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NICE Community Coordinating Council

Meeting Minutes

June 23, 2021 | 3:30-5:00 p.m. ET

I. Introduction and Ground Rules

Provided the background of the NICE Community Coordinating Council, along with instructions 

on how to use the chat and the ground rules for the meeting. 

II. Opening Remarks

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

− Conferences are still being held virtually, which is a good thing considering the 

times, so good on those businesses who were still able to hold them. 

− From a lot of the consumers of cybersecurity products we are seeing in-person 

meet-ups being held until next year, unless considered mission critical.

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

Governors University

− The Office of Post-Secondary Education at the US Department of Education is having 

public hearings on stakeholder feedback on potential issues with rulemaking 

sessions. This can potentially affect students and institutions as to the future of 

financial aid. 

− The graduates coming out of educational institutions are carrying burdens brought 

on by COVID-19 and federally increasing student loan debt. 

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

− Appreciates the framing remarks on higher education by Marni and how policies are 

sometimes overlooked, which leads to larger issues. 

− In the summer season where NICE and NIST are welcoming students, virtually, and 

having internships being completed virtually. 

− There are four students with NICE this summer and information has been provided 

in the chat about the promotion of employers providing workplace learning 

opportunities. 

o We have a student from the High School Program, which is usually a 

commuter program with the local high schools. 

o Another student is from the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships 

(SURF) program, which can receive students from all over the country. 

o There is a student from Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) 

program, which is a grant program, so it is not open to all students and 

institutions. 

o We additionally have another student, who is interning with the Center of 

Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity program.
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− There is a NICE webinar, July 21, 2021 on Securing Operational Technologies and 

Control Systems with a Skilled Workforce, in which we will be discussing the security 

of operational technologies such as control systems or industrial control systems.

− NIST is updating its guide to Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity and has put 

out a pre-draft call for comments.

− A NICE Framework workshop will take place the last week in August to gather 

subject matter experts on Industrial Control Systems.

III. Standing Items

a. Strategy Stories - New Developments that Align to NICE Strategic Plan

GenCyber Camp

Presented by: Ashley Greeley

URL: https://www.gen-cyber.com/

GenCyber is a Federal Grants program which looks to inspire the next generation of 

cybersecurity stars by working to incite and strengthen cybersecurity awareness. 

Funding for GenCyber is provided by several government agencies and the program 

office is housed at the National Security Agency (NSA). 

− A strategic realignment is taking place with GenCyber as the summer of 2021 is the 

busiest summer thus far. Due to the pandemic, a lot of camps were moved to the 

summer of 2021.

− 160 camps are taking place this year and about 70% of camps are virtual, due to the 

pandemic. Four capacity buildings are going on, which are new and a bit larger in 

aspect then a normal camp.

− 144 student camps and 23 teacher camps and then three combination camps which

are focusing on students and teachers in the same environment. Forty-six states and 

DC and Puerto Rico are hosting these camps. Ninety-eight academic institutions 

hosting camps and 31 which are new to GenCyber. 

− The program office is finalizing the funding positions for the 2022 programs. 

Requirement to do pre- and post-camp outreach along with the summer camp 

model is the reason to go from calling them camps to programs. 

− Increasing the focus on diversity such as the Native American populate, Alaskan 

populations, rural, and home-schooled area. Attempting to reach more people for 

cybersecurity opportunities. 

− A lot of the programs are using the NICE Framework and job roles to allow for the 

institutions to maintain a career-oriented focus with their programs. 

− The camps will remain free as we continue to work towards diversity and diversity 

of thought so we reflect the K12 strategic plan. We want STEM and Non-STEM 

students aware of these opportunities. 

− There will be a call for 2023 programs around September/October. Use the GenCyber URL to look at the five-year report as well as to sign up for any notifications 

for the call for 2023 programs.

Q: How are you keeping students engaged after the camps are over?
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A: It varies by each academic institution, but some of the things that are done are 

inviting students to campus for events. Going to the students and hosting events within 

school corporations. The program office sets the parameters, but the institutions create 

within those boundaries in their local areas.

Q: Is the 2022 session for GenCyber closed for submissions?

