BDPA Welcomes Health Care Service Corporation as a Gold Level Sponsor

Committed to their corporate social responsibility of giving, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) recently took a giant step towards emerging ‘winning the future’ with their generous $50,000 Gold Level corporate investment in BDPA’s 35th Annual National Technology Conference that will be held August 14-17, 2013 at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D. C. HCSC is the parent company of BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas.

Members of HCSC team at 2011 BDPA Conference

"Since 2008, HCSC has made annual corporate investments in BDPA and I am delighted to welcome them back for the fifth consecutive year as a BDPA partner. Their generous contribution will assist us in developing a high-quality conference as well as the annual Youth Technology Camp which focuses on youth engagement in science, technology, engineering and math) education. With this contribution, we once again have an opportunity to thank HCSC for being a visionary corporate citizen," said Monique Berry, National BDPA President.

Widely known for being among the fastest growing health and life insurance companies in the nation, HCSC is committed to local community relations, volunteering, diversity and inclusion, ethics and compliance, and wellness and sustainability initiatives.

Brian Hedberg

Denise Holmes, HCSC corporate champion says, “Under the visionary leadership of our CIO and Executive Sponsor, Brian Hedberg, Blue Cross Blue Shield IL, OK, NM, and TX are proud to continue their long-standing relationship with BDPA, an organization whose mission is directly aligned with our overall commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace."

For more information on the 35th Annual National BDPA Technology Conference, Wayne Hicks, Director, BDPA Corporate Sales Department, corpsales@bdpa.org, (513) 284-4968.

BDPA Names Five IT Heavyweights as Honorary Conference Chairs

LaVerne Council

There are some heavy-hitters in the information technology industry who plan to serve in a leadership capacity for the upcoming BDPA Technology Conference.  BDPA announced the following executives as Honorary Conference Chairs:

1. LaVerne Council, Corporate Vice President and CIO, Johnson & Johnson
2. Marc Di Francisco, President and CEO, Premier Event Management
3. Brian Hedberg, Chief Information Officer, Health Care Service Corporation
4.  Trudy McKnight, Executive Director, Small Business Partnership Programs, U.S. Public Sector, HP
5. David Weick, Senior Vice President and Global Chief Information Officer, McDonald's 

The Honorary Chair takes a leadership role in promoting the conference and provides resources to assist with the execution of a successful conference.

"BDPA is excited to recognize this year's honorary chairs for the 2011 National Conference”, said National BDPA President, Yvette Graham.

The conference theme, 'Ignite, Inspire and Empower: The GPS of Future Technologists', is both timely and appropriate given the state of our economy and the number of individuals who are still seeking employment. BDPA remains committed to excellence as it continues to serve as a catalyst for professional growth and technical development.

The 2011 National BDPA Technology Conference to be held in Chicago, IL on August 3-6, at the Hilton Chicago Hotel, provides a total information technology experience for high school and college students, information technology professionals, entrepreneurs, IT senior managers, corporations, academia, government agencies and the research community.

The Honorary Chairs accepted their roles, in part, because of the value-packed slate of offerings given by field experts. These seminars, plenary sessions and workshops exemplify BDPA's commitment to provide state of the art training, professional growth and technical development, entrepreneurial opportunity, technical resource offerings, and access to leading edge technology to its members, corporate supporters, and the community.

This blog plans to be in Chicago for the entire conference. How about you?

Health Care Service Corporation Named Best Company for Blacks in Technology

Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) has been named the best place in the country for Blacks in technology. The prestigious Epsilon Award is given annually by National BDPA and WorkplaceDiversity.com. Finalists for the award included top companies such as Allstate, Merck, State Farm, Wal-Mart, WellPoint and Wells Fargo Bank. Last year's winner was IBM.

"We are very pleased to recognize the outstanding contributions that HCSC has made for Blacks in technology," said National BDPA President, Denise
Holland. "In this economy, many African Americans in technology are concerned about opportunities for both employment and advancement. It is important to recognize those exceptional companies that have provided African Americans with challenging and fulfilling career opportunities in Information Technology."

HCSC is the country's fourth largest health insurer and operates the BlueCross and BlueShield plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

"HCSC's commitment to diversity has helped us attract qualified employees and achieve incredible success," said Brian Hedberg, HCSC senior vice president and chief information officer. "We are especially grateful to BDPA and WorkplaceDiversity.com for encouraging us to identify and promote our talented work force. As we progress, we knowdiversity and inclusion will help us accomplish our goals."

To identify the Epsilon winner, BDPA supporters completed a comprehensive survey that rated performance in the areas of demographics, diversity programs, diversity (training, affinity groups), tenure, promotions and terminations, diversity recruiting, career path programs, minority vendor programs, and community outreach.

"Our BDPA survey questions cause reflection on whether programs value diversity and build opportunities at work," said Will Bundy, former national BDPA outside director. "Our winners have demonstrated a commitment to people and an understanding that diversity has a bottom line business case value."