Cheri Pascoe

Cheri Pascoe is director of the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

She provides the strategic direction and technical leadership for the NCCoE, which brings experts from industry, government, and academia together to solve cybersecurity challenges. 

Pascoe previously served as senior technology policy advisor, advising NIST leadership on technology policy and strategy, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and privacy. She has served as the lead of the Cybersecurity Framework program (Journey to NIST CSF 2.0) and supported the NIST AI Risk Management Framework development. 

Prior to joining NIST, she served more than a decade in staff leadership roles in the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation working for former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS). 

She served as deputy policy director managing the committee’s Space and Science Subcommittee, which has legislative and oversight jurisdiction over science, technology, standards, and civil space policy. 

During her time on the Hill, she led efforts to develop and advance several notable pieces of legislation, including the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, the AV Start Act, as well as three surface transportation reauthorization laws and ten cybersecurity laws. 

Pascoe received her M.A. in International Science and Technology Policy from the George Washington University and her B.S. Chem. with Highest Honors in Chemistry from the University of Michigan.