Hotep! BDPA Education & Technology Foundation (BETF) exists to provide financial support for BDPA. We share information about fundraising, funding sources and BDPA programs on this blog. The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent BDPA’s positions, strategies or opinions.
One of our BETF supporters recently requested support in his effort to obtain book donations for an African nonprofit organization. BDPA Orlando chapter president Pablo More provided him with eight remarkable ideas. Our blog shares these tips with our readers for posterity:
Seek out the U.S. Ambassador where the nonprofit is located. The embassy may help with transporting of the books to that country at no cost to you. to the specific African country
Visit your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Public Librariesto pick up books that are being disposed.
Visit your local state college or university libraries and speak with the librarian about when do they dispose of their books. College Libraries tend to keep a copy of text books in their shelves which they get rid of after new editions become available. There is only so much shelf space in a library. This tends to occur over the summer and winter recess.
Contact the major publishing companies below. Seek out the sales rep in your district explain your initiative and if your organization has a 501c3 non-profit status with a good track record and a good education program you "might" get a shipment of books at little to no cost.
I hope that this information helps anyone seeking to donate books to African nonprofits. If you are looking for similiar programs in the United States ... you might check out the First Book program.
Are you technically savvy, a problem solver, or a digital media wizard looking to test your skills against the best students in the world with a chance to win cash prizes?!
If so, registration for the Poland 2010 Imagine Cup sponsored by Microsoft is now open. Imagine Cup 2010 is the premier student technology skills competition and one of the largest tech competitions in the world. The competition categories for Imagine Cup 2010 are Software Design, Game Design, and Digital Media.
We highly recommend that you register yourself or your team early because Imagine Cup 2009 just ended and over 300,000 students registered.
Please visit the blog at http://www.ctherd.blogspot.com and view opportunites on scholarships, internships, fellowships, college preparation, college search engines, common application, and much more.
It is also important that students take the time to prepare for college properly. Below is a link that provide a guidelines 12th grade parents and students to follow along with important tips:
As American philanthropy continues to expand and corporate foundations seek to address increasingly complex societal problems, these resources can and should be applied to an area that directly affects our national security and quality of life -- educational competitiveness.
When it comes to the United States' ability to compete with other countries in the areas of math and science, alarms bells have been ringing for years.
A critical examination of the United States' technological infrastructure and its promotion of math and science education suggests the country is steadily losing its competitive edge.
While less than one-third of American undergraduate students earn degrees in science and engineering, nearly 60 percent of Chinese students and roughly two-thirds of Japanese students received degrees in these fields.
These choices are not without consequences.
Read the rest of the Philanthropy Journal article here.
Although many charities are focusing their outreach efforts on engaging a younger generation of philanthropists, the wealthy demographic represents a powerful resource for sustaining charities through the economic downturn, a recent survey found.
Titled “Tomorrow’s Philanthropist,” the report was conducted by Ledbury Research in partnership with Barclays Wealth, and surveyed exclusively high net worth individuals - responses were culled from 500 people with investable assets of more than $1 million and 150 people with assets of more than $5 million.
The report found that wealthy individuals have largely retained their focus on philanthropy despite the recession. Many wealthy individuals reported that they consider philanthropy a "key expense" and would sooner cut back on comforts than reduce donations - 77 percent said they would not decrease their level of giving as a result of the recession.
NOTE: BETF Director Tayo Ibikunle is leading our initiative to seek support from BDPA members that may be high net-worth individuals like the folks in this article. The results in the Tomorrow's Philanthropist research paper are encouraging to us.
BDPA Epsilon Awards recognize individual achievement by technologists who are nominated by BDPA chapters or corporate sponsors. One of the five award areas is career achievement. Joe McMahon (Sabre Systems) earned the 2009 Epsilon Career Achievement Award.
His nomination read as follows:
Sabre Systems is proud to nominate Joe McMahon for the 2009 BDPA Epsilon Award. Joe's superior performance has distinquished him from his peers throughout his career of more than 20 years as a technology leader, innovator and mentor. He reached the executive ranks on his steadfast ability to effect change, work seamlessly with senior corporate and military leaders, all while ensuring development of subordinate leaders. He is the founder of two BDPA chapters -- Baton Rouge and Hampton Roads.
As a leader of technology advancements, Joe has made a lasting impact on transformational technology. He served as Deputy Director for Innovation and Experimentation for the Navy's Network Warfare Command where he directed military, government civilian, contractor support and foreign military employees in strategic planning, technology discovery, concept development, experimentation, assessments and new systems integration.
