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NICE Community Coordinating Council

Meeting Minutes

January 26, 2022 | 3:30-5:00 p.m. ET

I. Introduction and Ground Rules

NICE Program Manager Susana Barraza opened the meeting, welcomed everyone to the 

call, and reviewed the ground rules. Everyone is encouraged to participate via the chat 

space. As a reminder, this community is not meant for marketing or any commercial 

purposes.

II. Opening Remarks

a. Industry Co-Chair – Jon Brickey, Senior Vice President, Mastercard

• Workforce challenges are especially acute right now with the “great resignation.” 

At his company, voluntary losses are higher than normal. They are still having 

trouble getting HR to change its ways and accept new partnerships. 

• Some professional services companies used by industry do not fully understand the 

NICE Framework. Jon will be meeting with two companies to discuss this.

b. Academic Co-Chair – Marni Baker-Stein, Chief Academic Officer and Provost, Western 

Governors University

• WGU just finished up some research that geolocated employer demand across 

several states and several counties within them. When looking at the skills and 

underlying credentials required in job postings, an undergraduate degree was the 

real proxy for readiness in almost every case. The question is, what is it going to take

in working with HR departments to reassess job readiness qualifications to address 

the critical gaps in the cybersecurity workforce, especially at a time of need for agile 

pathways?

c. Government Co-Chair - Rodney Petersen, Director of NICE 

• Understanding the NICE Framework is one challenge, and implementing it is another 

challenge. NICE expects that the community will continue to work toward 

overcoming the obstacles.

• Community engagement is a major priority for NICE. Some of the groups the

program office has met with recently include: 

o Midwest Credential Transparency Alliance, looking into career pathways and 

collaborative interstate efforts on credentials. 

o Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (CAE-C) community, further 

exploring competencies and how they relate to the NICE Framework. 

o Federal CIO Council’s Workforce Committee

o Advisory group for community colleges, creating a coordinated network around 

robotics, automation, and manufacturing to assess what these students need to 

know about cybersecurity. 
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III. Standing Items

a. Report Roundup – Learning from Good Ideas 

Women in the Workplace 2021

Presented by Sara S. O’Rourke, Partner, McKinsey & Company

URL: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-inthe-workplace

• Survey Participants

o 423 participating organizations

o 65,000 employees surveyed

o 1-on-1 in-depth interviews with several thousand employees

o The survey is a joint effort between McKinsey and LeanIn.org

• Women made small gains in representation across the pipeline in 2020, but there 

are persistent gaps. Women, especially women of color, are under-represented in 

leadership. Promotions at the first step up to manager are not equitable. The 

pipeline for women in technical roles trails overall representation.

• All employees are more burned out than last year, but the gap in burnout between 

men and women has nearly doubled. In the past year, one in three women

considered leaving the workforce or downshifting her career.

• Women leaders have taken on the lion’s share of work in supporting people on their 

teams. They spend more time than men on diversity/equity/inclusion work outside 

formal job responsibilities. Senior-level women are twice as likely as senior-level 

men to dedicate time to these tasks at least weekly.

• Women are over-mentored and under-sponsored. Senior level women take on a 

heavier sponsorship load. Women are more willing to put themselves on the line for 

marginalized groups.

• Ally-ship is on the rise, but women of color still lack effective allies. More than 

three-fourths of White employees consider themselves allies of women of color, but 

much fewer consistently take important ally-ship actions.

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

SFS Job Fair Use of NICE Framework Work Roles

Presented by Yang Li, National Science Foundation

URL: https://www.sfs.opm.gov/AODefault.aspx

CyberCorps Scholarship for Service:

• Goals: Increase the number of qualified employees working for federal, state, local 

and tribal governments in cybersecurity and increase the capacity of US education 

to produce professionals in cybersecurity

• 2022 Job Fair - January 11-12

o 74 federal agencies and DoE labs

o 10 state, local and federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs)

o 284 agency representatives

o 656 students registered

o 54 university staff

o 994 total participants
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• NICE Framework Work Roles

Most agencies use “focused work roles” and most students use “desired work 

roles.” 

