Grant Declination: Michael & Susan Dell Foundation ($5,000)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked with our BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter to submit a $5,000 grant proposal to the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Our proposal was declined. The folks at the Dell Foundation wrote,

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"Thank you for visiting the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation website and for submitting your request for funding.

Unfortunately, we cannot provide financial support for your project. Your proposal has been personally reviewed by a foundation program officer and consideration has been given for your objectives, past success and future vision. However, your project and organization is not aligned with our goals and strategies at this time.

While we wish we could help every organization in the world, we have chosen to align our work around specific geographies, missions and outcomes. We believe that to be effective given our mission and principles, we must focus our resources. Your program sounds very worthwhile; however, at this time, we must regretfully decline participation in this project.

We wish you the very best with your future endeavors."

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Although we've won a $5,000 grant from the Dell Foundation in the past ... it wasn't meant to be this year. We will continue to work with BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter to find the funding that they need to send their students to the 2017 BDPA Technology Conference in Cincinnati, OH.

You can make a donation to support BDPA Middle Tennessee right now!

Kyra Hayes Uses Her Zycron Scholarship at Hampton University

Kyra Hayes *Hampton University

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to announce that Zycron awarded a $2,500 college scholarship to five (5) students. One of those students is Kyra Hayes of Hampton University.  Zycron is an international information technology services and solutions firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.  Since 1991, Zycron has offered IT solutions to a broad client base, and today is the primary provider for numerous Fortune 500 companies.

Kyra Hayes is a sophomore at Hampton University with a major in Business Management and a minor in Leadership Studies. Kyra seeks to complete coursework in the Audio Engineering discipline. She was selected as a William R. Harvey Leadership Institute Fellow, which provides an intensive, interactive undergraduate minor designed to develop entry-level leaders for the workplace and community who are competent, committed and ethical.  In the coming years, she plans to own her own record label, be a music producer, and also an audio engineer.  She has volunteered with organizations such as Youth About Business, 100 Black Men of Middle Tennessee, Second Harvest Food Bank and the Nashville Rescue Mission.

Kyra recently joined our BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter.  When asked to share her thoughts on being a Zycron scholar, Kyra wrote,

"My most memorable moment with BDPA is going to the career fair at the BDPA conference in Atlanta. I enjoyed speaking with representatives from various companies and learning more about how they make the world a better place. While I’ve only been a member for a short time, participating in BDPA has impacted me heavily. My ability to network beyond my current circle is an opportunity that I cherish the most. I was able to meet people from many places and learn about their background, career interests and family. Thank you for the opportunity."

BDPA is blessed to have such a young and talented student member on board as winner of the Zycron Scholarship.  We look forward to supporting Kyra's career as she seeks to advance in the technology industry!

Ebenezer Armah Uses Zycron Scholarship at Fisk University

Ebenezer Armah * Fisk University

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to announce that Zycron awarded a $2,500 college scholarship to five (5) students. One of those students is Ebenezer Armah of Fisk University. Ebenezer is a sophomore and a Computer Science major. Ebenezer interned with the IT Department of Deloitte last summer and learned a lot from the firm. After high school, he accepted a job as an elementary school teacher in Ghana, which her performed for two years. He is interested in Cybersecurity and upon graduation in 2019. He looks forward to working for the security department of a global company.

Ebenezer recently joined our BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter. When asked to share her thoughts on being a Zycron scholar, Ebenezer wrote,

"I learned about the Zycron Scholarship through a co-worker at Deloitte Services. He is a member of BDPA Middle Tennessee Chapter and he encouraged me to join BDPA. He told me about opportunities to mentor High School students and also to be mentored by professionals in corporate world. I told him about my passions and through our conversation got to know about this scholarship.

I am really happy to be a member of BDPA and I look forward to great journey ahead."

BDPA is blessed to have such a young and talented student on board as winner of the Zycron Scholarship. We look forward to supporting Ebenezer's career as she seeks to advance in the technology industry!

