NSA recognizes ODU cybersecurity school

https://www.pilotonline.com/2026/02/03/business-notes-odu-cybersecurity-oklahoma-submarine/

Publish Date: 2026-02-03 07:31:00

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Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
Appointed/elected
Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin made the following appointments to state authorities, boards and committees: Ashley McLeod of Virginia Beach, principal consultant at ERM, was appointed to the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority. Thomas M. Leahy, retired city manager and acting city manager of Virginia Beach; William Moore of Portsmouth, a retired quality assurance department head at Norfolk Naval Shipyard; and Michael B. Stanton of Isle of Wight County, retired Navy captain and president of BCA Consulting; were appointed to the Southeastern Public Service Authority. Robert Williams of Norfolk, an auto detailer at Eggleston, was appointed to the board of Health and Human Resources. Lisa Kersey of Suffolk, executive director of Freekind, was appointed to the Advisory Committee on Sexual and Domestic Violence. Justin Saunders of Chesapeake, vice president of the Hampton Roads Chamber, was appointed to the Virginia African American Advisory Board. Dee Gilmore of Chesapeake, chairman of the board of the Chesapeake Hospital Authority, was appointed to the Board of Medicine.
Awards and honors
The Breeden Company received five awards at the 19th annual Multi-Housing News Excellence Awards event. The awards are: best operations, gold, for Reflections of Virginia Beach; humanitarian award, silver; marketing executive of the year, silver, Christine Gustafson; facilities and maintenance manager of the year, bronze, Steve Roldan, Aqua on 25th Street; rising star, bronze, Nevaeh Arrington, Lake Taylor Pointe Apartments.
Bridgestone Retail Operations has named Zachary Borden of Firestone Complete Auto Care in Virginia Beach the company’s 2025 Automotive Service Excellence master technician of the year. Borden was honored at an awards ceremony held by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. He joined Firestone in 2016 after graduating with an associate degree in automotive technology from Tidewater Community College. Borden holds nine ASE certifications and has surpassed his service productivity rate by nearly 300% for the last two consecutive years. ASE technician of the year honorees are submitted by their employers based on criteria that include ASE test scores, on-the-job performance and community activities. (Courtesy/Bridgestone Retail Operations)
Visiting Angels of Virginia Beach has received the Caring Stars 2026 award, which highlights excellence in senior home care services. Visiting Angels was selected for the honor based on positive client feedback on caring.com. The company provides in-home assistance, including meal preparation, personal grooming assistance, escorts on errands or appointments, light housework, medication documentation and dementia redirection and safety.
Old Dominion University’s School of Cybersecurity is the first institution to receive dual validation for its pioneering cyber and artificial intelligence programs from the National Security Agency. This achievement advances the university’s leadership in preparing students for the rapidly evolving technological landscape where artificial intelligence intersects with cyber defense. This is the first year of NSA’s CyberAI program of study validations. ODU is the first school in the nation to receive both the AICyber and SecureAI recognitions. ODU’s bachelor of science in cybersecurity with a major in artificial intelligence for cybersecurity received validation for NSA’s AI for cybersecurity recognition or AICyber. The university’s master of science in cybersecurity with a concentration in AI security received validation for the security of AI program, or SecureAI. The programs are validated through 2030. ODU is one of 10 higher education institutions in America and the only one in the Virginia to earn all three of NSA’s Centers of Academic Excellence designations.