• SFS institutions: https://www.sfs.opm.gov/ContactsPI.aspx

c. Research Review- Driving Research on Effective Practices 

The State of the U.S. STEM Workforce

Presented by Amy L. Burke, Ph.D., Program Director, National Science Foundation

URL: https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20221/u-s-and-global-stem-education-andlabor-force

 23% of the U.S. workforce are in STEM jobs as of 2019. Expanding the data 

framework is a main step needed to change the conversation. A new definition of 

the STEM workforce encompasses all workers who use science and engineering 

(S&E) skills. The new definition more than doubles the number of individuals in the 

STEM workforce by including 16 million workers with at least a bachelor’s degree 

and 20 million workers without a bachelor’s degree.

 Participation in STEM jobs by women, black, and Hispanic workers grew in 2019.

• Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians or Alaska Natives represented 23% of the 

total STEM workforce in 2019. They were underrepresented in STEM, largely 

because of underrepresentation among STEM workers with a bachelor’s degree or 

higher.

• Women make up about one-third of the STEM workforce, less than their 

representation in the employed U.S. population (48%). The share of women in STEM 

grew from 32% in 2010 to 34% in 2019

• The STEM workforce is resilient, even during a global pandemic. In 2019, 

unemployment was lower among the STEM labor force (2%) than the non-STEM 

labor force (4%). This pattern held during the pandemic. STEM unemployment 

jumped from about 3% in March 2020 to 9% in April 2020—but for those in nonSTEM occupations, unemployment shot up from about 5% to 16% during the same 

period. By September 2020, unemployment had declined for both STEM and nonSTEM workers. STEM workers without a bachelor’s degree and non-STEM workers 

with a bachelor’s degree reached equivalent unemployment levels

• Foreign-born workers accounted for 19% of the STEM workforce, increasing from 

17% in 2010. Foreign-born workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher accounted for 

21% of workers in S&E occupations at the bachelor’s degree level, 38% at the 

master’s degree level, and 45% at the doctorate level. Most U.S.-trained, foreignborn S&E doctorate recipients who remain in the United States after graduation 

work in S&E occupations.

d. Strategy Stories – New Developments that align to NICE Strategic Plan 

Presidential Cybersecurity Educator of the Year

Presented by Albert Palacios, U.S. Department of Education

URL: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/two-educators-honored-2021-

presidential-cybersecurity-education-award

• Recipients of the 2021 Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award:

o Kristina L. Rice, of Spotsylvania High School in Spotsylvania, Virginia

o Sergio de Alba, of Miano Elementary School in Los Banos, California
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• Kristi Rice said that a lot of people still don’t realize cybersecurity is taught at the 

high school level. She takes students out of the classroom and into the field so they 

can see the kinds of jobs that are available. She has strong teams for competitions

and a number of students who are pursuing cybersecurity projects during their 

senior year. One student is working on a cybersecurity camp. Another is working on 

an elementary-style cybersecurity program geared to high school students with 

intellectual disabilities – the project will roll out in the fall. 

• The Department of Education will open the nomination period for the 2022 awards 

soon, and it will close around May. Winners will be announced around October.

IV. Working Group Updates

a. Promote Career Discovery

Co-chairs: Roland Varriale II, Argonne National Laboratory

• The Promote Career Discovery Working Group is focusing on the Career Pathways 

and Credentials project, which addresses NICE Strategic Plan Implementation Plan 

Objective 1.2. This objective aims to increase the understanding of multiple learning 

pathways and credentials that lead to careers that are identified in the NICE 

Framework.

• In the months ahead, the group will start building out projects to look at some of 

their other objectives in the Implementation Plan.

b. Transform Learning Process

Co-chairs: Richard Spires, Learning Tree; Dr. Donna Schaeffer, Marymount University

• The Transform Learning Process Working Group welcomed a new co-chair, Donna 

Schaeffer of Marymount University.

