ASU Trailblazer: Joanna Burkey · Angelo State University
Source: http://www.angelo.edu/live/news/19758-asu-trailblazer-joanna-burkey
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:30
ASU Trailblazer: Joanna Burkey · Angelo State University
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ASU Trailblazer: Joanna Burkey
ASU Trailblazer: Joanna Burkey
Class of 1996, B.S. in Computer Science/Mathematics
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Joanna Burkey came a long way to attend Angelo State, and her ASU education has taken her even farther.
An East Texas native of Carthage, just 20 miles from the Louisiana border, Burkey first considered attending Texas A&M University, but it took just one campus visit for her to realize that wasn’t for her.
“I didn’t want to be one of 500 students in a lecture hall with a professor who was never available,” Burkey said. “Since not going to university was not an option, I started looking around my new home of West Texas and found ASU. After visiting, it felt just like a second home, so it was a very easy decision to make.”
“I wanted an educational experience that cared about me as a person, and I found that at ASU,” she added. “Thirty years on, I am still so happy with that decision!”
But once her college choice was made, she then had to settle on an academic major.
“My declared majors were all over the spectrum when I started,” Burkey said. “First it was chemical engineering, then theatre arts, eventually settling on a dual major of computer science and mathematics. I realized I had nowhere near enough talent to continue with theatre arts, but it was certainly fun!”
“I did not have a passion for, or really even an interest in, computer science until I took my first programming course at ASU,” she added. “That one course ignited an affinity that I never knew I had. It’s hard to imagine what my career would have been had it not been for the quality of instruction that I received, which led to a lifetime of work in digital technologies.”
Joanna Burkey at a factory in Beijing, China, where Siemens demonstrates robotic digital manufacturing technology
With her ASU degree in hand, Burkey started her career as a software engineer at Compaq in 1997. She also had stints as a senior software engineer at Surgient Networks and global head of cyber defense at Siemens. But her longest tenure was at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, where she spent nearly 13 years, working her way up to strategy and product manager. Then from 2020-23, she worked as chief information security officer at HP.
“I was blessed with a rewarding and challenging career in technology and cybersecurity,” Burkey said. “It allowed me to circle the globe, seeing amazing places and working with wonderful people. But it was also, at times, completely exhausting and eventually even started taking a toll on my health. Over the last years of my operational career, I had begun to educate myself on board service and joined my first board as an independent director in 2021.”
That first board was for the ReliabilityFirst Corporation, and Burkey was inspired by the element of using her skills to give back to a company, which aligned with her need to have a new purpose. By 2023, she had decided to take the leap and leave full-time operational work in order to build a portfolio career.
“I now serve as a director on two public companies, an NGO, and numerous volunteer boards,” Burkey said, “while having my own company that performs advisory work in cybersecurity, AI and digital transformation. I love the fact that I can spend my time fulfilling the purpose of making each company I work with just a little bit better every day.”
Joanna Burkey being interviewed on stage at a Silicon Slopes Summit
Burkey’s company, Flat Rock Strategic Advisors, is based in Spicewood just northwest of Austin, and coming up with its name may have been even harder than choosing her major back at ASU.
“I struggled so much with what to name my own company,” she said. “Then one day I was out for a run and it hit me – Flat Rock Creek runs behind our land in the Hill Country, and Flat Rock Trail was my favorite mountain bike trail when I was an amateur racer. Problem solved! It reminds me of my Texas roots and the beautiful land that we live in.”
On top of running her own company and serving on corporate and volunteer boards, Burkey is also a board member of the Texas TriCities Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. That means she still has to travel some, but is also able to spend much more time at home. She lives on six acres in the small town of Double Horn in the Texas Hill Country, where she also serves on the Double Horn Improvement Association.
“After spending so many years constantly traveling for work, it’s great to be back more often in Central Texas and able to give back,” Burkey said. “My business is also a proud Gold Member of the ASU Alumni Association, and I’m looking forward to more visits to San Angelo. I’m happy to finally have the bandwidth to be involved with ASU again!”
She also now has the bandwidth to try to enjoy life outside of work, though still probably not as much as she would like. Her hobbies include hiking, cooking, reading and especially knitting, and she also has her sights set on taking up pottery and quilting.
Throughout all of her major life choices, successes and plans for the future, Burkey has hearkened back to her time at ASU, where the groundwork was laid for an impactful and meaningful career and life.
“Going somewhere that cared about me as a person, as well as my education, set me up several steps forward in my post-college life than I would have experienced otherwise,” Burkey said. “I credit my time at ASU with a lot of my professional success, and I believe it’s a great choice for anyone.”