He skillfully supervised technology development across more than 50 agencies including military, industry, research laboratories, academic institutions and foreign governments. His team integrated over 300 military technology capabilities for naval ships and shore installments.
He directly influenced over $500M in defense acquisitions for U.S. Navy and Marine Corps customers. As department head for military aviation operations, he directed and supervised the first fleet installation and operational deployment of AGM-65 Maverick missle system and CAINS II Navigation system for the S-3B aircraft.
The adage that it is better to give than to receive - a corruption of "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35 - is a difficult principle to follow for anyone in charge of corporate giving in a recession.
The return on investment of corporate philanthropy is hard to measure and even harder to justify to shareholders at the best of times, but when profits are down, giving gets harder. In the past, when the economy slowed, money, in the form of philanthropy, became a trickle.
BDPA Los Angeles is the 17th largest chapter in the nation. This is one of our few chapters on the west coast of the nation. It is important for BDPA that we have a strong and vibrant chapter in Southern California.
As such, it encouraged me to read the following message from BDPA Los Angeles chapter president John Malonson to his chapter stakeholders:
Greetings BDPA Los Angeles,
Due to our nation's economic situation, 2009 has been a very challenging year for many of our members and their families. We are reminded that it's not necessarily "what you know" but "who you know" that may link you to your next opportunity.
This cliche still rings true today; however, the game has evolved and new tools have emerged to connect people with one another. Whether you are gainfully employed or searching for opportunities, be sure to take advantage of this month's Social Networking workshop. I look forward to seeing you at our next event!
September 19, 11:30am - 1:00pm PT:Social Networking for the 21st Century - This month, we will show you how companies and enterprising individuals are networking in the 21st century. Seating is limited so be sure to RSVP for this event today.
Where's your Resume?: If you have not done so, now is also the time to make sure employers can find you in our BDPA resume database.
Membership and its Benefits - We are currently the 17th largest chapter in the nation with aspirations of being THE LARGEST CHAPTER. In addition to chapter programs, your dues directly support our most important community service component ... the High School Computer Competition program ... which trains up to 30 students annually. I encourage you to join or renew your membership in BDPa so that you can lay claim to these excellent membership benefits.
Feel free to contact me directly should you have any questions or feedback. My line is always open.
Over 8,000 votes by the blogging public determined the winners of the 2009 Black Weblog Awards. A second award in each category made by a group of judges. Maurice Cherry and his crew at the Black Weblog Awards are to be commended for putting together this recognition.
This BDPA Foundation Blog is honored to be named by both the Black Weblog Award voters and the judges as the 2009 Best Business Blog. This category is for blogs that talk about the modern business world (advertising, marketing, finance, business trends and such). We will proudly display this award in our sidebar for the next year. I hope that the recognition encourages more support for our foundation.
Here is the full list of 2009 Black Weblog Award Winners:
And the winner of the Aaron Hawkins Award is… Bill Cammack! - Bill Cammack is an Emmy Award-Winning freelance video editor who has focused his attention on the New/Social Media space.
Share your thoughts on the 2009 Black Weblog Award winners. Did you choice win? Do you feel that some deserving Black blog was left out this year? Any new learnings from this year's list?In other words ... share your thoughts in the COMMENTS area below!
Today, as individuals and businesses face challenging and troubling economic times, charitable foundations shouldn't underestimate the power of personal touches in every phase of their giving programs.
As the executive director of a relatively new foundation that supports technical education, I have learned that creating a long-term sense of community between donors and recipients establishes and extends the cycle of giving far beyond the dollars donated.
Almost everyone agrees that the Internet has made it easier to contact new generations and segments of donors, but it is also easy to overlook personal touches.
Another important milestone for BDPA was achieved today when the BDPA LinkedIn group hit 1,200 members! This is only after reaching 1,000 members just three short months ago!
We continue to make our mark in the exploding and burgeoning world of social media by creating the largest concentration of IT professionals of color on LinkedIn but we still have more work to do.
So, for every IT professional that you know that is not on LinkedIn or not in this group, please tell them what they are missing and invite them to join us.
Remember that membership increases the expanse of your network so the more members, the deeper your network reach when you need to reach out for assistance and expertise that you may not possess. This all translates to better and increased networking opportunities as Wayne mentioned when we hit 1,000 members.
