NICE Community Coordinating Council

Meeting Minutes

July 26, 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. Interim Industry Co-Chair – Michael Alicea, Chief Human Resources Officer, Trellix 

• Michael noted how great it is to have a group of individuals dedicated to this topic. 

NICE is a critical initiative that has been well known for years but it still has much 

progress to make. 

• Member engagement is critical. NICE is building a foundation by which it can grow 

and advance its initiative. What is that initiative? To drive greater awareness, 

greater education, greater skills, and greater capabilities around the concepts of 

cybersecurity and data privacy into our country. 

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

• Rodney welcomed Michael Alicea as Co-Chair and thanked him for his participation. 

Rodney noted that Michael will continue to bring the Human Resources and 

Industry perspective as much as the previous Industry Co-Chair. 

• Rodney also welcomed Zarina Blankenbaker, President of Tarrant County College in 

Fort Worth, Texas, as the Academic Co-Chair of the NICE Community Coordinating 

Council. 

• Rodney is detailed to support the CHIPS office on a part time basis in implementing 

the CHIPS and Science Act to build the semi-conductor in micro-electronics, 

workforce. Yesterday, Rodney organized an event in DC yesterday where the semiconductor industry association released a report (Chipping Away: Assessing and 

Addressing the Labor Market Gap Facing the U.S. Semiconductor Industry) on 

assessing/addressing the labor market gap facing the US semi-conductor industry. 

Cybersecurity and the Semi-Conductor Industry are closely related in several ways. 
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) related fields are all facing 

demands at levels across the board. Looking at the report recommendations, the 

first one is to strengthen and support partnerships and regional programs to 

develop the technical workforce that is needed. NICE has the same challenge and 

opportunity. The RAMPS Notice of Funding Opportunity is currently available with a 

deadline of September 5th. The second recommendation was to grow a domestic 

STEM pipeline for engineers and computer scientists. There are a lot of 

corresponding efforts across STEM related fields. 

• On July 31, 2023, the Office of the National Cyber Director will issue its new National 

Cyber Workforce and Education strategy. 

• Rodney shared a link to a panel discussion on: The National Cyber Workforce and 

Education Strategy: Unleashing America’s cyber talent - Atlantic Council

III. Standing Items

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

Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD) Cyber Academic Pathway- Application 

and Uses

Presented by Donna Woods, Cyber Academic Pathway Lead & Grant Facilitator

URL: https://www.mvusd.net/departments/business-services/technology-innovationand-assessment/innovation/cyber-academic-pathway 

• Donna shared about how they use and implement the NICE Framework into their

student careers, and into how they are training their teachers. Additionally, how 

they use it throughout their pathway in their school district when teaching students 

about it while doing career development. 

• To understand how to use it, one needs to understand how their pathway works. 

Many people attending the meeting today were critical in developing the pathway

and curriculum. Donna reviewed the pathway: 

o The NICE Framework is introduced in Middle School. Students work within 

the framework throughout high school. The NICE Framework is integrated 

into the curriculum design and lesson planning for career research projects, 

case studies, community presentations and Special Operations Command 

(SOC) projects. They will also understand the knowledge, skills and abilities

(KSAs). 

o During College Career Awareness Month, each student creates a digital and 

or/physical presentation of their selected NICE Framework Role for 

Cybersecurity. 

o The student presentations are shared throughout various community, 

academic, and career and technical education (CTE) related events to 

support the national efforts for Cyber Workforce Awareness. 

• As students advance through the pathway, their selected NICE Workforce 

Framework Role and previous presentation are utilized in conjunction with their 

specific aptitudinal assessments.
• During the Framework Continuum, students are required to participate in two 

different industry related webinars, review/research the Workforce Framework 

Specialty Areas of their selected roles and determine (based on their Aptitude 

Assessment) which specialty they would like to focus on. This helps drive their focus 

for obtaining specified industry certifications. One or more industry certifications 

are required per year. 

