The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) awarded CTEWorkforce, a workforce technology company, with its annual Impact Award in recognition of the company’s statewide efforts to help Virginia university students learn the skills they need to lead successful careers in cybersecurity.

CTEWorkforce, formerly known as CivilianCyber, is based in Richmond, Va. The veteran-owned company developed the Technology Enabled Engagement with Mentoring™ (TEEM) program that provides structured, mentee-driven experiential learning opportunities for students. TEEM’s proprietary approach addresses the cybersecurity workforce training gap between what students learn in class and skills critical to employers that include on-the-job application of learned knowledge, critical thinking and professional/soft skills.

“To receive the Impact Award from an organization as important as CCI is direct recognition that our programs are making a difference in people’s lives while also helping industry meet their critical workforce needs,” said Bobby Keener, CTEWorkforce CEO. “We are honored and appreciate CCI as well as our industry, workforce, and education partners.”

TEEM began in 2022 with support from the CCI Southwest Virginia Node and Jeff Pittges, an information technology professor at Radford University. The program has since expanded to include all of Virginia, reporting seven cohorts with more than 150 students, and numerous cybersecurity professionals who serve as mentors and in many cases become employers. University, community college and high school students also now participate as both mentors and mentees.

Workforce development is a key part of CCI’s mission to help Virginia become a global leader in cybersecurity, said Luiz DaSilva, CCI executive director. "This year's CCI Impact Award recognizes CTEWorkforce's work to address the cybersecurity employment needs in Virginia."

Focused on cybersecurity, CCI is a statewide coalition of more than 40 Virginia universities and colleges, industry, and government partners. There are four regional CCI nodes that serve different parts of the state – Central, Coastal, Northern, and Southwest. The CCI Impact Award was presented at the CCI Symposium dinner on April 14, 2025, in Richmond, Va.

“CTEWorkforce’s TEEM program is a great example of how support from CCI during the early stages helps a good idea grow into a successful statewide program,” said Gretchen Matthews, director of the CCI Southwest Virginia Node. “All of Virginia benefits when students have the skills employers need to address crucial cybersecurity issues.”

Contact Michele McDonald, mmcdonald@vt.edu, for more information.