BDPA Member Juan Gilbert Wins Presidential Mentoring Awards

BDPA prides itself on creating programs and opportunities that advance the careers of African Americans in the information technology from the classroom to the boardroom. It is nice to see that career life-cycle in action.

One example is Dr. Juan Gilbert.

I met Juan when he was working on his advanced computer science degree at the University of Cincinnati over a decade ago. He showed up at one of our chapter's program meetings and asked questions. He became a member ... later going on to help us get a college chapter going at Miami (OH) University. He stayed connected with BDPA as his academic career moved from Auburn University to Clemson University.

Juan served as the academic chair for the BDPA IT Institute for a number of years.  BDPA recognized Juan with its highest honor for technical genius ... the 2008 Epsilon Award. As such, we are not surprised that President Barack Obama awarded Juan with the 2011 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.

“Through their commitment to education and innovation, these individuals and organizations are playing a crucial role in the development of our 21st century workforce,” President Obama said. “Our Nation owes them a debt of gratitude for helping ensure that America remains the global leader in science and engineering for years to come.”

This award goes to individuals who realize the important role mentoring plays in the academic and personal development of students studying science and engineering -- particularly those who belong to groups that are underrepresented in these fields. By offering their expertise and encouragement, mentors help prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers while ensuring that tomorrow’s innovators reflect and benefit from the diverse talent of the United States.

Juan will travel to the White House to receive this award later this year.

Juan wrote, "BDPA played an instrumental role in my development when I was at the University of Cincinnati in graduate school. Thank you BDPA!"

Share some 'BDPA-Love' with Juan!

CIGNA Foundation

CIGNA Foundation accepts grant applications for programs that enhance the health of individuals and families and the well-being of communities. These funding applications are accepted on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

The CIGNA Foundation defines its activities in terms of four primary impact areas. Potential grantees will be expected to demonstrate how their activities positively impact one of these areas.

1. Promoting Wellness: Building awareness, helping people manage their health challenges and making health services available and affordable for all.
2. Expanding Opportunities: Reaching across barriers – be they based on gender, ethnicity or physical condition – to tap the talents of every person.
3. Developing Leaders: Supporting the type of community service that gives talented individuals the experience to become future leaders.
4. Embracing Communities: Connecting neighbors to create networks that will address the complex social and environmental challenges we all face.

There are no geographic restrictions to grant applications, however, preference is given to those locations where CIGNA has a significant presence. All organizations requesting funding must be current 501(c)(3) public charities. Visit the CIGNA Foundation website to review 'Frequently Asked Questions'.

Although there are no restrictions on amount of funds requested, $5000 is considered a typical grant, particularly for first-time recipients.

Decisions are made on an ongoing basis; there is no deadline for receipt of applications, although all funds are distributed on an annual basis by November 30th.

You can call the CIGNA Foundation hotline on (866) 865-5277, to answer your questions about the application process.

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is willing to partner with any BDPA chapter that can demonstrate that they are co-located in a city with significant CIGNA presence. It would help if your chapter has CIGNA employees in the membership or leadership of your chapter. BETF operates on a first-come, first-served basis. Are you or your chapter interested in pursuing this funding opportunity?

Girls Advancing Technology

'Girls Advancing Tech' is a ½ day event that brings together middle school girls with current Computer Science students, professors and women working in the technology field.

Girls only account for 22.7% of students graduating with degrees in Computer Science ... we need to change that! As part of that 22.7%, some of the women technologists at Xavier University want to show you why technology is cool, what you can do with Computer Science, and have a little fun along the way.

I encourage our blog-readers in the greater Cincinnati area to join them on Saturday, December 3rd from 9:00AM-12:30PM on the Xavier University campus! Breakfast, a t-shirt and other goodies will be provided. Register by following this link.

Any questions? Contact Kate Baldwin at katembaldwin@gmail.com.

Beaumont Foundation of America

The Beaumont Foundation, created in 2001, is a nonprofit grant-making institution dedicated to enriching the lives and enhancing the futures of less fortunate children and youth, families and the elderly.

The Foundation provides grants and scholarships to a broad range of charitable, religious and educational organizations across the United States. They support organizations that seek to improve lives by giving people the tools to become educated, healthy, and self-reliant through the grant-making areas of Education, Health Care, Children and Youth Programs, Social Services (Food, Shelter and Clothing) and our Children of Fallen Heroes Program.

This funding source doesn’t accept unsolicited grant proposals. We would need to send them a letter of inquiry. This funding source often provides hardware grants to community-based organizations to support digital inclusion for under-served individuals. Visit their website for information about eligibility.