• The goal of understanding the NICE Workforce Framework roles, specialty areas, 

tasks, skills, and abilities (TSAs) and KSAs is to best align the student skill sets to that 

of the employers needs during their pre-apprenticeships, summer paid internships, 

and apprenticeships while assisting in their college and career planning. 

• Q&A:

Q: Can you say more about the aptitudinal assessments? What tool are you using 

and what is your experience with the tool so far?

A: The tool utilized is ‘YOUSCIENCE’(www.youscience.com) They are provided with 

an entire site license and not just individual uses. There are different aptitudinal 

assessments for 6th grade and then it changes for 7th and 8th grade and then 9th

through 12th. They receive career driven results which is directly connected to ONET 

and shows their best fit careers. We see NICE Framework in the careers. It is more 

robust than an intra-survey. It is a true deep dive. 

Q: How do students move through levels of the NICE Framework? It may be through 

proficiency levels. It could also be across work roles. 

A: They are taken through the framework so that they can see the specialty areas. It 

helps drive the core curriculum they are taking. It is a progression.

b. Report Roundup – Learning from Good Ideas

Security Behavior and Culture Program

Presented by Alex Michaels, Gartner

URL: https://www.gartner.com/en/doc/773138-ciso-foundations-build-a-cultureof-security-consciousness-introducing-the-gartner-pipe-framework 

• Alex shared a slide with a depiction of The Gartner PIPE (Practices, Influences and 

Platforms) Framework. This framework came out of a need to go beyond 

awareness. They discovered that most people are aware that cybersecurity is there 

and that the controls are there to influence their decision if they still do not comply 

or act in a secure way. 

• They came up with the framework to shift beyond awareness to culture program 

and awareness. The PIPE Framework includes practices, influences and platforms 

which all surround ‘security behavior and culture program’. Around the center are 

the enabling factors such as: Executive Support, engaging vision, expertise, execute 

mindfully, expertise and evaluate outcomes. 

o Practice: It goes beyond computer-based training (CBT). 

o Influence: It’s more than just roles and responsibilities.

o Platforms: Point Solutions Won’t Deliver

• Q&A:

Q: Is there a link to a report about this research? 

A: Yes. 
Q: Globally, are you seeing investments that are different in US based companies vs. 

European based?

A: No, this is a global shift. Everyone is starting to realize that it is more than just a 

computer-based training. 

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

Integrating Secure Supply Chain Risk Management into Software Engineering Curriculum 

Presented by Terry Downing-Harris, Towson University

• Terry chose this area of research because she realized both government and 

industry are looking for ways to secure the software supply chain from which both 

government and industry make frequent purchases of ‘off the shelf’ software 

applications. 

• Higher Education Institutions focus on teaching students on writing software that is 

secure but often don’t teach them how to secure commercial ‘off the shelf’ 

applications by using secure supply chain risk management practices that are based 

on NIST Standards. Terry feels that higher education can help to secure the software 

supply chain by teaching secure supply chain risk management. 

• Terry’s research involves an experiment that will integrate the secure supply chain 

risk management into software engineering curriculum at Townson University as 

well as the software engineering curriculum outside universities that choose to 

participate.

• Terry’s overall goal is to provide a model that all universities can use for integrating 

secure supply chain risk management into their software engineering curriculum.

• The experiment involves an integration that will utilize several NIST Standards to 

effectively secure commercial ‘off the shelf’ software applications, enhance the 

undergraduate education for software engineering students, and to design learning 

modules that fit easily into any software engineering course so that they can 

integrate secure supply chain risk management at universities. 

• Q&A:

Q: The Clark Center is a repository of cybersecurity curriculum at Towson University. 

Will Terry be submitting any of her material to the center?

A: Yes, Terry will submit her work to the center.

IV. Working Group Updates

a) Promote Career Discovery 

Co-chairs: Jimmy Baker, Arrow Electronics; Keith Davis, Koinonia Family Life, Inc; Karl 

Cureton, Council Exchange Board of Trade (CEBOT)

• Co-Chair, Jimmy Baker, introduced Karl Cureton, the newest Promote Career 

Awareness Co-Chair. Karl provided the working group update.

