Member on the Move: Denise Hamilton (Columbia University)

Denise Hamilton

BDPA New York member Denise Hamilton is currently pursuing the Executive Master of Science in Technology Management at Columbia University. Denise is focusing on her own personal and professional development after spending years focused on the personal and academic development of BDPA high school students.

Denise did her part to help BDPA student members 'win the future' and become the best that God has planned for them for a number of years. Denise was the coordinator and lead instructor for seven years.  She impacted the lives of hundreds of students that participated in her chapter's computer camps. She brought many students, including Khadijah Celestine, Alan Rosales and Nicholas Reid to compete in the national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships.

We asked BDPA New York chapter past president Renetta English to share her thoughts on Denise:

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Denise & Renetta

"Denise Hamilton has been a loyal and giving member of the BDPA New York Chapter. She was our dedicated Director of Education & Community Outreach for a number of years. Denise wore many hats in the chapter because she managed and was an instructor for our very successful Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program.

Denise was one of the first members at chapter meetings and events. She was always available to represent the chapter as a presenter for many topics including Career Development, Cyber-Security and Business Continuity.

Denise was a multifaceted cornerstone of our annual HSCC program. She spent many weekends being a true mentor to our students. Denise is so phenomenal because she is still mentoring students that have moved on to their college and professional careers. Denise believes in supporting young people to ensure their future success in life.

Earlier, I mentioned that Denise was a dedicated member of BDPA New York Chapter. Let’s be frank, it takes money to send our students to regional and national conferences. There was a time when the chapter did not have any money to send our students to conferences. So, what did Denise do? She lent the chapter hundreds of dollars to ensure that our students were able to showcase their talents at conference. Denise was so patient with us and she waited many years to be reimbursed.

Again, I can only say Denise is a phenomenal woman and friend that has shared her time, talent and treasure with not only our students but with the members of the BDPA New York Chapter.

She is truly appreciated for all that she has done and truly deserves to be recognized."

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Denise Hamilton has a powerful BDPA legacy! I encourage you to honor her efforts by making a secure online donation in support of the BDPA New York HSCC Scholarship Fund!

Member on the Move: Midge Johnson ('They Didn't Get That Way By Themselves')

Earl Pace, Midge Johnson, Wayne Hicks

Margaret 'Midge' Johnson has a powerful legacy within BDPA. She served as the BDPA Washington DC chapter president in 1989-1990. Her chapter's HSCC team finished in second (1989) and first (1990) place during those two years. Her chapter hosted the 1990 National BDPA Technology Conference. Midge subsequently became the first-ever executive director for National BDPA.

Midge is now a 70 year-old mother and grandmother with a career in the Information Technology industry that spanned over 50 years until her recent retirement from GEICO. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management and a Master's Degree in Public Administration with a specialization in Management Systems Analysis. Her degrees were earned over a period of 16 years of going to school at night and on the weekends. During those 16 years she was married, worked a full time job and she was mother to two sons and a daughter. She has been a married parent and a single parent. She is currently a member of Rainbow Family Christian Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Midge wrote a book entitled, 'They Didn't Get That Way By Themselves'. The book has a remarkable narrative, funny stories, the wisdom and the Word of God along with prayers. Use them all to train your children to prepare them for growing up to be responsible, self-reliant adults with integrity.



Midge grew up in a home with both parents after the first three years of her life (her father went off to World War II about 3 days after she was born). Her mother lived with her father's mother until he came back from the war. She had the benefit of both parents for about 6 of her first 15 years (her parents would separate and go back together intermittently). After that time, her mother raised her with the help of her paternal grandmother and her estranged father. She learned, observed and heard a lot of things related to "training" children through the years and decided that maybe she could help new parents and maybe some who were already parents.

"I didn't always make the best decisions concerning my children but I sure gave it my best based on what I experienced, what I was taught and what I learned as they grew. In retrospect, I have accumulated some nuggets on "training" children that eventually worked for my children as well as for my grandchildren."

Well done Midge! Now it is up to BDPA members and supporters to remember that old adage, 'BUY BDPA'!

