For our first CESI Open Café of the new academic year, we were joined by Blessing Usoro, the founder of Cyber for Schoolgirls. Cyber For Schoolgirls is a non-profit organization in Ireland, with a mission to address the complex problem of closing the gender and skills gap in the Irish cybersecurity industry.
Presenter Biography
Blessing stands at the forefront of cybersecurity & privacy innovation and advocates for gender equality and diversity within technology. As the visionary Founder of Cyber for Schoolgirls and a professional speaker, her influence is reshaping organizations and businesses worldwide.
She is shifting the perception of cybersecurity through the non-profit organization Cyber for Schoolgirls, which seeks to introduce secondary school girls to the world of cybersecurity and contribute to a more gender-equal world. She spends her time to inspiring women and young girls, guiding them as they find a place for themselves in the cybersecurity and technology industry. An award-winning cybersecurity professional with over a decade of experience, Blessing serves on the Board of ISACA Ireland and the ICT Advisory Board of Dublin Business School.
Blessing’s ability to inspire is evident in her role as a mentor in the industry, where she shares her knowledge and fosters a supportive environment that encourages growth and development. As a professional speaker, she has a graced the stage at SHONA Festival, the National Security Summit, CIO Summit, the Cyber Summit, ISACA Conference and many others.
She’s an alumna of the Master of Information and Network Security Engineering program at the University of Limerick and the Executive Master in Cybersecurity Management at Solvay Business School in Brussels. Blessing has a professional background in Security Engineering, Application Security, Incident Response and Management, Security Operations, Governance, Risk and Compliance.
She’s been celebrated as one of the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber in 2024 and ranked among Europe’s Top 100 Cyber Women by Women4Cyber EU. Blessing has shared her insights in the Business Post, RTÉ Radio 1, and East Coast FM, making complex online security topics understandable and relatable, and also encouraging more people to make the internet safer for everyone.
Recording and Resources
