GRCIE Announces 2 Milestones

Richmond, VA, October 11, 2022 --(PR.com)-- GRC for Intelligent Ecosystems (GRCIE), a non-profit focused on broadening the universe and diversity of cybersecurity professionals in the U.S., is pleased to announce two significant accomplishments. The first is a prestigious award bestowed on the organization. The second is a new project called GRCTV.

The Award
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiative of the Year award was given by the Women in IT Global Initiative, which celebrates outstanding contributions by women to the technology industry. It was presented with awards in 15 other categories at a banquet in New York City on September 14. In its 5th year, the Women in IT Global Initiative, the brainchild of the Bonhill Group in London, bestows similar awards in Canada, Europe, and Asia. Sponsors include major corporations such as Barclays, IBM, Google, Morgan Stanley, and T-Mobile.

DEI Initiative of the Year recognizes a project or initiative that has had “demonstrable success in improving the recruitment, onboarding, development and/or progression of underrepresented talent,” according to Bonhill’s website. In announcing the winner, the judges noted that GRCIE “gives opportunity to those who would otherwise not have access. This non-profit supports diversity in the cybersecurity workforce and is a tuition-free program that opens doors to women, BIPOC, veterans, and people from socio-economically disadvantaged communities. The initiative has a huge reach, and the entire curriculum is delivered using virtual reality (VR), making it one of the most advanced cybersecurity education & training programs in the country. It fully embraces the tenets of DEI.” They also noted GRCIE’s impressive success rate in getting their graduates placed in well-paying jobs.

GRCIE was chosen as DEI Initiative of the Year by a group of 10 finalists across the country. “It is an honor just to be on this shortlist,” said Melissa Elza, who accepted the award for GRCIE. “We made the shortlist last year and were up against some impressive nominees, so we were thrilled to take it home this year.” Elza is one of the founders and Deputy Director of the organization.

Kris Rides, Board member, GRCIE Co-founder, and CEO of Tiro Security, felt that “Being recognized for such a prestigious award will help shine a brighter light on the need to transform and diversify the cybersecurity workforce.”

GRCTV
The new GRCIE project, GRCTV, has been in development for the last several months. “Launching it on the heels of our award seemed like perfect timing,” said Jenai Marinkovic, Executive Director and also a GRCIE founder.

GRCTV is, as the name indicates, GRCIE’s VR streaming channel dedicated to tackling the technology challenges of our time, more specifically, those issues related to the GRC and cybersecurity workforces. The new GRCTV feature will be monthly panel discussions hosted by GRCIE leaders and with guest panelists.

Anyone interested in learning more about GRCTV and participating in one of the panels should contact the organization at media@grcie.org.

GRCIE is also interested in partnering with any business to increase the GRC and cybersecurity talent pool in their company or community. For more information on GRCIE and its capabilities, visit www.grcie.org.