Welcome to the CAE Community of Practice (CoP) for Cyber Defense (CD)

CAE CoP-CD Mission:

“To collaborate with both the CAE Community and the NCAE-C Program Management Office (PMO) to build a Cybersecurity Excellence Community of Practice in Cyber Defense (CoP-CD) in order to gather and share input from the broader community as well as to provide continuous program improvement".

CoP-CD Steering Committee:

Given that the CAE-CD includes over 400 institutions, we have established the CoP-CD Steering Committee of individuals who have significant experience with the CAE-CD program. Many of the members are the CAE Point-of-Contact (POC) at their institution and volunteer their time to provide valuable feedback to the PMO about topics relevant to the CAE-CD. The CoP-CD Steering Committee meets on a quarterly basis and our main goals for the academic year are to: (1) Assist the CAE PMO in expanding and managing the NCAE-C Program to maintain quality, collaboration, and innovation; (2) Assist in establishing a greater sense of community among CAE-CD members; (3) Provide volunteering support to assist new and existing fellow CAE-CD members in areas of interest. 

CoP-CD Steering Committee Members and Initiatives Chairs: 

Yair Levy - Nova Southeastern University, Steering Committee Co-Chair and CoP-CD National Co-Lead

Anne Kohnke - University of Detroit Mercy, Steering Committee Co-Chair and CoP-CD National Co-Lead

Sandra Blanke - University of Dallas, Initiative Co-Chair - Get to Know Your Fellow CAE-CDs Initiative

Gretchen Bliss - University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Initiative Co-Chair - Get to Know Your Fellow CAE-CDs Initiative and the New and Early-Career Faculty Members Initiative

Kelli Burgin - Montreat College, Initiative Co-Chair - NCAE-C Student Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct Initiative

Anna Carlin -  Fullerton College, Initiative Co-Chair - NCAE-C Student Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct Initiative

Haley Crabtree - Terra State Community College, Initiative Co-Chair - Working, Non-traditional, and Military Students Initiative

Paige Flores - Towson University, Initiative Co-Chair - New and Early-Career Faculty Members Initiative

Tirthankar Ghosh - University of New Haven, Initiative Co-Chair - CAE-CD Industry Relations and Shared Resources Initiative

Mark Lawrence – New Mexico State University, Initiative Co-Chair - Faculty Opportunities Initiative

Wei Li - Nova Southeastern University, Initiative Co-Chair - CAE-CD Community Outreach Competition Initiative

Xiuwen Liu - Florida State University, Initiative Co-Chair - CAE-CD Community Outreach Competition Initiative

Daniel P. Manson - Norwich University, Initiative Co-Chair - CAE-CD Meet Your Cyber Competition Initiative and the 'CAE Student Cyber Clubs' Initiative

Jake Mihevc - Mohawk Valley Community College, Initiative Co-Chair - CAE-CD Meet Your Cyber Competition Initiative

Stephen Miller - Peer Review National Center, Initiative Co-Chair - CAE-CD Industry Relations and Shared Resources Initiative

Idongesit Mkpong-Ruffin - Florida A&M University, Initiative Co-Chair - Working, Non-traditional, and Military Students Initiative

Michael Nowatkowski - Augusta University, Initiative Co-Chair - Faculty Opportunities Initiative 

Stu Steiner - Eastern Washington University, Initiative Co-Chair - CAE Student Cyber Clubs Initiative

Diego Tibaquirá - Miami-Dade College, Initiative Co-Chair - Working, Non-traditional, and Military Students Initiative

Tobi West - Coastline College, Initiative Chair - CAE Symposium CD Program Committee

David Zeichick - California State University - Chico, Initiative Chair - CAE-CD Meet Your Cyber Competition Initiative

CoP-CD Steering Committee Members at Large:

Debasis Bhattacharya - University of Hawaii Maui College

Michael Burt - Wilmington University

Bei-Tseng “Bill” Chu - UNC Charlotte

Deanne Cranford-Wesley - North Carolina Central University

Susan Frank – Suffolk County Community College

Faisal Kaleem - Metropolitan State University

Michael Kelly - Community College of Rhode Island

Stanley Mierzwa - Kean University

Michael Nizich – New York Institute of Technology

Anthony Pinto - University of West Florida

Michael Ramage - Murray State University

Blair Taylor - Towson University

Stephen Troupe - WhatCom Community College

Michael Tu - Purdue University Northwest

CAE-CD Community Support: 

Amy Hysell - CAE Community National Center, California State University, San Bernardino

NSA NCAE-C Program Management Office (PMO)'s Email Aliases: 

DoD Cyber Exchange Documents for CAE: https://public.cyber.mil/ncae-c/documents-library/ 

CAE-CoP-CD Ongoing Initiatives: 

1. The 'Get to Know Your Fellow CAE-CDs' Initiative

This initiative is co-chaired by:
- Sandra Blanke, University of Dallas
- Gretchen Bliss, University of Colorado Colorado Springs.

Join us each month during Fall and Winter/Spring terms as a different group of CAE-CD schools presents about their school, programs, research interests and more. Registration for upcoming events and archiving of all prior events since 2021 are provided on this initiative page. 

2. The 'CAE-CD Meet Your Cyber Competition' Initiative

The “CAE-CD Meet Your Cyber Competition" initiative is co-chaired by:
- Jake Mihevc - Mohawk Valley Community College
- David Zeichick - California State University - Chico
- Daniel P. Manson - Norwich University

The purpose of the CAE-CD Meet Your Cyber Competition initiative is to collect, categorize, document, and promote to the CAE Community all relevant student competitions and CTFs. Registration for upcoming events and archiving of all prior events since 2022 are provided on this initiative page. 

