Kara H.

About Kara H.

With over a decade in IT and cybersecurity, I bring a strong engineering foundation into Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC). My career began in IT and evolved into cybersecurity, where I specialized in Identity & Access Management (IAM), designing and implementing secure, scalable, and user-centered access solutions for thousands of users across enterprise and agency environments. That technical depth now strengthens my GRC work, grounding cybersecurity strategy and risk management in a practical understanding of how systems, people, and policy intersect.Today, I focus on building programs that transform compliance from a requirement into an operational capability. I lead structured tabletop exercises to strengthen incident readiness, facilitate cross-functional risk alignment, and reinforce decision clarity under pressure. My work centers on embedding resilience into the organization and ensuring risk conversations are proactive, measurable, and tied to business protection.I am particularly passionate about integrating security earlier in the employee lifecycle, including augmenting onboarding processes with practical, role-relevant security training that reinforces shared responsibility from day one.As a mentor and educator, I translate complex technical and regulatory concepts into practical guidance teams can act on. I believe effective cybersecurity leadership blends clarity, empathy, and disciplined execution, qualities I bring to every engagement.I hold certifications including CIAM, CIGE, CIST, and SSCP, have recently passed the CISM exam, and am pursuing CISSP next to further strengthen my cybersecurity leadership perspective.Outside of cybersecurity, I draw creativity from travel, art, and design projects, reminders that diverse perspectives build more resilient solutions.Let’s connect to share insights on cybersecurity governance, resilience building, and strengthening risk culture.

Experience

1. Governance, Risk, and Compliance Analyst

   Gifthealth

   Nov 2025 — Present · Columbus, OH, US

   Designer of cyber risk and resilience program, integrating threat intelligence into governance.• Facilitator of intelligence-driven tabletop exercises for technical teams and leadership.• Translator of technical threat data into executive-ready risk insights.• Partner cross-functionally with IT, Security, and business stakeholders to align threat intelligence, business continuity planning, and risk management into a cohesive resilience framework.

Education

• Franklin University

  Bachelor of Science - Information Technology

Skills

• Educational Leadership
• Elementary Education
• Higher Education
• Web Design
• Digital Imaging
• Technical Writing
• Procedure Development
• Disaster Recovery
• User Interface Design
• Legal Research
• Clinical Research