ACM SIGCITE 2025 Conference

The ACM SIGCITE 2026 Conference will be held at UNC Wilmington on November 12-14, 2026.

ACM SIGCITE 2025 Conference
Keynotes

Registered students attending Sacramento-area colleges, universities, and high schools, as well as their professors and teachers, were encouraged to attend these Keynote Addresses at no cost.

Thursday Keynote Address

Speaker: Travis Nichols, Cyber Incident Response Manager & Cyber Advisory Team (CAT) Lead, California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC)

Presentation Title: Bridging the Gap: Building the Next Generation of Cyber Defenders

Abstract: California’s (and the world’s) cyber threat landscape is changing faster than ever. To meet that challenge requires cyber professionals who can think critically, act decisively, and collaborate across multiple domains. This keynote walks through how the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC) builds that capability every day through its operational branches — the Cyber Advisory Team (CAT), Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), Mission Support Branch (MSB), and Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR). Drawing from first-hand experience leading statewide cybersecurity assessments and coordinating real-time threat intelligence, this session connects the dots between classroom learning and field operations. We’ll discuss what technical, analytical, and leadership skills make someone effective in a high-tempo environment, from vulnerability management and identity security to intelligence-driven decision making. More than a list of competencies, this is a look at how California’s defenders operate as a unified team: turning data into action, collaboration into impact, and lessons learned into statewide resilience. Whether you’re a student, instructor, or cybersecurity professional, this talk aims to leave you with one question — how will you prepare to defend California’s digital future?

Bio: Travis Nichols is the Cyber Advisory Team (CAT) Cyber Incident Response Manager at the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC), part of the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) Homeland Security Division. In this role, he leads statewide efforts to assess and strengthen the cybersecurity posture of state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) government partners through proactive security assessments, vulnerability management, and capability development. His team works closely with Cal-CSIC’s Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), Mission Support Branch (MSB), and Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) units to provide a comprehensive defense-in-depth strategy for California’s public sector. A combat veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Travis brings over fifteen years of combined military and civilian cybersecurity experience, specializing in network defense, incident response, and cyber operations architecture. His leadership philosophy emphasizes collaboration, technical excellence, and continuous learning to ensure his teams stay adaptive to evolving cyber threats. When he’s not outdoors hiking, on a lake, or on a snowboard, Travis has contributed to developing statewide cybersecurity frameworks, interagency coordination protocols, and workforce development initiatives aimed at building the next generation of cyber defenders. He remains deeply committed to bridging the gap between classroom learning and field application, empowering students and professionals alike to strengthen California’s digital resilience.

Friday Keynote Address

Speaker: Daniela Damian, Professor and ECS-CAPI Chair in Inclusive Science, Technology and Engineering, University of Victoria

Presentation Title: The secret ingredient to Inclusive Software Development

Abstract: Software is now deeply embedded in our society, shaping how we live, work, and connect. As a result, understanding users and their interactions with technology is more crucial than ever. User-centered approaches have been recognized as fundamental to software engineering. However, in an increasingly digital world driven by online interactions and AI, how effectively can we engage with users to understand their complex lived experiences and how software we design might affect them? How well are we equipped to grasp users’ values, preferences, and needs, which might be closely tied to or informed by their unique backgrounds, cultures, and life experiences?

In this talk, I highlight the importance of developing the skills, knowledge, and mindset necessary to co-design with, and alongside, the people we build for. Drawing on experiences in several software engineering projects focused on societal impact, I reflect on the challenges that expanded my own understanding and abilities as a software engineer. I explore the critical role that complementary skills of relationship-building, authentic empathy, perspective-taking, and cultural sensitivity play, particularly when differing viewpoints emerge. In today's increasingly complex, technology-driven world, these skills are more important than ever. I advocate for a deeper awareness of how we engage empathetically with those we design for and collaborate with. This awareness is not only essential for achieving the desired impact of our work, but also for preventing unintended harm and exclusion.

Bio: Daniela Damian is a Professor of Software Engineering and the ECS-CAPI Chair in Inclusive Science, Technology and Engineering at the University of Victoria. Along the years, together with her students she led empirical research that studied the human and social aspects of requirements engineering and software development, with a special focus on teamwork, remote communication and collaboration. She is the founder of the INSPIRE:STEM for Social Impact Program at the University of Victoria and where diverse teams engage in community-driven, experiential-learning science and engineering projects for societal impact. Daniela served as Program Chair for major Software Engineering conferences and in particular, was the Co-Chair of the inaugural conference on Software Engineering in Society in 2014, RE 2019 and ICSE 2022; she has served on the editorial boards of Transactions on Software Engineering, and is serving on the Advisory Board at the Empirical Software Engineering Journal. Daniela was the recipient of the 2019 Faculty of Engineering Teaching Award and of the 2020 Provost’s REACH Award for Excellence in Teaching for Experiential Learning. In 2019 she received the Royal Society New Zealand Catalyst: International Leader Award, and in 2024, she became a Lero Parnas Fellow. Daniela is an ACM Distinguished Speaker. Read more about her projects and research at danieladamian.ca, and listen to her TEDxVictoria talk on her humble take on the power of empathy in tech design for a diverse, kinder world. She can be contacted at danielad@uvic.ca.

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