NBC Philadelphia, 6/25/14 (Christian Butts)

Straight A Student Gives Back, Tutors Peers at No Cost. Cherry Hill High School East graduating senior Christian Butts took an honors club requirement to tutor kids after school a step further. Butts made himself available to his peers around-the-clock for online tutoring help at no cost during the school year.

"Well in my mind, I was just trying to help a student in need," said 18-year-old Butts. "For me to ask for money -- it wouldn't be right."

Read the rest of the NBC Philadelphia article.

NOTE: Christian Butts is a member of our BDPA Philadelphia chapter.

Cincinnati.com, 6/10/2014 (Patrick Nelson)

BDPA Announces New Board Leadership. BDPA Cincinnati chapter, a nonprofit organization made up of racially diverse information technology professionals, today announced a new member of its board of directors. Patrick Nelson is appointed to serve as the director of the chapter’s benefits department.

BDPA Cincinnati is the 2nd largest (out of 46) chapters in the nation. The Benefits Department procures discounts and other benefits for BDPA Cincinnati chapter members. These benefits fall into the following categories: computer hardware, magazine subscriptions, software, and training. All relevant member benefits are provided to each of the members, and available on the chapter website.

Read rest of this Cincinnati.com article.

Bloomfield College, 6/12/2014 (Coram Rimes)

College Partners with BDPA to Host Non-Profit Computer Camp. Bloomfield College is doing its part to help reverse a declining trend in technological education by teaching young adults the far-reaching powers of computer science.

The four-year, private institution has partnered with BDPA New Jersey to give minority middle school and high school students the chance to expand their knowledge in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines through the Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) Program, held on the College’s 11-acre campus each Saturday.

Bloomfield’s Computer Information Systems department has taken on the role of sponsor for the program, helping to staff the weekly lessons with current undergraduate C.I.S. students who serve as peer mentors for their younger pupils through a College-approved service-learning project.

Read the rest of the Bloomfield College article.

Financial Post, 6/5/2014 (Larry Quinlan)

Larry Quinlan

‘Now IT is Getting Love Letters': How a Company Culture Celebrating Tech Pays Off. When Larry Quinlan, global CIO at Deloitte LLP, took over his post, he freely admits that everyone hated IT.

“Now,” he said, “IT is getting love letters.”

So what changed? The company culture, that’s what. Mr. Quinlan said that what had to be done was build a culture that celebrates technology, so people would change their attitudes towards the technology organization.

During a keynote address at the Interop conference in Las Vegas, he talked attendees through the journey towards an IT culture at Deloitte.

“I’m in the people business,” he said, “and that’s my context.”

Given that context, the fact that many people would rather have a root canal than deal with IT bothers him. A lot. Not only because people are his context, but because if nobody wants to deal with you, you’ll never get a seat at the boardroom table.

Read the rest of the Financial Post article.

NOTE: Larry Quinlan is a member of our BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter and serves on the board for BDPA Education and Technology Foundation.