Keenan Skelly

CEO/Founder - Divergent Labs | Board Advisor & Strategist | DHS & White House Alum | National Security & Cybersecurity Expert | Disabled Veteran Leader

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

About

I’m a cybersecurity and emerging-technology strategist with 25+ years at the intersection of AI, national security, and critical infrastructure—from EOD and homeland security to startups, boards, and the White House. My mission: secure every version of your reality. At the Department of Homeland Security, I was a plank owner and Chief of Comprehensive Reviews for the Office of Infrastructure Protection, the predecessor to CISA. I led nationwide assessments across nuclear, chemical, energy, water, and other critical sectors, helping define how the U.S. understands and manages systemic cyber and physical risk. Since then, I’ve served as a Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of the National Cyber Director and as Founder, CEO, and CRO across Spark Security Solutions, Shadowbyte, Shyfted, Divergent Labs, and XR Village. My work centers on AI-powered cyber and resilience solutions—AI-driven threat intelligence, AI-augmented decision support, and AI-powered immersive cyber training and ranges that help governments and enterprises scale defenders, improve readiness, and make faster, smarter decisions in the cloud and at the edge. I build solutions that are deeply technical yet human-centric, using AI, automation, and XR not just to detect threats but to give analysts, operators, and leaders the context and confidence to act. My contributions have been recognized through honors including Top Female Executive – The Software Report (2019), Mentor of the Year – Women’s Society of CyberJutsu (2019), Cyber Defense Magazine’s Top 25 Women in Cybersecurity (2019) and Top 100 Women in Cybersecurity (2020), and induction into the Order of Thor by the Military Cyber Professionals Association (2025). I was also featured in Authority Magazine’s “Women Leading the AI Industry” series for my work applying AI to cyber training and national security. I’m deeply committed to community and workforce development, having served on the boards of Women’s Society of CyberJutsu, Wicked6 Cyber Games, Safe Escape, and Raíces Cyber, and as Founder of XR Village, where we explore how AI, XR, and cyber collide to shape the next generation of talent. If you’re working on AI, cyber, national security, or resilience—and you need someone who can bridge policy, product, and operations—let’s connect.

Experience

  • Founder & CEO at Divergent Labs
    Mar 2026 - Present · 4 mos

    AI Consultancy. App Development. Creative Incubator for Neurodivergent Innovators.

  • Former Senior Policy Advisor at Office of the National Cyber Director, The White House
    Jul 2023 - Jun 2025 · 2 yrs

  • Founder at XR Village
    Jun 2022 - Jan 2024 · 1 yr 8 mos

  • Advisory Board at Wicked 6 Cyber Games
    Mar 2022 - Jul 2023 · 1 yr 5 mos

  • Advisory Board at Operation: Safe Escape
    Jan 2022 - Jul 2023 · 1 yr 7 mos