Danielle Haik Uses Her Zycron Scholarship at Tennessee State University

Danielle Haik * Tennessee State University

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to announce that Zycron awarded a $2,500 college scholarship to five (5) students. One of those students is Danielle Haik of Tennessee State University.  Zycron is an international information technology services and solutions firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Since 1991, Zycron has offered IT solutions to a broad client base, and today is the primary provider for numerous Fortune 500 companies.

Danielle is a senior Computer Science student attending Tennessee State University.  She is a mentor for the Tennessee Louis Stocks Alliance for Minority Participation which promotes the retention of minority students in STEM majors. During the past summer, she worked as an intern for Deloitte in the Global Technology Services Department. Danielle is a DHS Scholar and conducts Big Data Research for the Department of Homeland Security.  She plans to become a project manager. In her spare time, Danielle enjoys playing and watching soccer and golf.

Danielle recently joined our BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter. When asked to share her thoughts on being a Zycron scholar, Danielle wrote,

"I am very appreciate of the BDPA and Zycron for their support of me in my scholastic endeavors. BDPA has exposed me to various professional development opportunities. During my internship with Deloitte this summer, I officially joined the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the BDPA. I attended BDPA events outside of work such as the Zycron dinner event this past June. The members of BDPA that I have interacted with have been very encouraging of my career, aspirations and general goals."

BDPA is blessed to have such a young and talented student on board as winner of the Zycron Scholarship. We look forward to supporting Danielle's career as she seeks to advance in the technology industry!

Grant Proposal: Nissan Foundation (BDPA Middle Tennessee)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked closely with the officers of the BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter to submit a grant proposal to the Nissan Foundation seeking $6,000 for the 2016 Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. The funding was requested via the Nissan Neighbors program. We hope to have an answer within the next few weeks.

In the United States, Nissan Neighbors is a community-focused initiative dedicated to improving communities through charitable contributions and in-kind donations to nonprofit organizations working in three focus areas: education, the environment and humanitarian aid. All organizations applying for funding through Nissan Neighbors must meet the following requirements:

• Have 501 (c)(3) non-profit status;
• Support projects compatible with one of the Nissan Neighbors focus areas; and
• Serve communities surrounding Nissan's affiliate locations, including Middle Tennessee (location of Nissan Americas corporate headquarters and manufacturing assembly plants in Smyrna and Decherd)

Nissan Neighbors accepts grant applications throughout the year. In support of a greener environment, the Nissan Neighbors application process is administered online. Hardcopy and paper applications are not accepted.

BETF is willing to work with any of the 47 local BDPA chapters to obtain the funding that they need to successfully deliver their 2016 SITES program. Simply reach out to the BETF executive director if you have questions or wish to discuss further.

Deloitte Renews BDPA Sponsorship for 12th Straight Year

Deloitte renewed its Bronze level corporate sponsorship with BDPA … making it over a decade of sponsorship. The company agreed to sponsor the BDPA Founders reception and a career fair booth at the 2015 National BDPA Technology Conference as well as giving specific support to our BDPA chapters in Nashville and Philadelphia.

With more than $34.2 billion in revenues for fiscal year 2014, Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax, and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including 70% of the Fortune 500. Deloitte has over 210,000 professionals at member firms delivering services in audit, tax, consulting, financial advisory, risk management and related services in more than 150 countries and territories.

Kendall Norris

"I am delighted with the partnerships that we have with companies such as Deloitte. Without support from Deloitte and other partners, BDPA could not provide the programs, development and networking opportunities we do for our members and students,” stated Kendall Norris, BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter president.

Founded in 1975, BDPA is the premier organization for African American professionals in the technology industry. And, with 46 chapters across the United States, BDPA is the largest African American Information Technology association in the country. The organization continues to bridge the digital divide by providing professional growth and technical development for people of color in technology industry.

"BDPA is elated to continue our partnership with Deloitte in 2015. We have established a solid relationship and are grateful that as we approach the celebration of our 40th year in existence, Deloitte continues to support the BDPA mission and vision," said National BDPA president Pamela Mathews.