We are still looking to read about any success stories as a consequence of being connected via this group so please share them with us.
Congratulations go out to Aaron Jones of Houston, Texas for becoming member 1,200!
Initially, we had no rules for inclusion into the HOF ... however, it seems that there should be some minimum standards to be included. Here are the proposed rules for entry into our mythical BDPA Hall of Fame:
Nominations must be placed as a COMMENT on this blog post
Nominees must have served in at least two separate positions on the National BDPA Board of Directors
Once three eligible candidates are identified, we will write a post arguing the case for (and against) their inclusion. Then we'll put it to a vote.
It's that simple. There aren't any other rules at this point. I hope you will participate. You can begin right away. Who do you think should be elevated to the mythical BDPA Hall of Fame?
But there’s no dispute over its popularity. In a recent NTEN survey, almost 1,000 nonprofit professionals answered questions about their organizations’ use of social media. And they said loud and clear that they’re using it.
Some highlights:
86% have a presence on commercial social networks in general, and 74% are on Facebook.
81% said their primary purpose for having a presence on these networks is marketing.
81% allocate at least one-quarter of a full time employee to the networks.
The average Facebook community size is 1,369 (unless you leave in those big three organizations that skew the average to 5,391).
The average Twitter following is 291, LinkedIn community is 286, and YouTube is 268. Oh, and MySpace, which comes in at 1,905 members.
Your constituents are on Facebook. Your competitors are on Facebook. And there’s a lot of marketing going on.
So it’s not always a question of the dollars coming in due to Facebook, but how well you are marketing your organization, and engaging new and loyal supporters.
Thanks to this NTEN study, you can measure your organization against industry benchmarks. And, you can prove your success and relevance in social media in other quantifiable ways. Track the numbers of Facebook Fans and their demographics (via improved Insights reporting on Facebook Pages), the number of Followers and @ mentions on Twitter, and the click trends of short URLs in tweets.
With donations dwindling in this tough economy, it’s important to keep supporters engaged, even with brief status updates of “what’s on your mind” and tweets about “what you’re doing.”
Ninety-five percent of nonprofits said they are either maintaining or increasing staffing resources given to social networks over the next year.
NOTE: BETF is currently on a number of social networks including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn Network and YouTube. However, we could use your support and ideas on ways to improve our social media presence.
BDPA Philadelphia is the 3rd largest chapter in the nation. More importantly, they are the 3-time defending 'BDPA Chapter of the Year'. Much of the chapter's success can be attributed to the leadership of president Monique Berry. Here is the message that Monique shared with her chapter's stakeholders this month:
Dear Colleagues,
You have the power to influence the focus and direction of BDPA Philadelphia Chapter in a very concrete way -- by volunteering on a working chapter committee or nominating a colleague (or yourself) for board membership. As you are returning from summer vacations, please take a few minutes to consider increasing your involvement in the volunteer management of BDPA Philadelphia Chapter. If you are currently involved with a chapter committee, nominate yourself for the Executive Board.
The Board determines the strategic direction for the chapter and is very involved in educational programs, networking activities for members and non-members, and fundraising endeavors. We need experienced and active BDPA members to help us with fiscal matters, promotion and branding, and long-range strategic planning for our chapter.
Board members also interact with the volunteers and staff at the National BDPA and have regular contact with colleagues in other areas of the country. I volunteered for the Chapter as the Vice President of Membership Management for two years followed by two years as President Elect and now President of the Philadelphia Chapter. On a national level, I serve on the Board of Directors and I have enjoyed meeting and working with board leaders from other chapters across the United States.
Board members are expected to actively participate in board meetings and serve or chair a board committee. New board members begin their term in January of each year and serve for a two year term. Nominations may be submitted by any member of the Philadelphia Chapter and we welcome self-nominations. Celeste Robinson chairs the nomination committee. We are committed to nominating a board of directors who are actively involved in the on-going programs of the Chapter.
Please go to the members' area of the BDPA membership database to submit a board nomination for President Elect and Vice President of Finance and to review the duties of these open positions and consider volunteering your expertise to the Philadelphia Chapter Executive Board.
If you are not currently involved in committee work but would like to get involved, please consider volunteering for a chapter committee. We need your expertise, time and energy to continue to provide high quality programming to BDPA members and non-members. Make a difference to our profession by giving your talent, expertise and, yes, some of your valuable time!
The deadline for nominations is September 30, 2009.
I look forward to working with you as a new volunteer or board member in 2010.
