2026 Virginia Cybersecurity Education Conference

Assorted Miniature Muffins:  including banana nut, blueberry, and lemon poppy seed

All-natural Energy Bites:  our own power snack; oatmeal, coconut, peanut butter, dates, flaxseed and maple syrup in bite size pieces ~vegan, gluten free, contains nuts~

Assorted Soft Drinks: classic coke, diet coke, sprite, ginger ale

Coffee and Tea:  freshly brewed fair trade locally roasted coffee, decaffeinated coffee and a selection of green, black and herbal teas served with cream, sugar, sweeteners and lemon

Chilled Spring Water:  refreshing cool ice water with lemon wheels

Potato Chips and Pretzels:  individual bags of assorted chips and pretzels

Granola Bars:  crisp individually wrapped

Assorted Soft Drinks:  classic coke, diet coke, sprite, ginger ale

Coffee and Tea:  freshly brewed fair trade locally roasted coffee, decaffeinated coffee and a selection of green, black and herbal teas served with cream, sugar, sweeteners and lemon

Hart Rossman is Vice President of Security for AWS, where his responsibilities include leading the Office of the CISO, AWS CIRT (Customer Incident Response Team), and AWS field engagement security. He focuses on enabling customers and field teams to achieve delightful results while leveraging AWS products and services securely. Hart joined AWS in 2012 as an individual contributor and grew to lead AWS Global Services Security, supporting enterprise customers design, build, and optimize their security, DevOps, and cloud infrastructure architecture at a planetary scale. Before AWS, Hart worked for over a decade as a systems integrator in the defense & intelligence, finance, and energy sectors. He is an Eagle Scout and has earned a CISSP, CSSLP, received his B.A. in Communication from the University of Maryland, College Park, and received his MBA from the University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business.

The Department of War's Cyber Academic Engagement Office (CAEO) serves as a vital bridge between our nation's most pressing security needs and the educational institutions that will solve them. Tasked with inspiring and cultivating the next generation of cyber talent, the CAEO is committed to building a "seamless ecosystem" that supports students from their first K-12 cyber club to a high-impact career in public service.
This session will explore how the DoW is partnering with educators through initiatives like CyberPatriot, the Cyber Service Academy (CSA) scholarship program, and the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) framework. We will discuss how aligning curriculum with these blueprints enhances graduate employability and directly supports the Department's shift toward skills-based hiring. Looking ahead to initiatives like AI4WARD and our Strategic Foresight efforts, attendees will learn how K-12 and higher education stakeholders can collaborate with the DoW to elevate their programs, empower their students, and build a resilient digital workforce for the future.