cyber hero

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif — Today, SynED®, a national non-profit organization that identifies emerging best practices for effective articulation between employers, job seekers, and education providers, announced that Casey W. O’Brien was selected as its national CyberHero for December.  O’Brien is the Executive Director and Principal Investigator at the National CyberWatch Center, a consortium of higher education institutions, businesses and government agencies […]

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Today SynED, a national non-profit organization that identifies emerging best practices for effective articulation between employers, job seekers, and education providers, announced that Susanne Mata was selected as its national CyberHero for November.  Mata is the California Community Colleges Regional Director for Employer Engagement in Information Communication Technologies and Digital Media in the Inland Empire/Desert Region. In this role,

LOS ANGELES — Today synED, a national non-profit organization that identifies emerging best practices for effective articulation between employers, job seekers, and education providers, announced that Bernie Skoch was selected as their national CyberHero for October.    Skoch shared, it’s easy to give yourself a pat on the back following success, but he prefers to focus on those around him and on all the work that’s still left to

Los Angeles, CA — Today synED, a national non-profit organization that identifies emerging best practices for effective articulation between employers, job seekers, and education providers, announced that Paula Hodge is their national CyberHero for September.    As the Information Computer Technology – Digital Media (ICT-DM) Regional Director in California’s South Central Coast Region, Ms. Hodge works closely with industry partners and faculty to develop curricula that prepare students to address

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. — In a place where some communities do not have Internet access, cybersecurity education is thriving thanks in part to Kristi Rice’s efforts over the past three years. As a CyberHero, Kristi is part of SynED’s series highlighting cybersecurity educators who quietly go above and beyond to enrich the educational experience for their students and empower the country’s next generation of cyber professionals.  Rice

SynED’s series highlighting cyber heroes who quietly go above and beyond in helping to secure our nation and communities  EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — Shanti’ Coaston was just hitting her stride as a cybersecurity teacher when COVID-19 upended everything. Her students at Shaw High School in East Cleveland no longer had access to the school’s computer lab, and some were only able to

SynED series highlighting cyber heroes who quietly go above and beyond in helping to secure our nation and communities.   NEW TOWN, N.D. — The reach of cybersecurity education is expanding across the U.S., thanks in part to the work of Kara Four Bear, principal at New Town Middle School in New Town, North Dakota. Four Bear

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Community colleges play a unique role in filling the thousands of open cybersecurity positions across California, and Steve Linthicum is at the forefront of helping students create the pathways that will lead to stable, well-paying jobs.  Linthicum is the Regional Director for Industry Engagement in Orange County for the Information Communications

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Tara Taylor believes that cybersecurity education is for everyone, and embraces that philosophy every day in her teaching and coaching. Taylor, a computer science teacher and cyber coach at Eastlake Middle School in Chula Vista, began her career as an English teacher and transitioned to teaching a basic computer skills class. She

SACRAMENTO — In a state as large and complex as California, staying ahead of cybersecurity threats can be a challenge. However, it’s a challenge Mario Garcia is happy to accept. Garcia is Acting Commander of the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC), which was established in 2015 as part of the CalOES, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Cal-CSIC

LOS ANGELES — No matter how sophisticated technology becomes, solving problems related to cybersecurity will require a human innovation and connection. These themes run throughout Stan Stahl’s work in the public and private sectors and fuel his passion for cybersecurity education. Stahl is the founder and president of SecureTheVillage, a non-profit that turns people and organizations into CyberGuardians having

Allen Stubblefield didn’t know it at the time, but cyber competitions helped fill an unmet need at Troy High School. As a magnet school for science and technology, he thought cybersecurity would be a good fit, but is as surprised as anyone that the school now hosted 60 teams this year and several CyberPatriot national championships.  Stubblefield holds

The old saying “it takes a village” definitely applies to cybersecurity education. There are a lot of teachers, coaches, and institutions involved at every step of the educational pathway, which can lead to a lot of silos and unknowing duplication of effort.  At a time when the need for skilled cybersecurity professionals has never been

