Monday, April 30, 2012

Computers for Learning

In order to encourage and promote the reuse of computers, GSA is proud to sponsor the new re-engineered Computers for Learning (CFL) website.

The CFL program evolved as a guide for implementing Executive Order 12999, Educational Technology: Ensuring Opportunity for all Children in the Next Century. The Executive Order encourages agencies, to the extent permitted by law, to transfer computers and related peripheral equipment excess to their needs directly to schools and some educational nonprofit organizations. The CFL program specifically matches the computer needs of schools and educational nonprofit organization with excess equipment in Federal agencies.

Direct transfers are authorized by law through 15 USC 3710(i) commonly known as the Stevenson-Wydler Act (amended by Public Law 102-245 on February 14, 1992).

The CFL program's ambitious goal is to make modern computer technology an integral part of every classroom so that every child has the opportunity to be educated to his or her full potential. This program can be phenomenally successful.

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation is registered on this site. Contact me if you have interest in seeing what hardware might be available for your chapter's youth education program.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Abbott Fund

Abbott Fund invests in creative ideas that promote science, expand access to health care, and strengthen communities worldwide. In partnership with others, they strive to make a lasting impact on people’s lives and encourage others to action.

Established in 1951 Abbott Fund is a private 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization in the state of Illinois and is funded solely by Abbott, a global broad-based health care company. Their approach is to support programs that are results-driven and make a lasting impact on people’s lives. They support and partner with a broad range of organizations, including community-based charities, academic institutions, medical and health professional associations, international relief agencies and not-for-profit organizations. Many of these programs are helping create solutions to address the global health needs shaping our world today. Where appropriate, these programs are also able to benefit from Abbott’s health and technical expertise, leadership, and products.

Abbott Fund is active in communities around the world where Abbott has a significant presence. They pursue local partnerships and creative programs that address unmet needs of a community. Emphasis is placed on improving access to health care and promoting science education. The Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program hosted by BDPA seems to be a good fit for the Abbot Fund.

Our funding opportunity appears to be with their 'Community Vitality Grants' (min grant size: $10,000). However, the program in question must be co-located with an Abbott site community. Local BDPA chapters co-located with Abbott include: Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles and Richmond.

Please let me know if your chapter is interested in pursuing a grant proposal to the Abbott Fund.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Where Are They Now: BDPA Member of the Year Award Winners

Earlier we asked for your support in finding the current location of the 1999 BDPA Chapter Presidents. Today, we reach out to our BETF-Blog readers to see if they can help us locate the winners of the National BDPA Member of the Year awards from 1986 through 2010.

Where are they now?
  • 1986 - Vivian Wilson (Cleveland)
  • 1987 - Linnie Frank (Washington DC)
  • 1988 - Whitman Able (Memphis)
  • 1989 - Ray Larkins (Detroit)
  • 1990 - Unknown
  • 1990 - Unknown
  • 1992 - Howard James (Philadelphia)
  • 1993 - Unknown
  • 1994 - Phillip Murphy (Flint)
  • 1995 - Gerry McClamy (Cleveland)
  • 1996 - Renee McClure (New York)
  • 1997 - Unknown
  • 1998 - Unknown
  • 1999 - Wendy Wonsley (Gr Tampa Bay)
  • 2000 - Juanita Robinson (Chicago)
  • 2001 - Gina Billings (Cincinnati)
  • 2002 - Mildred Allen (Gr Columbia)
  • 2003 - Tiffany Bonds (Charlotte)
  • 2004 - Dee Pearson (Dayton)
  • 2005 - Milt Haynes (Chicago)
  • 2006 - Chiji Ohayia (New York)
  • 2007 - No award given out this year
  • 2008 - No award given out this year
  • 2009 - Danna Sturdivant (Boston)
  • 2010 - Monica Bowe (Cleveland)
Can you tell us 'Where Are They Now?' We're hopeful we can get each of them to autograph this post ... or at least get them to POST A COMMENT!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Monsanto Executive Vincent Shorter Answers Question, 'Why BDPA?'

Monsanto is a long-standing corporate sponsor of BDPA programs, scholarships and services on national and local (St. Louis) level. Here is company executive Vincent Shorter explaining the value-proposition that Monsanto made when they decided to invest in BDPA:


The investment is making a difference as evidenced by the increased growth of BDPA St. Louis chapter membership as well as the improved performance of the chapter's High School Computer Competition team in recent national championships! We encourage other corporate executives to reach out to BDPA to learn more about our corporate sponsorship program.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Message from New Jersey Chapter President

BDPA New Jersey invites YOU to attend our 9th Annual Families in Technology Day on the campus of New Jersey Institute of Technology, Kupfrian Hall on May 5th.

Time is running out...but you STILL have time to register and attend this truly remarkable event! We promise you will not be disappointed. Come join in on the fun, and just think, your child or student could be the lucky recipient of a refurbished laptop!


On behalf of BDPA New Jersey, we look forward to seeing you at our event for a day filled with education, networking, and most importantly FUN!

