Topic: Minorities in Cyber – A STEM Perspective on the Challenges and Successes Faced by Professionals in the Field

Ms. Dickens will discuss the various Cybersecurity and Technology programs she’s lead throughout her 20-year STEM career.  Among her success, she has also faced challenges as a Cybersecurity leader and will share the strategies she used to overcome them.

Speaker: Jennifer Dickens, Internal Risk Mitigation Manager, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Jennifer Dickens has several years of success in providing strategic solutions and formulating innovative IT initiatives in the Federal Government. Jennifer is a 2020 Women of Color Magazine, Technology Rising Star award winner for her STEM leadership in the Federal Government. Currently, Jennifer serves as the Cyber Security Internal Risk Mitigation (IRM) Project Manager and Foreign National Foreign National – Internal Risk Mitigation (FN-IRM) Baseline Review Project Manager for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She leads the project efforts of NOAA’s Enterprise-wide Cyber Security Internal Risk Mitigation Program.

A resident of Silver Spring, Maryland, Jennifer received her Bachelor of Arts, Master of Business Administration, and Master of Science degrees from the University of Maryland. She earned a Federal Government Contracting Certification from George Mason University. Jennifer is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery’s Emerging Leaders, NOAA’s Leadership Seminar, Partnership for Public Service’s Federal IT Leaders cohort, and the Inaugural Class of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women LEAD Academy. Jennifer is a servant leader and advocate, actively serving on community and national organizations that focus on the betterment of Communities of Color. A daughter of two educators and granddaughter of pastors, Jennifer has always had a heart of service.

Jennifer is an active member of the Montgomery County, MD Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Prince George’s County, MD Chapter, Leadership Montgomery, and the Montgomery County, MD Pan-Hellanic Council, Inc. She is a board member of Adventure Theatre MTC, Community Bridges, Inc., and the Montgomery County Delta Alumnae Foundation.