Cybersecurity Problems Are No Match for Chandria Poole’s Forward-Thinking Approach

In an era of growing cybersecurity problems, it is critical for organizations to think and act proactively to address future cyber challenges, especially talent acquisition and cyber policy issues. Chandria Poole, Deputy Program Manager at Northrop Grumman and BEYA Most Promising Engineer Award recipient, knows just how organizations can prepare for such obstacles.

Chandria Poole

“Organizations should have a big focus on ‘when,’ not ‘if,’ when preparing their cyber workforce for the challenges ahead,” Chandria Poole

The secret starts at the core of the business: its workforce. To stay ahead of the curve, organizations need to recruit and retain diverse talent in STEM fields, Chandria says. The best way to do that is to start young.

CyberPatriot

Partnering with academia to inspire young students about rewarding STEM opportunities is a forward-thinking talent acquisition approach. One example is the CyberPatriot Program, which was presented by the Northrop Grumman Foundation and created by the Air Force Association.

CyberPatriot features the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition for high school and middle school-aged youth as well as cyber camps and an elementary school education initiative.

“A lot of what we’ve being doing [at Northrop Grumman] is focusing on STEM and developing the next generation of our workforce to make us more proactive than reactive,” says Chandria, who mentors CyberPatriot competitors.

Making a Difference, Every Day

Chandria believes her career path has allowed her to empower and impact with immediate results.

“Every day, we see the positive results of the work we do,” Chandria says. “It’s not something we have to wait years or even days to see. Every day, when we complete projects and collaborative efforts, we see the positive effect we have on cybersecurity.”