Warm Regards,
Goldie K. Bonney, President
BDPA New Jersey Chapter

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

BDPA iRadio Show - April 24, 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



The guests on the April 24th show:

Matthew Lampkin - chapter president, BDPA Hartford - Matthew Lampkin joined BDPA Hartford chapter in 2005.  Over the years he served in a variety of leadership positions including HSCC coordinator and vice president.  He currently serves as the chapter president.  His immediate goal is to increase the chapter’s membership, build relationships with students at area high schools\colleges, and provide area companies access to a pool of talented IT professionals. One of his biggest accomplishments was the establishment of the Computer Learning Program for the state Department of Children and Families (DCF). From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Lampkin forged an educational partnership with DCF that allowed for foster youth in Connecticut to receive 15 to 20 weeks of Information Technology training from experienced BDPA members.  The training culminated in 5-7 youth attending the National BDPA conferences in 2006 (Los Angeles) and 2007 (Washington, DC).  Although Matthew has spent the past 18 years of his life in the Mid-Atlantic and New England States, he is a native of Houston, Texas.  He attended Syracuse University and graduated in 1997 with a BS in Information Management Technology.  Currently he is employed by Computer Sciences Corporation in East Hartford, CT as a Security Administrator.  In addition, Matthew is one of the owners of OnPoint Consultants, LLC.  OnPoint has been in business for more than 10 years. Matthew used this radio interview to share his plans for growing the BDPA brand in Connecticut over the coming year.

Michelle Cooke - HSCC coordinator, National BDPA - Michelle Cooke has been working on the national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships for a number of years. She has more than 10 years of experience in Software Quality Assurance and System Analysis with a strong background in full SDLC, implementation, testing, user training, and support documentation. Experience as the SME for QA testing related policies/procedures and helped enforce such policies/procedures. She stepped up to become the National BDPA HSCC Coordinator earlier this year. Her goal is to increase the number of students and chapters participating in the 2012 National HSCC Championship that will be held in Baltimore, MD. This will be the first opportunity for much of BDPA-Nation to hear directly from Michelle. She shared some unique insights into the importance of BDPA’s efforts to provide STEM-based experiences for young people that will help them to ‘win the future’.

Wayne Hicks - executive director, BDPA Education and Technology Foundation - Wayne has been a member of BDPA since 1989.  He has twice served as the executive director of the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation.  He has also been a chapter president (Cincinnati, 1999-2001) as well as a successful national BDPA president (2004-2005).  He provides a unique perspective to the value-proposition that BDPA offers to its stakeholders. 


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!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Message from BDPA Twin Cities HSCC Coordinator

BDPA Twin Cities HSCC Coordinator shared his joy about the efforts of the students who participated in the 2012 computer camp hosted by his chapter.
It is wonderful to consider the different that Michael Wulf and the other volunteers from BDPA Twin Cities are making for their community with this STEM-based experience for young people. Well done Michael!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

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.

  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.

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

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Message from Atlanta Chapter President

Building and Growing a Stronger BDPA

Felicia Jones
On January 1, of every year, we all sit down and begin to write our New Year’s resolutions. We write things like: lose weight, eat healthier, and get promoted! At least, that is what I put on my list. However, unlike most people, I have the BDPA Atlanta chapter that will help me accomplish one of my goals. And this organization can help you reach your career goals too. We are very committed to developing our members and the community at large by providing career enhancing programs that will increase their technical skills, business knowledge and personal growth. Our primary focus for 2012 is “Building and Growing a Stronger BDPA” and that is exactly what we are doing! Just in this first quarter we have accomplished a great deal like:
  • Re-launched a new website – It’s very user friendly making it easy to navigate through and find information fast. The robust colors and animation gives the site a more modern and up-to-date look. Check it out for yourself at www.atlantabdpa.org
  • Hosted our 3rd Annual Career Fair – The event offered resume makeovers, mock interviews, one on one career coaching and a Critical Success Workshop led by Derrick Brown (VP Business Management). The event was sponsored by CCCi and was held at Matrix Recruitment Services. Along with CCCI and Matrix, we had several IT companies and Staffing agencies in attendance, i.e., Macy’s Systems &Technology, FIS, Pyramid along with staffing agencies.
  • Kicked-off our Membership Drive – We started the New Year with a membership drive by offering new and potential members an opportunity to win an iPad2 by renewing or joining the organization. The iPad2 is donated by World Wide Technology, Inc and will be given away during our April 18th meeting; member must be present to win! We also had our quarterly membership drive during our 3rd Annual Career Fair; we had 5 people to join that night. We have doubled our membership and it’s continuing to grow.
  • Created and kicked off several new programs:
    1. Tech Talk Webinar Series – Bi-monthly webinar series which are informational and educational. The webinars are on the latest IT trends, topics and what’s affecting the IT community. Some of our webinars were: Crash Course on SharePoint Technology, Scrum Certification Q & A and How to Get the Job You Desire.
    2. Success Alliance - A professional development support program which helps the individual to define and set their career, business and/or academic goals. The program is designed to help them succeed by giving them all the tools needed to achieve their goals. They learn how to manage their goals like a Project Manager, analyze goals like a Business Analyst, problem solve using Agile and measure their progress using Six Sigma. This program is the brain-child of Jacqueline Sanders (VP Education & Professional Development).
    3. College Liaison Program (CLP) - We have expanded our mentoring programs to the college level. Through a partnership with DeVry University, our CLP will begin to mentor computer science students for future success. The CLP will take the form of a campus lecture series and mentoring circles facilitated by BDPA members and representatives of our corporate sponsors. By adding a collegiate level to our programs we plan to make our motto “From the Classroom to the Boardroom” a reality in the Atlanta area. We will also start our very first BDPA Atlanta College Chapter.
    4. Real Talk with BDPA Atlanta – The series gives you the opportunity to go behind the curtain and learn more about the members and supporters of our chapter. You get to learn more in-depth and personal information about our monthly speaker in our ‘Speaker Behind the Topic’ series. Our Real Talk series have been very successful and we have other local organizations following our lead. 
  • Launched our 2012 SITES (Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship) / High School Computer Competition (HSCC) program; we currently have 15 students. The training classes are held at DeVry University who do a wonderful job in supporting the HSCC program by providing a place and the equipment to train our students for the past 5 years. We have a great team of volunteers being led by Wesley Williams (Dir SITES). They are truly dedicated to the growth and overall success of our students. They will compete in the Regional Competition; last year our students brought home 1st and we expecting the same results this year. They are also looking forward to the National competition where they and we are expecting to bring home 1st Place
  • Created a New Face for Atlanta – We did a major overhaul in our overall look. Sharnecia Williams (VP Marketing) single-handedly changed the face of BDPA Atlanta. She re-created our logo, social media skins and the look of the website. She created all new marketing materials, templates, a watermark and upcoming events video Montage to play during our networking time.
Whewww! As you can see, we have been VERY busy and there is still more to come. We are geared up and looking forward to the 2nd Quarter. I hope you will jump right in and assist us in driving the upcoming events home. With your support, we will be Building and Growing a Stronger BDPA!

