New Jersey’s cybersecurity leadership bench reflects the state’s unusual mix of higher education, financial services, life sciences, and industry-wide influence. The women in this feature represent leaders securing complex institutions, advising organizations through risk and compliance challenges, and shaping the broader cybersecurity profession itself. Some are operating directly inside organizations with formal CISO responsibility, while others are driving impact through founder-led leadership, privacy transformation, and executive security strategy. That range matters because it shows how cybersecurity leadership in New Jersey extends beyond one sector or one type of role. It is a state where enterprise security, regulatory depth, and community influence intersect in meaningful ways.
Sharon Kelley — Executive Director for Information Security & Chief Information Security Officer, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Sharon Kelley is Executive Director for Information Security & Chief Information Security Officer at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where she leads information security strategy for a major academic institution. Her background includes more than 19 years of experience across security, network, and systems environments, with strengths in security architecture, incident management, compliance, crisis response, and infrastructure protection. Before joining NJIT, she served as Director of Information Security and Compliance at Hudson and previously worked in security leadership and technical roles with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Stevens Institute of Technology, NIKSUN, and Bessemer Trust. She stands out for the depth of her hands-on security and network experience, her long record of supporting complex institutional environments, and her focus on aligning security strategy with organizational goals and regulatory demands.
Kelly Lindsey Isikoff — Managing Director US Chief Information Security Officer, RBC
Kelly Lindsey Isikoff is Managing Director US Chief Information Security Officer at RBC, bringing 25 years of experience across financial services, media, SaaS, startups, and government. Before joining RBC, she served as Chief Information Security Officer at Common Securitization Solutions and AXIS Capital, and held cyber security advisory and CISO leadership roles with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, RenaissanceRe, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and Citi. Her background spans board reporting, enterprise security, application security, security operations, governance, privacy, identity and access management, business continuity, M&A due diligence, and Zero Trust. She stands out for combining deep technical credibility with executive and board-level influence, particularly in highly regulated financial environments where security programs must support both resilience and business goals.
Joyce Brocaglia — Founder & CEO, Alta Associates; Founder, Executive Women’s Forum
Joyce Brocaglia is the Founder & CEO of Alta Associates and the Founder of the Executive Women’s Forum, two organizations that have had a major impact on cybersecurity, risk management, and technology leadership. Through Alta Associates, she built the first executive search firm specializing in cybersecurity and IT risk management, and through the Executive Women’s Forum she created a trusted global community focused on developing and advancing leaders in cybersecurity, risk, and technology. Her work has also included founding BoardSuited to help professionals prepare for board service, along with long-standing advisory work for senior executives and boards. She stands out in this feature not as an in-house CISO, but as one of New Jersey’s most important cybersecurity industry builders, with a lasting influence on leadership pipelines, executive networks, and the advancement of women in the field.
Dalal Samaan — Chief Information Security Officer, Keenova
Dalal Samaan is Chief Information Security Officer at Keenova, bringing more than 20 years of experience across cybersecurity, privacy, compliance, and data governance in global life sciences. Her recent work also includes consulting through DS&P Consulting Services, while her earlier leadership roles at Organon and Merck covered privacy operations, digital privacy, compliance monitoring, risk identification, remediation tracking, analytics dashboards, data subject rights processes, supplier privacy assessments, incident management tracking, and CISO strategy advisement. Her profile reflects a leadership style centered on making security and privacy understandable, actionable, and connected to business decision-making. She stands out for the way she bridges strategy, technology, analytics, and culture to help organizations build trust in how they use data and technology.
Where New Jersey’s Cyber Leadership Gains Its Edge
The leaders in this New Jersey feature show how the state’s cybersecurity influence is built through both institutional responsibility and broader sector leadership. Their work spans universities, major financial organizations, life-sciences environments, and the leadership networks that shape the profession itself. That combination gives New Jersey a distinctive place in the cybersecurity landscape. It is not only home to strong in-house security leaders, but also to people helping define how the industry develops talent, manages risk, and prepares the next generation of decision-makers.
Explore more profiles of the amazing women shaping cybersecurity across numerous industries in our Women’s Month collection.