Marian Merritt is the Lead for Industry Engagement for the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Marian has over 19 years of experience working in the cybersecurity industry. She previously was with Symantec Corporation as their Director of Cyber Education and Online Safety Programs. In that role, she created a cybersecurity career program for under-served young adults which launched in 2014. The Symantec Cyber Career Connection continues in partnership with non-profit workforce development organizations in several US locations. Marian attended Boston University’s Questrom School of Business for her undergraduate degree and holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

(Previous) Dedicated marketing and internet safety professional, helping to educate the public and develop awareness of security issues and change consumer behavior online. Recently joined the NICE program office, sponsored by NIST (within the Department of Commerce) to facilitate efforts by industry, education and government to close the cybersecurity hiring gap.

Drove corporate initiatives within Symantec for nearly 18 years. For many years, Symantec's global representative, author and spokesperson for consumer internet safety issues.