Felicia Jones, President
BDPA Atlanta Chapter

Friday, April 20, 2012

Message from National BDPA President

The National BDPA Board of Directors (NBOD) meeting was held last month. Our executive officers continued their work on the Strategic Plan for 2012. The Strategic Plan is a fluid and living document. It helps guide our National Executive Committee and enables them to ensure that we accomplish the priorities that have been set forth by the NBOD.

On the horizon, we have the 34th National BDPA Technology Conference in Baltimore, Maryland scheduled for August. This year, in partnership with CompTIA, we will offer certification classes on Monday and Tuesday. We will also have an panel and reception on Tuesday evening focused on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The panel will discuss “Broadening the Participation of Minorities in STEM at HBCUs”.

The general sessions will run from August 1-4, 2012. The Career Fair will take place on Friday and Saturday, so spruce up your resumes and come prepared to meet our sponsors. Our final event is the Saturday evening Awards Gala – come prepared to dress to impress.

Mark your calendars and save the first week of August 2012 for your association! National BDPA will be celebrating the members who have been so dedicated to our mission since the formation of the association in 1975.

I wish to thank all of our members in assisting us with our common goal in advancing careers in technology.

Warm regards,
Monique Berry, president
National BDPA

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

BDPA Atlanta, Real Talk Webinar: Guy McDonald (World Wide Technology)

Did you know that there are dozens of BDPA professional development meetings all over the country each month? BDPA Atlanta chapter is having one tonight -- April 18, 2012 -- on the topic of mobile devices.

BDPA Atlanta chapter president Felicia Jones takes a moment in the following video clip to share more information on the speaker behind the topic -- Guy McDonald (World Wide Technology). During the interview he gives more background information about himself, his family and a synopsis of what he will be speaking on at the April 18, 2012 meeting.



HBCU Anniversary: Hampton University


Hampton University was founded on this date in 1868. It is one of 100 Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in America.

Hampton University is a privately endowed, co-educational, school, located in southeastern Virginia. General Samuel Chapman Armstrong founded the University as Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. It was designed to educate the newly emancipated Blacks, and has grown into a comprehensive University offering a broad range of technical, liberal arts, pre-professional, professional and graduate degree programs. In it’s beginning, Hampton was neither a government nor a state school.

It was chartered by a special act of the General Assembly of Virginia and was controlled by a board representing both different regions of the country and various religious groups. The school's most famous graduate was Booker T. Washington. Hampton was unique in that it opened its doors to Native Americans too. Beginning in 1878, Native American students were brought to the school from Northern Plains tribes to be “re-educated.” Armstrong, who had been raised by missionary parents in Hawaii, promoted a curriculum, which was highly colonialist in its tenor and promoted the most rapid assimilation possible.

For over 130 years, Hampton University has held true to its mission: educating African Americans to be scholars and leaders, nationally and internationally. Hampton University is consistently placed among the elite in national polls and rankings, including those for U.S. News and World Report, Black Enterprise, Black Issues in Higher Education and other publications.

Any Hampton University alumni among our readers?

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Connect With Monique: It's Not Just a Party

by National BDPA president Monique Berry

Goals of Conference Attendance

While attending the National BDPA Technology Conference can be a lot of fun it is also a professionally rewarding experience. The two main reasons to attend a conference are to hear presentations and to network with other professionals.

Listening to presentations will inform you of what others are doing (sometimes more clearly than the paper, and in any event with a slightly different spin and the ability to ask questions), will inspire ideas of your own, and will expose you to different styles of presentation. (You may see examples of both excellent and terrible talks.)

As your career advances, you'll learn that even though listening to the talks is extremely valuable, hallway conversations can be even more fruitful. Do everything you can to cultivate such conversations: that is one of your chief jobs at the conference. (But don't be annoyed if it takes a little while, or a few conferences, before the task becomes easy.)

Some people are naturally gregarious; some people have trained themselves to be that way; and others can be shy about approaching people they don't know at a conference. Gather up your courage and do it anyway; you'll learn a lot, and eventually you will get better at it. (Most other people in the room were once in exactly that same position.)

You should also tell others about your experience. Think about how to frame your work to convey how interesting it is. This is an important skill not just for a conference but in general. Plan your pitch, practice it with your friends, and then further refine it through interactions at the conference. (Beware the trap of knowing your work so well that it doesn't sound interesting, or that you can't tease apart the interesting big issues from the details! I always return from a conference more excited about my career than when I left: it had become stale to me, but the excitement and admiration of others upon hearing of it reminded me how good it actually is.) Remember to talk first about the responsibilities of your job, and only then about the techniques you are using. You have to convince others that the work is worth hearing about before they are willing to listen to the technical details.

