Meet the Staff

Rodney Petersen

Director of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) 

Rodney Petersen is the director of NICE at NIST in the U.S. Department of Commerce. He previously served as the Managing Director of the EDUCAUSE Washington Office and a Senior Government Relations Officer. He founded and directed the EDUCAUSE Cybersecurity Initiative and was the lead staff liaison for the Higher Education Information Security Council. Prior to joining EDUCAUSE, he worked at two different times for the University of Maryland - first as Campus Compliance Officer in the Office of the President and later as the Director of IT Policy and Planning in the Office of the Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Read more.

Contact: rodney.petersen@nist.gov  ♦  (301) 975-8897

Marian Merritt

Deputy Director and Lead for Industry Engagement, National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE)

Marian Merritt is the Deputy Director and Lead for Industry Engagement for NICE at NIST. Marian has over 18 years of experience working in the cybersecurity industry. She previously was with Symantec Corporation as their Director of Cyber Education and Online Safety Programs. In that role, she created a cybersecurity career program for underserved young adults which launched in 2014. Read more.

Contact: marian.merritt@nist.gov  ♦  (240) 338-2033

Davina Pruitt-Mentle

Lead for Academic Engagement, National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE)

Dr. Davina Pruitt-Mentle serves as Lead for Academic Engagement of NICE at NIST. Prior to joining NICE, she was a senior researcher and policy analyst for Educational Technology Policy, Research and Outreach (ETPRO) and served as the Co-PI for the National Science Foundation (NSF) supported National Cyberwatch Center (NCC). Read more.

Contact: davina.pruitt-mentle@nist.gov  ♦  (301) 975-2411

Karen Wetzel

Manager of the NICE Framework, National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE)

Karen Wetzel joined NICE as the Manager of the NICE Framework in October 2020. As a common, consistent lexicon that categorizes and describes cybersecurity work, the NICE Framework improves communication about how to identify, recruit, develop, and retain cybersecurity talent. Karen specializes in identifying, communicating, and developing guidance around key issues, emerging trends, and opportunities of special interest. Read more. 

Contact: karen.wetzel@nist.gov ♦ (240) 439-0767

Kofi Ansah-Brew

Lead for Government Engagement, FISSEA Program Lead, National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) 

Kofi Ansah-Brew joined NIST in early November as the NICE Lead for Government Engagement and Program Lead for the Federal Information Security Educators (FISSEA).  He is a recent graduate of the University of Maryland where he was a CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service Scholar.  He completed a Bachelor's degree in Information Science with a Minor in Cybersecurity; he also participated in the Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES) Program and conducted research on “Improving the Cybersecurity Awareness of University of Maryland Students”. Read more. 

Contact: kofi.ansah-brew@nist.gov

Danielle Santos

Manager of Communications and Operations, National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE)

Danielle Santos is the Manager of Communications and Operations for NICE at NIST. Prior to her role at NIST, Danielle served as the Program Manager for cybersecurity formal education programs including National Centers of Academic Excellence and the CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service (SFS) at the Cybersecurity and Communications division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Read more.

Contact: danielle.santos@nist.gov  ♦  (202) 308-3909

Susana Barraza

Program Manager, National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE)

Susana Barraza is the Program Manager for NICE at NIST. She previously served as the Student Personnel Assistant for the Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) STEM Equity and Success Initiative (SESI) Project at Sacramento City College. A program that seeks to increase the enrollment and success of Latina/o and economically disadvantaged students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs in their transition from high school to college and ultimately degree completion, transfer, and career opportunity. Read more. 

Contact: susana.barraza@nist.gov ♦ (240) 457-2638

Calvin Watson

Group Office Manager, National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE)

Calvin Watson serves as Group Office Manager for NICE at NIST. Calvin has over 15 years of experience in program support for human resources, international development, and cybersecurity teams. Prior to joining NICE, he was the Division Administrator at Abt Associates where he aided several United States Agency for International Development economic and humanitarian projects working to improve global health and alleviate poverty.

Calvin has received several special recognition awards from the Director of Abt Associates for his contributions. He was also presented with a Leadership Award by the Combined Federal
Campaign of the National Capital Area in recognition of his outstanding management and dedicated service.

Contact: calvin.watson@nist.gov ♦ (301) 975-4470