Education

Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service

B.S., International Politics

Podcasts

42:37

151: What a Threat Intelligence Analyst Does at Facebook & Why Coding Isn’t Necessary w/ Lauren Boas Hayes, Facebook [Main T4C episode]

Lauren Boas Hayes, a Threat Intelligence Analyst at Facebook, has built a career in cybersecurity as a practical application of her passions: human rights and social justice. A graduate of Georgetown University’s Class of 2013, Lauren majored in International Politics, completed a concentration in Security Studies and earned a certificate..

19:45

195: How to Break Into Cybersecurity at Facebook w/ Lauren Boas Hayes, Facebook [Espresso Shots]

Career Path

Interview Highlights

“I have specific questions that I’m trying to answer. And I’m just looking through the data to try to figure out whether or not I can identify signals that might indicate that type of cyber security concern. And then if I find it, then really interpreting it and saying, what can we learn from this? What does it mean and how do we respond? And making those decisions and either making them myself or teeing those decisions up for decision makers across the company who should be making that final decision and actioning.”

Best Career Advice

“Find a way to identify where those interests in human rights and in social justice work intersect with a field that’s developing and changing, because that way you’ll be able to have an impact on those issues you care about forever and in a space that really needs experts.”

Career Challenge

“I’ve had a couple of instances in which I either identified an opportunity for a publication or I supported writing a paper or I helped to bring a

speaker to our organization that ultimately I didn’t end up getting credit for, or wasn’t listed as an author on certain papers that I’ve written. I was considered a ghost writer for something when I actually knew I was the one who did the work and had expected to be recognized for that.

And it’s something I really struggle with at a really personal level, to understand when it’s appropriate and necessary to advocate for myself in those situations and when it’s just the norm. And I think it’s also really challenging to disentangle some of the gender and age dynamics there of saying, you know, am I being passed over for this opportunity because I’m young or because I’m a woman or do I need to be more direct or more vocal in advocating for my representation in this? And I think that those stand out as some of the most challenging moments in my career, because they didn’t feel like they just impacted my professional life. They really felt like they impacted my identity and really challenged the ways that I operate in the ways that I work.”