Gavin Dennis is what happens when we become unbounded by our circumstances. Having started out as an accountant who dabbled in ICT, he eventually decided to pursue his passion for the latter. That one decision to go for it and not be deterred by no’s has landed him in Germany, where he is now a legit Cyber Security consultant helping people and companies in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean secure their digital assets. Chef Adrian Morris has been taking pictures of his food creations from the time he was working his first restaurant job at KFC back in high school.
“Fortunately, in my case, when I applied and I tried to get in, and I was either told no, or no not now or it’s not your time. I didn’t let that demotivate me or stop me from continuing to push and look for opportunities in other areas.”
That dogged determination has seen him go from frustrated dreamer to a highly regarded expert in his field, an entrepreneur and now a philanthropist having founded The Gavin Dennis Foundation a non-profit organization in Jamaica, that ‘helps Caribbean people to live better lives.’
“It’s been something coming for a while. I have always had my own little personal initiatives of trying to help people. And with this, I think I can do it at a larger scale, with more corporate support.“
Raising awareness around cyber security
As a Cyber security expert Gavin is keen on raising awareness of the importance of this field in terms of personal and national security in Jamaica and the Caribbean. His mission is to transform the Caribbean into the Cyber Security Hub of the world which is why he co-founded the Caribbean Cyber Security Support Team. A Discord group that offers mentorship, advice, support, resources and networking opportunities for Caribbean Cyber Security and ICT professionals.
He has also formed several other subregional Cyber Security support groups on Twitter (there’s one for just about every country in the region) all operated by his company, G5 Cyber Security Inc.
Caribbean women in cyber security
Gavin wants to bring attention to and address the issue of Women in Cyber security, specifically the absence of women in that space in the Caribbean due to discrimination or sexual harassment. To that end his foundation is a funding the Women in Cyber Security Caribbean (WISC), a non-profit ‘helping women and girls to develop a career in the Information Security Industry.’
Education Initiatives
“it’s really about encouraging older persons who haven’t gained their secondary level education. It’s encouraging them to feel proud, go back, earn their qualification and receive some kind of token for that effort.“
Some of his plans are ambitious to say the least, and will require gargantuan efforts to see through but Gavin is nothing if not determined. He is well on his way to becoming a prolific philanthropist and I have no doubts that he’ll be successful here too.
You can find Gavin online on Instagram & Twitter and visit his website here to see all the work he is doing, make sure to check out his blog whole you’re there.
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