PITTSBURGH, Oct. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of
major security breaches at Yahoo and Equifax,
Nishchala Tangirala is committed to protecting global citizens from
these ever-evolving cyber threats. Through a full-tuition
fellowship awarded jointly by Carnegie Mellon
University (CMU)'s Information Networking Institute (INI)
and the Executive Women's Forum on Information Security, Risk
Management and Privacy (EWF), Tangirala is one step closer to
realizing her dreams of becoming a Chief Information Security
Officer.
Tangirala's education is made possible through a partnership
between the INI and EWF, sponsored by Alta Associates, that offers
fellowships to underrepresented minority and female graduate
students. By supporting full tuition costs, the EWF INI Fellowship
eases the financial burden of a Carnegie
Mellon master's degree and increases the diversity of the
student body and the field of information security.
At the 15th Annual EWF National Conference on
October 24-26, Tangirala will be
recognized as the fellowship's tenth recipient and celebrated
alongside the nine previous recipients, many of whom are now
working at major companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Google,
Facebook, Palo Alto Networks, Red Hat and Ernst &
Young.
"With a projected shortage of qualified cybersecurity
professionals looming on the horizon, tackling the field's
diversity challenges has never been more important," said
Dena Haritos Tsamitis, director of
the INI and member of the EWF Board of Advisors. "Over the past
decade, INI and EWF have developed the next generation of women
leaders, each of whom has an inherent desire to pay it forward by
supporting opportunities for others in their community."
Founded in 2002, the EWF is the largest member organization
serving emerging leaders and influential female executives in the
security, risk management and privacy field. In addition to
financial assistance, fellows gain access to the EWF community of
mentors who have reached executive levels in their careers. This
intense level support has helped to lift these scholars toward
success.
"As the EWF celebrates its 10th anniversary of
partnering with INI, we are thrilled to be awarding a scholarship
to Nishchala Tangirala," said Joyce
Brocaglia, founder of EWF and CEO of Alta Associates. "The
EWF's mission is to engage, develop and advance women leaders and
as such we are looking forward to having Nishchala join our
community."
During her undergraduate studies at the University of Nebraska, Tangirala interned with
Union Pacific and ConAgra and learned firsthand the importance of
protecting businesses from security risks. Yet it is the recent
consumer security breaches that inspired her passion to create a
secure and happy cyberspace for each and every global citizen.
"The INI is the perfect platform for me to realize my dreams of
becoming a security expert," said Tangirala, noting the program's
technical curriculum, specialization in information security and
experienced faculty. "But for this generosity bestowed on me, it
would not have been possible for me to pursue my master's degree at
my dream university, Carnegie Mellon,
and at the best department, the INI!"
About the Information Networking Institute
The
Information Networking Institute (INI) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) educates and
develops engineers through technical, interdisciplinary master's
degree programs in information networking, security, and mobility
that incorporate business and policy perspectives. Founded in 1989,
it is an integral part of the College of Engineering, and a
collaboration of the School of Computer Science, the Tepper School
of Business and the H. John Heinz III College. For more
information, visit http://www.ini.cmu.edu.
About the Executive Women's Forum on Information
Security, Risk Management & Privacy:
Founded in 2002,
the Executive Women's Forum on Information Security, Risk
Management & Privacy (EWF) is the largest member organization
serving women leaders as well as the most prominent and influential
women in Information Security, Cybersecurity, IT Risk Management,
Governance Risk & Compliance and Privacy. The EWF's
mission is to advance women in our field through leadership
development, education and the creation of trusted relationships.
The EWF achieves this goal by facilitating programs and events
throughout the year including a National Conference, regional
meetings, leadership development programs and interaction with
global thought leaders through an online community. For more
information visit, www.ewf-usa.com.
About the EWF INI Fellowship
The Information
Networking Institute (INI) partners with the Executive Women's
Forum (EWF), sponsored by Alta Associates, to offer a full
scholarship to an incoming INI student. Alta Associates is a
premier executive recruitment firm specializing in Information
Security, IT Audit, Risk Management and Privacy. This scholarship
was first offered in the Fall 2007 to support a student from a
historically underrepresented population. Awardees, known as EWF
INI Fellows, receive a full scholarship and have the opportunity to
be mentored by an EWF participant who is at a senior level in the
information security field. For more information, click
here.
Contact: Christa Jones,
412-268-5312, jonesc@cmu.edu
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SOURCE Information Networking Institute at Carnegie Mellon University