You'll learn a lot from talking about your work, seeing what confuses people and receiving their ideas and suggestions. Remember that no one likes to be in a conversation in which they only listen. You need to always tell people about your work, but also be sure to ask others about their work (even doing so first). You'll also learn a lot by listening and by asking questions. Keep an open mind, and try to deeply understand others.

Meeting other professionals

Here are some ways to meet people at a conference. They are particularly useful for those who are shy or who are just entering the NBDPA community.
  1. If someone gave a talk, then introduce yourself and ask a thoughtful question about some issue that you are curious about or found interesting.
  2. Use a mutual acquaintance. It is easier to walk up to a group if you already know one of them. Making some contacts early on eases meeting people during the rest of the conference. Even just listening can help you learn. If there is something that confuses you, ask (or at the very least write down the question to ask your friends later — but typically you should just ask).
  3. Use others in your group to make introductions. It is not acceptable to hang out just with other people from your own chapter or company. It is your responsibility to talk with people from other companies. A good rule of thumb is not to join a group if that would make it half or close colleagues of yours. Another rule of thumb is that it's fine to travel in pairs — have a buddy to help you meet others — but not to hunt in larger packs. It's fine to check in with people from your group once in a while — to take a break from being social, to learn about someone you really ought to meet, etc. But use such time to recharge, not as your standard mode at the conference.
  4. Talk with people at meals. Show up early to get breakfast and especially to schmooze. Going out for dinners is good, too. At lunch, meet everyone at your table, find out what they are doing, and tell them what you are doing. At conference lunches, I often sit at a random table with people I don't know, which has led to valuable new contacts.
  5. Being a volunteer at a conference is a great way to network. As a secondary benefit, it also stretches your funding. It does require you to spend time on tasks such as checking participants' badges, staffing registration and information tables, etc., and to go to all the volunteer meetings. You should try hard to get jobs that won't interfere with the conference — the best jobs are checking participants' badges outside the sessions that you want to attend, since once the talks start, you can slip inside and listen to them.
  6. If there's someone on your "hit list” of people you want to talk with at the conference, just go up to that person and join or start a conversation.
  7. Help others: make introductions and tell others of related work or people they should talk to. Not only is this the right thing to do, but others will remember and will do the same for you.
I'm sure you will come up with additional techniques of your own: use whichever are effective for you and fit in your style — but make sure that you do mix and mingle.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Grant Declination: Harris Foundation (BDPA Cincinnati)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is disappointed to report that our grant proposal to the Harris Foundation has been declined. The declination letter read as follows:


Dear Mr. Hicks,

Thank you for your proposal request for funding from the Harris Foundation. Unfortunately, the Foundation's Board of Trustees has reviewed proposal submissions and decided upon funding for our fiscal year 2012 (July 1, 2011 - June 30,2012).

As you are aware, to apply for funding, an organization whose purpose is consistent with the objectives of the Harris Foundation must submit a proposal per the instructions in the proposal format. Proposal submissions may be made between February 1-28 of each year for consideration of funding for the next fiscal year. Proposals are then reviewed and decided upon by the Foundation's Board of Trustees.

Detailed information is posted at www.harris.com/community/default.asp under the Harris Foundation tab. For questions concerning the proposal, guidelines, restrictions and more, please e-mail the Foundation staff at Harris.Foundation@harris.com. For additional questions, please call (321) 724-3167.

We look forward to you resubmitting your proposal in February 2013 for funding consideration during our fiscal year 2013 (July 1, 2012 - June 20, 2013).

Sincerely,
Cindy S. Kane, Director
Corporate Relations

It looks like we will try again next year!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

BDPA Member Michael Wulf Awarded Presidential Volunteer Service Award

We are pleased to announce that President Barack Obama recently awarded the Presidential Volunteer Service Award to BDPA Twin Cities chapter member Michael Wulf in recognition of his dedication and time commitment to community service in 2011.

The Presidential Volunteer Service Award recognizes individuals, families, and groups that have achieved a certain standard – measured by the number of hours of service over a 12-month period.

I'm fairly certain that Michael Wulf will be in the BDPA Hall of Fame when it is eventually built. Bro. Wulf trained over 100 high school students ... including his two sons, Justin and Jordan ... in the past few years as part of the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. A number of the young people shared their testimonials in this video:





In fact, there are over 60 young people in the chapter's SITES program right now in 2012! The most beautiful thing is that students from prior years serve as 'junior instructors' responsible for preparing and delivering curriculum to less experienced students.

Use the COMMENTS section to share some BDPA-Love with Michael!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

BDPA iRadio Show: April Gillespie (BDPA Cincinnati)

BDPA iRadio Show interviewed April Gillespie (BDPA Cincinnati chapter's Membership Department director) on November 8, 2011. April also serves as Director, Business Development for the Midwest Region for NAS Recruitment Communications, an agency of the McCann Worldgroup and a leading provider of innovative human resource communications solutions. April shared insights for BDPA members based on her earlier blog post, "High Tech vs. High Touch".





You can follow April on Twitter -- @aprilgillespie

The host of BDPA iRadio Show is Franne McNeal. However, this particular interview was conducted by guest host Wayne Hicks.

