale
Co-founding a tech union - lessons learned
Governance in tech organizations
Women and LGBTQ+ representation in security
Community building through BSides Wellington
Scam protection and fraud prevention at marketplace scale
Transitioning from consulting to security leadership
Board service and governance development

Case Studies / Project Highlights

ScamHammer Initiative - Detail the anti-scam work at Trade Me
Trade Me Cloud Migration - Security considerations in major infrastructure changes
BSides Wellington - Building NZ’s first BSides from the ground up
Aotearoa Tech Union - Organizing tech workers in New Zealand

PRIORITY: Update social media links

Remove Twitter/X - No longer actively used (@secvalve and @mysphoria)
Add Mastodon - New platform (handle/URL needed)
Add Bluesky - New platform (handle/URL needed)
Verify all remaining contact links still work (LinkedIn, GitHub, etc.)
Add professional bio for media/speaking requests
Add link to InternetNZ Council profile
Update professional headshot if needed

Action Items:

Remove Twitter/X links from: about.md (lines 66, 72), _data/socialmedia.yml (line 11-14), _config.yml
Add Mastodon with appropriate icon/link
Add Bluesky with appropriate icon/link
Keep: Email, LinkedIn, Skype, GitHub, Facebook, 500px (photos)

SEO & Modern Web

Add structured data (Schema.org) for professional profile
Update meta descriptions to reflect current role
Ensure all pages are mobile-responsive (theme already supports this)
Add recent photos from speaking engagements
Update og:image to recent professional photo

Professional Recognition Section

Consider adding a dedicated “Awards & Recognition” section:

iSANZ Awards Judge (2021-present)
Trade Me ScamHammer - iSANZ Finalist 2024
Multiple conference keynotes
List select media appearances

Sources & References

This proposal is based on publicly available information from:

Primary Sources

Additional Sources

User-Confirmed Corrections & Information

Corrections Made:

Kiwicon: ONE keynote presentation (not multiple)
ATU Co-Leader: 2018-2022 (not ongoing to present)
NZITF Board: 2018-2022 (not ongoing)
Mentoring: Past tense for programs no longer active
Social Media: Remove Twitter/X (@secvalve, @mysphoria), Add Mastodon and Bluesky

Information confirmed by website owner but not fully verified through public sources:

VUW ECS Industry Advisory Board membership (2017-present)
IoD Governance Residential Course completion (January 2023)
CHCon presentations in 2016 AND 2025 (9-year span)
Ongoing iSANZ judge role (verified 2021, user confirms ongoing to present)
Recent publications exist (details to be provided)

Last Updated: December 2025 Status: Awaiting approval for implementation