BDPA remains committed to excellence and providing a wide spectrum of resources to its members, corporate sponsors, businesses, educational institutions and the African American community.  To become a BDPA partner or sponsor like Deloitte or to learn more sponsorship opportunities, please contact BDPA Corporate Sales Team by email at corpsales@bdpa.org or call us on (301) 584-3135 x108.

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, September 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. As such it is good to note that BDPA membership has grown for the 3rd straight month. In fact, the total membership in BDPA has grown almost 27% from this same time last year! Congratulations to National BDPA VP-Membership Management Curtis Jenkins for the work being done within his business area to move membership recruitment and retention in the right direction.

Carl Hill

We also want to congratulate the BDPA Triangle chapter for advancing seven places to become the 14th largest chapter in the nation over the past month.  Chapter president Carl Hill and his leadership managed to increase membership in their chapter by over 68% in the month of September.  I wonder what is the 'secret sauce' in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina?

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte (up 2 spots)
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson (down 2 spots)
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney (up 1 spot)
9. New York - president, Renetta English (down 1 spot)
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation the past three months in a row. BDPA Cincinnati (up 3 spots) made the largest move in the top ten ... the chapter gained 40% more members in the month of September and 70% increase in membership over the past 12 months. move towards the top.

There is a new chapter in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that BDPA Atlanta chapter joined joined Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC as a fourth member of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective:
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Jun 2013)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Nov 2012)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Oct 2011)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Aug 2010) 
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Sep 2009)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, August 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. As such it is good to note that BDPA membership has grown for the 2nd straight month. In fact, the total membership in BDPA has grown over 9% from this same time last year! Congratulations to National BDPA VP-Membership Management Curtis Jenkins for the work being done within his business area to move membership recruitment and retention in the right direction.

We also want to congratulate the BDPA Chicago chapter for winning the 'Chapter Membership Award' at the 35th annual BDPA Technology Conference last month in Washington DC. Chapter president Pamela Sexton accepts the 'Chapter Membership Award' from BDPA founder Earl Pace as shown in the photo to the right.

Pam Sexton & Earl Pace

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte
8. New York - president, Renetta English
9. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation the past two months in a row. BDPA New York (up 1 spot) made a move towards the top. BDPA New Jersey (down 1 spot) is the only chapter to lose traction in this month's membership ranking.

There is a new chapter in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of hosting an annual conference are obvious when we see that BDPA Washington DC chapter joined Chicago and Philadelphia as a third member of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective:
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Jun 2013)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Jun 2010)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

BDPA Middle Tennessee High School Computer Competition Team (2013)

The Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program is growing stronger all across the nation. Evidence of this fact can be found in Nashville, TN ... home of our BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter. The SITES program is designed to instruct students in technology and build them for success in the future business world.

Here are the young people in the 2013 SITES program in Middle Tennessee:

Back row (L-R): Donald Black II, Corey Crowder, Marvin Nde, Bryan Nde, Kareem DaSilva
Front row (L-R): Braylen Love, Patrice Buckley, Katherine Holbert, Kameron Malone, Charlton White
Not in photo: Tiffani Thompson, Ashton Fletcher, Cynthia Kamga, Jasmine Ivie, Nataya Wade, Julian Kirby, Alexis Greer

BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter is growing the research capability of its students by implementing the BDPA IT Showcase on a local level. The students have researched and presented their findings in a wide-range of topics that include: Artificial Life, Cyber Security and Social Media. In addition to the technical instruction given by BDPA volunteers to these young people ... there is a focus on grooming the life skills of students including: Decision Making, Financial Literacy, Goal Setting, Personal Responsibility, Problem Solving, Professionalism, Project Management and Time Management.

This is an excited, extremely bright group of students that came ready to learn each Saturday! We need your help ... please make a secure online donation right away to the BDPA Middle Tennessee Scholarship Fund.

