UNLV Summit Supporting the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

August 9, 2023, Wednesday

UNLV Summit

On July 31, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration released the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES). The Administration recognized the need to strengthen our cyber workforce in the National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS), calling for the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) to lead the development and oversee implementation of a cyber workforce and education strategy.

As part of this effort, UNLV is hosting a Cyber Workforce Summit on Wednesday August 9, 2023, and is delighted to host the Acting National Cyber Director, Kemba Walden, and receive remarks on the White House's newly published National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES)! UNLV has contributed to the development of NCWES and is proud to host ONCD and many others to discuss this vital subject.

At the Summit, industry and government experts will gather and discuss the strategies to place more Americans into cyber jobs. The NCWES calls for increasing on-ramps to cyber careers through work-based learning opportunities such as Cyber Clinics, which will support communities and small governments that would otherwise not have access to cyber risk assessment and planning assistance. UNLV's Free Cyber Clinic has been helping local small businesses with cybersecurity needs and providing hands-on training opportunities to students aspiring toward cybersecurity careers. The event will include discussions about the NCWES, its nascent achievements, and a tour of the world-first cyber escape room!

News Coverage

This event was covered by Channel 8 News, The Nevada Indenpent, and The White House press release.

Event Photos Posted

Please visit the photo pages by pulling down the links under [Home] on the upper right corner of this page.

Agenda

12:00pm – 1:00pm Check-in / Reception, Cyber Escape room

• Cyber Escape Room exercise by Students (SEB 4212) and Tour

• Reception at the lobby (Light lunch will be served)

1:00pm – 1:15pm Welcome Remarks

• Chris L. Heavey, UNLV Executive VP and Provost

• Rama Venkat, Dean of College of Engineering, UNLV

1:15pm – 1:30 pm Keynote Speech

• Kemba Walden, Acting National Cyber Director

1:30pm – 2:15pm Panel: All stakeholder initiative on cybersecurity education and workforce development

• Sarah Powazek (Moderator), Program Director of Public Interest Cybersecurity, UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity

• Rob Rashotte, Vice President, Fortinet Training Institute

• Amelia Gulling, Director of Event Brand and Partnerships, Battlebots

• Yoohwan Kim, Professor and Director of UNLV Free Cyber Clinic, University of Nevada Las Vegas

• Ayan Islam, Director, Cyber Workforce, Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD)

2:15pm – 2:20pm Commitment Announcement

• UNLV, Fortinet, HP, WGU, Cyber.org, Battlebots, DruvStar

2:20pm – 2:30pm Break & Refreshments
2:30pm - 3:00pm UNLV Cybersecurity Program and Free Cyber Clinic

• Juyeon Jo, UNLV CAE-CD Director

• Yoohwan Kim, UNLV Free Cyber Clinic Director

• UNLV Free Cyber Clinic student members

3:00pm – 3:30pm Reception and Networking

• Tour of Cybersecurity Escape room (SEB 4212)

• Reception at the lobby

• Meeting the employers who are hiring ( for students & employers)

Keynote Speaker

Kemba Walden is the Acting National Cyber Director in the Office of the National Cyber Director. Kemba served as the inaugural Principal Deputy National Cyber Director for eight months, during which she co-led the organization, overseeing the development and growth of the office. During her tenure, the Office of the National Cyber Director drafted and released the National Cybersecurity Strategy, managed the ongoing implementation of Executive Order 14028 (Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity), and spearheaded the development of the forthcoming, first-ever National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy.

Previously, she served as Assistant General Counsel in Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU), where she launched and led DCU’s Ransomware Program. Kemba also served as a Working Group Co-Chair of the White House Ransomware Task Force and contributed to its Combating Ransomware Report. Kemba started her Microsoft career as Senior Counsel for Cyber and Democracy, providing legal counsel to the Defending Democracy Program for the 2020 election cycle.

Prior to Microsoft, Kemba spent a decade in government service at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At DHS, Kemba held several counsel positions, including as the lead attorney for the DHS Representative to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). She also served as a cybersecurity attorney for the newly created Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and its predecessor, the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD). CISA and NPPD were responsible for cybersecurity, emergency communications, and infrastructure security. While serving at DHS, Kemba negotiated complex data protection, information sharing, risk mitigation, and national security agreements, and she supported DHS’s cybersecurity and risk management efforts in several critical infrastructure sectors. After DHS, Kemba was the primary cybersecurity legal advisor to the Elections Task Force, now known as the Elections Security Initiative.

Kemba was also appointed as an inaugural member of the Cyber Safety Review Board and serves as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University in the School of Continuing Studies.

Kemba received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, her Master’s in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, and her B.A. in Political Science from Hampton University.

Registration

Registration is free and open to government staff, cybersecurity companies, Las vegas IT/Cybersecurity community, UNLV faculty/staff and students, and community college students. Please register here.

Location

The symposium is held at UNLV SEB (Science and Engineering Building) Auditorium.

Refreshments will be provided at the lobby.

Driving and Parking Direction

UNLV SEB is located at the north side of the campus. For navigation, enter "UNLV SEB" in Google, and it will give you the correct direction. From the Flamingo road, turn right in to Claymont street, then left to Cottage Grove Avenue. If you use Uber/Lyft, come to the back entrance of the SEB as shown in the map below. Due to construction, parking is not available in front of the SEB. If you drive a car, you can park at the Cottage Grove parking garage. A parking guide will hand out a daily student parking permit at the entrance of the garage. Scratch the date and hang it under the rear view mirror. You may park at any student parking spot from 2nd floor and up. If you cannot find the parking guide, park first and walk to the SEB. We will hand out the permit.

Questions

Please contact the Summit Chair, Prof. Yoohwan Kim at Yoohwan.Kim@unlv.edu.