Arizona’s cybersecurity leadership landscape continues to expand alongside its growing presence in financial services, retail, public sector systems, and enterprise technology. The state brings together leaders responsible for securing large-scale consumer platforms, modernizing cloud environments, and managing risk across complex, highly regulated organizations. The women featured here represent a broader spectrum of cybersecurity leadership, from enterprise CISOs to risk transformation leaders and community builders shaping the future of the industry.
Dina Mathers — Chief Information Security Officer, Carvana
Dina Mathers serves as Chief Information Security Officer at Carvana, where she leads the enterprise security program for one of the most prominent digital automotive retail platforms in the United States. She operates under the philosophy that “security is a team sport,” emphasizing strong collaboration across engineering, business, and operational teams to drive meaningful security outcomes.
Beyond her core responsibilities, Mathers is deeply embedded in the cybersecurity leadership ecosystem, holding advisory and governance roles with Cyberstarts, CyberRisk Collaborative, and CISO ExecNet. Her work reflects a modern CISO approach that blends operational execution with industry influence and community engagement.
Ashley Devoto — Chief Information Security Officer, Discount Tire
Ashley Devoto is Chief Information Security Officer at Discount Tire, where she leads cybersecurity strategy for a large-scale retail enterprise. With over 18 years of experience, she has built and transformed cybersecurity programs across both public and private sectors.
Her previous roles include serving as CISO at Booz Allen Hamilton and President & CISO at CISO Global, where she led complex security organizations and drove strategic transformation initiatives. Devoto is known for combining deep technical expertise with strong leadership and mentorship, and she remains active in the cybersecurity investment and advisory space through organizations such as Cyberstarts and NightDragon.
organizations such as Cyberstarts and NightDragon.
Seema Patel — Chief Information Security Officer, Maricopa County
Seema Patel serves as Chief Information Security Officer for Maricopa County, one of the largest county governments in the United States. Appointed in October 2024, she is responsible for leading cybersecurity strategy across a broad public-sector environment that includes healthcare systems, infrastructure, and citizen-facing services.
Her background across information security, health systems, and government operations gives her a strong multidisciplinary perspective. In a role where cybersecurity directly impacts public trust and essential services, Patel’s leadership focuses on resilience, governance, and operational effectiveness at scale.
Tonia Dudley — Business Information Security Officer Manager, Western Alliance Bank
Tonia Dudley brings extensive executive cybersecurity experience, including serving as Chief Information Security Officer at Cofense. In her current role at Western Alliance Bank, she continues to shape security strategy within the financial services sector.
Her career spans incident response, security awareness, enterprise risk management, and compliance frameworks. Dudley has consistently focused on building security-first cultures and aligning cybersecurity programs with business objectives. She has also contributed to the broader industry through board-level work with the National Cybersecurity Alliance and leadership in cybersecurity awareness initiatives.
Ashley Palms — Head of Cybersecurity & Enterprise Risk Transformation, Avalara
Ashley Palms leads cybersecurity and enterprise risk transformation at Avalara, where she focuses on building scalable, global risk programs across multiple industries. Her work spans AI risk governance, regulatory compliance, and enterprise risk strategy, positioning cybersecurity as a key driver of business value.
She has led initiatives that significantly reduced operational risk, improved regulatory alignment, and delivered measurable cost savings. Palms is also active in advancing the cybersecurity community, including board involvement with Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) and founding initiatives focused on supporting women in the field.
Jessica Hebenstreit — AVP Information Security, Benevity
Jessica Hebenstreit is a cybersecurity executive with more than two decades of experience leading enterprise security programs across technology, financial services, and healthcare. In her current role at Benevity, she focuses on aligning security strategy with business outcomes while overseeing core areas such as product security, governance, and risk management.
Her background includes building security operations from the ground up, leading ISO 27001 initiatives, and advising organizations on M&A-related security considerations. In addition to her corporate leadership, she contributes to the broader security community as a faculty member with IANS Research, where she advises senior security leaders and enterprise teams.
Strengthening Arizona’s Cybersecurity Leadership Bench
Arizona’s cybersecurity ecosystem reflects a blend of enterprise innovation, financial services security, public-sector responsibility, and risk transformation at scale. The leaders featured here demonstrate how cybersecurity leadership continues to expand beyond traditional CISO roles into areas such as AI governance, enterprise risk strategy, and workforce development. As organizations navigate increasingly complex threat environments, these women are helping define how modern cybersecurity programs are built, operated, and aligned with long-term business success.
Explore more profiles in CISO Whisperer’s Women’s Month series.