As a board member for the Internet Security Research Group, she always has her pulse on the industry.

▲关于pulse的搭配，常见的有：

1. have (keep, put) one's finger on the pulse  保持消息灵通

2. have (keep, put) one's finger on the pulse of    对......消息灵通

3. 偶见 have (get) a (one’s) pulse on sth. 触摸......的脉搏；对......了如指掌

例如：

A successful politician is one who keeps his finger on the pulse of the electorate. 一位成功的政治家是一个对选民有深刻了解的人。

The Roundup provides an excellent place to learn about new happenings in software and get a pulse on the industry. 此次会议给我们提供了非常好的机会来了解软件界的新事物，并触及行业的脉搏。

▲除了“脉搏”之意外，pulse还可表示“意向，动向；情绪；活力，生命力；激情”等含义，多用复数形式。例如：stir someone's pulses 激起某人的热情；挑动某人的情绪

据此，你给的这个句子应该没有歧义，正确的理解应为第一种。

此外，根据上下文：As a board member for the Internet Security Research Group, “作为互联网安全研究小组的董事会成员”，跟“总是勤奋、热情”没有因果关系，然而，跟“触摸行业的的脉搏，对业界了如指掌”却存在一定的联系。