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, July 2013)

Can you smell the excitement in the air when it comes to BDPA? We are only a couple of weeks away from the 35th annual BDPA Technology Conference and you can see the increased buzz at chapter meetings and throughout the various social media platforms. You can tell by the increased number of people that are joining or renewing their membership in BDPA that momentum is strong!

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. Success with organizations like BDPA can be distilled into three words: MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP.

Corporate America recognizes as much. In recent weeks we've had financial commitment from the Environmental Protection Agency, Life Technologies and Wal-Mart to underwrite the annual dues for over 180 college student members. That is a wonderful testament to the powerful college student programs that BDPA deploys on a local, regional and national level.

The membership totals for July 2013 have been released. It is time to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
4. Atlanta - president, Felicia Jones
5. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation last month. The only change from last month is with BDPA Washington DC (up 1 spot) who made their move on BDPA Atlanta chapter (down 1 spot). The move by BDPA Washington DC is even more remarkable ... the chapter grew by over 40% in a single month.

The top two chapters - Chicago and Philadelphia - are members of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective - Top 10 BDPA Chapters (July 2010)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, Jun 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. Success with organizations like BDPA can be distilled into three words: MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP.

If you accept that truth then it is worth the time to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Atlanta - president, Felicia Jones
4. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
5. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation last month. BDPA Washington DC (up 1 spot) and BDPA Los Angeles (up 3 spots) made a move towards the top. BDPA New Jersey (down 4 spots) lost 20 members last month, however, those numbers are likely to improve as the energy from their 10th annual Families in Technology Day take hold.

The top two chapters - Chicago and Philadelphia - are members of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective - Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Jun 2010)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

BDPA iRadio Show: June 11, 2013 (Jala Cruz, Kendall Norris, Pamela Sexton)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is very proud to be the creator of the BDPA iRadio Show. You can listen to the archive version of the show using the widget shown in the right-hand sidebar of this blog. FREE download from the iTunes Store is also available for our listeners!

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The guests on the June 11th show:

Jala Cruz - Publisher, Signature J Magazine - Jala Cruz is a truly remarkable young woman. She was a member of the 2008-2011 HSCC teams trained by BDPA Indianapolis. Jala earned the Eli Lilly Scholarship for BDPA Students in 2011 based on her interest in both technology-based education and community service. To top it off she is the founder and owner of her own magazine - Signature J Teen Magazine - which focuses on the youth market highlighting entertainment, fashion, health, art and entrepreneurship. Jala has featured individuals such as Keke Palmer, Taylor Swift, Cody Simpson and Miguel just to name a few. Beyond that, Jala has a powerful message to share with both young and more experienced people in BDPA-nation. We look forward to sharing Jala’s journey with our BDPA iRadio Show audience. Her twitter handle is @SJTeen.

Kendall Norris - Chapter President, BDPA Middle Tennessee - Kendall joined Deloitte Services, Information Technology Services’ (ITS) Program Management Office as the U.S. Leader accountable for the successful delivery of information technology projects in support of Deloitte’s core businesses (Audit, Consulting, Financial Advisory and Tax services) and the Chief Technology Office. As the leader of the Project Management Center of Excellence, he leads teams of project management professionals in the U.S. and India, and adds value to the organization by continually improving service delivery on U.S. and global enterprise applications development and infrastructure programs.

Kendall is a member of the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF). Kendall enters into his 2nd year as the president of BDPA Middle Tennessee Chapter. BDPA is fortunate to have a man with executive leadership experience. We look forward to hearing what he and his chapter leadership team envision in 2013 for BDPA stakeholders in the greater Nashville area. The National BDPA twitter handle is @NationalBDPA.

Pamela Sexton - Director, National BDPA Technology Conference - Pamela Sexton is the 2013 National BDPA Technology conference director. She is pulling together the largest gathering of African American IT professionals in the nation on August 14-17, 2013 in Washington DC. There will be thousands of participants, hundreds of corporations, dozens of workshops, seminars, plenary sessions, a wonderful golf tournament, a 2-day career fair and so much more.

