Cognitive Risk, Neurodivergence, and the Unspoken Realities of Security Leadership

In this episode of Audience 1st Podcast, Dani Woolf sits down with Val Popke to explore the unspoken human dimensions of cybersecurity leadership.

Val, a veteran, assurance leader, and self-described “Wandering Cyber Vulva,” challenges the industry’s prevailing narratives around hiring, communication, inclusion, and resilience. The discussion goes beyond traditional security frameworks to uncover the cognitive and cultural risks impacting practitioners at all levels.

Listeners will walk away with a deeper understanding of why burnout, disconnect, and distrust are systemic, not personal, and how security leaders must evolve to lead in environments of increasing complexity, diversity, and psychological strain.

Key Themes:

• Why psychological safety and cognitive clarity are prerequisites for functional security operations.
• How the industry’s hidden majority is misaligned with traditional corporate norms and what needs to change.
• The mismatch between capability and visibility in how cyber professionals are evaluated and excluded.
• A linguistic and philosophical reframe that emphasizes collaborative understanding over performative inclusion.
• Why many security professionals are forced to protect their organizations from internal dysfunction while defending against external threats.
• Trust, mission, and why so many veterans find a natural home in cyber until corporate incentives erode that foundation.

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