1

National Initiative forCybersecurity Education (NICE) 

Community Coordinating Council

CareerDiscovery WorkingGroup

Project Charter:

National Cybersecurity Ambassador Program

[July 23, 2022, Nov. 9, 2022, Jan. 18, 2023, Feb. 03, 2023, Apr. 28, 2023, June 1, 2023, 

August 13, 2023]

Project Team Lead(s): Connie Bragg, Tish DeVere, and Karl Cureton

Table of Contents

1. Project Team Description .......................................................................................................... 2

2. Project Team Purpose ............................................................................................................... 2

Summary (the Elevator Pitch)................................................................................................................ 2

Statement of Purpose ........................................................................................................................... 2

Scope..................................................................................................................................................... 2

3. Project Team Objectives............................................................................................................ 3

4. Project Team Deliverables......................................................................................................... 3

5. Timeline for Project Development............................................................................................. 4

References........................................................................................................................................... 5
2

1. Project Team Description

The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) is part of the National Institute 

of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S. Department of Commerce, and is a 

partnership between government, academia, and the private sector focused on 

cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development. 

This project, led by the NICE Promote Career Discovery Working Group, aligns with the NICE 

Strategic Plan’s Implementation Plan Goal 1 to Promote the Discovery of Cybersecurity Careers 

and Multiple Pathways. The project team will focus on the NICE Implementation Plan Goal 1, 

Objective 1, Strategy 1.1.4 Create a Cybersecurity Careers Ambassadors program to promote 

cybersecurity career awareness, exploration, and development.

2. Project Team Purpose

Summary (the Elevator Pitch)

“Many do not understand the multiple careers or learning pathways to enter the cybersecurity 

workforce. This project’s purpose is to promote cybersecurity career awareness, exploration, 

and development by creating a network of volunteers to serve as champions for expanding and 

diversifying the nation’s cybersecurity workforce.”

Statement of Purpose

The National Cybersecurity Ambassador Program seeks to create a national network of employers, 

industry representatives, labor and workforce development organizations, program sponsors, faithbased communities, educators, government agencies such as state, local, tribal, and territorial 

entities, non-profit and community-based organizations, and other stakeholders to serve as 

champions for expanding and diversifying the cybersecurity workforce. 

There are multiple career pathway options in the cybersecurity workforce and there are multiple 

learning pathways to gain the knowledge, skills or competency areas needed for cybersecurity 

careers identified in the NICE Framework. Some may obtain an industry-recognized credential 

such as certification, academic degree, or certificate of completion. Others might take some classes 

offered in high schools, colleges, and universities, or through training providers. Some educational 

credentials come from the community, technical, or vocational programs, while others are gained 

through four-year programs; some continue to complete graduate or professional degrees. 

Industry-recognized certifications, on-the-job learning, workplace experiences, self-paced 

learning, competitions, apprenticeship, internship, and externship programs are additional learning 

pathway options. The National Cybersecurity Ambassador Program will promote cybersecurity 

career awareness, exploration, and development. 
3

Scope

The scope of this project will address NICE Strategic Plan’s Goal 1 to Promote the Discovery of 

Cybersecurity Careers and Multiple Pathways, namely Objective 1.1. Identify and share effective 

practicesfor promoting cybersecurity career awareness and discovery to diverse stakeholders. 

Within Objective 1.1, there are five strategies that support meeting this objective:

1.1.1 Identify and share effective practices in career awareness, discovery, and 

development to include successful strategies for diversity, equity, inclusion, and 

accessibility (DEIA) initiatives

1.1.2 Establish and maintain a program and activity directory of projects, initiatives, and 

resources related to cybersecurity career awareness, exploration, preparation, 

placement, maintenance, and mentoring 

1.1.3 Promote relevant conferences and convenings, foster and advance advocacy 

campaigns such as Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week and promote community 

champions for building cybersecurity career ecosystems

1.1.4 Create a Cybersecurity Careers Ambassadors program to promote cybersecurity 

career awareness, exploration, and development

1.1.5 Coordinate, implement, and continue to evaluate effective cybersecurity career 

awareness communication touch points with multiple stakeholders 

This project will focus on Strategy 1.1.4. Create a Cybersecurity Careers Ambassadors program 

to promote cybersecurity career awareness, exploration, and development.

3. Project Team Objectives

• Review resources and existing approaches to existing examples of Ambassador programs

• Determine short-term, mid-term, and long-term target audiences and stakeholders

• Identify criteria for articulating the value of becoming an ambassador

• Identify or establish resources for ambassador use

• Identify or establish a reward structure for ambassador use

• Identify the mechanism for ambassador selection

• Determine activities or requirements for ambassadors to engage with stakeholders

• Identify criteria for measuring the impact of the Cybersecurity Careers Ambassadors 

program

4. Project Team Deliverables

The team’s final deliverables are dependent on the knowledge the project team develops 

through its iterative process. The earliest deliverables will include an environmental scan to 

understand the landscape of existing successful ambassador programs. The team will leverage 

input from the larger Career Discovery Working group and Competitions and K12 COI. 
4

5. Timeline for Project Development (see separate workstream doc for details)

WORKSTREAM 1

April-June 2022

July-September 2022

Sept 2022- Feb. 2023

WORKSTREAM 2 

March – Sept. 2023

WORKSTREAM 3 

Starting in 2024

Sprint 1 complete (examining existing programs) notes

Sprint 2 complete (stakeholders, target audience/s, value) 

docs

K12 first target audience

Sprint 3 (first round of existing resources inventory)

Sprint 1 Selection Pilot Soft Launch to determine resources 

and training specs

(selection criteria, activities, resources, PR leading up to 

formal launch) 

Sprint 2 

Recruit Pilot Ambassadors (Round 1)

Sprint 3 

Intro training for Ambassadors

Sprint 4 

Formal Announcement about the Ambassador program

Sprint 1 

Brainstorm possible selection criteria, activities, resources,

vetting process for 2024 cohort—is this possible or do we need 

to pass off to another group 

If application process (DOL apprenticeship program) PRA

needed—tap/leverage existing apprenticeship

Sprint 2 

Metrics of Success (from our cohort 1/pilot program) 

Adjustments

Formal Recruitment (Round 2) 

Ambassadorship at Full Scale
5

References

1. The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education Strategic Plan 

https://www.nist.gov/itl/applied-cybersecurity/nice/about/strategic-plan

2. NICE Implementation Plan 

https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2021/09/23/Implementation%20Plan_22Sep20

21.pdf

3. Careers Working Group Implementation Plan strategies and indicators of success evergreen 

document Objectives_strategies_actions_indicators_121521.docx - Google Docs

Evaluation & Findings