• The group is in the process of chartering two projects: 

o Improve the Quality and Availability of Credentials: This project addresses 

Objective 2.3 of the NICE Strategic Plan Implementation Plan to improve the 

quality and availability of credentials that validate competencies. It includes 

taking a look at how credentials can be organized, valued, and made more 

affordable. 

o Incorporating Cybersecurity into a Public Service Education: The working group is 

partnering with the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and 

Administration (NASPAA) to look into how to infuse this type of education with 

the appropriate amount of cybersecurity education. The goal is to build a model 

that can be used with other professional education groups to bring 

cybersecurity into their curricula.

c. Modernize Talent Management

Co-chairs: Lynsey Caldwell, Leidos; Kevin Perry, United States Army; Dr. Melissa Woo, 

Michigan State University

• The Modernize Talent Management Working Group finalized a draft project charter

for the Cyber Career-Entry Guidance for Job Seekers & Employers project, which 

addresses Objectives 3.3 and 3.4 of the NICE Strategic Plan Implementation Plan. It 

aims to 1) promote the establishment of more entry-level positions and 

opportunities that provide avenues for growth and advancement and 2) provide 

guidance on how to align qualification requirements according to proficiency levels 
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to reflect the competencies and capabilities required to perform tasks in the NICE 

Framework. The project is divided into two teams, and they will kick off project 

team meetings over the next couple weeks. 

V. Community of Interest Updates

a. Apprenticeships in Cybersecurity

Co-chairs: Tony Bryan, CyberUp; Jennifer Oddo, Youngstown State University

• The Apprenticeships in Cybersecurity COI is working toward delivering an 

apprenticeship playbook in time for the NICE Conference & Expo in June. They want 

to help apprenticeship programs use consistent language.

b. Cybersecurity Skills Competitions

Co-chairs: Amelia Phillips, Highline College; Bradley Wolfenden, EmberSec; David 

Zeichick, California State University, Chico

• The Cybersecurity Skills Competitions COI is finalizing a one-pager on competitions. 

They are also finalizing two other projects: Competitors Guide to Competitions and

How to Build and Run a Competition, which might be renamed. 

• The group brainstormed new ideas for collaborations with other COIs. 

• They also would like to explore research on how many people are getting jobs as a 

result of competitions. 

c. K12 Cybersecurity Education

Co-chairs: Laurin Buchanan, Secure Decisions

• The K12 Cybersecurity Education COI has been exploring project ideas for 2022. 

They have asked educators to let them know what their biggest challenges are. They 

are weighing a number of project ideas, and community members will vote on them 

before the February meeting. 

d. NICE Framework Users 

Karen Wetzel, Manager of the NICE Framework

• In December NICE announced several NICE Framework resources, and they are 

looking for feedback on them from the community. Comments are due by January 

31, 2022, and should be emailed to NICEFramework@nist.gov.

o Proposed NICE Framework Data Update Process

This update process will enable NICE Framework implementers and 

stakeholders to suggest changes, allow for more regular updates, make NICE 

Framework data available in machine-readable formats, and other 

improvements.

o Refactored NICE Framework Ability Statements

Ability statements have been reviewed in order to identify unique content, 

while retaining important content and capabilities that are needed for various 

Work Roles.

o NICE Framework Competencies, NISTIR 8355 (Second Draft)

The draft was adjusted to better define NICE Framework Competencies, clarified 

the difference between Work Roles and Competencies, and shared how 

Competencies can be used.
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• NICE is also looking for organizations to share stories of Framework uses and

implementations. If you have a story to share, contact Karen Wetzel at: 

karen.wetzel@nist.gov

VI. Project Progress Reports

a. NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Conference

Presented by Felicia Rateliff, Director of Operations and Programs, iKeepSafe

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

• 2021 Conference Review

o 520 attendees – second largest conference ever

o 147 speakers and panelists

o 12 pre-conference workshops

o 30 breakout sessions

o 14 poster sessions

o 25 pre-recorded on demand sessions

o 12 Birds of a Feather sessions

o Virtual speed networking social

o Games - very competitive.

o Student panel

o School counselor panel

o Fireside chat with Kristi Rice

o National Cyber Signing Day featured six students telling their stories about 

internships. Video is available to share with students: 

https://www.k12cybersecurityconference.org/national-cyber-signing-dayvideos

o Free stipends to 120 educators

o All conference content available online through July 31, 2022 

• Save the Date for the 2022 Conference: December 5-6, 2022, St. Louis, Missouri

o They are looking for Planning Committee members from industry, government, 

and academia.

o In late spring they will be recruiting students to share their stories for 2022 

National Cyber Signing Day. 