Pamela shared the current updates on the conference with our BDPA iRadio Show listeners. The conference twitter handle is @bdpa_conference

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We hope you enjoy the insights and commentary on the show from each of these guests. Please take a moment to post a comment to let us know that you care!

Deloitte Invests in BDPA Silver Level Corporate Sponsorship

Built on the principles of leadership through excellence, Deloitte recently joined the growing list of Silver Level Corporate Sponsors for the 35th Annual National BDPA Technology Conference and Career Fair titled, “Diverse Opportunities In The Age of Convergence” on August 14-17, 2013 in Washington, DC.

Pamela Sexton

Pamela Sexton, National BDPA Conference Director stated,

“I'm very excited that Deloitte has renewed their partnership with BDPA. They have been a long time partner that has contributed to the success of our National BDPA Conference and our strategic goals. We look forward to 2013 and beyond. Thank you Deloitte for your renewed partnership."

Recognized for global expertise in audit, consulting, financial advisory, tax services, and risk management, Deloitte’s income in 2012 reached $13.07 billion. Since 1998, Deloitte continues to be recognized as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” according to FORTUNE magazine. This year, Deloitte won four top prizes at the Association of Management Consulting Firms awards ceremony in Growth Strategies, Supply Chain Performance Improvement, Human Capital, and Humanitarian categories.

"BDPA Philadelphia is appreciative of the strong corporate support we have received from Deloitte,” said Eileen Gadsden, BDPA Philadelphia chapter president. “We are thankful to our corporate champions Larry Quinlan, Deloitte chief information officer, and Hayward West, BDPA Philadelphia chapter past president, for ensuring we have not only financial support, but the time and talent of their world-class staff,” she added.

As a global member-focused technology organization with 46 active chapters in the United States, BDPA continues to stand as a leader in delivering 21st century technological programs, college scholarships, mentoring, support, and services for youth and adult Information Technology (IT) professionals. BDPA is honored to partner with a world class organization such as Deloitte.

For more information on the benefits of BDPA corporate sponsorship, contact Wayne Hicks, Director, Corporate Sales Department, corpsales@bdpa.org, (301) 584-3135.

This Week in BDPA (Nov 11-17)

BDPA offers strong programs in 45 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Nov 12: Middle Tennessee - Workshop, 'PMP Boot Camp'
• Nov 13: BETF - Communications, 'BDPA iRadio Show'
• Nov 14: Philadelphia - Networking, 'Worldwide Wine Tasting'
• Nov 14: New Jersey - Webinar, 'Career Search Best Practices'
• Nov 15: Detroit - Program Meeting, 'Entrepreneurs: Are We Being Left Out of the Detroit Rebirth?'
• Nov 15: Dallas - Webinar, 'Internet Marketing: How to be Found on the Internet'
• Nov 16-17: Orlando - Board Meeting, 'BDPA Leadership Summit'
• Nov 17: National BDPA - Webinar, 'Career Triage: Work/Life Balance'
• Nov 17: Northern Delaware - Fundraiser, 'Annual STEM Showcase & Awards Banquet'

Please let us know of other BDPA events 

that we may have missed! 

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group.

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events

This Week in BDPA (Nov 4-10)

BDPA offers strong programs in 45 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Nov 5: Middle Tennessee - Workshop, 'PMP Bootcamp'
• Nov 7: Washington DC - Fundraiser, 'Annual Scholarship Awards Dinner & Fundraiser'
• Nov 7: Los Angeles - Program Meeting, 'Building and Monetizing Websites'
• Nov 8: New Jersey - Fundraiser, 'Annual Awards and Scholarship Banquet'
• Nov 8-10: Orlando - Board Meeting, 'ITSMF 4th Quarter Symposium'
• Nov 8-9: Columbus - Conference, 'DogFood Conference 2012'
• Nov 10: Cincinnati - Fundraiser, '17th Annual Education Banquet'
  

Please let us know of other BDPA events that we may have missed! You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group.