If you think that your local chapter or national business area would fit with this funding source … let me know and we can work together on a letter of inquiry.

Can We Create the Future Face of Technology in BDPA?

Did you watch Soledad O'Brien share insights on the NewMe Accelerator journey in "Black in America: The New Promised Land: Silicon Valley"? The point was made that there are very few African Americans being funded for technology start-ups in Silicon Valley. It is obvious that creating a vanguard of technology CEOs begins with the education that we give to our young people.

Check out this video to see how one woman seeks to make a difference at an early age for students of color:





There are a number of other organizations trying to create future STEM superstars. The future face of technology can be seen in the story of BDPA Atlanta chapter member Wesley Williams who is featured in this CNN interview.

“We already know that the students use technology, we are trying to show them how they can be involved in creating technology, ” said Wayne Hicks, executive director of the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation.

What are your thoughts on this subject?

Why So Few Black Technology Entrepreneurs Funded by CincyTech?

I joined over 400 people at the CincyTech annual meeting at the Duke Energy Convention Center earlier this morning. I counted 35 start-up companies and community partners participating in the Start-up Showcase. I visited each of the booths and talked to many of the technology entrepreneurs who have enjoyed success with CincyTech.

CincyTech is a public-private partnership whose mission is to invest in high-growth start-up technology companies in Southwest Ohio. The organization provides management assistance, seed-capital investments and connections to partners who share its mission. CincyTech focuses on opportunities in information technology and life sciences. This is a wonderful opportunity for technology entrepreneurs.

After seeing the CNN's Black in America episode,'The New Promised Land: Silicon Valley' I was very sensitive to the issue of racism that impacts Black technology entrepreneurs when it comes to venture capital funding of start-ups. As such I was disappointed to see that less than a dozen of the 400 people in attendance were African American ... and only three (ConnXus, Innovative Card Solutions and SampleSaint) of the 35 booths were filled with technology companies that were owned and operated by people of African descent.

CincyTech President Bob Coy announced CincyTech’s performance numbers during the meeting. CincyTech has invested $10 million in 28 local start-up companies and helped its companies attract another $100 million in private co-investment since 2007. There were no statistics or emphasis mentioned at any point during the meeting about the dearth of Black technology entrepreneurs being supported by the process.

I am glad to see that there are Black leaders on both the staff and executive committee of CincyTech. That is better than what we saw from the movers and shakers in Silicon Valley.

I suggest that BDPA (local, regional and national) become more aggressive in their engagement with entrepreneurial organizations like CincyTech. I plan to follow-up with CincyTech and its portfolio companies to invite them to learn more about BDPA Cincinnati chapter and the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation. There should be speaker opportunities, company tours for our members and students, internships and perhaps even support for BDPA's college scholarship program.

Perhaps the CincyTech Annual Meeting in 2012 will have a growing level of engagement with Black tech entrepreneurs and start-ups!

Google RISE Awards Builds STEM Roots for Our Youth

Every year the Google RISE Team is inspired by the work that organizations like BDPA do to impact students through creative and engaging STEM initiatives. Google is excited to bring together another amazing group of organizations for the 2012 Awards.

Google RISE - Roots in Science and Engineering - Awards are designed to promote and support Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and Computer Science (CS) education initiatives. Google grants awards to organizations working with K-12 (primary & secondary schools) and university students to provide enrichment programs in these fields.

Google believes that technology will continue to play an important role in shaping our future, and the youth of today will help innovate and drive these technologies for years to come. Google hopes that all students will one day have the chance to reach their potential and achieve great things in science. To that end, we aspire to help students take one step closer to achieving their potential by offering growth and development opportunities through the Google RISE Awards.

Award amounts range from $10,000 - $25,000 in the US and Canada. Learn more at:

http://www.google.com/diversity/rise/

and apply at:

Roxana Shirkhoda
K-12 Education Outreach
Google, Inc. | 650.214.1218
roxanas@google.com

This Week in BDPA (Nov 13-19)

BDPA has 45 chapters around the nation. You can always find programs, services or networking activity here or here or here. BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry.

Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to us here, here or here!

Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Nov 13: Baltimore - Networking, 'Innovation Nation: Start-Up Success'
  
• Nov 15: Los Angeles - Networking, 'NAACP Diversity Job Fair'
  
• Nov 15: Indianapolis - Program Meeting, 'Connecting IT Together'
• Nov 16: Philadelphia - Program Meeting, 'Future of Mobile Technology'
• Nov 16: Atlanta - Program Meeting, 'Awards and Recognition'
• Nov 17: New York - Program Meeting, 'Demystify Venture Capitalist Funding'

We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events! Please let us know of other BDPA events that we may have missed. Most importantly, let us know if you plan to attend any BDPA events this week.

