National News, 2/26/2010 (Brenda Hogan)

Overcoming the Odds. The Cincinnati Campus Career Center sponsored the first of a bi-monthly seminar called “Just Like Me”. The seminar brings in speakers from all the fields of study at National College and allows them to speak of their diverse backgrounds, struggles, and victories that have made them successful ... Brenda Hogan, an information technology project manager at Duke Energy & past president of the Black Data Processing Associates, was the first speaker on January 22. Mrs. Hogan spoke to the students about the struggles of being a single mother and pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree, as well as being an African-American woman in corporate America. Mrs. Hogan told the students of how it took eight years to complete her bachelor’s degree and having to sometimes carry her child to the computer lab just to get work done.

Read the full Spotlight on Success article here.

TheState.com, 2/25/2010 (Phyllis Coleman)

School News. Greater Columbia is accepting applications for the 2010 High School Computer Training Program. Students in grades 8-12 will learn to design, code, document, test and present a finished Web development project. Orientation will be 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Midlands Technical College Northeast Campus on Powell Road. Classes will be 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, March 13-June 26. Applications available at http://www.gcbdpa.org/ or call Phyllis Coleman at (803) 414-2461.

Read the full calendar of events here.

eWEEK, 2/25/2010 (Milt Haynes, Earl Pace, Clarence Wooten)

IT Management: Celebrating Black History Month in IT: Getting Started in the IT Business. 2010 marks the second year that eWEEK has commemorated Black History Month with a focus on contributions African Americans have made to the IT industry. Last year, we took a look at leaders in the world of corporate IT, such as Charles Phillips, president of Oracle, as well as technical experts such as Mark Dean, an IBM fellow and vice president of technical strategy and worldwide operations for Big Blue. Dean's history at IBM goes deep. He was chief engineer for the development of the IBM PC/AT and holds three of the nine patents for the original IBM PC. However, this year, rather than focus on individuals already well-entrenched in the IT industry and holding sway in the upper ranks, eWEEK decided to take a look at up-and-comers. This slide show looks at folks who are relatively new to the industry—either working for startups or promoting blacks and other minorities to pursue IT careers. This includes both individuals and organizations that encourage or mentor African Americans who want to get started in IT.

See the full eWEEK slideshow here.

Technically Philly, 2/24/2010 (Byron Mayes)

Black Family Technology Awareness Week luncheon at Northeast High School. More than 200 students, staff, technology professionals and partners listened to the musical stylings of a high school choir last week. But everyone was there to promote technology literacy. Held at Northeast High School, the sixth annual luncheon was again the signature event of the 11th annual Black Family Technology Awareness Week, which has some lingering events over the next few days.

Read the full article here.

Philadelphia Tribune, 2/23/2010 (Earl Pace)

Chance Opportunity Changed the Future. This year marks the 50th anniversary for Earl Pace Jr. and other 1960 West Philadelphia High School alumni. Fifty years ago and more than 400 miles south of Philadelphia, four African American college freshmen, also known as the “Greensboro Four,” waged a sit-in at the lunch counter of F. W. Woolworth in Greensboro, N.C.

Read the full article here.

YouTube, 2/11/2010 (HP, Matthew Harvey, Alain Leroy)

What is BDPA? Thomas Polk (Thomas Polk Productions) was the official photographer of the 2009 National BDPA Technology Conference held in Raleigh NC. He put together this 3-minute video that shows IT professionals, BDPA corporate sponsor and a student sharing their thoughts on BDPA.

Hartford Courant, 2/5/2010 (Jerry Long)

Simsbury Bank Announces Jerry Long As Director. Simsbury Bank, a subsidiary of SBT Bancorp (OTCBB: SBTB), is pleased to announce that Jerry W. Long has been unanimously elected to be a director of the bank. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA), is Vice Chairman of Charter Oak State College Board of Trustees, a Director for Hartford Youth Scholars Foundation, Chairman of the Bloomfield Economic Development Commission and an advisory Board member of the Institute for Industrial and Engineering Technology at Central Connecticut State University. He is past Chairman of the Metro-Hartford Chamber of Commerce, Past President of the Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce, Past Treasurer of the Hartford Chapter of Black Data Processing Associates, and a Past Director of the Hartford Education Foundation.

Read the full announcement here.

PR.com, 2/5/2010 (BDPA Charlotte)

Haiti Relief Networking with a Purpose Happy Hour Event. Professional Organizations Unite Together for a Cause. Come network and socialize with Charlotte area professional organizations on behalf of Haiti. 100% of the proceeds donated will go to American Red Cross Haiti Relief efforts. Your $5+ suggested donation/cover charge will also include a raffle ticket for great prizes. Award winning 1/2 price martini specials. Participating Professional Organizations include: NSBE, BDPA, ULYP, NBMBAA, NAAAHR, NABA, COMTO, and 100 Black Men of America.

Read the full press release here.

Auto-Mobi.info, 2/4/2010 (Douglas Ash)

Douglas Ash, Lockheed Martin Vice President, Elected Vice Chair of the Information Technology Senior Management Forum. The Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) is proud to announce the recent election of Douglas Ash as Vice Chair for the 2010–2011 calendar years. As Vice Chair, Douglas will be directly responsible for assisting the ITSMF board and its 180+ members in strategic growth and operational performance. In addition, Douglas will lead the ITSMF alumni program, assist in forming industry partnerships and alliances, and develop programs to improve the organization’s overall value. “Douglas has provided valued executive leadership to ITSMF for over seven years. We look forward to his strong leadership commitment, his ability to produce successful results, and his unique ability to establish shared visions to advance ITSMF into the future” said Viola Thompson, ITSMF Executive Director.

[NOTE: Doug Ash served as National BDPA outside director in 2006-2007]

Read the full article here.

Unscene Media, 2/1/2010 (Millie Liggins, Pamela Sexton)

2010 BDPA Awards Banquet. In lieu of the ever-expanding scope of UMG and what it will become in the near future, I wanted to continue the trend of collaboration that really took off in 2009. That being said, I (along with Bhargav from Channel Awesome and Mark Reyes) linked up with Justin from Mix Media to cover the 2010 Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) 21st Annual Awards Banquet here in Chicago.






The event was flawlessly pieced together - from the food, music and general ambience to the eloquent speeches and professionalism that this organization and its sponsors exude. Huge thanks to Millie Liggins (the event coordinator) for having us out for the event and congratulations to all the award winners and newly elected president - Pamela Sexton!

Read the full blog post here.

Diversity/Careers Magazine, 2/1/2010 (Monique Berry, Donald French, Yvette Graham, Charles Moore, Earl Pace)

BDPA Installs New Officers. Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) installed new national officers in early January. Yvette Graham, who works at Allstate as director of the project development and operations organization for the claims department, is the group’s new national president. Monique Berry, an IT pro at Vanguard Group, is the new national president elect and VP of business management. Charles Moore of Wachovia is the new VP of finance. Founder Earl Pace and executive director Dr Donald French remain on the board.

The original news & views article is here.