Message from the Chair

The first quarter of the new calendar year has been a busy one across FIRST programs. I would like to thank each of you for the various ways you have already contributed and plan to in the coming months. I recently had the privilege of speaking with several new member teams to learn more about their teams, what FIRST programs may be the most beneficial to them, as well as to identify ways their teams can contribute back into the FIRST community. These types of conversations do not require a lot of time but are mutually beneficial. I understand that we all have busy schedules, but if you are presented an opportunity to engage with new members, even if it is just to answer a question, I highly encourage you to take a moment to do so. These acts may seem small, but they are the building blocks of trust and collaboration.

No matter what our individual roles are in cybersecurity, collaboration is a key requirement. To be an effective collaborator, it is important to understand the roles of others and the unique challenges they face. While national-level incident response teams represent a fraction of the overall FIRST membership, their roles are extensive and directly and indirectly influence the security of many organizations and nations. For example, you can learn more about some of their unique responsibilities in this quarter’s newsletter.

The Board of Directors has also been busy shifting from operational to strategic governance. The initial result of these efforts is the launch of the FIRST Strategy Framework. You can read more about the framework, the FIRST Strategic Plan 2025-2028, and the ongoing work towards the Operating and Financial Plan, as explained in Strategy and Governance: Launch of the FIRST Strategy Framework.

As always, feel free to reach out to me if you have questions or just want to introduce your team. I look forward to seeing many of you at VulnCon this month and the Annual FIRST Conference in June. In the meantime, continue to listen and learn from each other!

Published on FIRST POST: Jan-Mar 2025