Shinesa Cambric, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft, was recognized by Cloud Girls, in collaboration with the Alliance of Channel Women, as a Rising Star in the eighth annual Cloud Girls Rising “Women to Watch” awards announced in May of 2023.
The Cloud Girl Rising awards were created to honor women in the telecom and IT channel who have shown leadership and innovation in the emerging cloud space as well as to inspire more women to step forward and follow their example.
Shinesa was honored as a Rising Star, a female up-and-comer in the cloud community who has shown initiative in advancing cloud and next-generation technology solutions for her organization, customers and the industry.
Cloud Girls is pleased to share more about Shinesa in this edited excerpt from her award application.
What examples demonstrate your success at implementing or promoting cloud and next-gen technology, management principles or process?
An example of my past experience promoting cloud and next-gen technology includes a talk that I gave on protecting organizational cloud development supply chains using zero-trust methodology . The talk was so well received that the organizer included it in a curated set of talks for an e-book (eBook Shifting Security Left:) and also for a website blog featured on devops.com.
Additionally, I participated as a host for several sessions of the owasp.org community led YouTube and Twitch channel, I helped to interview and highlight practitioners, startups, and established cloud security product companies focused on the intersection of development and security.
I’ve also conducted several webinars on understanding and leveraging cloud technology, as well as led multiple sessions inside and outside of my employer Microsoft, on cloud security best practices for practitioners. Some of this content was recorded and reused as part of training material by Microsoft field sales professionals in order to help them promote cybersecurity technologies and best practices.
I’ve also promoted cloud and next-gen technology through my role as a moderator for the RSAC 365 Virtual Seminar on Identity, as well as on several other blogs and podcasts.
How have you led by example? What have you done to inspire team members around cloud and next-gen technologies?
Initiating the inception of the team and building it starting with existing team members is one way that I’ve led by example and hopefully inspired others to what’s possible. Additional ways that I’ve led by example is through knowledge sharing on next-gen technologies, engaging team members in opportunities that expand thinking, building connections to others in the emerging technology space, and providing input to stakeholders at Microsoft’s technology investment team. I also actively lead my team in looking at 3rd party technologies and driving integration opportunities around other cloud products.
How have you mentored other women in the channel – above, below and at your level?
Mentoring is an activity that is core to who I am and I have mentored over 75 individuals across the past 3 years. They span all professional levels and age groups and include mentoring within cohorts, individual mentorship, and within and outside of my corporate environment. I have mentored women not only on addressing and avoiding challenges as they navigate their career, but also on pursuing certifications and training. A training and study group I conducted for the CCSP and CISM certifications as part of another women’s non-profit organization led to multiple people gaining certification, as well as a spin off for additional certification study groups modeled after the pattern I established. What I find most rewarding is the feedback I’ve received over the years from women letting me know that something I shared or coached them on led to positive outcomes and even new careers for them.
Congrats, Shinesa!!