Katie Cipkala is a Virginia Tech graduate and seasoned IT professional, with 20 years as a utility player in S&P 500 and Fortune 500 companies. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Currently leading LPL Financial’s cybersecurity board/executive communications, awareness and training, she uses storytelling to make complex cybersecurity topics accessible to non-technical audiences from the critical first line of defense up to the board of directors.

Prior to joining LPL, Katie was the Technical Communications Leader at Trane Technologies, where she directed global change management communications for IT infrastructure and cybersecurity and managed board of directors & executive communications. Her career at Trane Technologies (previously Ingersoll Rand) began in internal audit, moving from US-based to international assignments. She combined her expertise as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Certified Forensic Accountant with a love for travel, leading to an expatriate assignment in Belgium. Here she established an international fraud & compliance investigations team and gained experience in 34 countries. Once the team structure was mature, she moved on to a new challenge to build cybersecurity awareness, policy and governance processes before taking on cybersecurity chief of staff responsibilities.

Katie is an enthusiastic volunteer with three passions - encouraging girls to explore STEM opportunities, providing non-profit and school-based cybersecurity education and volunteering at the humane society with her children. She has spent five years partnering with Project Scientist, a non-profit that provides STEM education to girls, many from underserved communities. During this time, she was interviewed by NPR, was honored to receive the 2022 ‘Volunteer of the Year’ award and is now a member of their Scientific Advisory Council. Katie also enjoys skilled volunteering with Apparo, a non-profit that delivers critical technology support to other non-profits.  While she has volunteered with Apparo for several years and recently joined their Digital Leaders Council.

If you caught the earlier baseball reference (utility player), you may have (correctly) inferred that Katie is frequently found at the ball fields with her three boys and two dogs.