A: The 2022 session is closed and the next opening for 2023 is in the fall. We have 

extended the Period of Performance to 2 years based on feedback from program office.

b. Report Roundup - Learning from Good Ideas

Economic Impact Study

Presented by: Pat Sullivan, Founding Board Member, Cyber Center of Excellence

URL:

The business environment in San Diego is very collaborative, facilitated by non-profit 

organizations to work on common and foundational issues to promote business growth, 

in which the Cyber Center of Excellence (CCoE) focuses on growing cyber.

− The presentation is a preview of the economic impact study that was completed last 

week and to be rolled out tomorrow, June 25, 2021. 

− Cybersecurity continues to be a growing sector that has increased about a 15% since 

2019, even during the COVID-19 challenges. 

− Looking into Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) as a component of 

cybersecurity since the inception of the CCoE, around 2014. It has continued to 

grow within cybersecurity and the products over the years. It has grown from about 

10% to over 50% of companies using AI/ML over the past 3 years and is continuing

to grow. 

− There has been about 3 times more growth in cybersecurity than other companies 

within the region of San Diego. 

− This is a snapshot. There is a virtual release event tomorrow from 10:00 a.m. to 

11:30 a.m. PST, to learn more information. You can go to the links in the slide, but 

they are not active at this time. They will be active after the meeting tomorrow.

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

Virtual Career Pathway 

Presented by: John Sands, Ph.D., Moraine Valley Community College

URL:

John Sands will be presenting with some additional presenters throughout this 

presentation. This initiative was funding the solicitation of NSA last year.

− We proposed five different parts to this initiative; to increase cybersecurity career 

experience through a VR environment to allow college and high school students 

first-hand experience in a cybersecurity environment. The first phase completed.

− Working with University of Alabama Huntsville, building a curriculum of dual credit 

programs accessible to teachers and advisors to see what programs are available 

from K12 and CAE institutions. 
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− Forming a National Business Partnership to support some of the efforts with their 

corporate partners.

− VR demonstration taking place and being completed, which allows students to go 

through and explore and interact with the avatars to experience a cyber 

environment.

o The three-floor facility was based on the seven rules on the NICE 

Framework, in which there are seven appropriate label rooms in this VR.

o You can see your position in real time, which also allows your instructor to 

see where you are in real time.

o The documentation contained within the VR is real, actual, readable 

documentation as well as video that can be watched while in the VR.

o The idea is to have instructor guidance and student challenges so that 

students are wandering around but there is structured learning with the 

student’s goal to find certain things.

o Q: When you say adding more easter eggs, do you mean adding more 

challenges for the students?

o A: Yes, when adding easter eggs we mean putting together little hints and 

challenges to create a narrative and story to assist with the learning.

o We started with the creation of a 3-D environment initially because it’s the 

hardest and where the money needs to be spent to build the environment. 

Going forward, we will create a 2-D environment for a wider audience and 

can run on many more devices.

o We feel that in 5 years, this will be the norm in the learning environment, 

and we will still have the 2-D environments for institutions and individuals 

who do not have the resources for the 3-D.

Q: Do you collect data on the student journey on the environment and how and when 

they interact with in the system?

A: That will be collected in the next phase because we are very early in the development 

of this project as we just started in the fall. Most of the time was taken to build the 

environment, easter eggs, and avatars. We will move forward to development and 

scaling and then on to assessments of the system. Once the students complete the 

program, an extensive report will be provided to the instructor. 

d. Research Review 

Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy

Presented by: Cassidy Francies, Policy Researcher, Education Commission of the States

URL: https://www.ecs.org/media-literacy-and-digital-citizenship/

The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a non-partisan, non-advocacy 

organization that serve state policy makers throughout all 50 states.

− This is done through four buckets of work: 1) host meetings, 2) provide ongoing 

council, 3) create reports, and 4) complete independent research.
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− A recent study found 67% of students could not tell the difference between news 

stories or ads when on webpages stating that it’s sponsored content.

− Another study concluded 91% of teachers believe that increasing media literacy will 

help for better and more ethical engagement online.

− Legislatures see through these studies that increase media literacy is a promising 

solution to the current problem.

− The definitions of the terms media literacy and digital citizenship have two vastly 

different definitions but are sometimes used interchangeably. We found often in 

legislation that the terms were used within the definition of each other.

− In research from 2015 through 2020, at least 79 bills were introduced in 28 states, 

and 14 enacted in 10 states dealing with media literacy and digital citizenship.

