Denis R. Hébert Identity Management Scholarship Program

Denis Hebert

$10,000 in Total Scholarship Awards for Your Professional Development Goals

About the Program

The Denis R. Hébert Identity Management Scholarship program, presented by the Security Industry Association (SIA), annually awards two $5,000 scholarships to young professionals who are current employees of SIA member companies to help further their education in the field of identity management. Award recipients are nominated by industry peers and selected by the SIA Learning and Development Committee.

This scholarship was named after Hébert, chair and investor at Nightingale Security and a past member of SIA’s Board of Directors who served as chair from 2016 to 2018. In 2018, SIA and the Board of Directors established the Denis R. Hébert Identity Management Scholarship program in recognition of the substantial subject matter expertise Hébert offered and continues to offer to SIA members. His input has helped businesses to interpret and influence identity management trends and achieve greater business success. In his role as a leader on the SIA board, Denis Hébert positively impacted SIA’s service to its members in the domain of identity management as evidenced through the development of many of its education, government relations and standards initiatives.

The program is designed to support the professional development goals of young professionals 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. Innovative advances in the creation, convergence and utilization of identity management security solutions will help to mitigate current and future identity threats, protect the privacy of individuals and enterprises and secure critical assets. The scholarship funds must be used towards post-secondary education programs, including training courses, accredited college courses, certifications or other valid credentialing programs related to the field of identity management.

Colin DePree and Constantine Tremouliaris accepting their scholarships at AcceleRISE 20232023 Denis Hébert Scholarship Winners: Colin DePree and Constantine Tremouliaris

SIA has named Colin DePree, head of sales strategy, North America, at SALTO Systems, and Constantine Tremouliaris, integration solutions specialist, door security solutions, at ASSA ABLOY, as the 2023 recipients of the
Denis R. Hébert Identity Management Scholarship.

In his role as head of sales strategy for SALTO Systems’ North American operations, Colin DePree drives the vision and supports an international operations team to put SALTO and its customers, partners and integrators ahead of the technology curve. He is a passionate believer that access control should be not an organizational hurdle but an opportunity to improve business processes, identify efficiencies, optimize operations and ultimately unlock potential strategic value, and he and his SALTO team work to create solutions that allow customers to focus on and grow their businesses, removing friction in the pursuit of the goal – to simplify and digitalize access control.

DePree is a security industry veteran with a wealth of experience and a passion for improving the safety, security, health and happiness of communities through innovation and determination. Prior to joining SALTO, he held sales leadership positions at Pro-Tec Design and Floyd Total Security. DePree is an active SIA member who serves on the SIA Member Experience and Engagement Committee, formerly served on the SIA RISE Steering Committee and is still involved with the SIA RISE community and is a member of the SIA Women in Security Forum community.

Constantine Tremouliaris – in his role as integration solutions specialist at ASSA ABLOY – serves as a business development overlay for a regional sales team, bridging the gap between access control software companies and hardware installers/distributors. His dedication and expertise have earned him recognition, most notably as the 2023 recipient of ASSA ABLOY’s People Making a Difference Award and the Digital Access Solutions Player of the Year for 2022. Prior to his time at ASSA ABLOY, Tremouliaris entered the electronics world in high school when he opened a custom car shop with his long-term friend installing custom award-winning sound systems, and air ride systems. Later he was introduced to security and became an integrator specializing in deploying access control in data centers and financial institutions.

Tremouliaris’ commitment to continuous learning and professional growth is evident through his active participation in certifications and educational seminars offered by SIA. One of the initiatives he is most passionate about involves advancing SIA’s Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) standard within his company. He is a member of SIA’s OSDP Technical Subcommittee and is actively working towards utilizing OSDP not only for card readers but also for lock control and other peripheral devices at doors. Looking ahead, Constantine aspires to make a lasting impact on the security industry by creating a safer and more open world. In pursuit of his future endeavors, Tremouliaris plans to use the scholarship fund to delve into the intricacies of product management. Understanding the challenges faced by product managers will enable him to anticipate their needs better, aligning his efforts to support them effectively and help drive innovation directly from customers.

[Read the full announcement.]

