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Arctic Quest: 8,000-Mile Motorcycle Ride Honors Indigenous Women and Girls

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Our Rescue, Mental Health Tech Company and First Nations Advocate Unite to Raise Awareness and Funds for Trafficking Survivors 

MINNEAPOLIS, May 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — To mark National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on May 5, Our Rescue, a global non-governmental organization dedicated to combating sex trafficking and child exploitation, is partnering with First Nations advocate Esther Howard from the Dene Nation, on an 8,000+ mile motorcycle ride. The month-long journey, named “Arctic Quest: A Ride for Her,” will raise awareness of the ongoing epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and raise funds for Our Rescue’s trauma-informed survivor care services.

Indigenous communities around the world are among the most vulnerable to human trafficking and violence. Although they represent only five percent of the global population, Indigenous peoples account for approximately 15 percent of those living in extreme poverty—a key risk factor for exploitation (United Nations, 2022). In the U.S., the crisis is acute: Four in five Native American women experience violence in their lifetime (National Institute of Justice, 2016), and a disproportionate number fall victim to trafficking. Amnesty International (2022) reports that 86 percent of perpetrators of sexual violence against Native women are non-Native men—a statistic that hasn’t changed since 2007. Yet, limited tribal jurisdiction over non-Native offenders continues to prevent many cases from ever reaching justice.  

For Esther Howard, who also is the CEO and Founder of Bezyl, a mental health technology company supporting First Nations communities, this journey is deeply personal.  

“My mother and grandmother survived systems of oppression and abuse that continues to today. This journey is a tribute to them—and to every Indigenous woman and child whose life deserves to be seen, honored and protected,” Howard said. “I’m on a quest to reconnect with my Indigenous roots, share our stories and bring global awareness to the Native ways of life, and everyone is invited.” 

Riding for Resilience
Launching July 1, 2025, Howard and a team of riders will travel from the U.S.–Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona, to the Arctic Ocean in Tuktoyaktuk, Canada. Along the 8,000+ mile journey, they’ll raise funds for Our Rescue’s survivor care services to empower trafficking survivors on their pathways to long-term healing. Stops in Indigenous communities—including Howard’s own Arctic homeland—will offer moments of connection, healing and shared storytelling, and Our Rescue volunteers will provide support along the way.

As part of its deepening commitment to Indigenous survivor care, Our Rescue supports programs that are culturally specific and trauma informed. One of these is the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center’s Noojimo program, which provides housing, childcare, legal assistance and healing support to 75 Native American women each year as they rebuild their lives after experiencing violence.  

Our Rescue also partners with and compensates Indigenous survivors who design products sold on the organization’s website, offering economic opportunity and a platform for healing through creativity. In recent years, Our Rescue has helped facilitate violence awareness trainings in the Navajo Nation’s Monument Valley, supported a coalition to unite Tribal Nations and delivered direct services to the Navajo and Ute Nations, including school clothing for kids. 

Join the Ride
Riders and supporters are invited to join—whether for one day or the entire month—to learn about the Native culture. The experience will include: 

Visiting Indigenous communities and learning from the strength of Indigenous women.Participating in story-sharing events.Raising awareness and funds for trafficking survivors.Experiencing the beauty of Native land and life.

The ride will follow a month-long schedule. 

7.1: Depart Nogales, Arizona, at 8:00 a.m.7.6: Stop at the Calgary Stampede, Alberta.7.7: Ride overnight to Miette Hot Springs Cabins (Banff to Jasper Highway).7.10: Arrive in Whitehorse, Yukon.7.14: Stop in Inuvik, Northwest Territories.7.15: Reach the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories.7.18: Riders who joined in the Yukon depart from Whitehorse.7.24: Ride through Sequoia National Park, California.7.28: Arrive in Phoenix by noon (end of the ride).

To participate in any portion of the ride, individuals must confirm their interest by June 16, 2025, by contacting Howard at esther@bezyl.com

Riders are responsible for making their own travel and lodging arrangements, as well as covering the costs associated with the ride. Howard and her team will assist with group coordination, hosts and local meetups. 

About Esther Howard and Bezyl
Esther Howard is the founder of Bezyl, a mental health technology platform designed to help underserved communities build resilience and mutual support. From her Dene and Gwich’in roots in a family raised in poverty, Howard turned her personal experiences into a mission to empower others to heal. Today, Bezyl is active in First Nations communities across North America and continues to expand in global underserved regions. 

About Our Rescue
Our Rescue is a global non-governmental organization on a mission to end sex trafficking and child exploitation by empowering survivors to reclaim their lives and thrive on their healing journey. Founded in 2013, the organization focuses on education toward prevention, supports law enforcement in rescuing survivors and prosecuting perpetrators, and provides trauma-informed survivor care services. Our Rescue operates in the U.S. and 30+ countries.   

