Ep. 51 - IT for Human Rights: Scaling Secure Infrastructure for a Global Nonprofit – with Lydia Nicola

For Lydia Nicola’s IT team, a security breach isn’t just a risk—it could mean life or death for the people they protect.

In this episode, Elias Voelker speaks with Lydia Nicola, Head of IT Operations at Amnesty International, about the unique challenges of running IT for a global nonprofit. Lydia shares how her team secures infrastructure in politically volatile regions, optimizes cloud costs, and combats shadow IT—all while defending against cyber threats from nation-states. She also reveals how “Infrastructure Days” drive efficiency, why documentation is a game-changer, and what IT leaders can do to build more diverse, resilient teams.

You'll learn:

1. How Amnesty navigates IT security threats from hostile state actors 2. The strategy behind “Infrastructure Days” and why they work 3. How to rein in shadow IT when vendors offer free software 4. The keys to optimizing cloud costs—without cutting corners 5. What IT leaders can do to attract and retain diverse talent

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Get in touch with Lydia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydiamn/

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About the host Elias Voelker: Elias is the VP for North America at Checkmk. He comes from a strategy consulting background but has been an entrepreneur for the better part of the last 10 years. In his spare time, he likes to do triathlons.

Get in touch with Elias via LinkedIn or email [email protected].

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Podcast Music:

Music by Ströme, used by permission ‚Panta Rhei‘ written by Mario Schoenhofer (c)+p 2022, Compost Medien GmbH & Co KG https://stroeme.com/ https://compost-rec.com/

Thanks to our friends at SAWOO for producing this episode with us!