Spotsylvania Teacher Named Head Coach of U.S. Women's Cyber Team
Kristi Rice is a cybersecurity teacher at Spotsylvania High School.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Kristi Rice, cybersecurity teacher at Spotsylvania High School, has been named Head Coach of the U.S. Women’s Cyber Team
“It is an incredible honor to represent the United States as Head Coach of this exceptional team,” said Rice, in a press release from the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Career and Technical Education. “I am proud to support and mentor these talented cyber athletes as they prepare to compete on a global stage and showcase the strength of our nation’s cybersecurity talent.”
Rice will lead the U.S. Women’s Cyber Team—a semi-professional team made up of women aged 18-26—at the Women's International Cybersecurity Challenge, to be held in July in Dublin, Ireland. The U.S. team will compete against all-female teams from Ireland, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Africa and Latin America, according to the press release.
Spotsylvania school division superintendent told the Advance, “We are proud to congratulate [Rice] on being named Head Coach … This distinguished honor reflects her exceptional leadership, professional expertise, and dedication to advancing cybersecurity education.”
He continued, “Her selection not only highlights her individual accomplishments but also reinforces Spotsylvania County Public Schools’ commitment to a robust CTE program across all of our schools, specifically at Spotsylvania High School.”
Rice was Spotsylvania’s Teacher of the Year for 2025-26. In 2021, she was one of two educators in the country to receive the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award for her work in building the county school division’s cybersecurity program and increasing access to cybersecurity education locally, statewide and nationally.
The first ever U.S. Women’s Cyber Team was announced in 2024.
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