Lee Honored by International Organization for Work to Expand Access to Cybersecurity Education
Mon,
12/19/2022 - 16:32pm | By: David Tisdale
A University of Southern Mississippi (USM) administrator and faculty member committed
to making more opportunities in technical education available to members of underserved
communities has been recognized for her efforts in that area.
Dr. Sarah Lee, director of USM’s School of Computing Sciences & Computer Engineering,
was recently named a recipient of the (ISC)²’s Diversity Award, recognizing the outstanding
contributions and achievements in the field of cybersecurity over the course of the
recipient’s career and specifically designated for those whose work has positively
impacted efforts to diversify the workforce in the cybersecurity community. This recognition
is determined by the (ISC)² Board of Directors.
(ISC)² is an international, nonprofit association for information security leaders
with approximately 280,000 members.
Dr. Lee is co-founder of The Last Mile Education Fund, which provides financial support
for college computing and cybersecurity majors faced with challenges beyond their
control. “Fifty-six percent of students nationally with three or more years of college
report experiencing basic needs insecurity,” Dr. Lee explained. “Seventy-one percent
of applicants to the Last Mile Education Fund say they have had to worry about having
enough food at some point. We have provided over $2.3 million in scholarships since
2020 through over 2,400 grants, and $1.5 million of that was invested in Black, LatinX,
and indigenous women.”
She left a career at FedEx in 2011 armed with a passion to broaden participation in
computing through higher education in her home state. “I believe there is so much
talent in Mississippi, we just must identify it and illuminate pathways for persons
to develop the skills for higher wage computing and cybersecurity jobs,” said Dr.
Lee, a Lowndes County native.
Her work in this area began with a National Science Foundation (NSF) -funded project
to broaden participation among women in computing in Mississippi, and through that
effort met a young woman from Ocean Springs, Rian Walker, whose journey is the inspiration
for The Last Mile, co-founded with Rian and Ruthe Farmer.
In support of the 25 percent of Black/African American undergraduate students in the
USM School of Computing Sciences and Engineering, the school is an active participant
in the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation.
Dr. Lee further outlined the school’s programing. “We offer a Bachelor of Applied
Science in cybersecurity and cybersecurity minors and certificates that any undergraduate
major may choose, and with half a million unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the country,
and the need for cybersecurity expertise growing in every discipline, USM is helping
to address this talent shortage by educating the next generation of cyber defense
specialists,” she said.
“We also offer talent development pathways for people currently in the workforce or
unemployed to upskill and prepare for entry level technical and cybersecurity certifications
through our Cyber4Work program.”
Dr. Chris Winstead, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, lauded Dr. Lee for her
outstanding contribution not only as an accomplished academician in computing sciences,
but in her tireless efforts to support a diverse workforce in the field.
“Dr. Lee has been highly engaged in improving access and representation in computing-related
fields for people from all backgrounds,” Dr. Winstead said. “She is a leader in efforts
to build an environment that welcomes and encourages participation from women and
other groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in computing and STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in general. It’s wonderful to see her work
receive this well-deserved recognition from an international organization like (ISC)2.”
For information about the USM School of Computing Sciences & Computer Engineering,
visit https://www.usm.edu/computing-sciences-computer-engineering/index.php. For more information about The Last Mile, visit https://www.lastmile-ed.org/.
Gloss