With warm regards, Monique Berry, President BDPA Philadelphia Chapter
Please share your thoughts about this message using the COMMENTS link below.
BETF wants to advance the careers of African Americans from the classroom to the boardroom. Ideally, we acheive this mission through the programs and services of BDPA at local and national levels. However, we want to encourage any programs that move our mission forward. As such, I am proud to introduce many BETF-Blog readers to an existing program that educates and motivates young teenagers that are still in middle school ... Future City Competition. The folks behind this program believe that the typical American seventh or eighth-grader can think beyond sports, texting or hip hop to a different level -- a level that involves creating a vision of the future.
How cool would it be for BDPA students to participate in the National Engineers Week Future City Competition, which each year invites young people to create a city of tomorrow. What began in 1992 as a modest project to encourage math and science skills and lay the foundation for a career in engineering has become the nation’s largest engineering education program, this year expected to reach 30,000 students in 1,100 schools.
Forty region competitions funnel students towards an all-expense-paid trip to the Future City National Finals in Washington, D.C., February 15-17, 2010 during National Engineers Week. Grand prize is a trip to Space Camp in Huntsville, AL.
The competition asks students, working in teams and under the guidance of a teacher and a volunteer engineering (or IT professional) mentor from the community, to design a city of the future and include a plan that helps meet a particular social need.
Students build their cities first on computer using SimCity 4 Deluxe and then in large three-dimensional scale models. They must also write an abstract describing their city, and an essay on a topical engineering issue. Finally, five of the best teams have to present and defend their design before a panel of prominent engineer judges all the while parents, teachers, guests listen.
Future City purposely directs participants to incorporate real engineering challenges into their plans and this year is no different. With thousands of roads, bridges, and railways in need of repair and increased traffic straining budgets, the effective use of basic transportation construction materials will become a pressing topic. Students can create any kind of city or transportation system, but as they devise monorails, people movers, bike paths, or freeways, they will be giving extra scrutiny to urban expansion, environmental issues, and sustainability with achievable, measurable results. A special focus of the 2010 competition will be to create green living spaces to house the neediest. Designing affordable housing for those most in need is enormously complicated. But how will these students propose to accomplish this task with an emphasis on energy efficiency and a low carbon footprint?
The hands-on lessons in practical math and science can prove critical in maintaining studies through high school, giving students the skills they need to pursue science, technology, engineering or mathematics in college. Aren't these lessons that would be useful for our BDPA student members?
On Tuesday, September 8 — the first day of school for many students — the President talked directly to students across the country on the importance of taking responsibility for their education, challenging them to set goals and do everything they can to succeed.
Anyone that objects to having the President of the United States speaking directly to their children about staying in school is a fool. That's my opinion. President Obama announced that he would be speaking with students during his interview with Damon Weaver (Canal Point Elementary School):
Because some fools expressed outrage that the President would be speaking to their children ... the White House released an advanced copy of his speech. Here is the text of his remarks:
Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.
I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.
Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.
Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.
So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.
And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.
That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
What are your thoughts on the message from President Obama to our young 'uns?
BDPA Epsilon Awards recognize individual achievement by technologists who are nominated by BDPA chapters or corporate sponsors. One of the five award areas is professional achievement. Rosalind Shaffer (Eli Lilly and Company) earned the 2009 Epsilon Professional Achievement Award.
Her nomination read as follows:
Rosalind Shaffer started her career at Lilly in 1996 as a system analyst. Rosalind has had many promotions over the course of the last 13 years. She is currently an associate information consultant in IT for the US Affiliate. Over the course of her career, she has been an IT leader in the submission of Evista to the FDA, in the preparation for the launch of Prasurgril, in collaborations with other companies including NovaQuest, Daichi Sankyo and Imclone.
Rosalind has ownership for the collaboration process for IT for the US Affiliate, as well as serves as the liaison between brand teams and IT for the work related to cardiovascular and oncology products. Rosalind distinguishes herself from others by her ability to deeply engage in business process discussions, drive clarity out of ambiguous situations and stepping out of her role to add value where needed.
Over the years, she has supervised teams of up to 20 employees and has managed significant third party vendors. She has been very effective in building a team that can get results. Over the course of her work with Lilly, Rosalind has managed more than 50 IT projects. Rosalind is highly respected and frequently sought out as a mentor to others.