• The Career Ambassador Program is on target to meet the initial October launch. 

They will establish metrics within that launch. The project now has 94 participants. 

• Site: Promote Career Discovery Working Group | NIST
• Next Meeting: August 16, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. ET

b) Transform Learning Process 

Co-chair: Dr. Donna Schaeffer, Marymount University

• Tara Wisniewski, Executive Vice President, Advocacy, Global Markets and Member 

Engagement (ISC)2 has joined the group as the newest Co-Chair.

• Team members provided two presentations during the NICE Conference.

• They met with six or so interns from MITRE and NIST during their last meeting. The 

interns were questioned about their internships and expectations. 

• There is a new project charter that will be enhanced, edited, and improved upon 

over the next month. The project will be executed in collaboration with the K12 COI. 

• Site: Transform Learning Process Working Group | NIST

• Next Meeting: August 8, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. ET

c) Modernize Talent Management 

Co-chairs: Jo Justice, Leidos; Olesya Menon, Google

• Jo Justice, Modernize Talent Management Co-Chair, provided the update.

• Jo provided a brief update on the Job Description Project. Project Team lead, 

Ariana Schuler Scott, will provide additional information during her 

presentation. 

• The group sought input and ideas on new projects. Most project ideas are 

centered around recruitment. There is also interest in different populations 

such as millennials and how to appeal to them. 

• The MTM Co-chairs, together with Marian Merritt, will be working toward 

finalizing next project ideas. 

• Team members have been working with members of SANS to create a webinar 

for the Job Description Project.

• Site: Modernize Talent Management Working Group | NIST

• Next Meeting: August 17, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. ET 

V. Community of Interest Updates 

a. Apprenticeships in Cybersecurity 

Co-chair: Katie Adams, Safal Partners

• They collected significant feedback during the COI conference session on the current 

one-pager. They are updating the one-pager with feedback and will share it in 

August for responsive feedback. 

• Cybersecurity Apprenticeship One Pager. 

• The team is building a draft survey to help them identify, from employers, what 

their most significant interest is around occupational talent development through 

apprenticeship. Kimberly Hague, Department of Labor liaison, provided them with 

the most recent Department of Labor data pole on top occupations that were 

requested as occupations of interest. The group is working with Kimberly to develop 

a survey tool. They hope to have a draft version by fall. 
• During the meeting at the NICE conference, they solicited feedback on future topics 

to address in their group as well as potential speakers. 

• Site: Apprenticeships in Cybersecurity Community of Interest | NIST

• Next meeting: August 11, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. ET

b. Cybersecurity Skills Competitions 

Co-chairs: David Zeichick, California State University, Chico; Jessica Leung, California 

State Polytechnic University, Pomona

• Co-Chair, David Zeecheck, introduced the two new Competitions COI Co-Chairs, 

Jessica Leung, a Student at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and Jake 

Mihevc, Dean of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, 

Mohawk Valley Community College.

• The group heard from students about their experiences in cybersecurity 

competitions. One of the most consistent answers was learning teamwork and 

being a part of a team. 

• They are planning new meetings and looking at the best times to meet as well as 

determining the next topic of focus.

• The International Cyber Competition will start in San Diego next week, August 1-4, 

2023.

• Site: Cybersecurity Skills Competitions Community of Interest | NIST

• Next meeting: August 18, 2023, at 2:00 p.m.

c. K12 Cybersecurity Education 

Susana Barraza, NICE

• Susana Barraza provided the update.

• The K12 Conference call for proposals is closing this week.

• Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week will take place during the third week of 

October. Announcements will start early next month. An activity portal to submit 

planned activities for the week will be available on the NICE website.

• The K12 COI is working with the Promoting Careers Awareness Working Group on 

the Ambassadors Program which will launch in October.

• The Cybersecurity Awards webpage is now available. 