3. The 'CAE-CD Community Outreach Competition' Initiative

The “CAE-CD Community Outreach Competition” initiative is co-chaired by:
- Wei Li - Nova Southeastern University
- Xiuwen Liu - Florida State University

To read more about this initiative including the annual committee members, annual submissions solicitation, criteria, rules, submission information and then the schools that were awarded for the years of 2021 and 2022, check this initiative page. 

4. The 'CAE Symposium - CD Program Committee'

The “CAE Symposium - CD Program Committee” is co-chaired by:
- Tobi West - Coastline College
- Yair Levy - Nova Southeastern University
- Anne Kohnke - University of Detroit Mercy

To read more about this committee including the annual committee members, annual submissions solicitation, review process and event logistics coordination including information on the past 2023 CAE in Cybersecurity Annual Symposium and 2024 CAE in Cybersecurity Annual Symposium, and the Call for Submissions for the upcoming 2025 CAE in Cybersecurity Annual Symposium. Check this initiative page.

5. The 'NCAE-C Student Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct' Initiative

The “NCAE-C Student Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct” initiative is co-chaired by:
- Kelli Burgin - Montreat College, Committee Co-Chair
- Anna Carlin -  Fullerton College, Committee Co-Chair

To read more about this initiative including the committee members, the final draft of the NCAE-C Student Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, which is a uniform Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct that is advocated as best practice among CAEs with recommendations on integrating it into courses as well as professional engagements, check this initiative page. 

6. The 'CAE-CD Industry Relations and Shared Resources' Initiative 

The "CAE-CD Industry Relations and Shared Resources" initiative is co-chaired by:
- Stephen Miller - Peer Review National Center
- Tirthankar Ghosh - University of New Haven

The purpose of the CAE-CD Industry Relations and Shared Resources initiative is to explore and negotiate CAE Community reduced/free pricing, benefits, and resources with vendors providing cybersecurity content, products and services. To find out more information, check this initiative page. 

7. The 'CoP-CD National Community Service Awards and Recognitions' Initiative

The CoP-CD “CoP-CD National Community Service Awards and Recognitions” initiative is co-chaired by:
- Anne Kohnke - University of Detroit Mercy
- Yair Levy - Nova Southeastern University 

This initiative is aimed at recognizing all of the dedicated individuals around the nation who generously contribute their time and effort to the CAE-CD Community. The initiative co-chairs also solicit the annual top CAE Reviewers and Mentors from the Candidates and Peer Review National Center, as well as the annual top CLARK Contributors. The annual National Awards and Recognitions are provided during the CAE in Cybersecurity Annual Symposium. To find out more information about this initiative including the latest awards, check this initiative page. 

8. The 'Faculty Opportunities' Initiative

This newly formed 'Faculty Opportunities' initiative is co-chaired by:
- Michael Nowatkowski - Augusta University
- Mark Lawrence – New Mexico State University

The aim of this CoP-CD initiative is to coordinate and assist in showcasing the biographies and talents of qualified individuals who are seeking academic positions in colleges/universities in the area of cybersecurity or closely related computing fields. The initiative committee will also seek to provide content for faculty job seekers by expanding the current of the CAE Faculty Opportunities page with a newly proposed “Faculty Job Seekers” section under the current “Faculty Opportunities” section and assist in updating the current CAE Faculty Opportunities around the nation listed on the page. Stay tuned for additional information about this initiative.  To find out more information about this initiative including the latest information, check this initiative page. 

9. The 'CAE Student Cyber Clubs' Initiative

This newly formed 'CoP-CD Student Cyber Clubs' initiative is co-chaired by:
- Daniel P. Manson - Norwich University
- Stu Steiner - Eastern Washington University

The aim of this CoP-CD initiative is to develop a comprehensive list of all CAE Student Cyber Clubs around the nation and showcase their activities. Stay tuned for additional information about this initiative. 

10. The 'New and Early-Career Faculty Members' Initiative

This newly formed CoP-CD 'New and Early-Career Faculty Members' initiative is co-chaired by:

- Gretchen Bliss - University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS)
- Paige Flores - Towson University

The aim of this CoP-CD initiative is to engage new and early-career faculty members, bringing their voices to the CAE Community. It will provide monthly workshops for new and early career faculty members to learn more about CAE Community initiatives related to hands-on learning to increase the quality of classroom instruction. This will be accomplished by conducting outreach to CAE POCs to solicit involvement from their new and young faculty (via CAE Community newsletter and PMO notifications), listening to the needs of those faculty members, and developing monthly workshops to support their exploration and application of tools and resources to strengthen the cybersecurity offerings at CAE institutions. 

11. The "Working, Non-traditional, and Military Students" Initiative

This newly formed CoP-CD 'Working, Non-traditional, and Military Students' initiative is co-chaired by:

- Diego Tibaquirá – Miami Dade College 
- Haley Crabtree – Terra State Community College
- Idongesit Mkpong-Ruffin – Florida A&M University

The aim of this CoP-CD initiative is to promote resources and activities for working, non-traditional, and military students at CAE institutions. This new CoP-CD initiative will include a yearly workshop and a list of resources to be shared on the CoP-CD page on embracing and supporting working, non-traditional students (full-time and part-time), military students, women, single parents, first-generation students, veterans, and students with learning and other special needs who are enrolled in cybersecurity programs. The goal is to develop a working list of resources and tools that faculty can use to help coach and guide students who need a little extra help.

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Updated: March 13, 2025