Applications are now closed for the Denis R. Hébert Identity Management Scholarship. Check back in the coming months for details about the 2024 scholarship process.

Official Rules and Requirements

A complete application, including all necessary supporting documentation (as described below), must be submitted. All application packets will be submitted electronically, without exception. Applications not submitted during the application window will not be considered; there will be no exceptions made to this requirement.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet all requirements set forth below to be eligible to apply:

  1. Each applicant must be either 1) a SIA student member or 2) a full-time employee of a SIA member company holding a current membership and in good standing within the employer organization. Unsure if your employer is a SIA member? Check our member directory or contact membership@securityindustry.org.
  2. Each applicant must have 1-5 years of professional experience in the security industry (exemptions for students with a verified plan of study in the field of access and identity management).
  3. Each applicant must complete and submit a signed application, along with all supporting documentation, including an essay and two professional references, by the deadline. The completion of the application form does not create an obligation on the part of SIA to award a scholarship to the applicant.
  4. Current officers, directors and key employees of SIA and the immediate families of SIA officers, directors and key employees are not eligible to receive scholarships under the program.

Application Process

  1. Applicant contact information
  2. Accurate and up-to-date resume/work history
  3. An essay answering the following questions:
    1. Why did you choose to apply for the Denis R. Hebert Identity Management Scholarship and how would the scholarship funds be used? (500 words minimum)
    2. What is the biggest trend in identity and privacy facing the industry today? (250 words minimum)
    3. What will be the biggest trend in identity and privacy facing the industry in 5 years? (250 words minimum)
    4. How would this award help you achieve your professional development goals? (100 words minimum)
  4. At least two professional references. Please provide the name, title, email address and phone number for each reference.

Scholarship Selection Committee

The Scholarship Selection Committee (the “Committee”) will consist of volunteers from the SIA Identity Working Group. Committee members are volunteers and perform their duties without compensation, financial or otherwise. If the Committee is reviewing the application of an applicant who is an employee of the Committee member’s company, or if the Committee member is otherwise conflicted with respect to the applicant, the Committee member shall recuse him or herself from all deliberation and voting regarding the applicant’s application.

Selection Process

  1. Only those applicants who meet the eligibility criteria and submit their completed applications and supporting documentation during the application window (“qualified applications”) will be considered in the selection process.
  2. It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit a complete and signed application, along with all the supporting documentation, which must be received on or before the deadline. The Committee accepts no responsibility for incomplete applications, applications not in proper form, lost applications or any other submission not in compliance with these requirements or the instructions provided with the application.
  3. The Committee shall review each application and award points based on the applicant grading criteria set forth below. As noted above, a committee member with a conflict with respect to any applicant shall not participate in the review or grading of that applicant’s application and supporting materials.
  4. The scholarship award will be based on the Committee’s scores of the overall quality of the application and the scholarship essays. The two applications receiving the highest scores shall be awarded scholarships. In the case of a tie, the SIA CEO will make the final decision.
  5. Scholarship selection shall be made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other category protected by federal, state or local law. Conversely, an applicant will not be selected solely based on one or more of the categories identified above.
  6. The decision of the Committee is final and not subject to review.
  7. All deliberations and decisions of the Committee shall be recorded in Committee meeting minutes, which shall be drafted contemporaneously with the review and decisions of the Committee.

Applicant Grading Criteria

The following applicant grading criteria will be followed by members of the Committee in reviewing applications and determining those applicants that will be granted scholarships:

Grading Criteria
Fulfilled all eligibility requirementsUp to 10 points
ReferencesUp to 10 points
EssayUp to 50 points
Applicability of the selected course(s) of study toward the stated career goal(s)Up to 30 points
Up to 100 points

Award Date

All applicants will be notified via email, regardless if selected as a recipient or not, by the award date regarding the status of their scholarship application.

Award Redemption

Each recipient must enroll in the approved degree program or professional development course within 12 months of being awarded the scholarship and coordinate with SIA for course fee payment. SIA will pay for course/program enrollment on recipient’s behalf up to the $5,000 value of the scholarship. If course/program costs more than $5,000, the recipient is responsible for the balance. If cost of course/program is less than $5,000 scholarship award, the recipient will have a credit to use on related professional development within a 12-month period.