Hetherington Group's President to Give Keynote at NCWIT's Aspirations in Computing Awards Ceremony

WANAQUE, N.J., February 18, 2019 (Newswire.com) - ​​​​​Cynthia Hetherington, founder and president of Hetherington Group, will inspire young high school women from across the country on Feb. 19 at the 2018-19 Aspirations in Computing Awards ceremony hosted by CybHER at Dakota State University (DSU) in Madison, South Dakota. The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) awards will be bestowed upon 35 high school women who are active and interested in computing and technology.

Ms. Hetherington’s keynote address, “Try to Grasp,” challenges young women to get active in the world and to try everything. “Young women are now the reality of the promises women before them fought so hard to obtain,” said Ms. Hetherington. “As much as I seek to inspire these intelligent, curious young awardees, I get inspiration from them, too. All I ask is that they try cybersecurity and new technologies and enjoy the role they play in this special field. As they grow from youth and curiosity and mature in these roles, they will grasp the ring of success—an accumulation of wisdom and expertise. I’m proud to be working with CybHER, whose mission is to empower, motivate, and educate girls in cybersecurity.”

Dr. Pam Rowland and Dr. Ashley Podhradsky founded CybHER at Dakota State University (DSU) in 2013. From 2013 to 2017, DSU saw an overall increase of 296% of women enrolled in cyber programs in the Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences. CybHER conducts activities at K-12 schools, science centers, and libraries and has reached over 10,000 girls and women. Each summer it hosts a GenCyber Girls in CybHER Security week-long camp for middle school girls where they explore all things cyber. 

“We are pleased to have Cynthia Hetherington as our keynote this year,” said Dr. Pam Rowland, DSU assistant professor and director of CybHER Institute and GenCyber Girls Camp. “CybHER first met Cynthia at our Rocket Girls’ event at the Space Center in Florida last summer. The high school students that met her wanted more! Cynthia has a passion for cyber investigations that is contagious, and she is a wonderful role model for young women.”

“Such a strong commitment to encourage young women to enter the cybersecurity profession was unheard of a decade ago,” Ms. Hetherington noted, “but CybHER has made an incredible impact in the shifting of gender representation in such a traditionally male-oriented profession.”

“I can without a doubt say that Cynthia has been one of the most inspiring, hardworking, and motivated women I have ever met,” noted Kelley Criddle, a Florida CybHER Camp participant, and 2018 OSMOSIS Conference attendee. “Cynthia had a genuine curiosity about what I wanted to do in my future and how I wanted to get there. She did nothing but encourage me to reach high for what I wanted in life and to not let anything stop me from reaching my goals. It did not take long for me to realize that Cynthia is an inspiration to many people, not only myself.”

Ceremony Details: Feb. 19, 2019, 1:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M.
Location: Beacom Collaboration Center, Dakota State University
Live Stream Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JouLiaZ8FTE

About Cynthia Hetherington, MLS, MSM, CFE, CII

Cynthia Hetherington is the founder and president of Hetherington Group, a consulting, publishing, and training firm that leads in due diligence, corporate intelligence, and cyber investigations by keeping pace with the latest security threats and assessments. She has authored three books on how to conduct investigations, is the publisher of the newsletter, Data2know: Internet and Online Intelligence, and has trained over 180,000 investigators, security professionals, attorneys, accountants, auditors, military intelligence professionals, and federal, state, and local agencies on best practices. In 2015, Ms. Hetherington founded the OSMOSIS Institute, which hosts the annual OSMOSIS Conference. Hundreds of investigators across the nation gain insights into Open Source Intelligence and receive training from the most recognized social media and open source experts in North America. Ms. Hetherington is the recipient of Enterprising Women Magazine’s 2019 Enterprising Woman of the Year Award and is shortlisted for Information Age and Diversity Q’s 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year, Women in IT Series.

https://www.hetheringtongroup.com/about/cynthia-hetherington

About Hetherington Group

With over two decades of expertise, the Hetherington Group is a leader in investigative due diligence, corporate intelligence, and cyber investigations. Headquartered in Wanaque, New Jersey, Hg’s investigators and analysts track down and expose vital data on national and international investigations; train thousands of investigators in public and private sectors annually; and share their expertise in this increasingly data-intensive, cyber-focused world through the publication of an Industry Newsletter and recognized investigative reference books. Hg is a certified National Women Business Owned Corporation, a certified Women's Business Enterprise, a NJ Women Business Owned Corporation, and NY-NJ Port Authority Women-owned Business Enterprise.

About CybHER®

CybHER®’s mission is to empower, motivate, educate, and change the perception of girls and women in cybersecurity. By providing resources for girls from middle school through collegiate programs and into professional careers, CybHER will allow women to foster positive and encouraging relationships within this industry through original and curated content that educates and motivates women. Ultimately, our goal is to increase diversity by introducing more girls to cybersecurity, who will then transition to women in collegiate programs, and finally highly trained professionals.

www.CybHER.org 

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Contact: Paul Atkinson

Phone: 973.706.7525

Email: [email protected]

Source: Hetherington Group