SPC will host Career Conversations, Gina Ortiz Jones to keynote

St. Philip’s College will host Under Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, Gina Ortiz Jones, for a Career Conversations Session on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. The event will kick off at 10:00 am in the Turbon Student Center, Everett Viewing Room (RM. 216). Keynote speaker, Gina Ortiz Jones, and U.S. Air Force staff will be on hand to give students an overview of cybersecurity positions, explain qualifications and discuss possible career pathways. The session will shed light on the increasing demands for online security and a growing concern for protecting private and trade secret data from hackers.

St. Philip’s College, San Antonio College, Northeast Lakeview College, and Palo Alto College have been recognized recently for their cybersecurity programs.

In December 2021, St. Philip’s College received the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Program of Study Validation by the National Security Agency (NSA). This recognition extends to the Information Technology Cybersecurity Specialist program through the 2026 academic year. St. Philip’s joined other nationally validated programs to produce high-quality cybersecurity professionals to safeguard the U.S. national infrastructure.

The College is also designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD), a prestigious program jointly sponsored by the NSA and Department of Homeland Security. CAE-CD is one of the most difficult designations to receive, as the College is assessed on its research, program offerings, multidisciplinary approach, performance in cyber competitions, and many other factors.

Ms. Gina Ortiz Jones will be welcomed by President of St. Philip’s College, Dr. Adena Loston and Vice Chancellor of Student Success, Dr. Adelina Silva.  Students interested in attending can rsvp here. A free career-ready kit will be provided on a first come basis.

About Gina Ortiz Jones:

Ms. Gina Ortiz Jones is responsible for the affairs of the Department of the Air Force, comprised of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, to include organizing, training, and equipping Air and Space Forces and for the welfare of approximately 700,000 active duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian Airmen and Guardians and their families serving around the world. As the Under Secretary, she oversees the Department’s annual budget of more than $168 billion and directs strategy and policy development, risk management, weapons acquisition, technology investments and human resource management across a global enterprise.

Ms. Jones has spent her career working to protect U.S. economic and national security. Commissioned through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Boston University, Ms. Jones served as an Air Force intelligence officer and deployed to Iraq with the 18th Air Support Operations Group supporting close air support operations.

Upon separation from the Air Force, she advised on military operations in Central and South America with the 470th Military Intelligence Brigade and U.S. Army South. She joined the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) as an inaugural member of U.S. Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany, and served in the Libya Crisis Intelligence Cell.

Following an assignment as Special Advisor to the DIA Deputy Director, Ms. Jones was detailed to the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center to serve as the Intelligence Community's Senior Advisor for trade enforcement. She later joined the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as a Director for Investment, leading the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) portfolio.

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