We at BSidesLV have determined that it is time for us to ask the InfoSec community to step-up and get more involved. One of the ways we're hoping to implement this, is by starting a mentorship program for new speakers. One of our tracks this year will be “Proving Ground” and the main criteria to get a slot in this track will be being a first time conference speaker. As we all know how hard it can be to find your voice, or even to just translate data into talking points that won't lose your audience, we're looking to pair each of the Proving Ground applicants up with a mid to high profile mentor, with a solid track record of public speaking, who will work with them from CFP to podium.

The process will work like this. When the CFP goes out, potential speakers will have a choice of three tracks to apply for. If they choose Proving Ground, they will be welcomed and gently interviewed by the BSidesLV board (Jack Daniel, Joshua Marpet and GK Southwick). If they “pass” their interview – have a good sense of presence, can convince us they've never spoken at a conference before and their paper concept has merit - they will then be passed on to the Mentor List, where the mentors will be able to choose who they want to work with, based on area(s) of expertise and experience. The mentor will then work with their mentee, answering questions by email as needed and Skyping with them once a week for about 15-30 minutes, to see where they are in their presentation implementation. The mentor will assist with translating data in to talking points and assuring their talk is consumable by “Joe Shmoe InfoSec”, not just the peers in their area of interest. The day of presentation, the mentor will attend their mentee's talk, to boost morale and assist with the Q&A, if their mentee gets flustered.

This year, since it's a start-up program, all mentors/mentees will be provided with a guaranteed ticket to BSidesLV, a BSidesLV t-shirt, special mention during the conference and a badge that will identify them as a part of the mentorship program. In future years, if this program pans out, we're hoping to be able to provide sponsorships to the mentees, to assure they're able to afford to attend BSidesLV, if they're from out of town. This year, we'll be recruiting applicants from the Departments of Computer Science and Computer Engineering at UNLV, as well as from the general public.

**We are full-up on Mentors for this year. Please do not request to apply to be a Mentor for 2012, as we are no longer accepting applications. Thank you.**

We hope that by providing this service, we'll have the chance to “Pay it forward” to the new generation of hackers. Let's give them a chance to find their voice in a welcoming, encouraging environment.

Thanks so much for your interest in the BSidesLV Mentorship Program.

GK Southwick

Jack Daniel

Joshua Marpet

Your BSidesLV Board of Directors

Security BSides Las Vegas

P.S. Our friend Javvad (@j4vv4d) made this neat video to promote mentoring and added a cool BSidesLV twist for us. Check it out and spread it around! 

http://youtu.be/TMmyppGoeGo

We are happy to announce the Mentors for our new program:

Georgia Weidman

Marisa Fagan

Kevin Riggins

Joseph Sokoly

Nicolle Neulist

Mark McLaughlin

Jennifer Jabbusch-Minella

Dave Shackleford

Sean Cordero

Mike Spaulding

Jim MacLeod

Ryan Jones

Conrad Constantine

Ian Iamit

Wardell Motley

Jimmy Shah

Meredith L. Patterson

Morgan Marquis-Boire

You kids, you make us sooo proud! Thank You!