Kroger's Steve Gutter Rejoins BDPA Cincinnati Board of Directors

BDPA Cincinnati chapter (BDPA), a nonprofit organization made up of racially diverse information technology professionals who advance the careers of African Americans from the classroom to the boardroom, today announced the newest members of its board of directors. Steve Gutter, a developer in the Software Engineering Department at The Kroger Company has been appointed to serve as BDPA’s Vice President (VP) of Strategy and Planning.

Steve Gutter

Steve has an undergraduate degree in Systems Analysis from Miami University and a Masters in Informatics from Northern Kentucky University. Steve has expertise in a variety of programming languages and operating systems. He started out programming in COBOL and has kept improving his programming skills to developing dynamic web sites using Java and is now developing applications at Kroger for devices which use the Android operating system.

Steve joined BDPA in 2002 as a volunteer for weekend technology training provided to local high school students. He took the leadership role in the annual BDPA Midwest Regional conferences held in Cincinnati, OH from 2003-2007. He was elected by the membership to serve as the chapter’s VP-Finance from 2006-2010. Steve has won a number of awards with BDPA, including Member of the Year, Executive Officer of the Year and a Community Service Award.

“I am greatly looking forward to my new position on the BDPA Cincinnati board of directors," said Mr. Gutter. "I have been very involved with the chapter in many roles over the years. BDPA has given me excellent opportunities to develop leadership skills that I can use to help plan how we can best strengthen the chapter’s presence in the community and the local IT industry."

Steve (far right) plans strategy for Cincinnati chapter

The new board will set the direction for BDPA Cincinnati as it provides programs, scholarships and services necessary to advance the careers of African Americans and others in the information technology industry from the classroom to the boardroom. The chapter meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month. The next meeting is scheduled for May 19, 2011 at the P&G Winton Hill Business Center.

Steve takes on this new leadership position at a time when the number of African Americans receiving undergraduate and advanced degrees in computer science is disproportionately low and relatively few African American high school students receive the kind of institutional encouragement, educational opportunities, and preparation needed for them to choose computer science as a field of study and profession. BDPA Cincinnati uses its programs, scholarships and other services to impact on these dismal industry statistics.

“We're excited to have Steve re-join our leadership as the VP-Strategy and Planning. Steve did a wonderful job in past as our VP-Finance with his ability to implement comprehensive standards and processes to keep BDPA in compliance with general accounting standards,” said BDPA Cincinnati chapter president Wanda Gray. “Steve is dedicated to BDPA and its members. We welcome him back to the board and look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Please REPLY or COMMENT on this post with some words of encouragement for Steve as he embarks on this new leadership journey!