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Join the New Community of Interest
We are excited to announce a new Diversity and Inclusion Community of Interest that will serve as a forum for anyone who is interested in sharing and learning about methods and experiences shown to effectively build and sustain a diverse, inclusive, and skilled cybersecurity workforce. This Community of Interest enables interested stakeholders to participate in monthly meetings as well as discuss and share information year-round. The group will convene every third Friday of the month from 11am-12pm ET. The first meeting will take place on August 18 at 11:00AM. NICEDiversityInclusion+subscribe [at] list.nist.gov (Send an email) to join today!
Meet the co-chairs:
Dr. Deanne Cranford-Wesley is the Director of the Cybersecurity at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). She is also the institutional point of contact for the Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity. She continues to oversee initiatives with the cybersecurity ecosystem, internal and external partners, and in the innovative cybersecurity lab at NCCU. She teaches in the Computer Information System Department in the School of Business. Dr. Cranford- Wesley is currently a member of the Executive Board for the Colloquium of Information Systems Security Education. She is also a consultant for the National Cybersecurity Training and Education Center (NCyTE).
Zach Oxendine is an Engineering Technical Program Manager at Microsoft. He was born and raised in Rock Hill, South Carolina, but he currently resides and works in Reston, Virginia. Zach is a member of the Lumbee tribe and a Child of Deaf Adults. He enlisted in the Air Force in 2014 - winning airman of the year for his Unit in 2017. After serving for 4 and half years in Cyber Systems Operations, he entered the Air Force reserves where he continues to serve as a Cyber Staff Sergeant. He serves as the external lead for Microsoft’s United States Indigenous Employee Resource Group. Zach is also on the Cyber Defense Advisory Board at the University of North Carolina Pembroke and the Computer Science Advisory board at Vanderbilt University.
Additional Resources
The Transform Learning Process Working Group’s Diversity and Inclusion Resources Project Team recently launched the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Cybersecurity Resources resource page. This website aims to support NICE Strategic Plan values by documenting activities that focus on providing opportunities and resources to underrepresented groups.
About the NICE Community Coordinating Council
The new Diversity and Inclusion Community of Interest Community of Interest joins four existing Communities of Interest and three existing Working Groups as part of the NICE Community Coordinating Council.
The NICE Community Coordinating Council is open to the public and meets monthly to engage with public and private sector participants on cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development topics. View the NICE calendar to explore meeting dates.