'Computer Science Education Act' Seeks More Tech-Savvy Graduates

"We're not getting enough young people involved in this course of study," Sen. Bob Casey, Jr., D-PA, said during a rollout of the Computer Science Education Act at the Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy, a public magnet school in Oakland, Pennsylvania. He was co-sponsor of a bill that he hopes lawmakers will take up as they rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The bill that Sen. Casey introduced would offer competitive grants to states and schools to beef up their high school computer science offerings. More than 140,000 computer science jobs become available each year, but fewer than 40,000 people graduate each year with bachelor's degrees in the subject, according to the Joint Economic Committee, a U.S. House-Senate committee.

Read more...

National BDPA Board of Directors (2012-2013)

The beginning of the 2012-2013 leadership team began on November 5 when the appointment of a number of the officers was approved during the 4Q-2011 NBOD meeting held in Las Vegas.

Meet the 2012-2013 National BDPA Board of Directors:

L-R (standing): Mike Williams (regional director - South), Fred Smith (regional VP - North), Chad White (VPMM), Theonnie Shields (regional director - Midwest), Barbara Allen (regional VP - Midwest), William Flowers (outside director), Allison Aheart Haymore (VPMS), Milt Haynes (CIO), Glenda Chappell (secretary), Jesse Mathews (outside director) and Coram Rimes (regional director - North)

L-R (sitting): Pamela Sexton (VPSP), Loraine Stewart (VPF), Monique Berry (president), Craig Brown (vice president) and Teresa Williams (regional VP - South)

Photo Credit: Charlie Perkins

Celebrate Computer Science Education Week (Dec 4-10)

There are too few African American students graduating with computer science degrees. BDPA and its supporters work hard to prepare high school and college students for success in the Information Technology industry. One way that we can all help is to support CSEdWeek 2011, taking place December 4-10. This is a week-long celebration of computer science education.

In today's world the impact of computing and the need for computer science education in our schools is more important than it's ever been! Find out more and don't forget to Pledge Your Support to CSEdWeek and let them know how you are celebrating the week. One way that all local BDPA chapters can help is to share information about computer science degrees at their upcoming program meetings or in their upcoming newsletters.

Parental and community encouragement can go a long way to leading children to a comprehensive education that will prepare them for the future. In today's world, that education must include computer science, as computers are everywhere. But how many of us understand how computers work, or how they help us solve some of today's most complex challenges?

Computer science explores these questions. Use CS Unplugged to explain to students how computers work, and at the same time, how computers help them address critical mathematics and science concepts from number systems and algorithms to manipulating variables and logic.

The BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) encourages all of our readers to hold an event celebrating CSEdWeek in your area! Are you wondering where to start and how to plan it? CSEdWeek has a toolkit to help.

BETF is proud to note that the 2011 CSEdWeek Vice Chair, Ruthe Farmer, is Director of Strategic Initiatives for the National Center for Women and Information Technology was a guest earlier this year on the BDPA iRadio Show.

Do you plan to 'get busy' with CSEdWeek this year?

2011 Women of Color in Technology Awards

One of my favorite people in the world is Tyrone Taborn. His company puts on a number of events to highlight diversity in the information technology industry. One of those events is an annual conference that honors top women in technology. The conference this year was held on November 5, 2011 in Dallas, TX.

Here is the video showing highlights of the conference:





What is your take on diversity conference such as this one?

Grant Disbursement: BDPA Philadelphia ($3,900)

Hayward West

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to announce that we are making a $3,900 grant disbursement to the BDPA Philadelphia chapter. BDPA Philadelphia chapter president Hayward West asked for the $3,900 to provide "funding for the Philadelphia SITES program; helps with operational costs, regional competition expenses and national competition expenses."

BDPA Philadelphia is a 4-time winner of the BDPA Chapter of the Year award. The one thing missing from their resume is a national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship. The chapter plans to use this grant disbursement to get an early start on the road to their first HSCC championship.


BETF encourages the other 44 local BDPA chapters to get an early-start on their fundraising efforts as well! For now, it is a pleasure to know that our efforts are providing support for BDPA Philadelphia chapter members and students.

