By Jonathan Morales

November 20, 2024

A manager once told Lynda Grindstaff ‘95 (Computer Science) that having children meant she would never become a vice president. Another told her he didn’t want to waste a promotion on someone who would probably quit for her family. Yet another obstructed a promotion, because he assumed that, as a working mother, it would be too difficult for her.

Despite the obstacles throughout her long career in technology and cybersecurity, Grindstaff isn’t focused on vindictiveness.

Instead, the Sacramento State alumna pays it forward by using her skills, expertise and, yes, her experience with gender discrimination, to benefit organizations that promote opportunities for women in STEM.

That includes her alma mater, where she serves on the Industrial Advisory Board for Sacramento State’s College of Engineering and Computer Science.

“I wanted to stay involved at Sac State and give back because … CSUS gave me the tools in my toolbox,” Grindstaff said. "If there is a way I could help other students, I wanted to."

Grindstaff was first exposed to computers when her dad, who worked at IBM, brought home a PCjr, a home system produced by the company in the mid-80s. She began teaching herself how to program in BASIC, and her interest continued as she got older. In high school, she attended an Expanding Your Horizons career event for girls, which featured a presentation by a woman in the burgeoning computer industry.

“I was like, ‘Wow, this is interesting, and I think this is going to be big in the future,’ ” she said. “I decided to major in computer science, and computer science was pretty new at the time.”

After her mother encouraged her to stay local for college to avoid debt, she enrolled at Sac State and kept busy with her Computer Science classes as well as her near full-time job. One of only two women in her class, she also found a mentor in then- Computer Science Chair Anne-Louise Radimsky, a rare woman faculty member in the field. Grindstaff joined the Society of Women Engineers, an organization in which she continues to be involved as a life member, and landed an internship at Intel.

And when Intel hired her immediately upon graduation, she knew she had the skills and confidence to succeed.

“Sac State prepares you well and puts lots of tools in your toolbox,” she said. “You just never know as you continue on the journey what tool you’ll need to pull out.”

Grindstaff spent nearly two decades working at Intel, eventually rising to senior director of security innovation before moving to McAfee, where she worked for nearly seven years and became vice president of engineering.

It was an impressive resume in an important field. Then, in 2023, she chose to walk away from corporate America.

“Life is too short, and I wanted to do things that I was passionate about and do it on my own time,” Grindstaff said. “Helping women and exposing women to opportunities that they may not know about.”

Knowing women are in the minority in boardrooms, Grindstaff has been pursuing memberships on company boards. She is currently on the board of directors for OFGBancorp, a diversified financial holding company headquartered in Puerto Rico, and Women’s Empowerment, a nonprofit that helps women and children experiencing homelessness. She is also on the advisory board for How Women Lead, a fellowship program for women leaders, is a founding limited partner for How Women Invest, and is a strategic advisor for the Sacramento startup accelerator Growth Factory.

It’s work that is motivated in part by the barriers she faced as a woman in a field that continues to be dominated by men, where she said, “men are promoted or even hired on their potential, and women have to prove themselves before they are promoted or hired.”

She spends a large part of her time educating people about unconscious bias, which can lead to the type of discrimination she faced.

“We all have biases, good and bad, and it’s OK. You just need to be aware of them and try to remove them from your decision making,” Grindstaff said.

As a member of the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Industrial Advisory Board, Grindstaff provides advice and insight to the dean, engages with students, faculty and staff at college events, and helps with philanthropic priorities.

Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) Dean Kevan Shafizadeh called Grindstaff a “wonderful” addition to the advisory board who has helped to recruit additional board members, participated in industry panels and other events, and has helped promote broader representation in the college and STEM fields overall.

“She has provided energy and a fresh perspective on some ongoing opportunities and challenges within the college,” he said. “She has also been generous with her time, providing strategic guidance and being an active member of the advisory board.”

To learn more about the ECS Advisory Board, including to express interest in serving on the board, visit the college's web page or email Shafizadeh.