She is one of the most highly requested consultants in the U.S. to solve complex business problems. Rosalind is known for her “Can Do Attitude” and her teamwork with peers and business partners. The teams that she has worked with over the years have recognized her both formally and informally.
Take a moment to congratulate Rosalind in the COMMENTS section below!
One of the joys of my volunteer experiences as BETF executive director is passing out Bemley Scholarships to the young people that perform well at the national BDPA high school computer competition (HSCC) each year. BETF awarded over $100,000 in Bemley Scholarships over the past three years.
Bemley Scholarships were awarded earlier this year to the HSCC students trained by BDPA Twin Cities chapter. Justin Wulf (shown in photo on the far right) is a member of the BDPA Twin Cities team. His chapter didn't have enough funds to afford airfare to get the kids to and from the national championships in Raleigh NC ... so they rented a van and drove for over 20 hours on each leg of the round trip. Justin created some music in his mind during the trip ... please take a moment to enjoy his vibe!
I truly look forward to seeing where Justin's ambition takes him in the future! Methinks that this is the first time that BDPA has been used in a song ... and I know it is the first time that anyone has laid down tracks about scholarships given out by the BDPA Foundation!
What did you think? More importantly, what are you going to do about it? Isn't it time that you helped us 'make moves' to increase the Bemley Scholarship Fund?
I have followed the journey of BDPA New York chapter for a number of years. The current chapter president, Judaea Lane, is a passionate leader who has given everything to support the progress of the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in New York. The chapter funds that ordinarily would have taken her to the annual conference in Raleigh NC were diverted to ensure that New York chapter students could participate in the IT Showcase.
One of the students that is helping to uplift the NY chapter SITES program is Alan Rosales. Alan and his teammates earned Jesse Bemley Scholarships from the BDPA Education & Technology Foundation (BETF). Here are his thoughts about the national competition held in Raleigh NC.
The national conference was great, especially the high school computer competition [HSCC]. The New York Chapter team consisting of Frantzy Jean Philippe, Cazmeba Richards, Kevin Castillo and myself, Alan Rosales, first arrived at Raleigh, North Carolina early in the morning. We stayed at the hotel all day brushing up on our programming skills and quiz factory scores.
The next day we woke up early in the morning for the first two parts of the competition. We had to do the oral part [where we answer 5 questions as a team] and the written part [where we individually answer as many questions as we can correct in 15 minutes]. But, there was a complication that day. Since last year it was announced that it was going to be the last year that we were going to use the quiz factory software and the operating system Windows XP, we were provided with a new software, Adit Software and our computers were upgraded to Windows Vista.
When we arrived at the orals, we found out that there were some problems with the setup, so instead of starting at 8:00AM we were told to go back to the hotel and come back until 2:00PM. We were able to complete the oral portion, but then another issue came up for the written and it was delayed again. We had to come back and ended up starting around 7:00PM. We did find out that the National team had to switch to using XP due to hardware problems, focusing the whole competition on Friday, the programming part. The next day it wasn't a surprise that we weren't going to start early as planned. We started around 10:00AM instead of at 8:00AM and only 7hrs were given to us instead of 8hrs, since we had to present our application to the judges when were done, so the pressure was on. That day it was very chaotic because time was of the essence and we had to finish the problem in order to rank high. We used PHP, MYSQL, HTML, JavaScript and CSS to complete the problem and as lead programmer it was my job to code and use the programming languages to complete the task.
This year's conference brought up many challenges living up to the 2009 national conference theme, "Challenges For Today, Strategies For Tomorrow". The winners were announced on Saturday evening during the banquet [the judges consider placing 1st through 5th] and the New York team came in 5th place. We weren't very happy with the outcome but we were satisfied. I had loads of help from my team members and without them we probably wouldn't have placed.
So for next year, being that it will be our last year in the HSCC team, we are working hard towards winning 1st place. I hope that every HSCC team is ready for next year because New York will definitely be ready; I can't wait to see everyone at Philadelphia for the 2010 national conference and if this year's conference was great, I can't even imagine how next year's conference will be.
BETF will make a decision shortly on the amount to allocate for 2010 Bemley Scholarships. It appears we will need to cut back on those scholarships next year unless we get some support from donors over the coming weeks. Please consider making an online donation to the Bemley Scholarship fund today in support of Alan and the other students who are working so hard around the nation.
