Remembering the Grace, Service and Profound Impact of Lisa Decker |
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It’s hard to fathom the skill set required to navigate days packed with huge and highly sensitive construction projects, volunteer efforts that range from supporting military spouses to negotiating with garrison commanders, teaching stints at university, mentoring appointments with young professionals, the endless tasks of raising a family and a cherished new role as soccer mom. Yet Lisa Decker juggled all of those things with grace, dedication, deep competence and an unforgettable smile. In doing so, she generated profound, positive impact well beyond her immediate circle and her short life.
A long-time member of the FMA Board of Directors, Chairperson of the Military and Family Committee, project manager for the transformation of Kuhn Hall into the Education and Resiliency Center, and Vice President of The Whiting-Turner Construction Company, Decker passed away in November, following a battle with breast cancer.
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FMA Continues to Probe
Cyber Workforce Challenges and Solutions
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In September 2020, we introduced the top five challenges in acquiring CS/IT Talent in the Fort Meade Region, including how to build diversity (challenge #1), how to align K-12 education with cyber skill development (challenge #2) and how to harness natural IT talent (challenge #3). Plans are underway for a public forum where we learn from industry leaders how to solve the chronic workforce shortage, so save the date! In the meantime, an in-depth review of challenges #4 and #5 are below. |
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Lack of Opportunities to Gain Work Experience Presents Key Obstacle to Building Cyber Career
It’s a Catch-22 situation that is restricting the growth of the cyber workforce. To build a career in cyber security/information technology (CS/IT), workers must acquire hands-on, workplace experience. But to qualify for many entry-level positions, applicants must already have one to three years of IT or cyber work experience.
So how does a student, young professional or career changer clear that hurdle?
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Untapped Talent—Efforts to Support Alternate Career Paths Could Increase Cyber Workforce
Faced with high demand for cybersecurity and information technology (CS/IT) professionals, some industry leaders say it’s time to actively support alternative career development paths and tap into a wealth of talent that is currently going to other sectors.
“For an industry that is very understaffed, employers are still being extremely selective,” said Kent Malwitz, President of UMBC Training Centers. “There are just not enough people going through the traditional route of a four-year college degree, certifications and internships to meet the demand. So there needs to be open mindedness and bold steps to bring people into the industry through other paths.”
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Taking Student Innovation to New Heights |
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What do a composting system for a school cafeteria, a model of a human leg, a glove that can sense electro-magnetic fields and an experiment to test the prospect of using fungi to pull heavy metal out of the soil all have in common?
Each are ideas proposed by Anne Arundel County Public School (AACPS) students for projects that they developed as part of the STEM and Bio-Medical Allied Health Magnet programs at Glen Burnie, North County and South River high schools.
And each received a monetary award to take their existing project and research to the next level as part of STEMOVATION.
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Monthly Meet-Ups
Thank you to our guest speakers, Tiffany K. Tong, Director of Business Development at Secure Innovations, LLC and Mike McKloskey, Vice President, Cyber and Intelligence at Parsons Corporation, for sharing their insights at our January MBC Meetup, "Best Practices for Building Your Business in 2021.” FMA small business members learned how to navigate the year to come, especially in light of COVID-19. Next month, Lori Ratzburg of the Maryland Department of Commerce and Sarah Horta of the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation will team up to offer more detail about current State and County resources, including various programs, partnerships and tax incentives. For more information, email E Harwood.
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Mentorship Matters
The Rising Stars Committee is currently planning this year’s signature mentorship program with a kick-off event to take place in March. Committee members are reaching out to accomplished industry business leaders in the area who will serve as mentors while also identifying which Rising Stars are interested in being mentored. For more information, email Jenn Munt.
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Destination: Fort Meade
The Fort Meade Alliance is proud to present the 12th edition of the Destination Fort Meade Guide, a comprehensive and popular resource for residents, transitioning workers and visitors to the region.
The Guide includes information and contacts for useful government agencies, organizations and businesses as well as links to housing, education and transportation resources. And despite COVID-19, the Fort Meade region continues to offer safe activities for families – check out the “Cool Things to Do” for area attractions, cultural activities and more.
Free copies of the guide are available to you for placement and distribution to your clients and customers. To order, email Allison Beard or call 410-850-4940.
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Midday Monitors Needed
Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) is hiring Midday Monitors who can offer support to the elementary schools when students return to hybrid learning on March 1, 2021. This is an in-person, part-time position.
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Annual Giving Campaign
In September 2020, the Fort Meade Alliance Foundation kicked off its inaugural Annual Giving campaign affectionately known as the Circle of Support. This initiative continues the Foundation’s effort to ensure a thriving Fort Meade community by supporting vital resiliency efforts, creating valuable education initiatives and building opportunities for an inclusive workforce.
The FMA Foundation is helping to fund initiatives that proactively advance the future technology workforce by reaching students through innovative education now while also giving our current service members and DoD personnel opportunities to strengthen their families and decompress from the stressors of keeping our country safe.
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Make a Difference While You Shop
We are excited to announce the FMA Foundation's participation in Amazon Smile where a portion of your Amazon purchase can now be donated to the efforts of the FMA. Use the FMA Foundation Amazon Smile page to log into your regular Amazon account and shop, shop, shop! Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to the FMA Foundation.
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REGISTRATION OPENING SOON!
February 17, 2021, 3:30 p.m.
Monthly Meade Business Connect Meet-Up
February 23, 2021, 10 a.m.
Solving the Cyber Workforce Shortage Forum
February 24, 2021, 7 p.m.
Rising Star Virtual Bingo Night Fundraiser
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Welcome to Our Newest
FMA Partners and Members
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Mission Partner
Mosaic Technologies Group
5-Star Partners
BrainTrust
Huntington Ingalls Industries
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Members
Booker DiMaio, LLC
BTS Software Solutions
Even Health, LLC
Evo Technologies, LLC
FosterThomas Benefits
Intelligence and National Security Alliance
Leading Edge Wealth Advisors, LLC
Modern Visual Solutions
MOJO Web Solutions, LLC
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Amazon Web Services
Anne Arundel Community College
AAEDC
ASRC Federal
BAE Systems
Boeing Intelligence & Analytics
BrainTrust
CACI
Chugach Government Solutions
Ciena Government Solutions, Inc. (CGSI)
Corporate Office Properties Trust
Deloitte LLP
Denovo Solutions
HCEDA
Huntington Ingalls Industries
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LG-TEK
ManTech International Corporation
M.C. Dean
Nominet
Oceaneering International, Inc.
Parsons
PCI
Perspecta
Praxis Engineering
Raytheon
SAIC
Tower Federal Credit Union
Vision Technologies
Whiteford, Taylor & Preston
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
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Aronson, LLC
Capitol Technology University
ClearEdge
Focal Point Data Risk
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Howard Community College
IndraSoft
National Instruments
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