Norfolk-based marketing agency Qantm Creative has received 26 awards across three major Graphic Design USA national competitions in 2025. The winning work spans digital design, health and wellness and cross-media campaigns, placing the agency among the top five participating creative firms and agencies nationwide. The agency scored 11 wins in GDUSA’s 62nd annual digital design awards for campaigns with The Breeden Co., Lago Mar Beach Resort & Club and the town of Herndon Police Department; four awards in the 25th annual health and wellness design awards, recognizing work with Virginia Health Services and Fishing Point Healthcare; and 11 honors in the end of the year best of the year competition.
Grants and donations
Applications are open through Feb. 6 for Smithfield Foods’ 2026 Impact Grant Program to support nonprofit organizations in local communities. Grants of $10,000 or more will be awarded through a competitive application process, with proposals evaluated based on demonstrated need, potential impact and alignment with the company’s focus areas of hunger relief, education, hometown heroes and community vitality. Eligible nonprofit organizations can apply online. Additionally, Smithfield Foods has launched a new video series that spotlights the company’s namesake town. Future spotlights will highlight other hometowns that have shaped Smithfield Foods’ journey.
The 33rd annual radiothon, hosted on 97.3 FM The Eagle and benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, raised $202,836. Founded in 1962, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a nonprofit dedicated to treating and defeating childhood diseases, with a major focus on leukemia and other cancers. Families treated at St. Jude never receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing, or food.
WVBW 100.5 FM, The Vibe, collected more than 300 winter coats during a recent drive in partnership with ECHO Family Care Partners to support Hampton Roads children and families. One hundred more coats were collected in December, the event’s second year.
Chesapeake Regional Healthcare opened a new urgent care center with CT scan and MRI imaging. The outpatient facility, at 1034 S. Battlefield Blvd., is about 10 miles from the North Carolina border. The medical imaging center has seen about 30 patients each day and completed about 450 tests as of mid-January following its December opening. (Courtesy/Chesapeake Regional Healthcare)
Opening
Optii Corp., a photonics-focused defense technology company headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, has opened at the Virginia Beach International Incubator. The company is expanding into the U.S. and actively pursuing partnerships with defense organizations. The incubator supports international companies seeking low-risk expansion into the U.S. market. Located in Town Center and adjacent to the city’s economic development office, the incubator offers affordable office space, access to local experts, resources and ongoing support from the city’s economic development department to help companies efficiently scale up and increase long-term growth.
Frugal Finds, a new thrift store, has opened at 3217 Bridge Road in Suffolk. The store offers discounts to first responders, teachers and government employees. The business also supports displaced individuals or families who have been displaced with donations of clothing, furniture and similar items to help people in need get back on their feet.
Nonprofit
People in Need Ministry in Virginia Beach is now a full member clinic of the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics. Full clinic membership reinforces a commitment to serving Virginia’s most vulnerable individuals and demonstrates adherence to best practice membership standards, while also reflecting the clinic’s excellence in nonprofit management and patient care. The ministry’s medical clinic provides primary care, mental health care, dental care, ophthalmology and respite care for people experiencing homelessness in Virginia Beach. The PiN Ministry’s focus includes preventative medicine, such as education on hypertension, women’s health and proper diet and by providing health screenings. PiN Ministry is one of 70 free and charitable clinic members statewide.
Military and maritime
Chesapeake-based TMMG, a provider of systems engineering and life cycle asset management services to U.S. defense agencies, has secured a strategic growth investment from Artinia Group in partnership with Gemini Investors and True West Capital Partners. The investment will strengthen TMMG’s capabilities in engineering, shipbuilding support services, naval architecture and integration, test and evaluation, training, logistics and program management. TMMG’s management team will continue to lead the company. Artinia Group’s investment in TMMG is facilitated in partnership with Gemini and True West. Both are licensed small business investment companies under the U.S. Small Business Administration. TMMG specializes in naval architecture, marine engineering, defense systems and integration, test and evaluation, training, logistics and program management.
Newport News Shipbuilding has reached a significant construction milestone for Virginia-class submarine Oklahoma. Oklahoma is now pressure hull complete, which signifies all of the hull sections have joined to form a single, watertight unit. The Oklahoma is the 29th Virginia-class fast attack submarine, the first of Block V and the 14th to be delivered by the shipyard. The ship’s sponsor is Mary “Molly” Slavonic, an Oklahoma native.
Chesapeake Regional Healthcare opened a new urgent care center with a CT scanner, shown here, and MRI imaging. The outpatient facility, at 1034 S. Battlefield Blvd., is about 10 miles from the North Carolina border. The medical imaging center has seen about 30 patients each day and completed about 450 tests as of mid-January following its December opening. (Courtesy/Chesapeake Regional Healthcare)