Radford University’s Vinod Chachra IMPACT Lab Recognized with 2025 CCI Impact Award
The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) awarded its signature Impact Award to Tom Bennett II and Svetlana Filiatreau, both of Radford University’s Vinod Chachra IMPACT Lab, for their statewide leadership in cybersecurity workforce development.
The award reflects the broader work of the IMPACT Lab team, whose collaborative efforts helped advance the Professional Accelerated Cyber Education (PACE) program—an online, competency-based initiative designed to strengthen cybersecurity capacity among incumbent IT professionals in public-sector and community-serving organizations across Virginia.
Bennett is the senior director of operations and planning for the Economic Development and Corporate Education Division and Vinod Chachra IMPACT Lab. Filiatreau is the senior business development director of the IMPACT Lab.
Presented at the CCI Symposium in April, the annual CCI Impact Award recognizes accomplishments made during 2025.
“We are proud to see Tom Bennett II, Dr. Svetlana Filiatreau, and the IMPACT Lab team recognized with the 2025 Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Impact Award,” said Gretchen Matthews, CCI Southwest Virginia Node director. “This honor reflects a true team effort and highlights Radford University’s impactful work to improve cybersecurity training and advance workforce readiness across the commonwealth.”
Supported by two CCI grants in 2024 and 2025, the PACE initiative delivered flexible, industry-aligned cybersecurity education. The program served professionals working in local governments, school divisions, healthcare systems, and other organizations across the Commonwealth.
A key driver of this success was the academic strength of the program’s cybersecurity curriculum. Prem Uppuluri, co-principal investigator and faculty lead for the Cybersecurity Certificate curriculum, played a central role in shaping the program’s instructional foundation. His work included the development of multiple certificate courses. Additional course development was provided by Hwajung Lee and Jeff Pittges. Their contributions further strengthened the program’s quality, rigor, and workforce relevance.
As principal investigator (PI) for both CCI awards, Bennett led the grant oversight and statewide coordination of the initiative. Filiatreau supported the effort through outreach to partner organizations and recruitment of participants. The broader IMPACT Lab team—including Jon Allen, senior multimedia manager; Jerrold Bennett, instructional designer; Katie Thomas, graphic designer; Belinda Nuckols, learning coach; and Krista Turner, learning coach—contributed through multimedia support, instructional design, learner support, and program delivery, helping translate CCI investment into measurable workforce outcomes.
“This recognition reflects the IMPACT Lab team’s commitment to building practical, accessible cybersecurity workforce solutions for organizations across Virginia,” said Bennett. “Just as importantly, it reflects the strength of the academic content behind this work. Dr. Prem Uppuluri’s leadership as Co-PI and curriculum lead for the Cybersecurity Certificate, together with course development by Dr. Hwajung Lee and Dr. Jeff Pittges, gave this initiative the rigor and relevance needed to make a real impact statewide. This recognition truly belongs to everyone who contributed to its success.”
“I am grateful to have been a part of this effort through collaboration with partner organizations and participating professionals,” said Filiatreau. “Through work with school divisions, local governments, and workforce and industry partners, the PACE initiative expanded access to meaningful cybersecurity education and career pathways across Virginia.”
The first CCI-supported PACE initiative enrolled 62 IT professionals in foundational cybersecurity coursework, with participants representing organizations across Northern, Central, Southwest, Southside, Shenandoah Valley, and Appalachian Virginia. A second CCI award in 2025 expanded the initiative by supporting progression into advanced cybersecurity certificate coursework aligned with industry-recognized credentials.
The CCI Impact Award recognizes work that advances CCI’s mission to serve as an engine for research, innovation, and talent development. Through the PACE initiative, the IMPACT Lab team has helped create a scalable model for strengthening cybersecurity resilience and workforce capacity across Virginia.