In our Women in DevOpsblog series, you’ll hear from talented women in DevOps. They will share their experiences in DevOps, their thoughts on leadership, lessons learned and also how we can encourage more women to focus on an IT career. Today we meet Susana who is not only a DevOps Queen but also very active in the Jenkins community - she is a Jenkins Area Meetup (JAM) founder in her hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico. Learn more about Jenkins Area Meetups and find one near you . 
Susana Hernandez Zamora is a DevOps engineer, she started her IT career in 2006 as a software engineer. She first got involved in DevOps in 2015 and since then has been focused on continuous integration and continuous delivery, SDLC process standardization and automation. She has a Bachelors degree in computer systems engineering and she is a Certified Scrum controller, Certified Java SE6 Programmer and a Certified IT Service Manager (ITIL Foundation). Susana’s enthusiasm for DevOps drove her to create a Jenkins Area Meetup in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2016. She moved to the USA in 2017 to work as a DevOps engineer / release manager and has played a key role in implementing the CloudBees infrastructure, continuous integration and continuous delivery pipeline foundations and DevOps principles at a global hotel management company. Susana’s goal is to fully implement CI/CD and lead teams to help them implement DevOps methodologies and culture.
Hi Susana! What has made you a leader in DevOps?
The moment I started in DevOps I discovered that as in almost everything in life, the resistance to change is the most difficult part. Being open to changes myself as well as assisting others and teams in the changes they face when approaching a DevOps transformation is important. DevOps provides different ways of doing things and supporting others is what has made me a leader in DevOps.
What skills are needed to become a DevOps Leader?
Basically believe in DevOps as a culture, not just tools and technology, and spread the knowledge you gain as your experience grows.
What do you look for in a great company/boss/mentor?
A boss/mentor should show the way, guide and listen to different points of views. They should be supportive. As a woman in this industry, it is important to try to find mentors in women even when it seems that there are so few of us in the industry.
What does career success mean to you?
To me, career success means to love what you do, learn new things every day, face new challenges and have a balance between work and life.
What set you on the DevOps career path?
An opportunity to start a DevOps team was offered to me in a company I had been working in for around six years. The first time I heard about “DevOps” I wondered; “what is that?”, and the moment I started my research about the matter, I found myself excited, interested and in love with the concept. And since I took on that opportunity my experience in the DevOps industry has being amazing ever since!
Any closing thoughts?
As a career woman I have always felt like I have to work harder than male counterparts, and I don't think this is something that only happens in IT. What should I do? I do my best, raise my voice when I need to, believe in myself and support the people - especially the women - around me.