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HoundDog.ai Named Best GDPR Compliance Platform in The Hacker News 2026 Cybersecurity Stars Awards

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Code-grounded GDPR compliance software recognized for replacing survey-based ROPAs and DPIAs with continuous, evidence-based privacy reporting that keeps up with development speed

SAN FRANCISCO, June 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — HoundDog.ai, the privacy code scanning company, today announced it has been named the winner of Best GDPR Compliance Platform in the 2026 Cybersecurity Stars Awards presented by The Hacker News.

“HoundDog.ai builds a code scanner that surfaces how personal data actually moves through applications and integrations, helping privacy teams keep their compliance records aligned with the code they’re shipping,” said the Hacker News judging panel. “It addresses a real gap in how organizations understand and document their data flows.”

For companies that build software applications, traditional workflows for keeping track of processing activities break. Survey-driven ROPAs and DPIAs do not scale: they overwhelm engineering with every release, are inherently inaccurate, and sit quarters behind the codebase. Legacy privacy platforms infer data flows from production after the data is already flowing, miss third-party and AI integrations embedded directly in code, and force teams into documenting risks instead of preventing them. HoundDog.ai’s Privacy Code Scanner closes that gap with privacy reporting grounded in code-based evidence.

What makes HoundDog.ai different is keeping GDPR data mapping aligned with code reality, enabling proactive data minimization instead of reactive cleanup, eliminating blind spots in AI governance and shadow AI, and enforcing privacy by design with code-level evidence under EU AI Act and HIPAA obligations. Privacy teams embed their privacy policies and DPAs as allowlists that flag out-of-bounds pull requests, while new data flows and subprocessors surface as suggested ROPA edits at dev speed. Coverage spans 1,000+ third-party and AI integrations and 100+ sensitive data types.

HoundDog.ai is deployed by Fortune 1000 companies in tech, healthcare, and finance. At a publicly-listed travel management company, the scanner uncovered a number of privacy risks, including excessive log leaks and undocumented subprocessors that had accumulated over the years. It is embedded in Replit’s AI app generation workflow, running 10,000+ daily scans across 45 million+ developers.

About HoundDog.ai

HoundDog.ai’s deterministic dataflow analysis powers shift-left privacy programs and faster, more reliable AI-assisted development. The company builds two products: the Dataflow Context Engine for AI coding agents and developers, and the Privacy Code Scanner for privacy, security, and compliance teams. Learn more at hounddog.ai.

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SOURCE HoundDog.ai, Inc.

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Frost & Sullivan Identifies Digital Trust Platforms as the Next Growth Frontier in the Global eSignature Ecosystem

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Growing AI-enabled fraud, evolving digital identity regulations, and increasing demand for high-assurance digital transactions are accelerating the shift from standalone eSignatures to integrated digital trust platforms

LONDON, June 26, 2026 /CNW/ — Frost & Sullivan’s latest analysis, Frost Radar™: Digital Trust and eSignature Ecosystem, 2026, reveals that enterprises are increasingly moving beyond basic electronic signatures toward comprehensive digital trust platforms that integrate identity verification, cryptographic assurance, and long-term document integrity.

As organisations contend with sophisticated cyber threats, AI-generated fraud, and expanding regulatory requirements, digital trust has emerged as a strategic business imperative rather than simply a compliance requirement. The global digital trust and eSignature ecosystem is projected to generate $13.48 billion in revenue in 2026, reaching approximately $20.84 billion by 2031, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1%.

“The market is undergoing a fundamental transformation,” said Riana Barnard, Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “Organisations are no longer evaluating electronic signatures as standalone workflow tools. Instead, they are investing in integrated digital trust platforms capable of verifying identities, protecting transaction integrity, ensuring long-term legal defensibility, and supporting increasingly complex regulatory requirements across global markets.”

Frost & Sullivan identifies several transformative trends reshaping the market. As enterprises digitise increasingly complex workflows, demand is accelerating for end-to-end digital trust platforms that unify electronic signatures, identity verification, cryptographic assurance, and document integrity within a single interoperable architecture. Rather than focusing solely on the act of signing, organisations are seeking solutions that establish trust across the entire digital transaction lifecycle.

At the same time, the rapid proliferation of AI-generated fraud and synthetic identities is elevating the importance of robust identity verification, explainable AI, and resilient cryptographic frameworks capable of protecting high-value digital transactions.

Regulatory developments, including eIDAS 2.0 and the European Digital Identity Wallet framework, are further driving demand for trusted cross-border digital identity services, while growing awareness of post-quantum cybersecurity risks is encouraging organisations to embed cryptographic agility into long-term technology strategies.

As automation continues to expand, digital trust is also evolving beyond human users to encompass machine identities, software integrity, and autonomous business processes, reinforcing trust as foundational infrastructure for the digital economy.

“The Frost Radar™ confirms that sustainable advantage in digital trust will go to vendors that orchestrate identity, signature, and integrity as a coherent system,” added Barnard.