Skip to Main content
Home
/
Alumni Association
/
ASU Trailblazer: Joanna Burkey
ASU Trailblazer: Joanna Burkey
Class of 1996, B.S. in Computer Science/Mathematics
Copy Link
Joanna Burkey came a long way to attend Angelo State, and her ASU education has taken her even farther.
An East Texas native of Carthage, just 20 miles from the Louisiana border, Burkey first considered attending Texas A&M University, but it took just one campus visit for her to realize that wasn’t for her.
“I didn’t want to be one of 500 students in a lecture hall with a professor who was never available,” Burkey said. “Since not going to university was not an option, I started looking around my new home of West Texas and found ASU. After visiting, it felt just like a second home, so it was a very easy decision to make.”
“I wanted an educational experience that cared about me as a person, and I found that at ASU,” she added. “Thirty years on, I am still so happy with that decision!”
But once her college choice was made, she then had to settle on an academic major.
“My declared majors were all over the spectrum when I started,” Burkey said. “First it was chemical engineering, then theatre arts, eventually settling on a dual major of computer science and mathematics. I realized I had nowhere near enough talent to continue with theatre arts, but it was certainly fun!”
“I did not have a passion for, or really even an interest in, computer science until I took my first programming course at ASU,” she added. “That one course ignited an affinity that I never knew I had. It’s hard to imagine what my career would have been had it not been for the quality of instruction that I received, which led to a lifetime of work in digital technologies.”
Joanna Burkey at a factory in Beijing, China, where Siemens demonstrates robotic digital manufacturing technology
With her ASU degree in hand, Burkey started her career as a software engineer at Compaq in 1997. She also had stints as a senior software engineer at Surgient Networks and global head of cyber defense at Siemens. But her longest tenure was at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, where she spent nearly 13 years, working her way up to strategy and product manager. Then from 2020-23, she worked as chief information security officer at HP.
“I was blessed with a rewarding and challenging career in technology and cybersecurity,” Burkey said. “It allowed me to circle the globe, seeing amazing places and working with wonderful people. But it was also, at times, completely exhausting and eventually even started taking a toll on my health. Over the last years of my operational career, I had begun to educate myself on board service and joined my first board as an independent director in 2021.”
That first board was for the ReliabilityFirst Corporation, and Burkey was inspired by the element of using her skills to give back to a company, which aligned with her need to have a new purpose. By 2023, she had decided to take the leap and leave full-time operational work in order to build a portfolio career.
“I now serve as a director on two public companies, an NGO, and numerous volunteer boards,” Burkey said, “while having my own company that performs advisory work in cybersecurity, AI and digital transformation. I love the fact that I can spend my time fulfilling the purpose of making each company I work with just a little bit better every day.”
Joanna Burkey being interviewed on stage at a Silicon Slopes Summit
Burkey’s company, Flat Rock Strategic Advisors, is based in Spicewood just northwest of Austin, and coming up with its name may have been even harder than choosing her major back at ASU.
“I struggled so much with what to name my own company,” she said. “Then one day I was out for a run and it hit me – Flat Rock Creek runs behind our land in the Hill Country, and Flat Rock Trail was my favorite mountain bike trail when I was an amateur racer. Problem solved! It reminds me of my Texas roots and the beautiful land that we live in.”
On top of running her own company and serving on corporate and volunteer boards, Burkey is also a board member of the Texas TriCities Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. That means she still has to travel some, but is also able to spend much more time at home. She lives on six acres in the small town of Double Horn in the Texas Hill Country, where she also serves on the Double Horn Improvement Association.
“After spending so many years constantly traveling for work, it’s great to be back more often in Central Texas and able to give back,” Burkey said. “My business is also a proud Gold Member of the ASU Alumni Association, and I’m looking forward to more visits to San Angelo. I’m happy to finally have the bandwidth to be involved with ASU again!”
She also now has the bandwidth to try to enjoy life outside of work, though still probably not as much as she would like. Her hobbies include hiking, cooking, reading and especially knitting, and she also has her sights set on taking up pottery and quilting.
Throughout all of her major life choices, successes and plans for the future, Burkey has hearkened back to her time at ASU, where the groundwork was laid for an impactful and meaningful career and life.
“Going somewhere that cared about me as a person, as well as my education, set me up several steps forward in my post-college life than I would have experienced otherwise,” Burkey said. “I credit my time at ASU with a lot of my professional success, and I believe it’s a great choice for anyone.”