b. NICE Conference and Expo (Atlanta, Georgia) – June 6-8, 2022 

Presented by Katherine Dagand, Florida International University

URL: https://niceconference.org/

• Call for Proposals for the fourth track open until March 6, 2022: 

https://niceconference.org/proposals/

• Hotel reservations can be made online: 

https://book.passkey.com/event/50187288/owner/324/home?utm_campaign=287

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• Sponsorships and exhibitor booths are available. Learn more at 

https://niceconference.org/sponsors/

c. NICE Challenge Project 

Presented by James D. Ashley

URL: http://www.nice-challenge.com/
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• Overview

o The NICE Challenge Project develops real-world cybersecurity challenges within 

virtualized business environments to provide realistic experiences to students

while generating useful assessment data about their knowledge, skills, and 

abilities for educators. Each NICE Challenge has a narrative-driven scenario, a 

business environment (workspace), and a set of technical objectives and/or a 

written deliverable.

o Challenges are mapped against the NICE Cybersecurity Workforce 

Framework and the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity 

Knowledge Units.

o 525+ educational institutions served

o 950+ education faculty sign-ups

o 109 unique NICE challenges

o 12 NICE Framework Work Roles

o 273 NICE Framework Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Tasks

• January 2022 Updates

o New Reservation System: Players can schedule their own one- or two-day 

workspace. 

o O&M Challenges and Environment Refresh: The refreshed environment has all 

operating systems upgraded to newer versions, new services, and new software 

installed. Eighty O&M challenges were refreshed.

o New Log4Shell Threat Sandbox Challenge to be released soon.

• Updates Coming Summer 2022

o Working with DHS/CISA to create a specialized environment focused on 

Industrial Control Systems (ICS). 

o The environment will be based on an electrical substation, and it will contain 

functioning ICS components.

o There will be additional content later in the fall.

VII. Featured Topics

a. NIST Educational STEM Resource (NEST-R) Registry

Presented by Cara O’Malley, Mathematician, National Institute of Standards and 

Technology

URL: https://nestr.nist.gov/

• In 2020, in light of the pandemic, NIST started to look at how it could help with 

online STEM learning. The goal is to make STEM content easily accessible and 

useable to the public – especially K12 educators – a one-stop shop of resources to 

enhance a STEM curriculum.

• The registry went live at the NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Conference in 

December, 2021.

• Currently the registry holds NIST content, and it can be expanded with links to other 

agencies’ content.

• Users can search by key words or use a set of filters, which include topic, target 

audience, format, instructional level, teaching time, educational standard, and 

more.

• Resource pages include links to the resources, teaching tips, and a Share PID link.
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• The vision is an ecosystem of federated registries. Protocols are based on 

community standards – Open Archive Initiatives (OAI), Open-source software 

(CDCS). Each organization can maintain ownership and stewardship of its content. 

• Each registry instance provides an entry point into the federated system. A user can 

start from any hub and access content from across the linked registries. 

b. NICE Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program Finder

Presented by Marian Merritt, Deputy Director, National Initiative for Cybersecurity 

Education

URL: https://www.nist.gov/nice/apprenticeship-finder

• Background

o Apprenticeships align with NICE Strategic Goals 1, 2, and 3

o NICE supports apprenticeship as a key element for building capacity at entry and 

reskilling levels. The NICE Apprenticeship in Cybersecurity Community of 

Interest has 400 members. They have authored a one-pager to drive awareness

and hosted a pre-conference workshop at the NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education 

Conference in December, among other things.

• Integral Partners

o Department of Labor hosts a working group for cybersecurity programs and 

sponsors National Apprenticeship Week (November 14-20, 2022). 

www.apprenticeship.gov

o DHS (possibly piloting a federal program with University of Maryland, Baltimore 

County); New America Foundation; National CyberWatch (report on federal 

apprenticeships); Urban Institute (early curriculum development)

• NICE Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program Finder

o A tool to help program managers, employers, and job seekers find each other. 

o Launched January 10, 2022

o Online form to submit information about apprenticeship programs: 

https://www.nist.gov/form/nice-apprenticeship-program-find

o More than 90 programs mapped to date

o Programs may be registered with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of 

Apprenticeship or state-level registrations, or they may not yet be registered. 

o Some programs may include youth apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship 

training programs. 

o All programs include cybersecurity work role training and development.

VIII. Closing Remarks and Next Meeting Reminder

• The NICE Program Office will be sending out an email announcement soon on how 

to join and contribute to all of the new project teams.

• The next NICE Council Meeting will be February 23, 2022 at 3:30 p.m. ET.