School of Information alumna Anna Lanzino applied her experience with the UC Berkeley Cybersecurity Clinic to launch a consulting firm serving at-risk organizations
In 2024, Anna Lanzino was a student in the UC Berkeley School of Information’s Masters of Information Management and Systems (MIMS) program when she noticed a flyer hanging in South Hall. The poster invited students to an information session for the UC Berkeley Cybersecurity Clinic, a class that trains students to help improve the digital security of nonprofits and other organizations with limited resources.
“The poster caught my attention because I was looking for ways to apply my technical background to the real-life problems affecting our communities,” Lanzino recalls. “I loved that the Clinic welcomed — and even encouraged — students without technical backgrounds to apply. Coming from computer science, I know it can be intimidating to step into a technical field, and I was happy to see that the Clinic was so inclusive.”
Anna signed up for the course and during her first semester, she worked with a client organization that mapped resources for marginalized communities, providing risk assessments, training, and other services. She enjoyed the experience so much that she enrolled for a second semester, this time serving as a “senior consultant,” advising the Clinic’s student teams as they worked with human rights organizations and other nonprofits. Lanzino then signed up for a third semester, serving as the Clinic’s first-ever Program Assistant and working directly alongside the class’s teacher, Elijah Baucom. In total, she worked with over 10 nonprofits while working with the Clinic.
After graduating, Anna continued to seek out opportunities to help organizations improve their digital security. She completed fellowships at Aspen Digital’s Cyber Civil Defense Emerging Leader program and Paragon Policy, and in 2026, she started her own cybersecurity consulting business, which partners with mission-driven individuals and small organizations to strengthen their cybersecurity.
“I learned so much at the Cybersecurity Clinic and loved my time there,” Lanzino says. “Now I want to continue carrying out the Clinic’s mission and doing what I love: helping mission-driven organizations find common sense cybersecurity solutions.”
Trust and Empathy
As part of her final semester in the UC Berkeley Cybersecurity Clinic, Lanzino co-authored a report, Securing Mutual Aid: Cybersecurity Practices and Design Principles for Financial Technology, aimed at enhancing the cybersecurity practices of mutual aid organizations like food banks, disaster relief, direct cash assistance, and bail funds. “As part of the case study, I interviewed and wrote cybersecurity risk assessments for six mutual aids,” she says.
Through her experience working with diverse teams and client organizations, Lanzino has learned how much of cybersecurity relies on a foundation of trust. “Cybersecurity is delicate, because you’re talking about sensitive things, like personal information or how a person carries themselves online, and it’s easy to alienate vulnerable groups when you don’t meet them where they’re at,” she says.
Working at the Clinic taught her the importance of adapting solutions for each client’s specific context. “The organizations we work with are unique; most are small, flat, and often under-resourced, but tasked with solving some of our most challenging social problems,” she says. “Because of that, sometimes their needs go against traditional models of cybersecurity, so it’s important to be creative and scope solutions that make sense for their operations. All of that starts with building trust and empathy.”
Lanzino encourages UC Berkeley students to enroll in the Cybersecurity Clinic, and to move outside their comfort zones. For example, she suggests that students from hard-technical backgrounds should take on communications- or policy-oriented roles on their teams. “The Clinic is a great way to make a tangible impact in your community while learning a new skill and exploring a (potentially) new career path,” she says. “The Clinic can be transformative. I know students who have joined with no background in cybersecurity and left with aspirations to start their own nonprofits or businesses. There is a lot of opportunity to be seized.”
Watch the video below to learn more about the cybersecurity clinic model pioneered at UC Berkeley.
