TAMPA – February 15, 2024 – Cyber Florida, Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS), and Cisco are honored to announce their partnership to help tell the story of women in the cybersecurity industry. The efforts will include a live session with Jenny Radcliffe, also known as the People Hacker, at the 2024 WiCyS conference in Nashville, Tennessee, and a documentary centered around the women of cyber.
This partnership is in direct collaboration with the Do We Belong Here Podcast powered by Cyber Florida. Do We Belong Here aims to provide women and allies in the cybersecurity industry with a space to share their experiences and engage in open conversations about the industry. The podcast is hosted by Tashya Denose and Cisco’s Chief Information Security Officer Advisor Pam Lindemoen, who describes this joint partnership as crucial because “Cisco’s commitment to fostering an inclusive future for all propels me towards initiatives such as this podcast. Our goal is to inspire, educate, and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. We aim to attract a richly diverse, talented pool of individuals to our field, thereby fortifying the cybersecurity workforce. Through these efforts, I hope we embody and advance Cisco’s mission.”
“Partnerships like this allow us to put Cyber Florida on a national stage and make a greater impact while telling the untold stories of this industry. Cyber Florida recognizes there is a need to close the workforce gap and bring diverse personalities and perspectives into the field to help secure our nation,” said Cyber Florida Director Ernie Ferraresso.
The annual WiCyS conference is the premiere conference for recruiting, retaining, and advancing women in cybersecurity. Each year, the WiCyS conference brings together thousands of women and allies in cybersecurity in academia, research, and government, and industry. WiCyS is delighted to have Jenny Radcliffe speak at the conference , taking place April 11-13, 2024.
The session will focus on the experiences of Jenny Radcliffe and the role that perseverance has played in her life and career, with the intention of encouraging the WiCyS audience and all women of cyber to embrace their own unique power in this industry. “As a Social Engineer I know the power of stories, so I am delighted to support this event and excited to hear about the different routes into the industry from WiCyS and their members,” said Radcliffe.
“Keeping it real and letting folks know ‘yes, I do belong here’ is what this partnership is bringing to life,” states Dr. Janell Straach, WiCyS 2024 Conference Chair and WiCyS organization Chair of the Board. “At the WiCyS conference, we gather thousands of women in cybersecurity to not only highlight diverse talent but provide opportunities for education and networking.
Tickets for the 2024 WiCyS Conference go on sale February 19. Join us for your chance to witness this session and be a part of the story: www.wicys.org/events/wicys-2024/
Catch up on all the episodes of the Do We Belong Here Podcast: www.cyberflorida.org/dowebelongpod
About Cyber Florida
The Florida Center for Cybersecurity (also known as Cyber Florida) was established by the State of Florida in 2014 to make the Sunshine State one of the most cyber-secure in the nation by promoting cybersecurity education, research, and outreach in partnership with the 12 State University System of Florida (SUS) institutions. Hosted by the University of South Florida, the Center is committed to increasing the number of K-12 students interested in and prepared for careers in cybersecurity and related STEM disciplines.
About WiCyS
Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) is a nonprofit organization with international reach dedicated to the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in cybersecurity. WiCyS was founded by Dr. Ambareen Siraj in 2013 through a National Science Foundation grant awarded to Tennessee Tech University. In less than 10 years, it has grown into an organization (est. in 2017) representing a leading alliance between trailblazers from academia, government, and industry. WiCyS offers opportunities, trainings, events, and resources for its members. Strategic partners include Tier 1: Akamai, Amazon Web Services, Battelle, Bloomberg, Carnegie Mellon University – Software Engineering Institute, Cisco, Fortinet, Google, Lockheed Martin, Meta, Microsoft, Optum, Sandia National Laboratories, SentinelOne. Tier 2: AbbVie, Aristocrat, Dell Technologies, Intel, JPMorgan Chase & Co., LinkedIn, McKesson, Nike, NCC Group, Workday, Navy Federal Credit Union, Yubico Inc., DeVry University. To partner, visit http://www.wicys.org/support/strategic-partnerships/.
About Cisco
Cisco is the worldwide technology leader that securely connects everything to make anything possible. Our purpose is to power an inclusive future for all by helping our customers reimagine their applications, power hybrid work, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals. Discover more on The Newsroom and follow us on Twitter at @Cisco.
Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco’s trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.