Welcome to the ISACA Singapore Chapter and to my #IamISACA story! My name is Jenny Tan. I am the chapter’s current Honorary Treasurer as well as SheLeadsTech Champion. I am also proud to be the only woman on the chapter board since I’ve joined the chapter five years ago. Let me be your ISACA Singapore Chapter ambassador today and walk you through my ISACA experience!
But first, let me tell you why I became involved in ISACA in the first place. I was attending an IT security post-graduate diploma class one evening five years ago. My lecturer happened to be the ISACA Singapore Chapter’s president. I casually mentioned my interest to contribute to the community through a professional platform. He knew I was an auditor. Coincidentally, or perhaps it was fate, my lecturer told me that the chapter would be having its annual general meeting in a month’s time, and they needed a treasurer and a new board director. Soon, I was elected as the chapter treasurer, and it has proven to be a tremendous relationship ever since.
I am passionate about contributing back to society from a professional platform and ISACA is the right choice and best platform to do so. Since the day I came on board, it has been a very fruitful and purposeful journey. As a member, I contribute to the community’s knowledge base at events, either as participant or speaker, sharing from my technology risk and assurance professional experience. As a board director, I am fortunate to have had the opportunities to:
- Chair the 2017 annual GTACS (Governance | Technology | Audit | Controls | Security) conference
- Choreograph our chapter’s celebration program for ISACA’s 50th anniversary
- Design thematic seminar programs,
- Represent the chapter as a judge in cybersecurity awards programs
In 2019, I pioneered our chapter’s SheLeadsTech program, creating another network to complement our existing chapter network championing female leadership in the technology space. I took up the challenge because I think I can inspire more women to step out of their comfort zone, step up in their respective roles, and acknowledge and accept our contributions in the technology space. I champion SheLeadsTech because I want to make a difference in the community and close the gender gap to promote inclusivity.
This year, I’ve introduced a membership induction program to attract those who are interested but unsure about committing to an ISACA full membership to try out our local chapter’s activities for a period of one year. And there are more stories that I could tell!
My intention is to share how exciting my experiences with the ISACA Singapore Chapter have been. Professionally and personally, I have benefited from the community by enhancing my technology knowledge, understanding and deploying good practices and establishing my network. Such benefits have been extremely helpful in my career development as well as my personal development. It helps when you have friends from a common community and technical space to be able to discuss matters openly. The friendship made from the community has definitely boosted my resourcefulness and provided moral support.
I am blessed that our chapter’s board of directors are all as passionate and open-minded. We will agree to disagree on some matters and make decisions based on the wider benefit of ISACA’s mission and vision instead of anyone’s personal agenda. With our hard work and commitment, the ISACA Singapore Chapter won the 2019 Regional NPO (not-for-profit organization) Cybersecurity Award. My professional and volunteering contribution to the community, society and profession has been recognized by the technology network, and as such I was recognized among Singapore’s Top 20 Women in Cybersecurity.
Lastly, ISACA is not just about technical relationships. We come together to give back to society. Last year’s ISACA CommunITy Day brought our members and their families together to “walk-for-rice.” We managed to walk approximately 9km journey in total and contributed about 1,755 bowls of rice for needy families!
I will end by saying that I am proud to be associated with ISACA. The association has given me a platform and a network that will continuously be beneficial to me professionally and personally. ISACA membership has been my best investment to date!