After nearly 26 years, Dr. Hawthorne (Beth) retired as Senior Professor Emerita of Computer Science and Cybersecurity from Union County College in Cranford, NJ. She currently teaches online cybersecurity courses for Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ. She earned her Ph.D. from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL and holds industry certifications in cybersecurity (CISSP) and digital forensics (CCFE). Furthermore, she completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Digital Forensics and Cyber Investigations at the University of Maryland and a faculty sabbatical at Purdue University with the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS). She also participated in an NSF-sponsored Cybersecurity Summer Research Experience for College Faculty at New York University- Polytechnic (NYU-Poly). 

Beth serves as a cyber education mentor for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and a co-mentor with the NSF ATE project Mentor-Connect. She is also a Co-PI with the National CyberWatch ATE Resource Center at Prince George’s Community College, and through the years has been either a PI or Co-PI with eight different NSF ATE awards. In addition, Beth is co-chair of the ACM Education Board and a cybersecurity Program Evaluator (PEV) for ABET. Since its inception, Beth has been an active member of the Women in Cybersecurity organization. Dr. Hawthorne has written over 100 publications currently lodged in the ACM Digital Library.

When not working, Beth enjoys boating the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) with her husband Karl Klee and their Goldendoodle puppies Kayla Klee and Kiki Koral.