NICE Community Coordinating Council

Meeting Minutes 

June 28, 2023 | 3:30-5:00 p.m. ET

I. Introduction and Ground Rules – NICE Program Manager Susana Barraza

• The NICE Community Coordinating Council was 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.

• Members are encouraged to participate in the meeting via the platform chat space and 

the Q&A space.

• Reminder: The meeting is not intended for marketing or other commercial purposes.

II. Opening Remarks

a. Government Co-Chair – Rodney Petersen, Director of NICE

• It was good to see many NICE Community Coordinating Council members at the 

NICE Conference earlier this month in Seattle, WA. 

• Announcement of new co-chairs who will be with us next month: 

1. The new industry co-chair will be Michael Alicea, the Chief Human 

Resources Officer at Trellix. Michael is a well-know leader in the Human 

Resources community.

2. Ongoing effort to select a new academic co-chair to replace Paul 

Bingham. 

• NICE has a new logo – as part of the rebrand of NICE, we are dropping the 

spelled out acronym and simply going by “NICE” to indicate: 

1. We are no longer an initiative, but an instituted program, and

2. To show we are more than just cybersecurity education, but focusing on 

broader training and workforce development efforts, too.

• NIST has new funding for community-based cybersecurity workforce 

development partnerships. And information webinar about the funding was 

held on June 13th and a NICE Webinar on examples of how to coordinate 

community-based partnerships was held on June 21st. 

• Congress has declared June 2023 as National Cybersecurity Education Month. 
III. Standing Items

a. Report Roundup – Learning from Good Ideas 

Evaluating a Consortium of Schools Training Cyber Talent

Presented by Luke Koslosky, Georgetown

URL:

https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/building-the-cybersecurity-workforcepipeline/?utm_source=Center+for+Security+and+Emerging+Technology&utm_campaign

=ead7f01523-

Building+the+Cybersecurity+Workforce+Pipeline&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fc

bacf8c3e-ead7f01523-406647114 

• This report evaluated the effectiveness of National Centers of Academic 

Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) schools. There are now over 400 NCAE-C 

schools in three designations – Cyber Defense (CD), Cyber Operations (CO), and 

Research (R). Many CAEs are part of a larger training and development

ecosystem outside of classrooms. 

• The report sought to understand the NCAE-C program and determine whether 

they are graduating students at a higher rate than non-CAE schools. 

• NCAE-C schools graduated 50% of all Bachelor’s degrees in cybersecurity in

2020. 

• NCAE-C is showing rapid growth in program completions, compared to all other 

schools in both cybersecurity AND in all other fields of study. 

• Gender imbalance remains a challenge in students who participate in these 

education programs.

• The report makes a single recommendation. The recommendation is to 

Congress to officially authorize NCAE-C as a program of record and provide 

yearly appropriations for the program. 

• Q&A

Q: Do you have data on other demographics such as race and ethnicity? 

A: Yes, but that data is not in the report. Findings were similar to other studies

in that most students are white males, with a smattering of Asian males. 

Q: Do you have data by other states to show graduates of CAEs v non-CAEs? 

A: Yes, top states were: Maryland, Virginia, and Florida for graduates of 

Bachelor’s programs; and Virginia, Florida, and Texas for graduates of Associate 

degree programs. 

Q: Do you have any data on the employability of CAE students v non-CAE 

students? 

A: No data is available, but would love to study this. Anecdotally, employers are 

often brought in as part of standing up a CAE program, so there are partnerships 

in place that help students connect to employers. 
b. Strategy Stories – New Developments that align to NICE Strategic Plan

502 Project 

Presented by Nathan W. Fisk, Ph.D., University of South Florida

URL: https://502project.org/ 

• Nathan was joined by student, Quinn Vaughn, who has been instrumental in the

implementation of the NICE Framework in the 502 project. 

• The 502 project is an attempt to broaden access to the cybersecurity

community. There is a big issue dealing with significant gender and racial 

disparity in cybersecurity. As a result, it’s not sufficient that access to just 

pipelines and pathways are broadened, but that we also broaden access to the 

community. 

• The 502 project centers around running a large-scale discord server to support 

events. The server provides students with access to challenges, events, and 

other activities year-round. 

• The NICE Framework is at the core of the project by using Work Roles to create 

pathways for students. Events and challenges are tagged with Work Roles, 

which helps to observe trends on what students are learning. Discord bots will 

connect people with each other who are working on the same challenges or 

attending the same events. 

• The 502 project is mostly for students, but mentors can join at 

https://502project.org/mentors-join

• Q&A: 

Q: How many people have participated so far? 