Shawn Monsen never imagined that getting laid off from HP in 2007 would turn out to be one of the best things that happened in his career. He made a career change into teaching cybersecurity and IT networking at Sierra College and found what he describes as his true calling. Over the past decade, Monsen

It’s impossible to miss the energy and passion that Brent Wedge brings to cybersecurity education. Over the past two years, he’s built a program from scratch and created a network of teachers and coaches who are ready to take the program to the next level.  Wedge is the coordinator of the cybersecurity program at Modesto

As cybersecurity education has grown in California, a new generation of cyber heroes is emerging from the pathways, competitions, and coaching that happens every day across the state. Brandon Nguyen is undoubtedly part of that group and has already had an impact on his school and his community. Nguyen recently graduated from Oxford Academy in

What started as a need to fulfill a STEM requirement has grown into one of California’s signature cybersecurity education programs, thanks in part to Carey Peck’s hard work and dedication to the program and its students. Peck is a consultant to Dr. Sandra Cano, who manages the CyberPatriot program at Beyond the Bell, a program

Over the past three years, Ed Garcia has learned right along with his students at Moorpark College when it comes to cybersecurity. Like a lot of IT professionals, he didn’t spend much time thinking about cyber threats until talk of hacking and cybercrime picked up in the media. Garcia used his drive and connections to

California Cyberhub Advisor Henry Danielson’s introduction to cybersecurity came in the form of a headache at his day job. He was the Director of Technology at the Coast Unified School District and found himself dealing with an attack on the district’s WordPress site, followed by a phishing attack on employee email accounts. Rather than sit

When Anna Carlin started working in IT in the 1980s, there were more women in the field than she saw 20 years later as an IT instructor. Over the years, Carlin has used her experience in education and industry to help students understand the value that working in IT and cybersecurity can bring and inspire

Jay Gehringer spent 27 years as a high school band director before making the transition into cybersecurity education. He knows firsthand the value that comes from being well-rounded and having expertise in multiple areas. As a cyber coach and mentor at North Hollywood High School, he passes that lesson onto his students as they prepare

Starting a cyber team involves hard work and dedication under normal circumstances. New coaches need to make arrangements with their schools, recruit students, and begin building community partnerships. Now imagine trying to do all of those things while your community is recovering from devastating wildfires. That’s the situation computer science teacher Edwin Kang found himself

Skip Brewer is the Computer Security Manager at the Elk Grove Unified School District, a position he took after several years in the IT industry. Given that experience, he was a little skeptical about cyber competitions when one of his teachers approached him about using a school computer lab to start a team. “The first

Dan Manson saw for the vision of what cybersecurity education could become long before many people even knew what cybersecurity was. 

Over the past 20 years, he’s helped expand cyber competitions across California while serving as a professor and chair of the Computer Information Systems department at Cal Poly Pomona. After seeing so much success in California, he’s ready to do the same thing in Nevada, where he now lives.

“California has gone so far down the road that they don’t need me,” Manson said. “There are other places that aren’t very far down that road where I can still have an impact.”

Manson joined the cybersecurity world in 2001 after hearing about a Department of Education grant aimed at improving campus cybersecurity. He thought that there might be an opportunity for faculty to become involved and — as he’s done many times throughout his career — invited himself to the meetings to learn more about it.

That grant lead to two $900,000 NSF Advanced Technical Education grants, one in 2003 and one in 2007. Those funds were aimed at workforce development and allowed Manson to begin building partnerships with other colleges that have only grown stronger over time.

In addition, Manson led the effort for Cal Poly Pomona to be designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education in 2005, 2008 and 2014. 

GenCyber Camp Brings Technology to Underserved Groups

Carrie Raleigh didn’t know the first thing about cybersecurity when she started working for the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council. And, who could blame her? It’s a far cry from the things traditionally associated with the scouting program.

Over the past three years, Raleigh and colleague Knea Hawley brought the GenCyber program under the Girl Scouts umbrella and opened the doors for even more young women to learn about cybersecurity.

