05
December
2023
|
09:16 AM
America/Los_Angeles

CSUSM to Host Director of U.S. Cybersecurity Agency

Jen Easterly (right), director of the national Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, will appear at a campus event this week with CSUSM music professor Merryl Goldberg (left) and Lisa Einstein, executive director of CISA’s Cybersecurity Advisory Committee.
Jen Easterly (right), director of the national Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, will appear at a campus event this week with CSUSM music professor Merryl Goldberg (left) and Lisa Einstein, executive director of CISA’s Cybersecurity Advisory Committee.

Cal State San Marcos will host Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), and Lisa Einstein, senior adviser for artificial intelligence and executive director of CISA’s Cybersecurity Advisory Committee on Wednesday, Dec. 6. This interactive visit from security experts at the highest level of the U.S. government will highlight the direct correlation between CISA’s strategic plan and how the arts use critical creative methods to train the region’s future workforce and prepare them for the risks, threats and strategies that the industry demands.

Director Easterly and Einstein will be accompanied by Dr. Merryl Goldberg, a CSUSM music professor and the executive director of Center ARTES at the university. Goldberg’s notorious reputation for creating secret codes embedded in music during the Cold War era of the KGB demonstrates how arts and humanities degrees directly correlate to national security, specifically within cybersecurity.

“I’m thrilled to visit CSUSM to talk with the next generation of leaders about the intersection between the arts, technology and cybersecurity,” Easterly said. “I am so impressed with CSUSM's commitment to including arts in education; I believe that using creative techniques to reach different audiences about traditionally technical topics will help raise our collective defense and make us all safer. In addition, producing tech that is secure by design requires imagination and a dedication to product quality.”

Discussions will amplify the need to inform creative thinking within arts and science, and keynotes will engage in creative activities themselves as a part of the presentations. Spoiler alert: Director Easterly is an aspiring electric guitarist!

Please RSVP and join us for scheduled sessions either in person or livestreamed, which include:

  • Panel discussion and musical performance – 10-11:20 a.m.
  • Keynote fireside chat with Jen Easterly – 1:30-2:15 p.m. (join livestream)
  • Student engagement activity – 2:30-3:30 p.m.