Shanda Woods

The whole “tell me about yourself” thing has always been hard for me. It’s strange to try to succinctly describe the diverse experiences lived by a late diagnosed neurodivergent Native American Xennial in a way that allows you to instantly get a snapshot of who I am, but here goes!

For over a decade, I was a fitness coach and yoga teacher for some of the most prestigious studios in Honolulu then in New York City. At the same time, I pursued my love for music as a successful Brooklyn-based indie musician, performing in bands called We Are the Wilderness and A Place Both Wonderful and Strange (under the solo artist name OKTI), even earning us a mention in Rolling Stone!

My dual careers in fitness and music taught me a lot about being an entrepreneur, business owner, and leader. Being a musician reinforced my sense of innovation, creativity and deep artistry in conjunction with business skills like marketing, fiscal management, brand development, and audience engagement. While coaching people for over 17 years gave me the ability to lead with clarity, kindness and compassion in order to bring structure to chaos and bring out the best in people.

After a life-changing software engineering bootcamp experience, I transitioned into the tech industry. These facets of myself combined with an academic background in Psychology and Computer Science [concentration in Cognitive Science + AI and Cybersecurity] has given me a unique blend of abilities and allowed me to work at amazing companies like One Trust and Stack Overflow. Now, I'm a Technical Program Manager specializing in Cybersecurity at one of the world’s largest fiber and cloud infrastructure service companies. These experiences have deeply influenced my approach to life as well as the way I work.

So what else am I doing currently? Personally- I still make music for fun (maybe someday I will release stuff I’ve made with my partner) and still teach yoga on a volunteer basis. Professionally- I’m currently pursuing my CompTIA Security+ cert, on deck is an ADHD coaching certification, and I have started a consulting and coaching company called Flow State Coaching Collective!

FSCC offers individual and enterprise coaching services principled in engineering empathy and is specifically geared towards the people, processes, tools and specific organizational challenges found in a tech ecosystem.

If you found any of this cool or helpful, please feel free to connect with me to learn or chat more!