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events

This Week in BDPA (Oct 28 - Nov 3)

BDPA offers strong programs in 45 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Oct 29: Middle Tennessee - Workshop, 'PMP Bootcamp Training'
  
• Nov 1: Middle Tennessee - Program Meeting, 'The Financial Shepherd'

Please let us know of other BDPA events that we may have missed!

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group.

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes!

We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events!

President Profile: Kendall Norris (BDPA Middle Tennessee)

BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter was chartered in August 2005. The chapter has been financially supported by Deloitte over the past seven years. In fact, all three of the chapter presidents in the chapter's history were employed by Deloitte. The most accomplished BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter member is Deloitte global chief information officer Larry Quinlan who serves as a board member for the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF).

The chapter believes that we need to 'win the future' by providing focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) training and experiences for K-12 students in the greater Nashville area. The chapter has competed in the past four national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships ... with top chapter results coming in 2010 and 2011.

Valerie Hayes (2005-2008) was the chapter founder and its first president. Tinita Haley (2009-2010) was the second chapter president. The current president, Kendall Norris, is the third in chapter history.


Kendall Norris, President
BDPA Middle Tennessee Chapter

Address: PO Box 7646
Baltimore, MD 21207
(443) 928-0182

In September 2010, Kendall joined Deloitte as the U.S. Leader accountable for the successful delivery of information technology projects in support of Deloitte’s core businesses (Audit, Consulting, Financial Advisory and Tax services) and the Chief Technology Office. As the leader of the Project Management Center of Excellence, he leads teams of project management professionals in the U.S. and India, and adds value to the organization by continually improving service delivery on U.S. and global enterprise applications development and infrastructure programs.

In addition to program management, Kendall’s background includes 20+ years serving in leadership positions responsible for sales growth of various enterprise technology solutions, operations management, organizational transformations, systems integrations, and leading international consulting and technical teams. His operational and professional services expertise was developed across multiple industries that include telecommunications, manufacturing, financial services, airline, and state government, at global corporations such as; TRW, EDS, HP and American Airlines.

Kendall’s experience includes implementation of globalization strategies by developing teams in international markets during numerous expatriate and business assignments in Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Japan and Germany. He has consistently leveraged his unique abilities as a multilingual (English, Spanish, and Portuguese) executive to develop long term client relationships; lead business development opportunities and global expansion initiatives by leading virtual teams and geographically dispersed professionals.

Kendall is very active in community development, by volunteering with organizations like Jars of Clay, Junior Achievement, Leaders of Tomorrow and leading international mission trips to under-developed nations. He also serves as a Spanish and Portuguese teacher for international mission volunteers. He is active as a mentor to IT professionals that strive for C-level professional opportunities. Kendall is a member of the Information Technology Senior Management Forum and serves as president of BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications with a minor in Computer Science from John Carroll University, and a Master of Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and member of the Project Management Institute.

Favorite Quote: "Live free to be all you can be."

Please use the POST COMMENT link below to share some BDPA-Love with the president our BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter!

Grant Declination: Cracker Barrel Foundation (BDPA Middle Tennessee)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is disappointed to report that our funding effort with Cracker Barrel Foundation was unsuccessful. BETF had reached out to this funding source for a $3,000 grant in support of the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program implemented by our BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter under the leadership of chapter president Kendall Norris. However, we recently received a declination letter from Cracker Barrel that read as follows:

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Dear Mr. Hicks,

We appreciate your giving Cracker Barrel Foundation the opportunity to review your request to support your program.

It is our privilege to support the communities who have contributed to our success over the years. Unfortunately, with more than 612 stores across the country, we find the need continually exceeds the limited support we are able to provide. After careful review of your submission with our Board of Directors, we regret to inform you that we will not be able to make a contribution to your organization at this time. However, we applaud your commitment to this worthwhile cause and wish you great success in your endeavors on its behalf.

Thank you for thinking of the Cracker Barrel Foundation.

