Erin Towne, a Chapel Hill resident with experience in business analysis and process architecture, joined the Information Security Office today as a senior program business analyst for information security.
Towne, who is no stranger to ITS, will lead program analysis and communication mechanisms for the information security program.
She will “deliver critical improvements in how our institution’s security program coordinates and advances,” said Paul Rivers, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Security Officer. “She will do this by increasing the rigor of how we assess the delivery of security outcomes, establish a common language of security across UNC and expand the depth of cybersecurity reporting to University leadership. Erin will also coordinate, extend or improve cybersecurity mechanisms such as training, the Information Security Liaison program and October’s cybersecurity awareness month.”
New role
This is a new role within the Information Security Office. Towne stood out among the strong field of candidates.
“Erin has demonstrated abilities to analyze complex programs, create practical solutions, coordinate implementations, and communicate at all levels on strategy and outcomes,” Rivers said. “I am thrilled to have her join Information Security and am looking forward to what she will help us accomplish on behalf of UNC.”
If Towne’s name sounds familiar, it’s because she is a returning ITS employee. She worked at ITS between 2018 and 2021 as ITS Service Desk Walk-In and Chat Manager and as ServiceNow Business Engagement Analyst. After gaining expertise in ServiceNow by rolling out the customer support tool to UNC, Towne moved on to private-sector employers that could benefit from her new proficiencies.
“Truthfully, I never wanted to leave ITS,” Towne said. “However, I fell in love with business analysis during the ServiceNow implementation and opted to leave Carolina to pursue that. This role felt like a gem I couldn’t pass up applying for given the skill set so closely aligned to my own. Having the opportunity to return to ITS feels like moving home.”
Over the last several years, she “followed ServiceNow for a full tour of its ecosystem, including roles in business analysis and global IT service management in financial and life science verticals,” she said. “Most recently, I joined a small ServiceNow partner to experience the consulting side as a business process architect. Ultimately, I decided I thrive in an environment where I can build long-term relationships internal to an organization.”
About Erin Towne
Title: senior program business analyst for information security
Education: Bachelor’s degree in sociology, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Area of residence: Upstate New York transplant. Has lived in Chapel Hill for seven years
Family: Recently celebrated her 17th wedding anniversary with her husband Jonathan. They have two teen daughters, one of whom just graduated high school. Have a beloved cat named Gretel
Hobbies: An avid reader. Recently found a love for live music and expects to see more than 20 shows this year. Spends many weekends at a vacation house on a river in a valley of the Appalachian Mountains in southwest Virginia
Top priority to build relationships
In her new role with the ISO, Towne will be able to apply her strong communication and collaboration skills to work with customers and partners across the University. She will prioritize building relationships with stakeholders across campus to build a community of practice surrounding IT security at Carolina.
Another top priority, she said, is to understand and align expectations for the role with the ISO team so she can make an impact quickly.
While working in business analysis and process architecture, Towne gained skills that will enable her to assist Rivers with “road mapping an attainable implementation of the security program,” she said. “In addition, my experience listening to business users, gathering requirements and translating them into effective solutions will inform interactions and communications across campus and how the IT security team interacts with its users.”
She will work closely with Rivers to organize and implement the new security plan and with various groups on campus that interact with the security program. Her responsibilities will include helping to establish and organize visibility, documentation, key performance indicators and communication with all levels of stakeholders.