Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Information Technology Laboratory / Applied Cybersecurity Division

NICE

NICE Community Coordinating Council

Structure and Leadership | Project Teams | Meeting Information | How Can I Join? | Mailing List Etiquette

The NICE Community Coordinating Council (NICE Community) has been established to provide a mechanism in which public and private sector participants can develop concepts, design strategies, and pursue actions that advance cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development.

Structure and Leadership

The NICE Community Coordinating Council is led by three co-chairs, each representing Academia, Private Industry, or Government. The current co-chairs are:

Credit: Zarina Blankenbaker, Ph.D.

Zarina Blankenbaker, Ph.D.
President
Tarrant County College - Northwest

Credit: Michael Alicea

Michael Alicea
Chief Human Resources Officer
Trellix

Credit: Rodney Petersen

Rodney Petersen
Director
NICE at the National Institute of Standards and Technology

The NICE Community Coordinating Council is comprised of three Working Groups and four Community of Interest groups. Each subgroup meets independent of the NICE Community and reports out at the NICE Community Meetings. The subgroups are:

Working Groups

Communities of Interest

Get Involved in A Project Team

View the full NICE Community Coordinating Council charter. View a breakdown of the NICE Community Coordinating Council roles and responsibilities.

Meeting Information

The NICE Community meets via teleconference quarterly on Tuesdays from 3:30PM – 5:00PM ET.
Meeting minutes and agendas can be found in the repository located here. See a full list of meeting dates throughout 2025 here.

How Can I Join?

To join the NICE Community monthly meetings and to be added to the NICE Community Coordinating Council mailing list, please send an email to nicecommunity+subscribe [at] list.nist.gov (NICEcommunity+subscribe[at]list[dot]nist[dot]gov).

Group	Description	Membership Process
NICE Community Coordinating Council	The NICE Community Coordinating Council (NICE Community) has been established to provide a mechanism in which public and private sector participants can develop concepts, design strategies, and pursue actions that advance cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development.	Email NICEcommunity+subscribe [at] list.nist.gov (NICEcommunity+subscribe[at]list[dot]nist[dot]gov)

Working Groups:

Group	Description	Membership Process
Modernize Talent Management	This Working Group will focus on the NICE Strategic Plan goal to Modernize the Talent Management Process to Address Cybersecurity Skills Gaps. The group will conduct an ongoing environmental scan of programs, projects, and initiatives related to this strategic plan’s goals and objectives to assess the scope and sufficiency of efforts. The group will also identify gaps where more attention and effort is needed. The group will identify strategies and tactics to implement the corresponding objectives to this goal. The group will also develop corresponding metrics to measure progress and success.	Email NICEtalent+subscribe [at] list.nist.gov (NICEtalent+subscribe[at]list[dot]nist[dot]gov)
Promote Career Discovery	This Working Group will focus on the NICE Strategic Plan goal to Promote the Discovery of Cybersecurity Careers and Multiple Pathways. The group will conduct an ongoing environmental scan of programs, projects, and initiatives related to this strategic plan’s goals and objectives to assess the scope and sufficiency of efforts. The group will also identify gaps where more attention and effort is needed. The group will identify strategies and tactics to implement the corresponding objectives to this goal. The group will also develop corresponding metrics to measure progress and success.	Email NICEcareers+subscribe [at] list.nist.gov (NICEcareers+subscribe[at]list[dot]nist[dot]gov)
Transform Learning Process	This Working Group will focus on the NICE Strategic Plan goal to Transform Learning to Build and Sustain a Diverse and Skilled Workforce. The group will conduct an ongoing environmental scan of programs, projects, and initiatives related to this strategic plan’s goals and objectives to assess the scope and sufficiency of efforts. The group will also identify gaps where more attention and effort is needed. The group will identify strategies and tactics to implement the corresponding objectives to this goal. The group will also develop corresponding metrics to measure progress and success.	Email NICElearning+subscribe [at] list.nist.gov (NICElearning+subscribe[at]list[dot]nist[dot]gov)

Communities of Interest:

Group	Description	Membership Process
Apprenticeships in Cybersecurity	This Community of Interest is a forum for anyone who is interested in sharing and learning how apprenticeships work in cybersecurity-related occupations and the role of various stakeholders (government, employers, intermediaries, educational partners, and others) to build and sustain a cybersecurity apprenticeship workplace experience and corresponding learning program.	Email NICEapprenticeship+subscribe [at] list.nist.gov (NICEapprenticeship+subscribe[at]list[dot]nist[dot]gov)
Cybersecurity Career Ambassadors	This Community of Interest is a forum for employers, industry representatives, labor and workforce development organizations, program sponsors, faith-based communities, educators, government agencies such as state, local, tribal, and territorial entities, non-profit and community-based organizations, and other stakeholders who are interested in sharing and learning how to best promote cybersecurity career awareness and exploration to expand and diversify the cybersecurity workforce.	Email NICEAmbassadorProgram+subscribe [at] list.nist.gov (NICEAmbassadorProgram+subscribe[at]list[dot]nist[dot]gov)
K12 Cybersecurity Education	This Community of Interest is a forum for K12 teachers, school administrators, local and state education agencies, non-profit organizations, federal agencies, institutions of higher education, and others who are interested in sharing and learning how to grow and sustain diverse students pursuing cybersecurity careers through learning experiences, exposure to career opportunities, and teacher professional development.	Email NICEk12education+subscribe [at] list.nist.gov (NICEk12education+subscribe[at]list[dot]nist[dot]gov)
NICE Framework Users	This Community of Interest is a forum for users (employers, learners, and education and training and credential providers) of the Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity (NICE Framework) who are interested in sharing and learning through questions, insights, or mutual support how to apply and use the NICE Framework and its associated components in various settings.	Email NICEFrameworkUsers+subscribe [at] list.nist.gov (NICEFrameworkUsers+subscribe[at]list[dot]nist[dot]gov)

Mailing List Etiquette

The NICE Community Coordinating Council mailing lists are not intended for promotional announcements, advertising, product-related press releases, or other commercial use.
The NICE Community Coordinating Council mailing list is moderated. Messages will be on hold until they are reviewed and approved.
The Working Group mailing list are moderated. Messages will be on hold until they are reviewed and approved.
The Community of Interest mailing list are unmoderated. Messages will post automatically when sent. Please be considerate when using mailing list, remember to only send messaging that contains information the group can benefit from. Individual member moderation settings may be subject to change.
State concisely and clearly the topic of the comments in the subject line. This allows members to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject.
Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information that everyone can benefit from. Do not send or forward subscribe/unsubscribe information.
Send messages such as “thanks for the information” or “me too” to the individuals – not to the entire list. Do this by using your email application’s forwarding option and typing in or cutting and pasting in the email address of the individual to whom you want to respond.
Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, location, and email address.
Do not send administrative messages such as “remove me from the list” through the mailing list. Instead, use the web interface to change your setting or remove yourself from a list. If you are changing email addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from the list and rejoin under your new email address. Simply change your settings. Should you have any questions, please nice [at] nist.gov (email us).
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to NICEcommunity+unsubscribe [at] list.nist.gov (NICEcommunity+unsubscribe[at]list[dot]nist[dot]gov).
To change subscription settings: Visit groups.google.com and select the group you are in and then click on “my membership settings”.
The mailing lists are principally for discussion related to NICE Community Coordinating Council related activities. Files should not be distributed on the mailing list, rather they should be posted on the available collaboration site(s) and a link shared via mailing list.

Discontinued Groups:

Due to the Communities of Interest established in early 2021, these groups have been discontinued: Collegiate Subgroup and Training and Certifications Subgroup.
Due to the restructure of the NICE Community Coordinating Council in late 2024, the Cybersecurity Skills Competitions Community of Interest has been discontinued.

The NICE Program Office thanks these group members for their commitment and involvement in these subgroups. We encourage members to join one or more of the current Working Groups or Communities or Interest.

Information technology, Cybersecurity and Cybersecurity education and workforce development

Contacts

FOR GENERAL INFORMATION

NICE Program Office

[email protected]

(301) 975-4470

100 Bureau Dr.
Gaithersburg, MD 20899

Created January 3, 2017, Updated May 12, 2025