A: About 200 students and 100 professionals or adults have participated. 

However, the goal is to make the community much larger. Participants are all 

throughout the U.S., but primarily from the Southeast now since that’s where 

funding started. 

c. Framework Feature – Applications and Uses of Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity 

Implementing NICE

Presented by James Stanger, PhD, CompTIA

URL: 

https://comptia365.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/stanger/EgubTBTXr_hIv6faMilbjjMBnGUpf9_k

HJv1d2qpKg4Evw

• The Cybersecurity Credentials Collaborative (C3) is a formal group of major 

cybersecurity certification providers who work with governing bodies (such as 

DoD, ANSI, NIST, etc). Members of the C3 contribute to cyberseek.org and 

cybersates.org

• The C3 has created a mapping of certifications to NICE Framework Work Roles. 

The mapping is available at 

https://comptia365.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/stanger/EgubTBTXr_hIv6faMilbjjMBn

GUpf9_kHJv1d2qpKg4Evw
• Certifications in the mapping include those from CompTIA, SANS, CertNexus, 

CompTIA, IAPP, ISC2, and ISACA. 

• Q&A: 

Q: Are there plans for a next phase or next steps? 

A: The C3 is seeking someone with web development experience to help update 

the C3 website and to make the mapping more publicly available. The C3 is also 

interested in engaging in dialogue on what it means to map or align 

certifications with standards. 

Q: What should academics do with the mapping?

A: Academics can see what common areas there are between the courses that 

they are implementing, the work that NICE is doing, and what the certification

providers are doing in global markets. 

d. Research Review- Driving Research on Effective Practices

Bridging Cybersecurity Workforce Skill Gap with Experiential Learning: The Role of

Cybersecurity Clinics

Presented by Dr. Samuel Owusu, Marymount University

• There was an observation that most academic teaching is not through hands-on 

exercises. Additionally, most rely on in-house labs or subscribe and pay for 

services, which have its pros and cons, but a framework for cybersecurity clinics 

can be the solution for a low-cost option to implement hands-on experience 

into classroom teaching.

• The study sought to identify cybersecurity clinics implemented in the US and 

outside of the US. 8 were found in US and 1 in Africa. The cybersecurity clinic in 

Africa is out of CyberGhana and local universities. 

• The study looked across all 9 clinics and were able to find similarities between 

them. 

• There are 4 types of clinics – 

o Emerging Cyber Teaching Hospital – requires all students in the 

cybersecurity program to participate in clinicals

o Community Health Cyber Clinics – voluntary and community services for 

local government and small and medium-sized businesses

o Semi-Cyber Clinic – Clinicals as a 3-credit semester course

o No-cyber clinic (Global Cyber Alliance) – provides cybersecurity 

awareness tools for community outreach

• The research found that all clinics are different and that a consistent model was 

needed to have the impact that is desired. A 6-component framework was 

designed to show the primary components needed in a cybersecurity clinic.

• The study proposes that clinics should remodel what they do to align to the 6-

component framework and that any new programs consider adopting the

framework. 
IV. Working Group Updates

a. Promote Career Discovery

Co-chair: Roland Varriale, Argonne National Laboratory

a. The group did not meet last month, so there is not much to report. 

b. The Ambassador Program is still working to finalize a plan and launch soon. 

b. Transform Learning Process 

Co-chair: Dr. Donna Schaeffer, Marymount University 

a. Richard Spires is an outgoing co-chair and Donna thanks him for his 

participation.

b. Tara Wisniewski is an incoming co-chair. Tara is the Executive VP for Global 

Markets and Engagement at (ISC)2. 

c. The group gave two presentations at the NICE conference on project teams that 

started in January

i. One presentation on performance-based assessments – the team put 

together a report of findings from a survey of National Centers of 

Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) schools. The report is in 

stages of being finalized. 

ii. Another presentation on DEIA – the team created a series of handouts 

on topics related to diversity and inclusion as well as a webpage of 

resources. 

d. The team is now introducing a new project focused on recognizing faculty as 

valued members of training and education efforts. The team is hoping to pull 

together a resource page and potentially find sponsors for awards for new 

faculty, university faculty, community college faculty, and training and 

development organizations from industry. 

c. Modernize Talent Management 

Co-chair: Lynsey Caldwell, Leidos

• Lynsey is an outgoing co-chair and welcomes two new incoming co-chairs – Jo 

Justice, from the Business Information Security Office (BISO) at Liedos and 

Olesya Menon, a Security Education Program Manager at Google. 

