The Security Industry Association (SIA) has named two recipients for the 2025 Denis R. Hébert Identity Management Scholarship, a program offering $5,000 scholarships for young professional SIA members to help further their education in the field of identity management.

The winners for the 2025 Hébert Scholarship are Nathaniel Pliskaner, a student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), and Kaine Rubalcava, enterprise support service program manager at City of Hope.

This scholarship program — named after Hébert, a longtime security industry executive and past member of SIA’s Board of Directors who served as SIA board chair from 2016 to 2018—is designed to support the professional development goals of individual SIA members and student members who specialize in identity management — a field involving the systematic control of access, authenticating users, securing assets and protecting privacy. Identity management encompasses many aspects of risk management, public policy, fraud prevention, privacy, data analysis, risk and governance, information technology and security.

“My sincere congratulations to this year’s recipients of the Denis R. Hebert Identity Management Scholarship Awards, Kaine Rubalcava and Nathaniel Pliskaner,” said Hébert. “Kaine and Nathaniel represent this industry’s future generation of professionals in the identity management domain.”

Nathaniel Pliskaner is a student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in global security and intelligence studies and a minor in international relations. He is deeply passionate about security and having the opportunity to study these subjects in depth at ERAU. Pliskaner’s coursework has covered a wide range of topics, including asset protection, secure facility design, access control, investigations, cybersecurity, intelligence analysis and international relations theories, and he serves as president of the Global Security and Intelligence Student Organization, which represents ERAU students of all concentrations, a role that has given him the opportunity to explore areas of security beyond his academic focus and connect with peers across disciplines.

“It is an incredible honor to be awarded the Denis R. Hébert Scholarship. As a student in global security and intelligence studies at Embry-Riddle, I am committed to building a career in security,” said Pliskaner. “This scholarship helps make that goal more attainable by offsetting tuition costs and allowing me to focus more fully on my academic and professional development. I am grateful to SIA for supporting emerging professionals and recognizing the importance of education in security and cybersecurity to build a safer world.”

Kaine Rubalcava is an enterprise support service program manager at City of Hope, where he wears many hats to accomplish the varying tasks needed by the organization, and due to his past experience in computer science he has taken a large initiative in access control and surveillance systems. He is the first in his family to pursue higher education, and with the support of his family and friends, he was able to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science. Technology has always been a subject that interests Rubalcava, and he continually seeks new experiences to support his growth, he now has the opportunity to pursue his master’s degree at Southern New Hampshire University and is excited to see what lies ahead.

“Thanks to the Denis R. Hébert Scholarship, I am able to complete the remaining courses needed to graduate with a master’s in information technology,” said Rubalcava. “Coming from a technology-focused background, upgrading some of my outdated hardware will also help me to stay focused and better prepared for my coursework. I’m hopeful that by this time next year, I’ll have my master’s degree framed and hanging on my wall. I sincerely thank [SIA and] the Hébert Scholarship for their support.”