“Providers that extend trust beyond the signature – embedding KYC, biometrics, reusable credentials, timestamps, seals, and long-term preservation into standard workflows – will outperform as enterprises standardise on high-assurance digital execution.”

Selected from approximately 80–100 active vendors globally, the Frost Radar™: Digital Trust and eSignature Ecosystem, 2026 evaluates 13 leading providers across both innovation and growth performance including Adobe, DigiCert, DocuSign, Dropbox, Entrust, Namirial, OneSpan, Scrive, Skribble, Thales, Tinexta InfoCert, Yousign, and Zoho, providing technology buyers with strategic guidance on the rapidly evolving digital trust landscape.

To claim your complimentary extract from this Growth Opportunity Analysis, click here.

To purchase the full report, please visit our store: Frost Radar™: Digital Trust & eSignature 2026

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Transformational Growth Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation, and leadership. The company’s Growth Pipeline as a Service provides the CEO’s Growth Team with transformational strategies and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth opportunities. For over 60 years, Frost & Sullivan has partnered with investors, corporate leaders, and governments to identify, prioritise, and execute transformational growth strategies.

Contact:

Kristina Menzefricke
Marketing & Communications
Global Customer Experience, Frost & Sullivan
kristina.menzefricke@frost.com

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University of Phoenix Launches Three New Artificial Intelligence Professional Development Pathways

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New offerings help employees, senior leaders and healthcare professionals build practical AI skills for workplace application, governance and healthcare settings

PHOENIX, June 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — University of Phoenix has launched three new professional development pathways designed to help organizations build artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities across the workforce, leadership teams and healthcare environments. The new offerings include AI for the Workforce: Practical AI Skills for Everyday Work, AI Governance and Strategic Oversight for Senior Leaders, and Applying AI in Healthcare. Together, the pathways provide targeted learning experiences that address the growing need for AI knowledge, practical application and responsible adoption across organizational roles.

“As organizations increasingly integrate AI into everyday work and decision-making, there is growing demand for practical skill development across the workforce,” said Mukund Sudarsan, vice president and general manager of Professional Development Programs at University of Phoenix. “These pathways help employees, leaders and healthcare professionals build the skills needed to use AI effectively and responsibly.”

The need for AI skill development continues to grow. According to the University of Phoenix Career Institute® 2026 Career Optimism Index® study, 50% of workers say they are learning to use AI independently, while 60% report wanting more guidance in learning AI tools. To address these evolving needs, University of Phoenix developed three distinct pathways focused on workforce skills, executive oversight and healthcare applications of AI.

Pathway 1: AI for the Workforce: Practical AI Skills for Everyday Work

Designed for employees seeking practical AI skills for everyday work, this pathway focuses on productivity, communication, collaboration and decision-making using AI tools.

Key learning areas include:

Evaluating AI outputsBusiness communicationData insights

Pathway 2: AI Governance and Strategic Oversight for Senior Leaders

Designed for executives and senior leaders, this pathway focuses on governance, oversight and strategic decision-making related to AI adoption. The curriculum emphasizes executive AI fluency and responsible implementation.

Key learning areas include:

AI strategy and functionalityAI investment evaluationData visualization and insights

Pathway 3: Applying AI in Healthcare

Designed for healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations, this pathway focuses on practical and responsible applications of AI in healthcare settings.

Key learning areas include:

Healthcare data analysisEthical AI practicesClinical documentation

Workforce Solutions capabilities support supplier performance and alignment

University of Phoenix’s professional development offerings deliver workforce-focused education solutions that align learning with operational priorities, supporting organizations as they adapt to evolving business demands. The University’s approach emphasizes structured skill development through targeted training programs designed to reflect real-world workplace scenarios.

This model supports employer partners seeking to adapt to changing operational requirements while maintaining focus on performance standards and continuous improvement. Wabash’s recognition reflects these solutions and the importance of partners that connect workforce development strategies with business execution.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix is Built for Real Life. 50 Years Strong. The University innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world through flexible online learning, relevant courses, academic AI pillars, and skills-mapped curriculum for associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. Active students and alumni have access to Career Services for Life® resources including career guidance and tools. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.

About University of Phoenix Workforce Solutions

University of Phoenix Workforce Solutions helps companies align employee development to business strategy through skills-based solutions designed to address evolving workforce needs. Its Adaptable Skills Solutions brings together professional development, education savings and AI skills intelligence provided through Skillmore, a UOPX affiliate, to support workforce planning, retention and talent mobility. By combining data, tools and education resources, Workforce Solutions offers practical ways to identify skills gaps, inform workforce decisions and prepare employees for long-term adaptability in a rapidly changing workplace. 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/university-of-phoenix-launches-three-new-artificial-intelligence-professional-development-pathways-302812118.html

SOURCE University of Phoenix

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