Ep.161 The CISO's 3-Step Guide to Building an Unstoppable Cyber Community with Candace Wynn is the Cyber Community Ops Manager and Warren Sponholtz is the Deputy State CISO at Florida Digital Service

Welcome to our TechTables' Team Spotlight Series, where we spotlight innovative teams and unpack the human stories behind their digital transformations. This limited 5-part series was live from Tallahassee at the Florida Digital Service earlier this year (2023). This is Part 1 of 5.

---

Candace Wynn is the Cyber Community Ops Manager and Warren Sponholtz is the Deputy State CISO at Florida Digital Service. They discuss how Florida is taking steps to improve cybersecurity through grants, incident response, and community building.

Connect with Candace: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candacemwynn/
Connect with Warren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/warren-sponholtz/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• About the $30 million Cybersecurity Grant Program to help local communities improve cyber resilience
• How Florida Digital Service acts as a security operations center to help agencies respond faster to cyber incidents
• Why cybersecurity works best as a team sport
• How Candace is connecting Florida’s cyber community through working groups and events
• The key role empathy and relationship-building play in statewide collaboration
• Warren’s perspective on Candace’s strengths in organizing the Cyber Advisory Council
• Advice for CIOs and CISOs looking to develop stronger cyber communities

Timestamps

00:00​ - Introducing Warren & Candace
02:30​ - Florida’s $30 million cyber grant program
05:00​ - Warren on the importance of cyber collaboration
07:26​ - Candace’s background before community building
10:35​ - Warren highlights Candace's strengths
13:15​ - Candace discusses the Cyber Advisory Council
18:00​ - Connecting agencies through working groups
22:28​ - Building empathy and trust with stakeholders
25:17​ - Candace’s statewide outreach to locals

⭐️ Leave a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, ⁠please leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts⁠ and let us know who you want to see next on the podcast in your review. Thanks!

You can also Tweet us on ⁠@thejoetoste⁠ and tell us what lessons you learned from the episode so we can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏🙏

📬 Subscribe to the newsletter

🔗 Connect with TechTables

LinkedIn TechTables ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/techtables/
LinkedIn - Connect with Joe! ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtoste/
Twitter https://twitter.com/thejoetoste
Follow us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/techtablespodcast/
Website ⁠https://www.techtables.com/

🎥 Upcoming Live Podcast Tours

1. 2026 IGNITE Powered by Info-Tech LIVE - Austin, TX - Sept. 17th-18th

If you’re an IT leader in Austin, Houston, or nearby, Info-Tech’s got complimentary tickets with your name on them (just DM me I’ll be there). IGNITE is getting past the AI hype and into the real questions CIOs are wrestling with: how to get your people actually using AI, what the shift from “employee in the loop” to “employee on the loop” looks like, and how to budget when the costs keep moving up.

→ Ready to join the conversation in person? Email joe@techtables.com

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can connect with TechTables:

1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter

Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox.

2. 🤝 Are you a local government CIO who wants to become a better leader?

Check out our high-trust, vendor-free peer group built for local government CIOs tackling real challenges, honest conversations, and an authentic desire to become a better leader — our next retreat is November 4th-6th in Austin, TX!

Learn more → https://techtables.com/communities-local-government

3. 🤝 The Better Together Series

The narrative-driven series bringing together industry partners and public sector CXOs. Discover the compelling stories that unfold when we stop working in silos and start building together.

»»» Email joe@techtables.com to learn more.