Welcome! My name is Rickie Grigsby and this past summer I had the opportunity to be a Summer Graduate Fellow at NICE. I worked on multiple projects in support of the NICE Strategic Plan. One project that I’ll have the opportunity to work on throughout the school year is cybersecurity education capacity building for minority serving institutions. My experiences this summer revealed to me the vast consortium of individuals from academia, government, industry, and non-profit organizations who work together, mostly behind the scenes, to create a better future for cybersecurity education and the workforce. I look forward to the continuation of work with these thought leaders to collaborate on effective efforts to increase the number of minorities in the cybersecurity workforce.

NAME: Anju Chopra

TITLE: Senior Vice President, Cyber Technologies

ORGANIZATION: Kroll

SPECIALTY AREA: Securely Provision

WORK ROLE: Authorizing Official/Designating Representative, Security Control Assessor, Software Developer, Secure Software Assessor, Enterprise Architect, Security Architect, Research & Development Specialist, and Systems Requirements Planner

ACADEMIC DEGREES: MBA, Strategic & Entrepreneurial Management, Tepper Business School, Carnegie Mellon University; M.S., Electrical & Computer Engineering, Florida Atlantic University; B.E., Electronics & Communications, Delhi College of Engineering

CERTIFICATIONS: None

Read Full Interview

Career Development, Work-Based Experiences, and the Role of the Career Experience Specialist

By Shelli Farquharson, Career Experience Specialist, Fairfax County Public Schools, and Angela Cleveland, National Center for Women Information Technology Counselors for Computing (NCWIT C4C)

The skilled worker shortage, to include cybersecurity, impacts communities, individuals, and America’s national security and economic prosperity. Part of the shortage comes from a lack of awareness of these skilled careers. Read More

Apprenticeships as a Proven Model

By Tony Bryan, Executive Director, CyberUp

Once upon a time in Europe, every tradesman began their career as an apprentice. From one generation to the next, in a training process lasting as long as 7 years, a trade was passed on. After completion, the apprentice would gain professional status and have the skills necessary to practice their trade with competence. While some may still associate the concept of apprenticeship with traditional trades (electricians, construction, plumbing), today’s apprenticeships are far more sophisticated and technical. Read More 

A Consultative Process for a Federal, State, Territorial, Local, and Tribal Governments

By Rodney Petersen, Director of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), and Danielle Santos, Program Manager of NICE

The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S. Department of Commerce, seeks to engage with other government partners in both formal and informal ways. Read More