Better Futures: “The Cyber Queen of San Antonio”

EP. 2 [San Antonio’s Westside]: Meet Amanda Lee Keammerer “Cyber Queen of San Antonio”, a trailblazing woman in the tech industry, dedicated to bridging the gap between the worlds of privacy policy and cybersecurity.

Born and raised in San Antonio, Amanda is a proud Chicana with a German last name, and from a family that instilled in her an insatiable intellectual curiosity that drove her to strive for more.After attending Smith College, a women’s college, Amanda discovered her passion for policy and marketing campaigns that could amplify people’s voices and change their world.

Later, while pursuing a graduate degree in Global Communication at the Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington D.C., Amanda discovered her love for the complex world of cybersecurity and information security, where she saw another gap that needed to be filled: translating complicated subjects into accessible information that everyone can understand.Her hard work, determination, and passion eventually paid off when she served as a Presidential appointee for the Obama Administration, where she assisted the Federal Chief Information Officer and the Federal Chief Information Security Officer.

Amanda’s views on gender equality and equity shaped her road to the White House, where she contributed to the strengthening of the nation’s cybersecurity posture.Today, Amanda is a mentor for other women and minorities in tech, showing them how to leverage their knowledge into an exciting career. Amanda believes that job titles are not everything and that life is too short to reject a job that brings joy, offers an opportunity to learn, and provides a paycheck.

Recently, she was named the first-ever managing director of the @gener8tor Cybersecurity Accelerator in partnership with @Geekdomsa, where she harnesses the power of the cyber ecosystem right in her hometown of San Antonio. Oh, and she’s also an entrepreneur, serving as the founder of Javilud, focusing on consultancy at the intersection of technology, people, politics, and art! Amanda’s journey is a testament to the power of perseverance, resilience, and resourcefulness, and her story is an inspiration to us all.

-Beto