Dr. Michelle Angelo-Rocha

Cyber Research Analyst, Cyber Florida & Adjunct Professor, USF

Dr. Michelle Angelo-Rocha is a community-based qualitative researcher and workforce strategist specializing in cybersecurity workforce development and multilingual education. She leads the CyberBay Workforce Development Initiative, a regional, cross-sector effort focused on aligning education systems with the demands of the entry-level cybersecurity workforce, and serves as the lead researcher and report author for the CyberBay Workforce Working Group. Her work advances employer-aligned training models that emphasize hands-on experience, portfolio-based skill validation, and measurable workforce readiness. 

Dr. Melissa Dark

Founder, TeachCyber

Melissa Dark has worked in cybersecurity education for the past 26 years. She has led several creative and impactful projects. Her early work in cybersecurity education focused on the graduate level and has progressively grown down to community college, and now high school, in response to two needs: robust cybersecurity literacy among all cybercitizens and closing the cybersecurity workforce gap. She was a professor and associate dean at Purdue University. In 2015, she founded DARK Enterprises, Inc., a non-profit that focuses on cybersecurity education development, assessment, research, and knowledge transfer.

Dr. Natalie Foster Johnson

Cybersecurity Educator and Workforce Development Advocate, CyberMINDS Research Institute

Dr. Natalie Foster Johnson, aka Dr. Resiliency, is a cybersecurity educator, researcher, and community advocate who believes everyone should have a chance to find a place for themselves in the industry. With more than 15 years of experience in cybersecurity, governance, and security, she makes cybersecurity learning practical, welcoming, and connected to real career opportunities. Her work brings students, professionals, career changers, and community organizations together to build skills and strengthen cyber resilience.

We Need Cyber Talent. So Where Is Everybody?

The cybersecurity talent gap may not be what you think.

Employers say they can't find qualified cyber talent. At the same time, thousands of people are trying to break into cybersecurity—and struggling to land that first opportunity.

So where's the disconnect?

Join CyberBay for a candid, no-slides conversation about the realities of building the cybersecurity workforce—from the shortage of truly entry-level jobs and unrealistic hiring requirements to alternative pathways into cyber and the growing impact of AI.

The Conversation

We'll ask the questions the industry needs to answer:

• Are employers looking for "entry-level" talent that doesn't really exist?
• Can you get experience without getting the job first?
• Are traditional pathways into cybersecurity still working?
• What should employers be doing differently?
• And what does "entry-level" even mean in an AI-powered workplace?

No scripts. No sales pitch. No easy answers.

Just a conversation about what's really happening in the cyber talent market—and what it means for employers, aspiring cybersecurity professionals, educators, and the future of the workforce.

The talent is out there. Are we looking in the right places?