• The last Modernize Talent Management Working Group meeting welcomed 

guest speaker, Nelson Abbott from NPower, who talked about how Human 

Resources (HR) can adjust some of their processes to capture more candidates 

to fill entry level roles and how keeping diversity, equity, and inclusion in mind 

helps us all think about underutilized resources. 

• The team is looking for feedback on their draft Guide for Writing Effective Job 

Descriptions. The team will also circulate this draft document with HR teams 

before publishing. The Guide is meant to be used before, during, and after hiring

and includes checklists for what to include in job postings and a rubric for what 

language to include when determining criteria (proficiencies required) for the 

position.
V. Community of Interest Updates 

a. Apprenticeships in Cybersecurity 

Co-chair: Debbie McLeod, McLeod Information Systems

• In the month of June, the Apprenticeship Community of Interest (COI)

welcomed a guest speaker - Chris Rick, Manager of Strategic Outreach in the 

Department of Labor Veteran Employment Training Services Division. 

• The Veteran Affairs (VA) approves employers as registered apprenticeship 

providers and provide a worker opportunity tax credit per veteran they hire 

through these apprenticeships. 

• The Department of Labor has an employer guide for those who are seeking to 

hire veterans. They also provide information on how an apprentice can use their 

GI Bill as a housing allowance as they transition to their new positions. 

• Learn more at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets 

• Next month's featured speaker will be Mary N. Chaney, Chairwoman, CEO & 

President of Minorities in Cybersecurity, Inc.

• Next meeting: July 14, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET 

b. Cybersecurity Skills Competitions 

Co-chair: David Zeichick, California State University, Chico 

• June’s meeting was held at the NICE Conference in Seattle, WA. 

• The panel discussed past presentations and projects. The meeting focused on 

receiving ideas for future topics. 

• A couple of items they reviewed during their Jam Board session were the

competitions website and future meeting topics. 

• Co-chair David presented to the National Cyber League (NCL) on a new Canvas 

shell. The new community NCL Canvas shell is a pre-created site for 

collaboration. Faculty and instructors will be able to access materials for their 

classes. 

• Amelia Philips has completed her term as co-chair with the NICE Cybersecurity 

Skills Competitions Community of Interest (COI). David is seeking a new co-chair 

to serve in the NICE Cybersecurity Skills Competitions COI. Additionally, he will 

recruit a student to serve as third co-chair in the COI. 

• Friendly reminder, the International Cybersecurity Championship and 

Conference (IC3) is happening August 1-4, 2023, in San Diego, CA. 

• Next meeting: July 20, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. ET 
c. K12 Cybersecurity Education 

Co-chair: Thomas Trevethan, Palo Alto Networks Cybersecurity Academy

• Thomas and Davina hosted a K12 Cybersecurity Education COI meeting during 

the NICE Conference and Expo. 

• During June’s meeting, Thomas and Davina provided the audience with an 

overview of past deliverables and current projects. 

• The COI is currently working on Cybersecurity Career Week (Oct 16-21, 2023), 

the Quarterly Teacher Recognition Program, and the Ambassador Program. 

• The COI has determined to keep one meeting day instead of alternating 

between Wednesday and Thursday every month. The COI will meet every 2nd

Wednesday of the month. 

• Next meeting: July 12, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. ET 

d. NICE Framework Users 

Staff: Mike Prebil, Cybersecurity Workforce Analyst, NICE

• The NICE Framework Users Group will have their first open call on Thursday, 

June 29, 2023. 

• During this call, members will be able to provide feedback, ask questions, and 

any troubleshooting regarding to the NICE Framework. The open calls are meant 

to be informal and conversational gatherings. 

• The invited speakers for the first open call are Nate Fisk and Quinn Vaughn with 

Project 502. 

• To join the NICE Framework Users Group, email 

niceframeworkusers+subscribe@list.nist.gov. 

VI. Project Progress Reports 

a. NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Conference (Phoenix, Arizona) – December 4-5, 2023 

Presented by Felicia Rateliff, iKeepSafe

URL: https://www.k12cybersecurityconference.org/

• The conference will be held Dec. 4-5, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona. Pre-conference 

workshops will be held Dec. 2-3, 2023. 

• This year’s event will be held in Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak. The 

conference location is close to the airport and walking distance to restaurants 

and shopping centers. 

• The deadline for Call for Proposals has been extended to July 28, 2023. 

• This year’s conference theme is “Designing K12 learning experiences to build a 

diverse and skilled cybersecurity workforce”.

