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FORT EISENHOWER, GA. – Making history and breaking barriers are just a few of the major accomplishments the Cyber Center of Excellence’s own Deputy Commanding General, Army National Guard, Major General Stefanie Horvath’s career has seen so far.
Maj. Gen. Horvath’s trail blazing path into information technology and cyber was not always as laser focused as it is today- in fact her original path to college began with a musical performance scholarship awarded to her in high school as a French Hornist.
Maj. Gen. Horvath’s creativity in the arts, and ambition for innovation guided her career path from an early age. Her desire to learn and hunger to be challenged was the driving force behind her enlistment in the Minnesota National Guard. In the beginning, the Guard meant funding for her college education, but what transpired became her life’s passion and her main creative outlet aside from music. While music was her passion, being creatively employed made her flip the switch into technology.
Growing up, she watched her mother overcome challenges and find success in IT after losing her longtime job as a secretary. Seeing her mother successfully overcome adversity and succeed in a new field, was all the reason she needed to pivot from opera and chamber music performances to information technology and computer science. She transitioned into cyber a decade ago to focus more on protecting information systems as the number of attacks and data breaches increased.
Early on in her career with the Minnesota National Guard, Maj. Gen. Horvath found her niche. Her desire to find solutions for complex communication issues led to her creating capabilities that never existed before like the migration of an entire division network to a new satellite communications system while deployed with the 34th “Red Bull” Infantry Division.
Maj. Gen. Horvath prides herself on expanding opportunities for soldiers and building more Army capabilities such as building the Women’s Leadership Forum which provided training to all female soldiers and airmen in the Minnesota National Guard focused on unique topics females face while serving. Or creating the Cyber Protection Team, comprised of 39 personnel, the first cyber force structure for the State of Minnesota.
In addition to being the CCoE Deputy Commanding General, (Army National Guard) and Assistant Adjutant General (Minnesota National Guard), she is also the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Minnesota’s capital, the City of St. Paul.
In her role as CISO, Maj. Gen. Horvath secures the networks, applications and data for city departments like Police, Fire, Public Works and Mayor’s Office that manage a city and deliver critical services to residents.
Horvath holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice & sociology from North Dakota State University, a master’s in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College and a master’s in cyber security from EC-Council University.
“Mastery is critical to the success in the cyber domain,” Maj. Gen. Horvath said. Cyber is deeply rooted in Information Technology and Communication systems. The best cyber professionals are ones who concentrated on the architecture of a network, programming language or an operating system. A deep well of understanding the technology expands creative and critical thinking, problem solving and analysis for successful cyber missions.”
She credits her Army leaders for guiding her on the path to success as Minnesota National Guard’s only two-star female general. “T[hey] saw my value and selected me for specific assignments by recognizing my talents and abilities and leveraging them to advance the Army’s mission.”
She credits mostly women mentors for their roles in her life outside of the Army, such as her mother and Minnesota state leaders who have remained a steady source of encouragement throughout her career and personal life.
“Cyber represents the broad and advanced skills to secure and defend our network while maneuvering to gain advantages against adversaries,” Maj. Gen. Horvath said “We must outmatch our adversaries in capacity and capabilities.
She brings that experience and knowledge to the CCoE where she will focus on individualized Soldier training and development, fighting for resources for the CCoE and its respective schoolhouses, and ensure that everyone understands this Center of Excellence is the MOST important Center of Excellence to the Army’s mission.
“The Cyber Center of Excellence is the future of the Army and actively trains the warfighters of tomorrow,” said Horvath. “Engaged and encouraging leadership is critical to the success of the Soldiers under their guidance and to advance the Army’s overall mission success.”
There is no other Center of Excellence equally fitted as an outlet to share her intellect and wisdom in securing the nation’s cyber domain.
| Date Taken: | 01.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.21.2025 15:11 |
| Story ID: | 489416 |
| Location: | MANKATO, MINNESOTA, US |
| Hometown: | MANKATO, MINNESOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 158 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Leadership Spotlight: Maj. Gen. Stefanie Horvath, leading Cyber innovation, by Kaylyn St.Jean, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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