The show is sponsored by the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF). This particular video clip was put together by BETF volunteers LaTisha Redding and Michele Ortmann.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Grant Declination: New York Community Trust (BDPA New York)

BDPA New York is our defending 'BDPA Chapter of the Year'. The chapter has been extremely active in the community under the leadership of chapter president Renetta English. The challenge is to find the funding that we need in New York to continue delivery of high-quality programs and services from BDPA. One way we seek out funding is through grants. We sent a $22,000 grant proposal to the New York Community Trust last month. Sadly, our request for funding was turned down.

The declination letter read as follows:

Dear Mr. Hicks,

We read with interest your proposal of March 3, 2012 requesting support for the Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) program.

I am sorry to tell you that we won't be able to help. Competition for our funds is vigorous and we just don't have enough money to do all the things that you need doing.

We appreciate the time you took to write to us and hope that you will be able to find the money you need from other sources.

Sincerely,
Joyce M. Bove
Senior Vice President
Grants and Special Projects

We will continue to seek out funding in support of BDPA New York chapter. It would truly be helpful if you could show that you case with a secure online donation for college scholarships that we want to give to deserving students in Gotham City!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Daniel and Susan Pfau Foundation


The Daniel and Susan Pfau Foundation was established in 1994 in Cincinnati by Daniel A. Pfau and Susan Laufer Pfau. Mrs. Pfau, a community volunteer, and Mr. Pfau, a local businessman, have been active in programs serving disabled and disadvantaged youth and in organizations promoting the Greater Cincinnati area. The Foundation complements the Pfaus’ personal charitable efforts and will continue their support into the future.

The Foundation’s primary focus is on the education, health, cultural experience, and social welfare of disabled and disadvantaged children, adolescents, and young adults (to age 30) and their families.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Grant Proposal: Caesars Foundation (BDPA Middle Tennessee)

BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter's BETF liaison Homer Britton did some research and came up with a number of funding sources. He asked for support from the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) in an effort to receive funding support from the Caesars Foundation.

The Caesars Foundation is a private foundation funded by a percentage of operating income from Caesars Entertainment's resorts. The Foundation is the entity through which Caesars Entertainment funds programs and projects. The Foundation's objective is to strengthen organizations and programs in the communities where its employees and their families live and work.

Requests must be submitted through Caesars Entertainment properties – the corporate office will not accept any requests for funding. BETF and the BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter submitted a $3,000 grant proposal to the Horseshoe Southern Indiana casino.

Wish us luck!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

BDPA iRadio Show - April 10, 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



The guests on the April 10th show:

Beverly Moore - chapter president, BDPA Detroit - Beverly is a senior project manager at HP. She is a longtime member of BDPA who was elected to serve as the BDPA Chapter president for the next two years. BDPA Detroit chapter has a rich history and Beverly looks to take the organization to the next level in terms of programs and services that advance the careers of African Americans in the IT industry from the ‘classroom to the boardroom’. You can follow BDPA Detroit on Twitter - @BDPADetroit

Clifford Bailey - chief executive officer, TechSoft Systems - Clifford left his engineering role at Procter & Gamble in 1983 to start TechSoft Systems, where he remains a hands-on CEO while speaking nationally to business and student groups about technology, change management, emotional intelligence, diversity, and personal & organizational effectiveness. Bailey is also an advocate for small businesses and a driving force in community reconciliation and development. You can follow Clifford on Twitter - @cliffordabailey

Jerich Beason - HSCC Alumni (2001-2003), BDPA Los Angeles - Jerich Beason was a 3-time member of the national HSCC team trained by BDPA Los Angeles chapter in 2001 (Chicago), 2002 (Orlando) and 2003 (Philadelphia). His HSCC team finished as high as 7th place in the three national HSCC championships in which he participated. The legacy of his HSCC performance with the LA chapter wasn’t in the final placement … but rather in the foundation formed on local level. The chapter has grown its youth education program since the turn of the century to the point that upwards of 50 students are being trained each year. Jerich went on to graduate from ITT Technical Institute. He is currently working as a cyber-security program manager for Lockheed Martin.

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!

Grant Award: The P&G Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation ($15,000)

BDPA has a powerful and time-tested Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) program that is operational all over the country. It feels very good to have our SITES program endorsed by major organizations.

Our SITES program hosted by the BDPA Cincinnati chapter has been endorsed by the Procter & Gamble Fund. They backed up their endorsement with a $15,000 grant award to the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation in support of this program that impacts on under-served K-12 youth in Cincinnati.

The grant award was announced to us in the following message:

Dear Mr. Hicks,

I am pleased to announce to you that Procter & Gamble approved your grant in the amount of $15,000.00 to BDPA Education and Technology Foundation. This grant is awarded for the implementation of the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) Program.

This grant will come from The P&G Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

With this donation comes our best wishes for the success of your program and organization.

Sincerely,
Sean Parker
The P&G Fund

Share some love with the folks who made this funding possible within the BDPA Cincinnati chapter ... including the BETF chapter liaison Ellery Lewis and the chapter president Clarence Larcarte.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Grant Proposal: PNC Bank (BDPA Cincinnati)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked with our chapter liaison in Cincinnati -- Ellery Lewis -- to complete a $2,500 grant proposal to the PNC Bank community development office. We noted that the young people impacted by our Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in Cincinnati are primarily from low-to-moderate income neighborhoods. As such, we think that we have a good match for the PNC Bank community development mission.

Wish us luck!

Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation


Founded in 1995 by brothers Russell, Danny and Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, dedicated to providing disadvantaged urban youth with significant arts exposure, access and education as well as providing exhibition opportunities to early and mid-career artists and artists of color.

