Today is a day of mixed feelings for me as I publicly announce my resignation from Foundstone Professional Services after nearly five years of employment.

The past years with Foundstone have truly been great to me. I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world, grow as an information security practitioner and project manager and work on interesting information security projects with long-reaching consequences. None of which I can talk about, of course. I have had the opportunity to work with some of the smartest security folks in the industry today. We worked hard and played hard. The past five years have been an awesome experience, however, all things must come to an end.

Let’s rewind…

Nearly five years ago I fell into this position. I was happily serving as the Web Application Security Manager for Digital Insight’s (DI) corporate banking unit. Two Foundstone consultants were training the development team at DI and, thanks to the insistence of their boss, Mark Curphey, we shared dinner and drinks at Fogo de Chao. Dave Raphael, Rudolph Araujo and I met that night in January 2005 and my life changed for the better.

We ate. We drank. (Probably a bit too much!) One thing lead to another and I began enquiring about their work consulting, the work environment, the travel, etc. I had no interest in taking a job, yet I found myself engaged in a conversation that was clearly leading in that direction. Rudy and Dave were emailing Mark through the evening. The next thing I knew I had an interview with Foundstone set up for the following week.

I told myself I didn’t want to be a “conslutant”. I didn’t want to travel. I wouldn’t like being on the road. An offer was made. I still couldn’t envision making such a drastic change from my desk jockey job at DI. Steph and I talked it over repeatedly. We decided that I would only consult for one year. I could take the opportunity to learn, grow my skills, mature as an information security professional and then head back into a “normal” position with my new skills. On February 18, 2005 I became the newest member of Foundstone Professional Services consulting team. One year turned into two, then three. Steph and I had conversations about why I couldn’t see doing anything other than consulting. Sure, I worked hard, often seven days a week, and the travel was tough on us when I was on the road week after week. But the projects were interesting and I was still learning on the job every day.

Maya was born April 2, 2008, shortly after my three year anniversary with Foundstone. My outlook on consulting and traveling for work began to change; I wanted to be home more and on the road less.

Since Maya’s birth, my travel schedule did change. Sometimes it was less hectic, I spent months on end working from my home office. Unfortunately, that was lonely; I lacked the intellectual stimulation of being around other type A alpha geeks. On the other hand, I spent more time traveling overseas and doing extended engagements at client sites. In Q2 2009 I spent approximately 11 weeks on the road. At the end of Q3 and beginning of Q4 2009, I spent 8 weeks straight on the road.

In September I made the decision that it was time to look for new employment in order to reduce my travel to 25% or less. Our home was on the market, we were getting ready to move to Seattle after more than three years of planning. Buyers began showing interest in our home; the pieces began to fall into place. I started sending around resumes to companies, primarily located in Seattle, as well as companies that entertained hiring employees for 100% telecommute positions.

Immediately after I started sending out resumes, we accepted an offer on our home! My stress level went through the roof! I am working my tail off all day and every evening I’m doing phone interviews for jobs and working with Steph to manage the process of selling our home, packing and moving 2700 miles across the country. I’m on the road through this process, working every Monday through Friday in suburban Washington, DC! This goes on for about three weeks before I caught a break.

I finagled 3 weekdays when I could work off-site, and parlayed that into a trip to Seattle to look for a rental home. During a quick trip we found a rental in Ballard, had great meals with family and friends, continued phone interviews and had an in-person interview with potential employers, all while working remotely from a hotel during Maya’s nap times. An offer was made and accepted later that same week…

When we decided to move to Seattle it was to be a major lifestyle change. The job fits directly into that lifestyle change. I won’t be traveling, for the most part, and I’ll be home with Steph and Maya for dinner every night. I’m looking forward to spending time at the local farmer’s markets and getting back into the kitchen to cook great food for my family. I’m also excited to get back to my hobbies, homebrewing, running and hiking, and maybe picking up a few new ones. Snow skiing or snow boarding, perhaps? Without traveling for work, I suddenly find myself with the potential for a lot of free time. What a novel concept!

The past few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind! Ten days ago we closed on the sale of our house in Atlanta and I started driving west. After four days of driving I landed in Seattle and was joined by Steph and Maya the next day. Last week we moved into a rental home in Ballard, this is just a temporary place to land, we’re going to look to buy a home once we get settled and determine where we want to live. We’re still buried in boxes, though each day there are fewer to navigate around. We’re getting used to living in Seattle, catching up with some of our local friends and family and starting what feels like a brand new life here in the Pacific NW. It will be a challenge leaving behind everything we knew in Atlanta, but we’re both up for it. Today I am back to work at Foundstone as I wrap up the loose ends on my projects over the next 2 weeks.

So where am I going? What will I be doing? I have accepted a job with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a Senior Information Security Analyst, where I will be taking the skills I have honed over the past years and applying them within the Foundation. That’s all I can really say for now, though I may have more to add after I start with the Foundation on 12/7/2009.