Firstly, I would like to thank the Women in Cyber Security Conference (WiCyS). I attended WiCyS for the first time in 2017 and I met many of the people who still influence me today. I wrote my original CFP without much hope that it would actually get accepted, but I’m about two weeks away from hosting my very first technical workshop.

I would like to thank the National Cyber League for giving me, not only the green light on this project, but their support in helping to create and host the original workshop designed for the 2018 WiCyS Conference.

My experience has been made possible (in part) by support from the Pace University CyberCorps Program and the Pace University Women in Technology grant from General Electric. I’d especially like to thank my team from Pace University who helped to run this workshop at the 2018 WiCyS Conference. Without them, I would not have been able to test-run this workshop or help as many people as I would like to.

Our team included: Elizabeth Molloy, Vicente Gomez, Jeana Cosenza, and Andreea Cotoranu, and Dr. Li-Chiou Chen. Another important member of the team was our industry consultant, Michael Lavacca, a senior software engineer at Bloomberg, and my fiancé. His contributions and support have made every part of my education possible.

Special thanks to Dan Mason, NCL Commissioner, and Franz Payer, Cyber Skyline Founder, who have been exceedingly patient with my overly ambitious goals and procrastination that caused major rewrites and additional work for everyone at two in the morning the night before the workshop.

And not to be forgotten, I would like to thank Professor John Watkins from
Westchester Community College. His passion for cybersecurity and his students helped me find this subject that I love so much. I am excited to go to work every day because he believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and enabled me to discover my own talents. I was in the wrong major until he introduced me to NCL.

Lastly, thanks to all the faculty who have taken the time to read this guide. It shows a love for your students and your craft that often goes underappreciated. It shows that you are seeking new paths for your students’ success. I hope this guide will help you to influence your students the way my teachers have influenced me.