Texas is home to some of the country’s most important aviation, higher education, energy, healthcare, data, and enterprise technology environments, which makes it a major stage for cybersecurity leadership. The women featured here reflect that breadth. Some lead as CISOs inside major institutions, while others hold adjacent executive cyber roles at the highest levels of influential Texas-based organizations. Together, they show how security leadership in Texas spans airlines, universities, global data companies, veterinary and healthcare systems, and critical energy infrastructure.
Carrie Mills — Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer, Southwest Airlines
Carrie Mills has grown through the ranks at Southwest Airlines from senior cybersecurity leadership into the top security role, bringing with her a strong background in threat intelligence, incident response, vulnerability management, aircraft cybersecurity, and risk and compliance. Her progression inside one of the country’s most recognizable airlines reflects both operational credibility and long-term trust in her leadership.
Before Southwest, she spent more than a decade at Brinker International, where she led IT security and risk management efforts across the corporate environment and restaurant footprint. That combination of aviation-sector cyber defense and large-scale consumer business security gives her a practical, real-world perspective on protecting complex, customer-facing organizations.
Cheryl Nifong — Chief Information Security Officer, The University of Texas at Arlington
Cheryl Nifong leads the information security program at The University of Texas at Arlington, where she oversees the Information Security Office and aligns cyber risk with institutional priorities. Her work spans board reporting, security culture development, risk management, and cross-functional leadership, all essential in a university environment with broad academic, administrative, and research demands.
Her career has crossed higher education, healthcare, government, and the private sector, giving her a well-rounded foundation in building security programs that work across different operating models. She is also active in the North Texas CISO community, including DallasCISO leadership, and has earned recognition with a DallasCISO ORBIE award.
Sara Andrews — Global Chief Information Security Officer, Experian
Sara Andrews serves as Global Chief Information Security Officer at Experian, bringing a long track record of enterprise-scale security leadership across major global brands. Before joining Experian, she spent nearly eight years as CISO at PepsiCo and more than 17 years at Verizon, where she held the role of Chief Network Security Officer. That background places her among the most seasoned security leaders in the Texas market.
Her profile stands out not only for executive experience, but also for broader influence across the cybersecurity ecosystem. She has served on corporate boards, participated in the Aspen Institute Cybersecurity Group, and operated at the intersection of enterprise security, national cyber dialogue, and board-level governance.
Sonja Hammond — CISO and VP, IT Architecture & Engineering, National Veterinary Associates
Sonja Hammond leads cybersecurity and technology risk at National Veterinary Associates while also overseeing IT architecture and engineering, a combination that speaks to her strength in connecting security with enterprise standards and operational execution. Her experience includes building security and risk programs, shaping architecture, managing compliance requirements, and driving messaging across global organizations.
Earlier roles at Essilor, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Callaway Golf gave her deep experience in privacy, PCI, HITRUST, governance, risk management, and cultural change. She brings a builder’s mindset to the CISO role, with a career rooted in turning security, compliance, and infrastructure into a more integrated business capability.
Corrina Taylor — Chief Information Security Officer, Southern Methodist University
Corrina Taylor brings a modern, strategic approach to the CISO role at Southern Methodist University, where she is focused on balancing innovation, compliance, and business enablement. Her background emphasizes enterprise security strategy, governance, board-level reporting, cloud and identity security, incident response, and emerging technology risk, including SaaS and generative AI governance.
What makes her especially notable is the way she frames cybersecurity as part of institutional decision-making rather than a separate technical function. Her work centers on translating complex technical risk into business language, building scalable programs, and helping organizations innovate securely in highly regulated and fast-changing environments.
Sherry Hunyadi — General Manager, Cyber Intelligence Center, Chevron
Sherry Hunyadi is one of the most senior women in Chevron’s cyber leadership structure, currently serving as General Manager of the Cyber Intelligence Center after previously holding the title of Chief Security Architect. Her remit places her on Chevron’s CISO Leadership Team and at the center of security-by-design practices across both IT and OT, which is especially significant inside one of the biggest Texas-headquartered energy companies.
Her background combines cybersecurity, enterprise technology, critical infrastructure, and executive IT leadership. Across roles at Chevron, Beusa Energy, Layne Christensen, and other industrial and energy-oriented organizations, she has consistently operated where cyber strategy, resilience, and operational systems meet. She is a strong fit for this feature as a top-tier Texas cyber executive, even though her current title is not CISO.
Mary Rose Martinez — Chief Information Security Officer and Vice President of Infrastructure, Marathon Petroleum
Mary Rose Martinez serves as Chief Information Security Officer and Vice President of Infrastructure at Marathon Petroleum, adding another major energy-sector leader to Texas’s cyber landscape. She also previously held CISO leadership roles at Halliburton, where she was accountable for global cybersecurity and IT architecture, giving her a long track record in securing large, operationally complex enterprises.
With more than 30 years in IT across infrastructure, architecture, project leadership, and cybersecurity, she brings unusual range to the executive security role. Her experience across Halliburton, Marathon Petroleum, and industry bodies such as ONG-ISAC reflects the kind of cross-functional and sector-wide leadership that matters deeply in energy and critical infrastructure environments.
Security Leadership Across Texas’s Biggest Industries
What stands out about these women in Texas cybersecurity is not just their titles, but the range of environments they help secure. They are leading or shaping cyber strategy inside airlines, universities, global consumer data firms, veterinary and healthcare-related organizations, and some of the most consequential energy businesses in the country. That breadth makes Texas one of the strongest regions in the country for high-level cyber leadership, and these executives are a big part of why.
For Women’s History Month, we’re spotlighting female cybersecurity leaders shaping the future of security across industries and regions. Explore more features in our Women’s Month series.