Member on the Move: Alan Rosales (University of Rochester, Class of 2014)

Alan Rosales

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation began following the exploits of Alan Rosales in 2009 when we shared his High School Computer Competition (HSCC) testimonial on this blog.  Alan Rosales is a HSCC alumnus from the New York Chapter.

BDPA New York chapter legend Denise Hamilton recently shared an update on the academic accomplishments of this young squire.  Alan graduated from the University of Rochester with a bachelor of science in Biomedical Engineering in May 2014.   BDPA supported Alan's educational pursuits by providing him with at least two scholarships - Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship and Oracle Scholarship.  Alan appreciates BDPA for the scholarship awards.  Alan credits his participation in the BDPA HSCC program for sparking the idea to pursue a career in the biomedical engineering industry.

Alan was an active member of the University of Rochester campus.  He served in a number of leadership roles with the campus chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers up to and including its presidency in 2013-2014.  Alan also worked in the biochemistry research laboratory at the University of Rochester Medical Center under the guidance of Dr. Mark E. Dumont.

Alan’s short term goal is to volunteer at various research labs to determine whether he wants to work in cell and tissue engineering, biochemistry, molecular, genetics, or cancer-focused research. He plans to purse a PhD in either biochemistry or biomedical engineering.

BDPA provides programs, scholarships and services that help its young people win the future in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  Alan Rosales is an example of the wonderful results of the work being done in 46 local chapters around the nation by selfless volunteers such as Denise Hamilton.   Our nation needs to see more young people of color succeeding in STEM fields.   If you know of another nonprofit organization that is doing more in this space ... then donate to them.   However, if you know that BDPA is doing 'good works' that should be encouraged ... then donate to us ... and to it TODAY!   That is best way you can honor the graduation of Alan Rosales!

Member on the Move: Stephanie Lampkin (Hoowenware)

It has been a few years since we've updated our blog readers on the story of Stephanie Lampkin. Stephanie embodies the BDPA motto of 'classroom to the boardroom'. She began her BDPA journey as a member of the 2000 High School Computer Competition team trained by BDPA Washington DC chapter.

Stephanie Lampkin

Her journey now continues in the 'boardroom' as the founder and chief executive officer of Hoowenware, a travel management & collaboration platform that integrates commonly used tools to create a seamless group travel experience. Stephanie recently concluded her crowdfunding campaign and now she is fundraising for equity stake in her start-up company.

Stephanie is also open to doing small web development or business development contracts as she continues to build her company. The demo for Hoowenware is live and we encourage our blog readers to check it out! Stephanie build everything herself including the logo (photoshop), video (goanimate.com) and website (zurb.foundation.com). You are encouraged to click every button and link on the demo website. There is a survey link in the upper right corner and Stephanie would love to get your candid and useful feedback.

Our understanding is that the first version of the web application will be completed by the end of this month and the Android application will be completed by the end of October. We often talk about the importance of supporting our own entrepreneurs and business owners. Well, here is a chance to do just that ... next step is yours!

You can find Stephanie (@stephaneurial) and her company (@hoowenware) on Twitter!

BDPA Member on the Move: Milt Haynes (Sears Holdings)

Milt Haynes

Milt Haynes is a former national BDPA president who graduated with President Barack Obama from Columbia University. Now he's a knowledge manager at Sears, and runs a global group for Blacks in technology. Haynes is a knowledge manager at Sears Holdings Corporation (Hoffman Estates, IL), where he ensures that IT knowledge, intellectual capital and experience are shared throughout the organization.

"My interest in computers started when I was a kid in Chicago, with Star Trek," he says. "Mr Spock always seemed to have a logical solution to any problem. That made me think that if I had a computer, I could do that too."

Read the rest of the Diversity/Careers magazine article.

BDPA Member on the Move: Adwait Walimbe (Wal-Mart)

BDPA prides itself on providing programs, scholarships and services that help young people move from 'classroom to the boardroom' in the IT industry. BDPA Southern Minnesota member Adwait Walimbe is the latest example of this tagline being turned into reality.