• Site: K12 Cybersecurity Education Community of Interest | NIST

• Next meeting: August 9, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. ET

d. NICE Framework Users

Mike Prebil, NICE

• The second open call of the NICE Framework Users Group will meet on July 27, 

2023, at 2:00 p.m. ET and 11:00 a.m. PT. 

o The group will hear from Andee Harston, Cybersecurity Curriculum Director, 

Infosec. 
• The users group call is intended for anyone using the NICE Framework. The call is

short but focused on knowledge sharing and community building. The group will 

hear from experiences in the field. 

• Framework Users Group: https://www.nist.gov/itl/appliedcybersecurity/nice/community/community-coordinating-council/nice-frameworkusers 

VI. Project Progress Reports 

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

Presented by Felicia Rafeliff, iKeepSafe

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

• The pre-conference workshops will take place at Canyon University on Saturday and 

Sunday. 

• Call for Speaker proposals closes this Friday, July 28th. They are particularly 

interested in K12 educators submitting proposals.

• Actively looking for students to participate in the 2023 National Cyber Signing Day

which takes place during the K12 Conference. 

• The keynote speaker is Garrett Boyd, Senior Consultant with Palo Alto Networks,

and former Senior Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst in the Executive Office of the 

White House of the President. 

• The next planning committee meeting will take place tomorrow, Thursday, July 27th

at 3:30p.m. ET.

• Actively looking for exhibitors and sponsors.

• Connect on Twitter:

o @ikeepsafe 

o NISTcyber

o #NICEK12

• Please contact Felicia Rateliff with questions: felicia@ikeepsafe.org

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

Presented by Cesar Cabot, Florida International University 

URL: https://niceconference.org/

• Call for proposals will open in October.

• Regional Initiative for Cybersecurity Education and Training (RICET) will be held in 

October in the Bahamas.

VII. Featured Topic 

Working Group Update: Modernizing Talent Management Employer Job Description Project 

Presented by Dr Arianna Schuler Scott, Virginia Tech

• The project team’s directive was Goal 3.3 of the NICE Strategic Plan: Align hiring 

requirements to proficiency, better reflecting candidate competencies and capabilities. 
• How do we make sure that employers are hiring the right people for the job? The target 

audience are the people describing and hiring into those roles: talent acquisition and human 

resources. The project team put down their ideas and then planned to talk to their target 

audience. 

• The team conducted an online workshop and received very helpful feedback. 

• The final project team product: ‘An Employers Guide to Writing Effective Cybersecurity Job 

Descriptions’. The guidance can be used to look at existing job descriptions or help create 

one. The final product was a co-created effort amongst the target audience.

• They used the NICE Framework to write job descriptions. 

• There is a mix of guidance, pictures, and activities to keep people on track and on target. 

Employers are encouraged to work from scratch, work from an existing job description, and

use the NICE Framework. 

• Next steps will include a webinar. The webinar will act as the launch of this guidance. A 

toolkit will be provided. The project team leaders need to decide what the next steps are

particularly as they relate to a long-term plan. How do they demonstrate that the NICE 

Framework is very useful here?

• If you want to get involved email Arianna (arianna@vt.edu) or submit feedback to 

nice@nist.gov. 

• The guide includes a lot of questions such as non-negotiables vs. ‘nice to have’. 

• Modernizing Talent Management Working Group Website: 

https://www.nist.gov/itl/applied-cybersecurity/nice/community/community-coordinatingcouncil/modernize-talent-management 

• Toolkit: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hm94cA3LudUWHC5qIg1SHmJoO0sqIxCR/view?usp=drive

_link 

• Q&A: 

Q: How are you considering the role of credentials (degrees and certifications) factoring into 

a job description?

A: Its more about what do you need when considering people skilled through an alternative 

group. What skills do you need? The criteria for judging candidates is not dependent on 

them having formal experience. It is more about what they can do. In an interview, there are 

ways to formulate questions to identify their approach to learning new skills. If they are not 

quite at level, then they could be mentored into a role while considering the needs of the 

candidate. Is your organization thinking longer term. 

VIII. Closing Remarks and Next Meeting Reminder

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