Hosted by the Bay Area Chapter
Cyversity and NextGen have collaborated since 2021 to provide underserved and underrepresented cyber career seekers with opportunities to develop technical and professional skills. The sweet spot in their outreach has been community colleges.
It is a little known fact that for over a decade, community colleges were the only undergraduate institutions providing practical cybersecurity education. They continue to be where students and skill builders take courses that prepare them to earn industry certifications or associate degrees on pathways to jobs or higher cyber education.
Panelists:
Krishnan Chellakarai
Founder, NextGen Cyber Talent
CISO – Information Security, Risk & Compliance at Gilead Sciences
Krish Chellakarai, as founder of NextGen Cyber Talent, has made a commitment to closing the talent gap by training and preparing underserved and overlooked cyber career seekers.
Steven Booth
VP Product Management, Detection and Response | Salesforce
Steven Booth is an early advocate of this alternative pathway and influenced the NextGen Cyber Talent focus on community college cyber students and programs.
Software Engineer, Balbix
Cybersecurity Engineer
San Francisco Airport
Red Team Lead, Google
Christina Hanson
Information Security Architect, AppDynamics
Juan, Dante, Nina, and Christina began their cyber career education at Bay Area Community Colleges from very diverse backgrounds and starting points. They are now successful cyber professionals who have continued to advance in their careers and education.