− In 2019, Colorado passed a House Bill, which created a media literacy privacy 

committee about media literacy education. The report was sent to the legislature in 

2020.

− In 2021 another House Bill was passed so that the recommendations from the 

previous House Bill were put into action.

IV. Working Group Updates

a. Promote Career Discovery

James “Jimmy” Baker, Cybersecurity Evangelist and Author; or Roland Varriale II, 

Cybersecurity Analyst, Argonne National Laboratory; or Monica Gomez, Cisco

− Spent the last few meetings discussing inputs and feedback from objectives 1 – 4 of 

the NICE Strategic Plan. Spent the last meeting addressing Objective 5 -- galvanizing 

employers on how to promote discovery of cybersecurity career opportunities. 

− Currently finalizing a draft of statement, action, and metrics that we have come up 

with within the Working Group.

− We will be next looking to prioritize the next few actions that we have, starting with 

the need to identify multiple career paths for the work roles in the private and 

public sectors. 

− Consider joining the group and a link will be provided for the next meeting on 7/21 

at 3:30 p.m.

b. Transform Learning Process

Dr. Aurelia T. Williams, Interim Vice Provost for Academic Administration, Norfolk State 

University; or Richard Spires, Instructor, Learning Tree

− Next meeting tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. 

− We have finished addressing all six objectives within our goal statement. Looking to 

attack two objectives per meeting over the next three meetings, to fine tune the 

data we have gathered. 

− During the next meeting, we will start with the first two objectives we have drafted 

and look to enhance our current data and identify specific projects and priorities to 

work on.
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c. Modernize Talent Management

Karen Jensen, Saaby Consulting; or Kevin Perry, Chief Cyber Training, DoD Cyber Crime 

Center/Cyber Training Academy; or Melissa Woo, Executive Vice President for 

Administration, Michigan State University

− Our last meeting was on 6/17/21 where we focused on the Success Measures of the 

Implementation Plan Worksheet our Strategies and Tactics. 

− Brainstormed on the relationship with college faculty and advisory boards to inform 

the need for degrees within cybersecurity.

− The next meeting will be held on 7/15/21. Please join us as we welcome your 

advice.

V. Community of Interest Updates

a. Apprenticeships in Cybersecurity

Tony Bryan, Executive Director, CyberUp; or, Jennifer Oddo Executive Director, Strategic 

Workforce Education and Innovation, Youngstown State University

− We had a first in our last meeting, where we have invited employers to bring in their 

experience with presentations on how they use apprenticeships. 

− We have a comparative analysis group that is aggregating data around 

apprenticeships and around talent models and boot camps. 

− Please join us at the next meeting, which is schedule for Friday, 6/25/2021.

b. Cybersecurity Skills Competitions

Amelia Phillips, Highline College; or Brad Wolfenden, EmberSec

− During our meeting last week, we welcomed Tony Bryan, who completed a 

presentation about apprenticeships in cybersecurity during the last meeting. 

− We are working projects ahead of the National Cybersecurity Awareness week, one 

of which is a scavenger hunt-style competition with all levels of skill.

− A panel with individuals from different sectors. Will hear about the US cyber games 

that this Community of Interest is aligned with and working with.

c. K12 Cybersecurity Education

Terrance Campbell, CCTE Cybersecurity Teacher, Shelby County Schools; or Laurin 

Buchanan, Secure Decisions

− The last meeting was Thursday, 6/10/2021, where Davina reviewed the resources at 

the K12 cybersecurity resources for at home website.

− Since June is National Internet Safety Month, we focused on links for kids in online 

safe behavior and practices for children. 

− A briefing from Grace Williams on how to prepare K12 students for internships.

− For the next meeting 7/14/2021, they are planning a bring-your-intern-to-themeeting for an active discussion. They really want to understand how to connect 

K12 to the broader world of cyber. 

d. NICE Framework Users 
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Karen Wetzel, Manager of the NICE Framework

− No monthly meetings with this Community of Interest.

− This group is for users of the Framework to share ideas, best practices, issues, and 

challenges they may be having within this community. 

− They are starting every Monday with an e-mail to stir up conversations. If you are 

looking to lead in conversation, please reach out to Karen.

