CybHER Conversations announces impressive list of speakers
September 1, 2020
CybHER Conversations – a new outreach program from Dakota State University’s CybHER organization -- hopes to build on the success of its first three months.
Since the free, weekly meetings began in June, they have reached 300 girls in 32 states, D.C., and other U.S. territories, as well as eight countries outside of the U.S. The program is now announcing their speakers for September and October, featuring a deputy assistant director with the FBI, a Facebook vice president, and the chief information security officer with Kuwait Oil Company. They are held virtually on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. CT.
This program was a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. CybHER generally hosts in-person outreach events, but when public events were cancelled, organizers had the time to develop and implement the virtual, 30-minute weekly conversations, which have continued their outreach to impact young people interested in cyber fields.
"CybHER Conversations has given me the opportunity to learn about all the different cybersecurity and computing careers. In a mostly male-dominated field, it is inspiring to learn about successful female tech leaders from around the world,” said Janessa Palmieri, a cyber operations major at Dakota State who has watched these conversations.
The program is designed for girls 5th grade and up, but is open to all K-12 students, as well as teachers and parents. The 30-minute talks give students direct access to cyber professionals, said Katie Shuck, a DSU doctoral student in cyber defense and CybHER instructor and outreach executive director. Those listening may “engage with our guest speakers by asking questions which help expand their understanding of cybersecurity and other cyber careers.”
Sign up for these free programs
All previous conversations are recorded and posted to CybHER’s YouTube Learning Channel (www.youtube.com/cybher/).
Upcoming speakers are:
September Conversations:
September 2: Chloe Messdaghi, VP of Strategy for Point3 Security, founder of WeAreHackerz, President and co-founder of Women of Security (WoSEC), podcaster for ITSP Magazine’s “The Uncommon Journey,” and host of the Hacker Book Club
September 9: Val Cofield, Deputy Assistant Director, Cyber Capabilities Branch, FBI
September 16: Jenn Lesser Henley, VP Infrastructure at Facebook
September 23: Dr. Eman El-Sheikh, Director of the Center for Cybersecurity at University Western Florida
September 30: Dr. Siobah Grady, Machine Learning expert, professor at North Carolina Central University, AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador, and BlackcomputeHER Fellow
Sign up for these free SEPTEMBER programs
October Conversations:
October 7: Dr. Ashley Podhradsky, DSU’s Associate Dean of the Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences, Associate Professor of Digital Forensics, co-founder of CybHER, AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador, New America Cybersecurity Fellow…and so much more!
October 14: Cecilia Marinier, Program Director, Innovation & Scholars for RSA
October 21: Amber Schroader, Founder & CEO of Paraben Corporation
October 28: Dr. Reem Al-Shammari, CISO for Kuwait Oil Company