About the Initiative
We don't just secure schools. We protect trust.
The K-12 Cyber Trust Initiative is a national nonprofit helping school districts build cybersecurity resilience, AI governance, and leadership confidence — so every community can trust that their schools are prepared.
Our Mission
Every school deserves the ability to protect its students, lead with confidence, and earn community trust.
Too many districts face cybersecurity threats without clear guidance, stretched teams, and invisible risks. We exist to change that, not by selling technology, but by building the leadership, visibility, and systems that make trust possible.
Born from Real Challenges
The K-12 Cyber Trust Initiative was born from firsthand experience with the leadership challenges school systems face, unseen risks, unclear guidance, and teams stretched thin. We saw that the problem wasn't just technical. It was a trust problem.
What We Believe
- ✓Cybersecurity is a leadership issue, not just an IT issue.
- ✓Every district, large, small, urban, rural, deserves protection.
- ✓Trust is built through clarity, not complexity.
- ✓AI governance and cybersecurity are inseparable conversations.
Our Approach
From visibility to resilience.
A clear, repeatable path that meets districts where they are and guides them forward.
Assess
We start with the Cyber Trust Assessment — a clear, non-threatening snapshot of where your district stands across cybersecurity, AI governance, and leadership readiness.
Illuminate
We translate complex risk into leadership-ready language. Superintendents, boards, and CIOs get the visibility they need to act with confidence — not confusion.
Certify
Districts earn Cyber Trust Certification — a public-facing signal that your school system takes cybersecurity, AI governance, and community trust seriously.
Sustain
Ongoing advisory, board coaching, peer learning, and annual re-certification keep your district moving from operational to resilient — year after year.
Meet the Founder
Leadership That Understands the Reality
A nationally recognized cybersecurity leader, award-winning author, and trusted voice at the intersection of cybersecurity, AI, and education.
The K-12 Cyber Trust Initiative is led by a nationally recognized cybersecurity and technology executive with deep experience across K–12 education and enterprise environments.
With nearly two decades of experience spanning CIO and CISO leadership roles, her work has been grounded in real-world challenges, supporting school systems, leading cybersecurity programs, and helping organizations navigate complex risk environments.
She has seen firsthand the growing gap between increasing cyber and AI risks and the ability for leaders to clearly understand, communicate, and respond to them.
That experience led to the creation of a new approach, one that focuses not just on systems, but on trust, leadership, and clarity.
Recognition & Impact
Nationally & Globally Recognized
Her leadership and contributions to cybersecurity and technology have been recognized nationally and globally.
Gold Winner, WomenTech Global Awards 2025 (Cybersecurity Leader of the Year)
CISO Connect C100 Honoree (Top 100 CISOs in North America, 2026)
SIA Women in Security Forum (WISF) Power 100 Honoree (2025)
Global Recognition Award for Cybersecurity Leadership & Innovation (2025)
AI for Equity AI Vanguard Fellow (2026)
Harvard Business Review Advisory Council Member & active contributor to national conversations on cybersecurity, leadership, and equity.
Shaping the Next Generation
Code Quest: The Ethics Engine
A Cyber Adventure for Curious Minds
She is also the author of Code Quest: The Ethics Engine, an award-winning children's book that teaches AI ethics and cybersecurity, helping students build digital citizenship and critical thinking skills at an early age.
Alongside the book, the initiative offers Cyber Trust t-shirts, wearable reminders that “It's Artificial. You Are The Intelligence!” , sparking conversations about digital safety in school hallways and classrooms.
This work reflects a broader commitment:
Not just protecting today's systems, but shaping how the next generation understands technology, responsibility, and trust.
“AI is artificial. You are the intelligence.”
— Teri Green
Know your risk. Build trust. Lead with confidence.
Start with a free Cyber Trust Assessment. Understand your risk. Build your plan. Protect the trust your community depends on.
No pressure. No jargon. Just a clear conversation about where you stand.