BDPA New Jersey is the 11th largest chapter in the nation. The chapter has a strong leadership team that is focused on the chapter's vision and mission. I always find it a pleasure to interact with any member of this chapter.I encourage you to take a moment to digest this September 2009 message from BDPA New Jersey chapter president Coram Rimes:
Greetings BDPA New Jersey Chapter members!! I can’t believe that it is September and the 2009 National BDPA Conference has already passed. We were all looking forward to this important event and were well represented with thirty chapter members in attendance in Raleigh, North Carolina from August 5th through August 8th.
Our high school students have been in preparation for months under the leadership of our HSCC coordinator Michelle Springs, and they were poised to meet the challenge of the fierce competition.
We were also very pleased that Beverly Place, who was one of our featured ‘Members on the Move’ in our first newsletter earlier this year, presented again this year. Her workshop titled ‘Going Lean in Healthcare’ was well received.
Our chapter delegates were busy as well during the conference voting on the by-laws changes and new leaders for the National Board of Directors for the positions of President-Elect and VP-Finance.
Highlights from the National Conference:
Incoming President Elect - Monique Berry (Philadelphia)
BDPA New Jersey Chapter continues to be committed to providing the best possible programs for our members. An essential component to ensure that this happens on a consistent basis is you. There are various opportunities available for you to apply your project management, organizational, leadership, technical, management or communication skills. We even a have few positions on the Board where you can participate and work closely with the particular business areas that support the chapter.
If you only have four hours a week to contribute, no problem! We have the perfect opportunity for you! Please contact Goldie Bonney, our VP of Membership Management, at membershipmgmt@bdpanewjersey.org if you are interested in taking your participation to the next level.
There is so much excitement as the BDPA New Jersey Chapter continues to provide quality monthly program meetings. Our Program Meetings are geared to help you sharpen your technical leadership and personal development skills. Consider presenting your topic at a program meeting, the rewards can be priceless. To inquire about presenting at an upcoming program meeting contact our VP of Member Services, Nekeisha Rouse, at memberservices@bdpanewjersey.org.
We are preparing for several upcoming events, such as our 6th Annual Families In Technology Day on September 12th, CIO Symposium on October 5th, and our Awards & Recognition Banquet on November 13th. This is your BDPA and the NJ Chapter can achieve and aspire to great heights with your active involvement. Your ideas, support and creative minds are needed to help sustain our chapter’s growth. Take the first step on the journey to elevate the mission of BDPA NJ Chapter and be the supportive link to make a difference.
Feel free to contact me at president@bdpanewjersey.org to share a comment or your ideas. I look forward to hearing from you and more importantly working with you to make this the best chapter we possibly can!
You can learn more about BDPA New Jersey chapter from their current newsletter or their online groupsite. In the meantime, I invite you to POST A COMMENT to Coram to share your thoughts on his message!
Students looking for college scholarships are going to have a harder time this year as providers, hammered by falling investment returns and declining philanthropic support, cut back.
The recession has led foundations, corporations, state governments and colleges themselves to reduce their support of providers of scholarships, and in recent months programs have been reduced or canceled outright. The cuts come as economic conditions make it harder for families to pay for college and as more unemployed people look for financing for retraining.
The National BDPA Board of Directors de-chartered six chapters (Albany, Fort Wayne, Greenville, Kansas City, Rocky Mountain and Toledo) last month. As such, we now have 45 BDPA chapters in the nation. Each chapter averages 50 members (up 5 from last month).
Congratulations to BDPA Triangle chapter (president, Rick Leggett) for setting a new chapter membership record high (189) this month ... breaking their previous high of 181 (Aug 2009). I encourage BDPA leaders to reach out to Rick for tips and 'best practices' that can help them grow membership. If we can grow a large and powerful BDPA presence in Raleigh/Durham ... we can grow it anywhere in the nation.
The same ten chapters make our list this month. However, we do congratulate BDPA Washington DC (president, Perry Carter) for making the largest jump this month ... they moved from the #9 slot last month to #7 largest chapter this month. The top ten chapters in terms of membership as of 9/1/2009 are:
Chicago - (chapter president Rhonda Boyd shown in photo)
Triangle - (all-time chapter record high, 189 members)
The first five (5) chapters on this list are in the BDPA Century Club with at least 100 members. BDPA Chicago chapter tops the list with 493 members!
BDPA Education & Technology Foundation provides funding to support the programs and services carried out by these chapters at local level. Our hope is that you will consider making a donation to BETF this year. You can securely donate online or you can give BETF a call on (513) 284-4968 to discuss your pledge offline.
to pick up books that are being disposed.
