Security Industry Association Announces Efrain Pardo As The Spring 2020 Recipient Of The Denis Hebert Identity Management Scholarship

The Security Industry Association (SIA) has selected Efrain Pardo as the spring 2020 recipient of the Denis R. Hebert Identity Management Scholarship, a program presented in partnership with the Center for Identity at the University of Texas at Austin offering $5,000 scholarships for SIA members to help further their education in the field of identity management.

This scholarship program – named after Hebert, President of Feenics Inc. and a past member of SIA’s Board of Directors who served as Chair from 2016 to 2018 – is designed to support the professional development goals of individual SIA members and student members who specialize in identity management – a field involving the systematic control of access, authenticating users, securing assets and protecting privacy. Identity management encompasses many aspects of risk management, public policy, fraud prevention, privacy, data analysis, risk and governance, information technology and security.

Identity management expertise

Pardo – a SIA student member who has a proven track record of experience in network and information security – serves as a flight operations implementation specialist at Horizon Air. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in networking and cybersecurity at Green River College and will use the scholarship funds to further his network and cybersecurity education.

“SIA congratulates Efrain Pardo for being selected as the spring 2020 Denis R. Hebert Identity Management Scholarship winner and for his impressive accomplishments and dedication to helping to advance this foundational security space,” said SIA CEO Don Erickson. “SIA is proud to help cultivate members’ identity management education and career development through this unique scholarship program; it is critical that we continue to build on our identity management expertise to better address identity threats, protect privacy, secure assets and foster innovation.” 

Center for Identity

Prior to his time at Horizon Air, Pardo held IT, research, sales, analyst and customer service roles with Prime Strategy, the Kline Group, Venues & Events – Global Travel, IDC and IBM. He holds a Master’s Degree in sales and IT from the United Kingdom’s University of Lincoln and a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and Information Systems from Monterrey Tech and is currently working toward certifications with the PM Institute and CompTIA.

Applications are now open for the Fall 2020 Denis R. Hebert Identity Management Scholarship

The Center for Identity at the University of Texas at Austin works closely with its public-private partners, including corporations, state and federal government agencies and law enforcement, to deliver innovations for consumers, businesses and government that help them to better protect people’s identities.

Access and identity management

As a critical component of its mission, the center conducts research to better understand how emerging technology such as biometrics affects consumers and organizations alike and how standards and expectations of privacy are evolving. Applications are now open for the Fall 2020 Denis R. Hebert Identity Management Scholarship.

Each applicant must be either a SIA student member or a full-time employee of a SIA member company and have 1-5 years of professional experience in the security industry or a verified plan of study in the field of access and identity management. Scholarship funds must be used toward post-secondary education programs, including training courses, accredited college courses, certifications or other credentialing programs related to identity management.