BETF Prepares Students for IT Careers

The BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is making the choice to prepare high school students for global advancements in information technology, but it starts with a student’s choice to want to learn more. BETF addresses the dilemma that educational, technical and career opportunities still reach African Americans and other underserved communities at a very slow pace. Since 1996, BETF has awarded scholarships to high school students to assist with their continued education at over 100 colleges and universities across the country.

BETF is a 501(c)3 non-profit charity established in 1992 to financially support 21st century student education and technology initiatives across the United States. BETF focuses a great deal of our funding on programs and services provided by BDPA at a local and national level.

BDPA was founded in 1975 from concern that people of African descent were not adequately represented in the workforce of the new and emerging computer industry. Today, BDPA is a professional membership organization that encourages and helps to prepare high school and college students pursue careers related to information technology.

Some examples of BETF-funded programs include:

• Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) - Local chapters conduct SITES training programs for K-12 youth in their communities. These programs are designed to expose our youth to the concepts of computers and give them the expertise to develop web applications.
• High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Alumni - BETF is working with a number of volunteers around the country to make contact with alumni from a quarter century of high school computer competitions. It is our effort to actualize the BDPA continuum of taking our community "from the classroom to the boardroom". We intend to maintain contact with HSCC Alumni throughout their college and professional careers.
• BDPA IT Showcase - Dr. Jesse Bemley accepted the challenge of creating a program that would (a) provide an outlet for college students to be showcased at the annual BDPA technology conference and (b) encourage our young people to continue their education into Ph.D. programs in science, technology, engineering or mathematics [EXAMPLE]. We want to see the BDPA IT Showcase program expanded in 2010 and beyond.

BETF seeks to establish relationships with individuals and families that recognize the importance of higher education and information technology as positive choices for the youth in our communities to be successful.

BETF provides you with a receipt after your donation for income tax purposes since financial contributions to BETF are 100% tax-deductible. Your choice to help will make the student’s choice to want to learn more easier.

Please choose to give today.

Grant Disbursement: BDPA Los Angeles ($4,350)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) approved a $4,350 grant disbursement to BDPA Los Angeles chapter earlier this week. The funding will be used by the chapter to support "2011 BDPA Los Angeles Ceremony (venue, food, beverages, awards and scholarships)".

BETF has provided the Los Angeles chapter with close to $10,000 in funding support this year. It is a direct result of the aggressive fundraising efforts jointly worked by the chapter in accordance with the BETF funding process. Our hope is that the other 44 local BDPA chapters are making plans to work with BETF in a similiar manner over the coming weeks and months.

Congratulations to BDPA Los Angeles chapter president John Malonson and chapter VP-Finance David Malonson for their successful fundraising efforts.

This Week in BDPA (Nov 6-12)

BDPA has 45 chapters around the nation. You can always find programs, services or networking activity here or here or here. BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry.

Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to us here, here or here!

Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Nov 7: Columbus - Program Meeting, 'Cloud Computing & Virtualization'
• Nov 8: BETF - Radio Show, 'BDPA iRadio Show'
  
• Nov 9: Chicago - Membership Drive, '11th Annual Diversity Career Fair'
• Nov 9: Washington DC - Fundraiser, 'Annual Scholarship Banquet'
• Nov 10: New Jersey - Program Meeting, 'Six Sigma and Project Management'
  
• Nov 12: Washington DC - Membership Drive, 'Career Fair & Membership Drive'
• Nov 12: New Jersey - Workshop, 'SITES/HSCC Open House'
• Nov 12: Los Angeles - Fundraiser, 'Electronics Waste Recycling'

We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events! Please let us know of other BDPA events that we may have missed. Most importantly, let us know if you plan to attend any BDPA events this week.

Grant Award: HP Gifts In Kind ($3,897)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked closely with BDPA Cincinnati chapter members Wayne Stein and Yolanda Lauderdale to obtain in-kind donation of five HP Probook 6455b Notebook PCs, ten reams of multipurpose paper and a HP 6500A Plus wireless printer. The total list price of this in-kind donation is $3,897.

The printer and paper is being put to use by the BETF executive director. The five laptops are being held for use by the BDPA Cincinnati chapter.

Wayne Stein is a member of the BDPA Cincinnati chapter's Corporate Advisory Council. Yolanda Lauderdale recently led the chapter's delivery of an annual banquet.

BETF is grateful for the donation of HP equipment through the HP Employee Product Giving Program. We encourage all BDPA chapters with HP employees within their membership to take a hard look at this in-kind gift program. It worked for the Cincinnati chapter and is something that can work for the other 45 local BDPA chapters as well!

