The CSA Triangle Chapter Supports Veterans and Grows Talent in the Triangle

The Cloud Security Alliance Triangle Chapter began as a grassroots initiative in 2018 when Eric Hart recognized the need for advancing the mission of cloud security in the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) area of North Carolina.

Eric recognized the potential when meeting with Kyle Mitchell and Shankar Chebrolu at a related event in Asheville, North Carolina.

The trio soon began a series of bi-monthly events in Raleigh securing chapter support from Internetwork Engineering, Red Hat, and Trend Micro as well as others.

Membership through the original meetup site grew to more than 340 individuals from the area, in roles ranging from CEO, CIO, and CISO to networking and software engineers.

The Triangle Chapter has consistently grown since its inception and continues to add value to the community with the launch of the Hiring Our Heroes program. Hiring our Heroes provides veterans with backgrounds in IT and/or cybersecurity to get their CCSK certificate as a way to increase their skillset and demonstrate their increased value to potential employers in the civilian workplace.

The Cloud Security Alliance Triangle Chapter is located near the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina. Founded in 1959 and located at the center of three Tier-1 research universities, Research Triangle Park is the largest research park in the United States and a premier global innovation center. Its 7,000 acres house hundreds of companies, including science and technology firms, government agencies, academic institutions, startups and nonprofits.

Sponsorship has grown through board support from Internetwork Engineering, Red Hat, Optum, and Trend Micro who provided support in the early formation of the chapter. Most recently and with the formation of nonprofit status, the chapter has welcomed JupiterOne and Trend Micro as Executive sponsors and Red Hat has become a Silver sponsor of the chapter.

The chapter has in-person events planned for April, May, June, and October in addition to virtual events in partnership with Trend Micro and AWS throughout the year. In April, the Triangle Chapter will co-host an event with Executive sponsor Trend Micro and AWS for an in-person Immersion Days event. The in-person event will also be live-streamed for attendees who are not able to attend and subject matter experts from Trend and AWS will be on hand to guide participants through a series of exercises designed to increase awareness and skills.

They will also be taking part in the upcoming CSA North Carolina Summit where they will share the stage with their sister chapter, the CSA Carolinas Chapter. The Summit is being hosted by Cloud Security Alliance and will take place in Greensboro, North Carolina at the Koury Convention center on May 5, 2022.

June will bring an exciting event planned with another Executive sponsor, JupiterOne. In October they will bring their inaugural Executive round table event to the Triangle to engage local executives on topics that are the most pressing to the North Carolina technical landscape.

The CSA Triangle Chapter board is comprised of eleven members including Eric Hart (President), Shankar Chebrolu (Vice President), Kassi Dibert (Secretary), Samuel Cameron (Treasurer), Kyle Mitchell (Sponsorship Director), Lou Karwoki (Events Director), Jessica Donahue (Membership Director), Schaefer Marks (Technical Projects Director), Erkang Zheng (Board Advisor), Aaron Lancaster (Board Advisor), and William Dupre (Board Advisor).