Black Hat USA Scholars
Women in Security and Privacy (WISP) is proud to continue our long-standing partnership with Black Hat USA—one of the world’s most respected cybersecurity conferences—to bring more women and underrepresented professionals to Las Vegas this August.
Thanks to Black Hat’s generous donation of 15 scholarships, WISP is able to provide access to this premier event to a new cohort of emerging and established voices in security and privacy. These scholarships open doors for professionals who may not otherwise have the opportunity to attend due to financial or systemic barriers.
From hands-on technical trainings to briefings led by industry leaders, Black Hat offers a rare chance to gain cutting-edge insights, expand professional networks, and see what’s next in cybersecurity. For our scholars, it’s more than a conference—it’s a launchpad.
This partnership reflects a shared commitment between WISP and Black Hat to diversify who gets to be in the room when critical security conversations are happening. We believe that the future of cybersecurity is inclusive, and initiatives like this are one way to get us there. Thank you, Black Hat USA, for your continued support of WISP and our mission!
So, what are this year’s WISP scholars most excited about?
Hear directly from some of them below:
If you're interested in future scholarships, events, or training programs, be sure to:
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Angelika S.
Angelika is excited to meet and build long-lasting relationships with mentors who can support her continued growth and success as an incident response associate. She looks forward to gaining insights from leading experts and deepening her expertise in incident response, digital forensics, and cloud security.
Amanda Camilotti
Amanda is grateful for the opportunity to deepen her knowledge in advanced threat intelligence analysis and develop her skills in security research and responsible disclosure practices. She looks forward to exploring the latest developments in artificial intelligence security, including adversarial machine learning attacks and defensive strategies against AI-powered threats. Additionally, she is excited to network with fellow women and industry leaders to gain insights into emerging career paths within privacy and cybersecurity, particularly in areas such as consulting and governance.
Mariia Kyrychenko
Mariia is excited to explore advanced threat detection techniques, develop her incident response skills, and connect with leading cybersecurity professionals, researchers, and students at Black Hat. She believes the WISP Scholarship provides her with exciting opportunities to accelerate her career development while positioning her to inspire and guide other women and international students pursuing Information Security.
Tracy Goodhue
Tracy is excited to explore cybersecurity accessibility, identity and access management, and threat detection strategies at Black Hat. As the founder of More Good Solutions and one of the chairs of the WISP Florida Local Group, she’s passionate about making cybersecurity more inclusive, especially for those often left out of the conversation. Tracy is looking forward to learning from industry experts, gaining hands-on insights, and bringing that knowledge back to support her work at the intersection of accessibility and infosec.
Santina
Santina is eager to deepen her understanding of hacking, especially in social engineering. She's interested in attending DEFCON and competing in cybersecurity challenges—even if it means getting a little embarrassed along the way. She's ready to step out of her comfort zone and give it her all.
Andrea K
Andrea is exited to expand her knowledge and stay ahead of the curve by seeing visionary keynote speakers and learning about the latest trends, threats and defense research from industry leaders. She is also looking forward to meeting vendors, seeing demonstrations, and networking with peers and industry professionals.
Mariya Oliferovskaya
Mariya is excited to deepen her knowledge of threat modeling, red vs. blue team tactics, and real-world incident response. She’s especially looking forward to learning from hands-on villages, and hearing from leaders like Rachel Tobac and Keren Elazari.
Akansha Kesharwani
Akansha is excited to attend Black Hat USA 2025 to learn from some of the sharpest minds in security and stay on top of the latest attack techniques and defenses. It’s an incredible opportunity to grow as a security engineer as well as connect with like minded people.
Cynthia Taylor
Cynthia is excited to return to Black Hat and Defcon as a mid-career cybersecurity professional. While there she'll be volunteering with the Biohacking Village and other communities throughout both conferences. She's also be catching panels and workshops on hardware hacking, weaponization of cellular/IoT networks, and aerospace-focused vulns.
Tati
Tati is excited to learn more about cloud and AI - mainly anything that can help improve her career and the direction she is heading in the cloud computing (devops and sec ops) industry.