Venture Capital Demystified (BDPA New York)

BDPA New York, 5th-largest chapter in the nation, is sponsoring its final program meeting of the year with a focus on Venture Capital Funding.  New York City is the economic capital of the world with a tremendous impact on the information technology industry.  According to Garett Sloane's article "NYC beats out Beanton in VC deals, dollars " he states "In the third quarter, 86 start-ups in the state -- the vast majority in the city -- raised $831 million in venture capital, topping Boston's 83 deals worth $710 million."

Many BDPA members either own their own start-up business or plan to do so after their current stint in Corporate America.   As such, this panel discussion,  'Venture Capital Demystified', will provide you with gems of wisdom to bring your business to the next level.

Some of the questions that will be answered during this panel discussion include:

• How do I approach a VC?
• What types of companies that get funding?
• How important is a business plan?

Logistics:

Microsoft
1290 Avenue of Americas
New York, NY

Thursday, November 17, 2011 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (ET)

Panelists:

• Avi Fogel (venture partner, Majorlee Investment Corp) 
• Matt Greene (co-founder & president, WiOffer) 
• Hermann Mazard  (chief executive officer, HomeShopr) 
• Hank Williams (chief executive officer, Koudco) 
• Tom Zoeller (analyst, Canrock Ventures)

Moderator:

Eric Hamilton (advertising executive, UGC Video)

Register for this event.

BDPA Adds Another Scholarship Fundraiser to Ed Norton's Crowdrise Platform

With all the hoopla of a Hollywood release – but with some of the Gen X slacker style of its founder – actor Edward Norton’s Crowdrise - a much-hyped blend of social media and star power aiming to be the next big fundraising and volunteering platform. The value prop is familiar: you make a profile, you create a campaign, get your friends to volunteer or give, promote on Twitter or Facebook and move up the leaderboards. And there are prizes galore for high-achieving campaigns, from sweatshirts to iPhones and Macs.

Read the rest of the article here.

Here are some BDPA-related fundraising projects currently on Crowdrise:

1. BDPA IT Corps (Global)
2. BDPA Virtual (Columbus) 
3. Brandon Berry Memorial Scholarship (Cincinnati)
4. Brandon Gardner Memorial Scholarship (Los Angeles)
5. Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarships (Nationwide)
6. HSCC Scholarships (Baltimore)
7. HSCC Scholarships (Baton Rouge)
8. HSCC Scholarships (Charlotte)  
9. HSCC Scholarships (Chicago) 
10. HSCC Scholarships (Cleveland)     
11. HSCC Scholarships (Detroit)
12. HSCC Scholarships (Hartford)
13. HSCC Scholarships (Middle Tennessee) *NEW*



HSCC Middle Tennessee (2011)

14. HSCC Scholarships (New York) 
15. HSCC Scholarships (Philadelphia)
16. HSCC Scholarships (Richmond)
17. HSCC Scholarships (Triangle)  
18. SITES Scholarships (Atlanta) 
19. SITES Scholarships (Dallas)

Please visit the BDPA Foundation Crowdrise page if you have time or inclination!

2011 Awards and Recognition Program (BDPA Atlanta)

We encourage our Atlanta-based readers to join BDPA Atlanta chapter for its 2011 Annual Awards and Recognition program being hosted on November 16 by Cox Enterprises. During this event the chapter will be recognizing the following corporate sponsors and community partners who have contributed so much to the chapter this year:

• Cox Enterprises
• Deloitte
• DeVry University
• Keller Graduate School of Management
• Macy's Systems and Technology
• Matrix Resources
• SunTrust Bank

A special recognition will be presented to the award winning 2011 High School Computer Competition team by the folks at World Wide Technology, a leader in the field of systems integration and the largest African American owned IT firm in the United States!

In attendance also will be the 2012 chapter leadership team who are poised to take BDPA Atlanta chapter to the next level! You are encouraged to mingle with these future officers and committee chairs and learn how you can become a part of their plans for the upcoming year.

Last but not least, the chapter's technology committee will unveil the new BDPA Atlanta portal which will go live on January 1st! This dynamic technology team is compromised of seasoned IT professionals and several DeVry/Keller students.


Here are the logistics for the program:

DATE: Wednesday November 16, 2011
TIME: 6:00 pm

ADDRESS: Cox Enterprises
6205 Peachtree Dunwoody Road
Atlanta, GA 30328

DRESS CODE: Formal Business Attire

ADMISSION FEES:

• BDPA Atlanta Members & Cox Employees: Free
• College Students (w/School ID): $5.00
• Non-BDPA Members: $10.00

You can click here to RSVP for the event!