Adwait joined BDPA while still in junior high school. He participated in the local chapter's Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. In fact, Adwait is the only student in over 30 years of BDPA history to be part of the winning team in National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship for FIVE YEARS.

Adwait used his college scholarship winnings to attend the University of Minnesota. During his college career he participated in the BDPA IT Showcase held in Baltimore last year.   This was when Adwait sat amongst a large crowd of IT professionals to listen to the career insights delivered at an executive symposium by the keynote speaker Ben Hasan, an IT executive with Wal-Mart.

"That's where I met Ben. I followed up with him later at the conference, and over the next few months he convinced me to join Wal-Mart," said Adwait.

Adwait (top-left) listens intently to Ben Hasan's presentation

Adwait accepted his first full-time job in the IT industry with Wal-Mart last month. He is now a Strategy Manager for the largest retailer in the world.

Ben Hasan is happy with the fact that Adwait is beginning his career with Wal-Mart.

"We are really excited to have Adwait on the team!!!", said Mr. Hasan.

Adwait Walimbe is the 'future face of technology'. Wal-Mart knows it. BDPA is proud of Adwait and we look forward to following his career over the coming years!   I encourage all BDPA members reading this post to share some love with our amazing Mr. Walimbe!

Member on the Move: Prince Ellis (BDPA Cincinnati)

Prince Ellis

BDPA is all about the advancement in careers made by people of African descent in the Information Technology (IT) industry from the 'classroom to the boardroom'. As such, we are proud to share some news about the upward mobility of BDPA Cincinnati VP-Finance Prince Ellis.

Prince recently accepted a promotion to Department Chair of Information Technology at Brown Mackie College (BMC). Prince joined BMC in 2007 as an IT adjunct instructor and was later promoted to full-time instructor. He holds a B.S in Finance and a Master of Science in Information Systems from Northern Kentucky University. Currently, he is pursuing a Doctoral Degree from Argosy University in Business Technology. He serves on various committees at BMC including the Faculty Development Leadership Team, Professional Learning Committee, Blended Task Force Committee, and Library Advisory Committee for IT / Computer Networking.

Some of his recognitions at BMC include May 2010 Faculty of the Month and August 2010 recipient of the Valerie C. Miles "Spirit of Student Support" Award.

In addition to serving on the BDPA Cincinnati Board of Directors as its VP-Finance, Prince also volunteers time on Saturdays to teach basic computer skills to high school students. Prince was instrumental in providing two computer labs for the TECHie Camp project to take place in Cincinnati later this summer.

Please join us in congratulating Prince on his promotion!

Member on the Move: Coram Rimes (BDPA New Jersey)

BDPA New Jersey chapter past president Coram Rimes serves as commissioner for the Orange (NJ) Housing Authority. He was recently recognized by the National League of Cities (NLC) for reaching the Platinum level in its Certificate of Achievement in Leadership program. This is a certification level reached by only a few NLC members since its inception in 1999.

NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans. As part of the NLC mission to create stronger communities, the Leadership Training Institute provides local officials, like Coram, with the professional development opportunities to assist then in promoting positive change and innovation within their communities. At the same time, seminars are designed to explore the nature and practice of local governmental leadership.

Each training seminar addresses one or more of the core areas of municipal leadership, including personal leadership growth and development, effective governance, effective communications, skills in developing and promoting partnerships and managing change.


BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is very proud of Coram Rimes for his work with BDPA and his work as a public official in the city of Orange! He is truly a BDPA member (and BETF donor) on the move!

BDPA Member On The Move: Ura Puranda (Chicago)

Share some BDPA-Love with a BDPA member on the move! We understand that PMI Chicagoland elected Ura Puranda to serve as their Director of Certifications. Her new responsibility is to promote certification within PMI, the chapter and supporting organizations, both public and private. She establishes direct contact with any employer, organization or IT professional interested in learning any aspect of the PMI certification process. Ura handles periodic certification preparation workshops in the Chicagoland area and she will obtain post-examination feedback from PMP applicants.

Ura is currently using her PMP skills to help our BDPA Foundation create a YouTube presence. Use the comments option below to share some BDPA-Love with Ura!