Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS)
Mission
The WiCyS community is comprised of over 7.5K+ women, allies and advocates all with a strong mission and passion to recruit, retain and advance women in cybersecurity. The nonprofit organization makes opportunities for women in cybersecurity happen and does so through many different initiatives. With the support of 500 volunteers, 58+ professional affiliates, and 214+ student chapters, the WiCyS representation extends to 79 countries.
Ruling year
2018
Executive Director
Lynn Dohm
Main address
370 S Lowe Ave Ste A-244
Cookeville, TN 38501 USA
EIN
82-2750482
NTEE code
Professional Societies & Associations (B03)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2022, 2021 and 2020.
Register now
Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
According to the 2019 reports from (ISC)2 and Cybersecurity Ventures, women in the cybersecurity workforce make up roughly 20-24%. Although these statistics report progress for women in the cybersecurity, it clearly showcases the risk to inclusion and diversity efforts in the workforce and also a threat to the cybersecurity career pipeline. Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) makes opportunities for women in cybersecurity happen and does so through many different initiatives.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Annual Technical Conference
The annual conference started in 2014 with a National Science Foundation grant by Dr. Ambareen Siraj from Tennessee Tech University. In 9 years has received 5.5 million in industry support, had over 8,000 attendees, and issued over 4,000 student scholarships, faculty grants, and veteran fellowship awards. The 2023 conference is March 16-18 in Denver, Colorado. Typically the registration of the conference reaches full capacity in less than a day. The growth of the conference is strategic due to the fact that for every regular registrant, WiCyS issues a female cybersecurity scholarship to attend. Regardless of gender, WiCyS is the largest cybersecurity conference that ensures the equal representation of professionals and students. It’s anticipated that the 2023 conference will have 1,900 attendees.
Virtual Summit
COVID-19 launched WiCyS into the virtual world of cybersecurity conferences. April 2020, WiCyS had a technical conference, all virtual. Over 1,200 attendees, 70 sponsored booths, 1,700 resumes, 22 presentations, 8 socials, 7 keynotes, 2 CTF live coaching sessions, and one career fair. The #WiCySv20 hashtag received a 8 million reach during the three day event.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of new advocates recruited
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Ethnic and racial groups, Women, LGBTQ people, Veterans, Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of list subscribers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We are aiming to accomplish gender equality and creating a pipeline into the cybersecurity workforce.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We create opportunities for women in cybersecurity such as conference scholarships, fellowships, and awards; Professional Affiliates; Student Chapters; recruiting opportunities; Skill Development Training Programs; Veterans' Apprenticeship Program; mentor/mentee cohorts; member community portal; special interest groups, and more.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
With over 65 strategic partners and over 121 conference sponsors, our key stakeholders are invested into the success of the WiCyS organization and the mission to recruit, retain and advance women in cybersecurity.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Started BIPOC Fellowship Award for WiCyS 2021
Hosted WiCyS Virtual 20 with over 1,200 attendees and 80+ exhibitors at career fair
Hosted WiCyS Leadership Summit with cybersecurity experts meeting monthly to discuss the advancement, inclusion, pipeline and transition of women in cybersecurity
WiCyS founder, Dr. Ambareen Siraj, received ABET Award for Diversity and Inclusion for “Leadership in establishing the WiCyS annual conference and the WiCyS initiative, which increased the participation of women in cybersecurity significantly.”
WiCyS founder, Dr. Ambareen Siraj, testified before Congress to provide input on “Developing the U.S. Cybersecurity Workforce” particularly diversity and inclusion.
WiCyS executive director, Lynn Dohm, awarded Top 100 in Cyber Defense Awards
Inteligenca awarded Nonprofit Ally of the Year to WiCyS
CISO Tinkerer’s Pitch-for-Charity event selected WiCyS as a nonprofit awardee
Unisys selected WiCyS as a nonprofit awardee at RSA
Journal of Law and Cyberwarfare donating 80% of conference funds to WiCyS BIPOC Fellowship Award (one of three nonprofits chosen)
Introduced WiCyS Equity Advocacy Committee as an integrated part of the organization
Launched WiCyS Mentor/Mentee Program with 707 mentees and 185 mentors
Started training programs that include the Security Training Scholarship (thanks to Google), AWS x WiCyS JAM Learning Series (thanks to AWS) and National Cyber League (thanks to Target)
Established the WiCyS Leadership Series: Speak. Listen. Community. with a mission to recruit, retain and advance women in cybersecurity with equity, inclusion and allyship
Achieved global member growth in 79 countries
Welcomed 20 new professional affiliates and 25 new and renewed strategic partners to the WiCyS community
Transitioned to new member portal with special interest groups and networking
Received nearly $100,000 in charitable donations (not including strategic partnerships and conference sponsorships)
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS)
Board of directorsas of 04/26/2023
Dr. Janell Straach
Rice University
Dr. Ambareen Siraj
Tennessee Tech University
Dr. Costis Toregas
George Washington University
Dr. Dawn Beyer
Lockheed Martin Space
Prajakta Jagdale
Palo Alto Networks
Diana Kelley
SecurityCurve
Allison Miller
UnitedHealth Group/Optum
Noureen Njoroge
Nike, INC.
Dr. Greg Shannon
Carnegie Mellon University
Marian Merritt
National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE)
Valerie Jane Chua
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Sarah Morales
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Thanks for signing up!
An email has been sent to the address you provided. Click on the link in that email to get more GuideStar Nonprofit Profile data today!
(Don't see an email in your inbox? Click here to resend it.)
GuideStar Pro Reports
Report successfully added to your cart!
Want more data?
A GuideStar Pro report containing the following information is available for this organization:
- Email contact information
- Financial trends metrics for five most recent years 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019*
- Officer and/or Employee data for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019
- Contractor and/or Paid Preparer data for 2022, 2021, 2020
- Board of Directors data for 2023
- *with the ability to download the data for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019
Download it now for $125.
Need the ability to download nonprofit data and more advanced search options?Consider a Pro Search subscription.