Q: Who are you?

A: Hey! My name is Amanda Berlin, and I do a bunch of things :D I am the Lead Incident Detection Engineer at Blumira, podcast co-host on Brakeing Down Security, author of the Defensive Security Handbook, trainer at Antisyphon, speaker at random places and conferences, and, the reason we’re all here on this page, the CEO of Mental Health Hackers!

Other than that cybersecurity stuff, I live in Ohio with 2 of my 3 boys. The oldest has flown away to work on F35’s in the Marines, and the younger two are here with me, mostly playing Fortnite, but also going on outdoor adventures and playing board games.

Q: What does Mental Health Hackers do?

A: Our motto is “Hackers Helping Hackers.” You can think of it as a peer support group for mental health issues in the infosec community. We run villages and events at conferences, hosting things like tables full of fidget toys, adult coloring, and calligraphy, knitting, paracord crafts, tea & snacks, air loungers (for much needed naps), professional massage therapists giving free chair massages, yoga & meditation sessions, quiet music, soft lighting, therapy dogs, etc. We also sometimes have full talk tracks with presentations, discussion groups, and interactive sessions given by both industry peers and medical health professionals

Honestly, it snowballed into the non-profit that it is today (with our amazing group of volunteers and board members) simply because of the overwhelming response after the first “village” we ran in 2018.

Q: What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen in your line of work?

A: So many things! If we focus on the mental health aspect, I have to say it’s the amount of people we’ve impacted. When I first started, I was blown away by how many people thought they were struggling alone. Whether it was with ADHD, imposter syndrome, thoughts of suicide, depression, and a whole other range of issues — the realization that we all have mental health was just not something people were open about in the community. I’ve had so many people walk up to me, tell me their story, their struggles, and hug and cry on my shoulder. We’re surrounded by so many amazing and supportive people in this community, and it’s the coolest thing ever.

Q: What’s your favorite activity to de-stress?

A: Drawing. I only recently really picked it up. I had always doodled on my kid’s bag lunches or just randomly for fun. When a friend gifted me some art supplies, I decided to try it for real. It’s one of the few things that completely turns my brain off from everything else constantly running through it. I’m still my own harshest critic when it comes to the end result, but practice makes perfect, and I just recently finished my first 200-page sketchbook!

Q: What piece of wisdom would you most like to impart to the people?

A: One of my favorite pieces of advice — and I honestly can’t remember where I heard it — is to never take criticism from someone that you wouldn’t ask for advice. When my book first hit Amazon, I found myself reading reviews and being incredibly upset by them. But I heard this piece of advice and realized that none of the negative reviews mattered. I didn’t know these people, they obviously didn’t read the “who this book is for” section, and I have enough kind and brutally honest people in my corner who would have told me anything that I needed to hear.