Your truly,
Penny Carroll
Director

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Although we were sad to lose out on this grant request for our chapter in Nashville, Tennessee ... we are not deterred from our passion to raise funds to support BDPA programs, scholarships and services all over the nation!

BDPA iRadio Show - May 8, 2012

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is very proud to be the creator of the BDPA iRadio Show. Our Internet Radio Show has been up and running for nine months with over 80 guests. You can listen to the archive version of the show using the widget shown in the right-hand sidebar of this blog.

Episodes of the BDPA iRadio Show are now available for immediate and FREE download from the iTunes Store.

Listen to internet radio with BDPA on Blog Talk Radio

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The guests on the May 8th show:

Kendall Norris - chapter president, BDPA Middle Tennessee - Kendall joined Deloitte Services, Information Technology Services’ Program Management Office as the U.S. Leader accountable for the successful delivery of information technology projects.  Kendall is a member of the Information Technology Senior Management Forum.  Earlier this year Kendall accepted leadership role as president of BDPA Middle Tennessee Chapter.  The chapter is fortunate to have a man with executive leadership experience in the presidency. We look forward to hearing what he and his chapter leadership team envision in 2012 for BDPA stakeholders in the greater Nashville area.

Dr. Donna Grant - assistant computer information systems professor, North Carolina Central University - Dr. Donna Grant earned her Ph.D. in computer science from DePaul University. She is currently an assistant professor at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). She recently earned the NCCU Awards for Teaching Excellence. Dr. Grant learned about BDPA during her time in Chicago. She introduced a number of DePaul students to BDPA programs. There are very few African American Ph.D. graduates in the computer science field every year. We want to know what Dr. Grant thinks about the death of Blacks advancing to the highest academic levels in STEM-centric curriculum. How can BDPA ‘make a difference’ in this area as we look to win the future? In addition, Dr. Grant has done some outstanding research about the low number of Black girls that are advancing in the STEM-related fields. Our audience would like to learn more about this research as well.

Coram Rimes - director, BDPA Northeast Region - Coram has over 35 years of corporate work experience with various roles in marketing & sales, technology, auditing, physical security and information technology for the past 20 years. During his career, he served with increased responsibility from supervisory level, middle management and corporate officer. For the past decade he has been a director. His past employers have been major corporations including, AT&T, Verizon, Bank of New York, and Federal Reserve Bank of New York, TIAA-CREF and Prudential. Coram also has a remarkable history with BDPA. Coram is one of a handful of BDPAers in history to be elected to public office. He was elected to serve on the Orange (NJ) City Council in 2000-2008. Coram is also a business owner. He has operated a tax preparation business since 1985. We look forward to learning the vision and plans that Coram has for the newly-created BDPA Northeast Region.

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We hope you enjoy the insights and commentary on the show from each of these guests.  Please take a moment to post a comment to let us know that you care!

Take Five: Kendall Norris (BDPA Middle Tennessee)

BDPA Middle Tennessee welcomed a new chapter president earlier this year. Kendall Norris (Deloitte) is working with his leadership team to take the chapter to the next level. Kendall took a moment to be part of our ongoing 'Take Five' Interview Series.

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1. How did you get involved with BDPA? - I have been involved for ~9 years and joined the organization while working at EDS, via corporate sponsorship.
2. What is your favorite part of working with BDPA? - Working on, or developing, programs that encourage youth to look at IT career opportunities.
3. What future evolution or change would you like to see in BDPA? - I would like to see our name, Black Data Processing Associates, changed to Black Data Professionals Association. I believe this change would take advantage of the current Big Data trend and enhance the brand image of BDPA, while keeping the acronym in place.
4. Why should someone pay $100 membership dues to join BDPA? - I believe BDPA offers the best value in the industry for individuals seeking networking, professional development, entrepreneurial and volunteer opportunities.
5. Any advice for people considering a donation to BETF? - There are many professionals in BDPA that are dedicated to the organization’s mission. A donation to BETF is an investment in the advancement of information technology and the future IT leaders.

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Share some love with BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter president Kendall Norris!