Rush Philanthropic funding is limited to organizations based in New York City’s five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Grants range from $5,000 to $10,000. Organizations must have programs focused on visual or performing arts with additional concentration on career development programs designed to expose young people to options within creative related professions.

Letters of inquiry should be submitted by mail to:


Rush Community Grants Program
Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation
512 7th Avenue, 43rd Floor
New York, NY 10018


Or by email to:
info@rushphilanthropic.org

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Where Are They Now: 2003 BDPA Chapter Presidents

We like to use this blog to document the BDPA legacy. We want to reach out to those heroes and sheroes that created our legacy over the past few years. For example, we would love to hear updates on those brothers and sisters that served as BDPA Chapter Presidents in 2003.



Where Are They Now?

  1. Albany (Walter McKay)
  2. Atlanta (Perry Chase)
  3. Baltimore (Denise Holland)
  4. Bay Area (Christopher Epperson)
  5. Boston (Edwin Sapp)
  6. Central Illinois (Lorenzo Marshall)
  7. Central Savannah River Area (Lisa Coleman)
  8. Charlotte (Cassandra Seibles)
  9. Chattanooga (Lynette Ramsey)
  10. Cincinnati (Gina Billings)
  11. Cincinnati State (Robin Brown)
  12. Cleveland (Beverly Peterson)
  13. Columbus (Howard Brooks)
  14. Dallas (Letitia Andrews)
  15. Dayton (Charles Crawford III)
  16. Detroit (Jovan Roberts)
  17. Ft. Wayne (Regan Scruggs)
  18. Gr Birmingham (Cedrick Moore)
  19. Gr Columbia (Mildred Allen)
  20. Gr Tampa Bay (Erni Moore)
  21. Greenville (Judy Jones)
  22. Hartford (Clarrance Williams)
  23. Houston (Aaron Jones)
  24. Kansas City (Larry Harris)
  25. Los Angeles (Angela White-Parker)
  26. Memphis (Joseph Taylor III)
  27. Miami-OH University (Kikia Carter)
  28. New Jersey (Coram Rimes)
  29. New York (Jeffry Kimble)
  30. NW Indiana (Adrian Muhammad)
  31. Orlando (Jimm Middleton)
  32. Philadelphia (Beverly Chandran)
  33. Phoenix (Bill Trotter)
  34. Pittsburgh (Stanley Lowe)
  35. Richmond (Bill Manns)
  36. Rocky Mountain (Chris Williams)
  37. Rhode Island (Lisa Ranglin)
  38. Seattle (Monique Roberts)
  39. So Minnesota (David Tines)
  40. So Florida (Renea Adderley)
  41. St. Louis (Lovis Daniels
  42. Toledo (Pa'Trice Pettaway)
  43. Triangle (Darryl Hamilton)
  44. Twin Cities (Aaron Young)
  45. Virginia Commonwealth University (Candace Johnson)
  46. Virginia State University (Ayanna Gormley)
  47. Washington DC (Gerald Peppers)
I am hopeful that we can encourage each of these 2003 chapter presidents to provide us with their electronic autograph in the COMMENTS section below.

What say u?

Grant Proposal: Cracker Barrel Foundation (BDPA Middle Tennessee)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked closely with BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter president Kendall Norris and the chapter's BETF liaison Homer Britton to complete a $3,000 grant proposal to the Cracker Barrel Foundation. We asked for the funding to support the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in the greater Nashville area.

Cracker Barrel Foundation let us know that they are in receipt of our written proposal and that it will be under consideration at their next quarterly board meeting in May 2012.

Me? I'm going to Cracker Barrel today to order catfish and collard greens for lunch! I figure that my support of the restaurant will be good karma for our grant proposal. Wish us luck!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Grant Declination: Pacific Power Foundation (BDPA Los Angeles)

Bad news. Our grant proposal to the Pacific Power Foundation has been turned down. Earlier this year we submitted the proposal seeking $3,000 grant to support the youth education programs put on by the BDPA Los Angeles chapter. PacifiCorp provides services to California and other states in the western part of the country ... however, we now know that they do not service Los Angeles.

The declination letter read as follows:

Dear Mr. Hicks,

Thank you for your request for support from the Pacific Power Foundation. The foundation provides grants in communities where PacifiCorp and its divisions and subsidiaries have operations, employees or interests.

PacifiCorp does not have operations in the Los Angeles, California area. Therefore, the foundation is unable to consider your request since the project does not meet the geographic guidelines.

We wish you success with the project.

Best regards,
Laurie Simmons
Grant Administrator

We will continue to see out funding for the outstanding programs, scholarships and services implemented by BDPA Los Angeles chapter president John Malonson and his team.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Grant Proposal: Verizon Foundation (BDPA New York)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked closely with BDPA New York chapter president Renetta English and the chapter liaison Shawn Reid to complete a grant proposal to the Verizon Foundation. The online grant application was completed earlier this month. We are seeking $10,000 in funding support for the Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) program in New York.

Wish us luck!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Grant Proposal: Darden Restaurants Foundation (BDPA Middle Tennessee)

BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter appointed Homer Britton (Deloitte) as its liaison to the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF). Homer worked closely with BETF to complete an online grant application to the Darden Restaurants Foundation. Our grant seeks $2,500 in funding to support the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in the greater Nashville (TN) area.