• The planning committee announced the 2023 Student Nomination Application

for National Cyber Signing Day. The purpose of the National Cyber Signing Day 
celebration is to increase awareness of cybersecurity career options and 

pathways available to K-12th grade students. 

• The planning committee announced Student Keynote speaker, Cougarjade 

Reyes. Cougarjade is an 11th grader at Cactus High School, Phoenix, AZ. He is an 

Outstanding Freshman Cadet of the JROTC CyberPatriot Team. He started an 

Innovation Center for computer certifications. 

• The National School Counselor Association will host a School Counselor Panel at 

the conference. 

• iKeepSafe is still seeking sponsors and exhibitors. Learn more. 

• To receive any conference updates, sign up here. 

b. US Cyber Games

Presented by Brad Wolfenden

URL: https://www.uscybergames.com/ 

• US Cyber Games recently wrapped up their US Cyber Open. They had about 780 

people attend and over 2,200 individuals participate in their US Cyber Open 

Capture the Flag Event. The athlete leaderboard will be available on the US 

Cyber Game website. 

• The US Cyber Combine will be happening July 7-September 1, 2023. During the 

US Cyber Combine, athletes can expect structured training, evaluation, and 

assessment, both on an individual level and in groups or on teams.

• US Cyber Team Draft Day will be happening October 16, 2023, in Washington, 

DC. Livestream opportunities will be available. 

• The International Cybersecurity Championship and Conference (IC3) is 

happening July 31 - August 4, 2023, in San Diego, CA.

• The IC3 will consist of the International Championship Games, expert gamer 

talks, and a hands-on game expo. They expect to have representation of about 

84 countries. 

• Learn more about US Cyber Games here. 

• Q&A:

Q: How do students outside the country get involved in the IC3? 

A: On the https://www.ic3.games/ site, there is a list of participating countries

and students can reach out to the Point of Contact to inquire how they can get 

involved. 

c. NICE Conference and Expo (Dallas, Texas) – June 3-5, 2024 

Presented by Randy Pestana, Florida International University 

URL: https://niceconference.org/

• The pictures, conference breakout presentations, and plenary session 

recordings of the 2023 NICE Conference are now available. 

• Please provide conference feedback via the Whova App or emails 

received. 

• The 2024 NICE Conference will be held On June 3-5, 2024, at the 

Sheraton Dallas, TX. The conference dates for the next 5 years are now 
available here. Conference locations will be announced as time 

approaches. 

• This year the conference planning committee received 176 proposals

including lightening talks. The planning committee is continuously 

seeking ways to increase speaking opportunities for the conference. 

• The conference was sold out with 638 paid registrations. 

• This year’s conference had over 300 first time attendees and the most 

industry participation since the 2019 Phoenix conference. 

• Florida International University wants to thank and recognize their 

partners who support the NICE Conference.

VII. Featured Topic 

NICE Framework Competency Areas

Presented by Karen Wetzel, NICE Framework Manager

URL: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2023/06/request-comments-new-list-niceframework-competency-areas 

• The NICE Framework Competencies: Preparing a Job-Ready Cybersecurity Workforce

(NIST Internal Report (NISTIR) 8355) is now available. This document describes more indepth what the NICE Competency Areas are and gives more information on how they 

are distinct and can be used with Work Roles. 

• The Competency Areas Authoring Guide for Workforce Frameworks is now available. 

• NICE is defining a Competency Area as a cluster of related Knowledge and Skill 

statements that correlates with one’s capability to perform Tasks in a particular domain.

This is targeted for learners to discover areas of interest, inform career planning and 

development, identify gaps for knowledge and skills development, and provide a means 

of assessing or demonstrating a learner’s capabilities in the domain.

• NICE Framework Competency Areas may be additive to one or more Work Roles and

may be used independently of Work Roles. Additionally, they can represent a domain 

that spans multiple Work Roles (incorporates Knowledge and Skill statements from 

multiple Work Roles). Lastly, they may represent emerging domains that do not yet 

have established Work Roles. 

• Competency Areas do not duplicate existing Work Roles. 

• The Competency Areas Authoring Guide goes well in hand with the Playbook for 

Workforce Frameworks. 

• NICE has released a new proposed list of NICE Framework Competency Areas for 

comment. Learn more. 

• Comments on the NICE Framework List of Competency Areas are due August 5, 2023. 

Submit comments to NICEFramework@nist.gov. 

VIII. Closing Remarks and Next Meeting Reminder 

The next NICE Community Coordinating Council Meeting will be July 26, at 3:30 p.m. ET.