VI. Project Progress Reports

a. Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week – October 18-23, 2021 

Presented by: Davina Pruitt-Mentle, NICE

URL: https://www.nist.gov/itl/applied-cybersecurity/nice/events/cybersecurity-careerawareness-week

− The 3rd week in October is when Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week takes place.

− Expecting everyone to help celebrate Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week. Look 

forward to learning how you are celebrating and looking to get the word out on how 

you are going to celebrate.

b. NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Conference – December 6-7, 2021

Presented by: Felicia Rateliff, Director of Operations & Programs, iKeepSafe

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

− This event will be a fully virtual event. Nice to hear the industry trend of continuing 

to be virtual for things. 

− Three keynotes for the conference: Jennifer Buckner from MasterCard, Sarah Kaleel 

from Comcast, and Efren Zamaro, a student keynote who works with CrowdStrike.

− We are expecting more keynotes to come in the next few weeks. 

− We are looking for a few students for Cyber Signing Day. They need to either be in 

high school or recent 2021 Graduates, that are in an internship or will soon be in an 

internship, apprenticeship, or training program. Email provided in chat for students 

and those who would like to nominate a student. 

− Call for proposals ended June 18 and we received a record number of entries in the 

last minute. They will begin reviewing and have selections by the end of June. 

− Full agenda and registration are slated to launch in August. There are opportunities 

for sponsorships and exhibitor booths.

c. NICE Conference and Expo – June 6-8, 2022

Presented by: Randy Pestana, Florida International University

URL: https://niceconference.org/

− The NICE Conference and Expo has been moved to summer 2022 and will remain in 

the summer for years to come. You can go to the NICE Conference page to see the 

theme and proposal page so that when they are opened in September you are able 

to submit a proposal.
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− There are four tracks this year: 1) Growth and development through life-long 

learning, 2) building a 3D culture, 3) hybrid roles to solve cybersecurity needs, and 

4) emerging trends in cybersecurity.

− A series of events that we want you to sign up for; 1) Regional Initiative for 

Cybersecurity Education and Training (RICET) for the Americas on curriculum

development. You can register at niceconference.org/events. 

− On 11/16/21, the NICE Symposium is scheduled to take place. It will be virtual with 

an in-person component. More information to come. 

d. Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE) in Cybersecurity Community

Presented by: Tony Coulson or Amy Hysell, Cybersecurity Center, California State 

University, San Bernardino

URL: https://www.caecommunity.org/

− Last week we launched an updated CAE Community site. Upgrades to the site 

include access to information within the CAE communities. A way to connect 

students and parents with CAE institutions. 

− On September 17, 2021, we are hosting the 5th annual National Cybersecurity 

Virtual Fair, which brings together students and alumni from over 300 CAE 

institutions across the country where internships and employment are offered from 

a variety of disciplines.

− If you are interested in hosting a booth, you can contact them at 

support@caecommunity.org

e. US Cyber Games 

Presented by: Jessica Gulick, CEO, Katzcy

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

− We are putting together a travelling sports team of cybersecurity athletes ages 18 –

26 to compete globally, with the first competition being in Athens, Greece in 

December.

− The event has been kicked off successfully with over 570 people registered. The 

videos have been edited and are available on the website under the video center.

− We also kicked off the open, which is one of the three major pieces of this program, 

which is the tryouts. The second piece is the cyber combine. 

o 688 people registered for the open and about 46% show up for the 

combine. 

o 23% of the people that showed up to the event were female.

o 33% of the people that showed up to the event were of a diverse 

background and races.

o 13% of the people that showed up to the event were military veterans. 

− The leaderboard is currently on the website at 

https://www.uscybergames.com/team. Each athlete received 1, 2, or 3 digital 

badges.
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− The coaches are ready to be announced and the kick of the virtual combine is to 

take place July 9, 2021. This is a 2-month effort to help the athletes train and work 

on their cybersecurity skills.

− The big day is October 5, 2021 – it is the US Cyber Games draft day where the 20 

members of the team will be selected as the inaugural US Cyber Games team. They 

will compete against nine other nations in a two-part event. The first part being CTF 

and the second part being red versus blue. 

− Sponsors areneeded for the US Cyber Games team to pay for travel, jerseys, and 

equipment.

VII. Closing Remarks and Next Meeting Reminder

The next NICE Community Meeting will be July 28, 2021, at 3:30 p.m. ET