Wish us luck!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Black Technology Professional Networking in Columbus, Ohio

by Cecil Jones, past president
BDPA Columbus Chapter

Do you want to network with other success minded technology and business professionals? Are you interested in technology and new to Columbus? Do you need a technology mentor or want to mentor technology professionals? Consider visiting the BDPA Columbus, an organization focused on the development of technology acumen in the African American community here in Columbus, Ohio. The chapter is a strong, dedicated, caring network. Some of their activities are described below.

BDPA is a national technology organization that focuses on developing African American with a technology interest. There are chapters in most of the larger cities in the country, including Columbus. It is a good local and national network. They sponsor a national conference in a different city each year. The national conference highlights include a Career Fair where you can talk with hiring companies before, during and after the Career Fair. In the evenings, before and after the career fair, the companies sponsor free, informal ‘get-to-know the company’ gatherings in large meeting rooms. There, the companies describe what they do, answer any questions provide help with resumes and do career coaching.

The conference also provides many seminars focused on technology, management, project management, career development, entrepreneurship, networking and other valuable skills. It sponsors technology competitions for high school student competitors from around the country. BDPA national conferences include meetings of the IT Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) for those at the CIO, Vice President and Director levels. The ITSMF is a national forum that national organization dedicated to fostering upper-level executive talent among African American IT professionals. Those not at the upper-level can join as a protegee to be mentored by an executive.

The local chapter of BDPA has a great history. Several of the founders of the local chapter have become business owners or IT executives.
Cecil Jones
  • One of the founders is Archie Williamson, the CEO of Diversified Systems, a regional Consulting company. 
  • Another founder, Delden Fane, has moved to Atlanta and started his IT Consulting company. 
  • The longest serving chapter president, Cecil Jones (author of this article), has been Vice President/Administrative Manager at JP Morgan, Director of Technology at Computer Sciences Corporation, Director of Interactive Technology at Cincinnati Bell and Associate Director at Network Applications at The Ohio State University, after starting his career at IBM.  
  • Reggie Hillery, the immediate past chapter president, is an IT Consultant. 
  • Deborah Smedley, the current president of BDPA Columbus, has held multiple management roles in Information Technology and teaches technology at the university level. Deborah has received the Alpha Phi Alpha Jewel Award for Technology Leadership, among other honors. 
  • Wayne Hicks is a former national president of BDPA and former president of BDPA Cincinnati chapter. He is the president of BETF (BDPA Education and Technology Foundation), a 501c3 non-profit charity, founded in 1992 to support the education and technical programs of BDPA. Wayne is a speaker at some BDPA Columbus chapter meetings and has advised and supported African American technology businesses here in Columbus on a hands-on basis. BETF support chapters across the country.
The local BDPA chapter has had a successful record of attracting corporate sponsors. These sponsors have in the past assisted with providing instructors and sponsoring the High School Computer Competition team to attend and participate in the national competition. Training for the August 2012 conference competition has begun. Students are needed. Instructors are needed.

Along with BDPA members and guests, recruiters and hiring managers typically attend the BDPA meetings. The Information Exchange chapter meetings typically focus on a technology or business trend around technology. Previous topics have included the secure usage of Facebook, Security concepts, Web development and Branding, Project Management, Vendor product demonstrations and other topics.

In addition to the High School Computer Competition teams, additional programming is developed for middle school children. The local chapter’s training focuses on middle school through high school students. BDPA Columbus chapter took home the bronze medal in the 2011 national BDPA HSCC championship.

The strategic value for members surrounds the networking with other members, the education and training and also the ability to quickly get to a hiring manager when looking that new position. Mentoring occurs across the chapter. Businesses come to BDPA looking to hire employees. Some small businesses have attended BDPA chapter meetings to find a competent web site and branding builder.

The Columbus chapter has had chapter meetings at multiple locations, including: JP Morgan Chase, Nationwide, Cardinal Health, Limited Brands, and the Urban League. Employers like BDPA as a resource to support their existing employees, in addition to helping them find qualified new employees.

BDPA participated in a December 2011 community gathering with other Black professional organizations (Columbus Association of Black Journalists, the National Society of Black Engineers and the National Association of Black Accountants). Collectively, they produced a couple of thousand dollars for needy families to have good Christmas seasons. They bought clothes and other necessities for African American families with limited funds that were selected via Franklin County Children Services.

The BDPA mission includes developing their members, developing our children, assisting BDPA stakeholders, and reaching out to the community.  BDPA Columbus supports Black Family Technology Awareness Week in February of each year.

Do yourself a favor -- contact BDPA Columbus chapter or National BDPA (for those of you that live outside of Ohio). You, your family or someone you know will benefit from taking that 5 minutes to reach out to BDPA.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Grant Proposal: Delta Gateway Foundation (BDPA Cincinnati)

The Delta Gateway Foundation seeks to enhance the educational and scholastic achievement for individuals particularly women of African descent in the Greater Cincinnati area. BDPA Cincinnati chapter president Clarence Larcarte learned about the Delta Gateway Foundation from one the chapter's past president. The feeling is that the chapter's youth education program is a good fit for the mission of the Foundation. As a result, the decision was made for BDPA Cincinnati chapter to partner with BDPA Education and Education Foundation (BETF) on a grant proposal seeking $1,500 in funding. We hope to have an answer within the next few weeks.

Wish us luck!

Monday, April 2, 2012

President Profile: Dr. Demo Solaru (BDPA Cleveland)

BDPA Cleveland chapter was chartered in November 1980. Some of the most accomplished BDPA members from Cleveland include past national presidents Norman Mays, Vivian Wilson and George Williams.  The future looks bright for BDPA Cleveland chapter as they welcome on board the newest chapter president in a proud lineage of leaders -- Dr. Demo Solaru.