“I’ve learned so much and it’s been an amazing journey. Now it’s one of those things I talk about all the time,” Raleigh said. “It’s been so eye opening to me realizing the potential in the field for these girls. We can connect them with the training they need for this large opportunity in front of them.”

GenCyber is a nationwide program with camps in nearly all 50 states. The San Bernardino camps were held June 18-22 at CSU San Bernardino. The program was funded by a National Science Foundation grant received by CSUSB that made it free to all attendees. CSUSB has invited the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council to participate in their GenCyber camp since 2015.

Beyond learning the basics of cybersecurity, girls had the opportunity to meet with industry professionals from Google, Facebook and Bank of America just to name a few. While it took a lot of coordination from the GenCyber planning team, Raleigh said it was worth it for the students and the employers.

Liz Fraumann found her way into an IT focus more than a decade ago and hasn’t looked back since. Along the way, she’s helped make cyber security a priority in San Diego and fostered a love of the field in countless students thanks to programs like the SoCal Cyber Cup Challenge and SOeC Cyber Boot Camp.

Fraumann is the executive director of the Securing Our eCity Foundation, an organization that was formally incorporated in 2011 to increase cyber security awareness, education, and prepredness in the San Diego region by focusing on the human element in education and outreach. Prior to this time the program was an initiative fostered by ESET North America.

William Diaz loves computers as much as anyone else in the cybersecurity community, but he also understands the physical and mental benefits of getting up from behind the screen.

He is combining his passion for IT with his passion for health and wellness through his work with A World Fit for Kids, a Los-Angeles-based non-profit that’s provided after-school programming to underserved communities since 1993.

Diaz learned about the relationship between health and technology the hard way as he became involved in CyberPatriot and changed his college major from English to IT.

“The more Red Bull I drank, the less physical exercise I got,” Diaz said. “It really dawned on me: what is the point of getting all these skills if I’m going to be 35 with a chronic disease?”

That premise now serves as Diaz’s guiding principle at A World Fit for Kids, where he serves as the IT manager. He tries to incorporate healthy habits into all of his CyberPatriot coaching and make students aware that the actions they take today can have implications for the rest of their lives.

“Health and cyber don’t mix and they should because health has become such a big force in our world from the opioid epidemic to the suicide crisis,” Diaz said. “I’m making students aware of the implications of their technology use.”

Some of the healthy habits Diaz emphasizes include drinking water instead of soda or other sugary beverages and taking time to get up and move for a few minutes during each hour of a CyberPatriot competition.

Achieving those goals is sometimes easier said than done, especially in the pressure of a competition setting. However, he sees the work as an essential part of building good habits now that will stick with students once they enter the cybersecurity field.

“The more I see cyber taking off, the more I see health deteriorating,” he said. “If students don’t have role models for healthy behavior, they are never going to learn it.”

From the moment Irvin Lemus got his first computer, he was hooked. It was an Apple 2E, and he told his dad that he wanted to know exactly what was inside of it.

Now, Lemus works to instill that same passion for technology into the students he teaches and coaches throughout the Bay Area. Lemus is the cybersecurity instructor at Cabrillo College and the Bay Area Cyber Competitions Regional Coordinator for the Western Academy Support and Training Center.

Lemus said he was drawn to cybersecurity because no two days are ever the same and it provides him the opportunity to continue to learn in an ever-changing environment.

“You have to always learn new ways of securing everything. Working in this field put my knowledge and critical thinking skills to the extreme,” Lemus said.

“I’ve seen the high school boys shake their heads at the girls to indicate that they should not attend cybersecurity events for girls.”

Tobi West has seen this harsh reality firsthand, and it’s what drives her to work tirelessly at putting together programs and activities that will help young women become engaged in cybersecurity as a career pathway.

Over the course of her own career, West has gone from scanning papers to Department Chair of Computer Information Systems at Coastline Community College and an adjunct instructor at Cal Poly Pomona. Her unusual journey to cybersecurity serves as an inspiration to her students.