Trevor Long

Background

About Trevor Long

I started my technology journey in 2017. At the time, I was working at Mercy House as a Data Analyst. I was informed by the HR Director that they needed an IT guy and she asked me if I was interested in the position. I have always been a bit of a computer nerd, so I graciously accepted. At the time, Mercy House, a small non-profit serving the homeless community in Orange County, CA, had fewer than 100 permanent employees. I was acting as the "IT Liaison" between the organization and an IT consulting group operating out of Los Angeles county. Essentially, I was there to plug in the computers and be a pair of hand on-site for the consultants who operated primarily remotely. As time went on, however, the organization grew.and grew.and grew some more. Determined to grow with it, I developed my skills and knowledge in step. I attended California State University, Fullerton. I also began to pursue my first few industry certifications at this time. I moved from an "IT Liaison" to a fully fledged IT Associate. My job duties changed to handling helpdesk tickets, implementing the networks for new shelters as they rose up, and managing the company's IT resources. But the organization didn't stop growing there. As we grew past 200.300.400 employees, it became too much for just one person to handle. We hired a few new IT associates and I took on the role of the IT Administrator. I was now responsible for managing the organization's IT team and budget. I supervised all the staff, managed shifts, delegated tasks, streamlined ticketing efficiency, approved purchases, and assisted the accounting department code all purchases to their respective grants. All of those roles remained, but Governance, Risk, and Compliance soon became my primary responsibilities. Our organization, as it grew from the small non-profit that it was, had very little formal IT governance. I worked with our Chief Operations Officer to craft and maintain a full suite of IT and Cybersecurity Policies including Acceptable Use, Mobile Device Management, Remote Work, etc. I also spearheaded a project to bring the organization into compliance with HIPAA. We implemented a fully functional, comprehensive end-user security awareness training platform. Cybersecurity is a passion of mine. I'm a huge fan of Steve Gibson's Security Now podcast and Brian Kreb's newsletter/blog. I'm also very active in the r/cybersecurity subreddit. I love to stay abreast of current developments in the threat landscape and the tools available to mitigate those threats.