Dr. Demo Solaru, President
BDPA Cleveland Chapter

Address: P.O. Box 181246
Cleveland, OH 44118
(440) 399-7079


Demo shared his BDPA story with us:

I joined the BDPA Cleveland Chapter in the late 1980’s at the invitation of Ken Wilson – a foundation member of the Chapter and past president, who also happens to be my Brother in law. I have had the privilege to be a part of many Chapter initiatives including the Compass Project, an award winning mentoring initiative to inner city schools as well as support for the preparation of students for regional and national BDPA competitions (HSCC). I was recently voted in as president of the Cleveland Chapter, with the singular focus of making it vibrant and better aligned with the needs of the times as it once was in times past.
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Purdue University, West Lafayette (Boilermakers!), A Master’s Degree in Information Systems form Eastern Michigan University and a Doctorate in Management (Management of Technology) from Case Western Reserve University (2006). I wrote a dissertation on the topic of “flow” also referred to as “optimal use experience” and its relationship to customer loyalty in online systems. To date, I have been in the business of Information systems since 1979, starting out at Ford Motor Company in Detroit as a programmer and later transitioning to Health Care systems, first as a programmer and then a Management Consultant at Ernst and Young and Laventhol & Horwath.

I had a very fortuitous meeting with an African American Entrepreneur who founded a very forward looking firm in 1986, and I was compelled to join it. To date, I am a partner in that firm called Mid-America Consulting Group. I consider myself a solutions architect and have authored online ASP and SAAS (Software-as-a-service) systems that connect Hospitals, Service Providers and Medicaid offices. My part time vocation is as an Adjunct Professor of Global Business Management at Corban College in Salem Oregon, a new experience I greatly enjoy as I live in Cleveland and interact with MBA students from all over the west coast.





My favorite BDPA moment was at the inauguration of the BDPA IT Corps program in 2011, where we recruited some very bright students prepared by our SITES program to develop imaginative and practical software solutions for the members of their community. The IT Corps program will be coming to a chapter near you and very soon!

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

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Grant Declination: Cisco Community Impact Grant (BDPA Boston)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) aggressively seeks out funding for the BDPA programs, scholarships and services all over the nation. We recently worked with Tim Wilson, our BETF liaison from BDPA Boston MetroWest chapter to get permission from the local Cisco Civic Council that would allow us to send a full grant proposal. Unfortunately, our request was denied.

The message we received had details about other opportunities to work with Cisco.

Dear Tim,

In response to your request for financial support, we would like to thank you for thinking of Cisco Systems and the Cisco Foundation. Although we applaud your efforts, your request falls outside our guidelines since we do not support foundations or scholarship programs. If you have volunteer opportunities for our Cisco employees in the Boxborough area, I would be happy to pass them on to the local Civic Council lead for that area.

We invite you to visit our website for information about the various types of support we provide to non-profit organizations, eligibility requirements, policies, and investment guidelines, as well as examples of organizations and partners we support. This information can be found at http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac48/pbi.html.

Broadly, our aim at Cisco is to leverage the full breadth and depth of our resources to benefit under-served individuals and communities globally. To this end, our social investment strategy focuses on three areas where our products, services, and employees can make a lasting impact: Critical Human Needs and Disaster Relief, Education, and Economic Empowerment. Our approach encourages innovation to create technology-based solutions that are replicable, scalable, and sustainable. To achieve our objectives, we partner with organizations around the world that share our values and align with our focus areas.

Below are selected examples of the types of programs Cisco supports:

Critical Human Needs and Disaster Relief: The mission of Nethope is to be a catalyst for collaboration among international humanitarian organizations, specifically around leveraging technology based solutions to respond to disasters. Cisco has partnered with NetHope to support disaster response in numerous locales, including following the Japan earthquake and Tsunami, and Haiti earthquake.

Cisco supported Feeding America’s pilot and scaled their Athena program that supports 86% of US Food Banks that have little or no IT support become more efficient and effective in serving people who are food insecure.

Education: Since 2004, Cisco and MIND Research Institute been working together to help improve student learning outcomes in math, especially in under-served communities. MIND develops innovative and engaging, research-based K-12 educational programs that teach students how to think, reason, and create mathematically. Support from Cisco has helped transition to an online delivery platform and scale their programs to more schools in the United States and beyond. As of March 2010, MIND’s programs reach more than 150,000 students and 10,000 teachers in 800+ schools in 22 states. Since 2004, they have grown 136 percent, and their annual growth average is 30 percent.

Cisco’s Networking Academy is a cloud delivered, scalable, high-quality Information and Communications Technology (ICT) education program that helps students develop the practical skills needed to design, build, secure, and maintain computer networks. More than one million students are enrolled in Cisco Networking Academy courses at approximately 10,000 academies in 165 countries.

Economic Empowerment: Working with partners like the Grameen Foundation and Women’s World Banking,we support technology-based solutions to help micro-finance institutions expand the scale, efficiency, and social impact of their work in under-served communities around the world. We partner with One Economy which brings broadband to the homes of low-income people and provides capacity building resources through a multilingual web portal called The Beehive. Cisco has supported a number of One Economy programs and services, including the Beehive, Digital Connectors, and others. We are also supporting organizations like Samasource and Digital Divide Data, that connect talented young people from under-served communities with ICT employment opportunities.

Sincerely,
Nivisha J. Mehta, Cisco Giving Counselor
Silicon Valley Community Foundation

BETF will continue to work with Tim and his chapter on other funding opportunities.