Guest Speakers
Dr. Shalini KesarDr. Shalini Kesar (Dr. K) is an associate professor of information systems at Southern Utah University and Director of MS- Cyber Security & Information Assurance (CSIA) program. She is also the founder and board member of Women in Cybersecurity Affiliate (WICyS) chapter in Utah established in Dec 2020. Dr. Kesar serves as the president of WICyS Utah Chapter. She earned a BA from the University of Delhi, a MPhil in information systems from De Montfort University, a MSC in analysis, design and management information systems from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Doctorate in information systems from the University of Salford from UK. She has found a niche in Southern Utah and become a role model while enhancing awareness and motivating females in considering technology as part of their education and career goals. Her outreach efforts spread to a number of rural counties where skills and resources are limited. He main outreach projects in southern Utah include Southern Utah Aspirations in Computing (SUAIC) & Southern Utah Girls in Technology (SUGIT). She was recently recognized by the Women Tech Council, receiving the Education Excellence Award at the 2016 Women Tech Awards. The event recognizes technology-focused women who are innovators, leaders and key contributors in STEM fields.
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Ms. Latasha McCordCybersecurity K-12 Education Program Lead, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA); Latasha McCord is the Cybersecurity K-12 Education Program Lead for the Cyber Defense Education and Training (CDET) Subdivision. CDET manages educational programs to develop highly-skilled cybersecurity professionals. CDET invests resources to educate the Nation to address current and future cybersecurity challenges to build and sustain an adaptive cybersecurity workforce as a national asset. Ms. McCord is responsible for K-12 programs such as the Cybersecurity Education and Training Assistance Program. Previously, she managed partnerships with the National Security Agency on the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and with the National Science Foundation on the CyberCorps®: Scholarship for Service program. Ms. McCord holds a Master of Education in Instructional Technology degree from Georgia Southern University and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Kennesaw State University. She has 12+ years of K-12 education experience, half of which have been spent immersed in STEM education. She is a subject matter expert in designing instruction using available and appropriate technology in all its forms to help create a 21st century classroom environment.
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Mrs. Breana PraterBreana Prater received her formal education first, from Park University, completing a Bachelors in Science in Computer Science Information Systems. She followed on with a Masters of Science in Cybersecurity from University of Maryland. Breana has worked in Information Technology in the Department of Defense since 1998, honing in on Network Security in the latter part of her career. Today she serves as the Chief of User Facing Services in the Capabilities Directorate, where her responsibilities center around security, sustainment, and modernization of enterprise infrastructure and services for the agency. Her technical interests focus on cyber threat Intelligence, cloud monitoring in automated solutions, and user based analytics. Breana regularly dedicates off duty time to community outreach. She has spoken and participated in STEM events around San Antonio at schools like St. Mary’s, CAST High School, School of Science and Technology, among several others. She is a member of Women in Cyber Security (WiCyS), and the University of Maryland Chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon; the International Society for the Computing and Information Disciplines.
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