Career Communications Group, 12/3/2015 (Perry Carter, Ogochukwu Eburuoh)

BDPA member Ogochukwu Eburuoh

Congressional Black Caucus, Leading African American Organizations Announce New Initiatives To Increase Tech Diversity. America's Congressional Black Caucus Chairman G. K. Butterfield and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, co-chairs of the CBC Diversity Task Force, have convened leading African American Organizations to announce new initiatives in tech diversity.

On Thursday, December 3rd, Chairman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13), who serve as co-chairs of the CBC Diversity Task Force and CBC TECH 2020, brought together top technology professional organizations to announce new efforts to increase African American inclusion in the technology sector.

The seven national organizations include the American Association for Access, Equity & Diversity, Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA), Blacks In Technology, the Information Technology Senior Management Forum, and Career Communications Group, Inc., which publishes US Black Engineer magazine and has hosted the Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Conference for 29 years.

Please click here to read the full article.

The Wildcat Roar, 9/23/15 (Jared Orange)

Jared Orange Competes in Code in D.C. Students came back to Westminster this year with many different, interesting stories. Summer seminars, Camp Westminster, and exciting vacations were only a few of the many tales told around the halls. Yet, one story has been mostly untold: a competition held in Washington D.C. for upcoming web designers (cough, hackers, cough cough). Jared Orange, senior, recently attended this prestigious competition with a group of other students in order to prove they have what it takes to be the coders of the future.

BDPA St. Louis HSCC Team

For those not familiar with this competition, the basic layout goes like this. Teams would have to design a webpage using different programs such as HTML (HyperText Markup Language), JavaScript, PHP, among others. The teams are selected by chapter. The chapter’s sponsor would monitor those who signed up and teach them different skills to use on the computer. At the end of the training period, those who were deemed good were selected to compete with the team.

The team came in sixth place overall, much to Orange’s irritation.

“We lost to teams smaller than us which was pretty bad,” he says. “There were a lot of technical difficulties. I don’t know why. You would kinda expect an IT-centered organization to be on top of their game but it was kinda disorganized.”

Despite the loss, Orange says he would participate in the competition again if given the chance.

“It was just fun,” according to Orange, “and I’m opening my mind to more programming. Now I know things like PHP and now I can do a lot of other cool stuff besides Java.”

Read the full Wildcat Roar article.

Tell Us USA, 8/22/2015 (Gen. Colin Powell)

Gen. Colin Powell

National IT Conference Draws General Colin L. Powell. The influence of BDPA was clearly evident with the appearance of four-star General Colin L. Powell as the Town Hall speaker for the 2015 Annual Technology Conference and Career Fair. The connection between IT and a former Joint Chiefs of Staff and U.S. Secretary of State, was a revelation to the capacity audience and one General Powell joked would surprise most people. “I am perhaps the only person in this room who can program in both Fortran and Cobol.”

Bringing his remarks back home, Powell said “All you young people here have to fully understand is, you are being given opportunity though the programs offered by this great organization, to learn a skill…you do your part to make sure nobody sees anything coming out of you except performance.”

The BDPA programs Powell was talking about include the annual High School Computer Competition [HSCC] and the Youth Technology Camp. The large contingent of young people at the conference also showcase their knowledge of IT with poster board displays, in keeping with the conference theme of “Evolution of IT: Embracing the Digital Future”.

Read the full Tell Us USA article.

Business Wire - 8/10/2015 (2015 National Technology Conference)

BDPA Names Top 2015 Honorary Chairs. Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) recently announced Marc Di Francisco, President of Premier Event Management; Terry Halvorsen, Principal Advisor to the Secretary of Defense for Information Management/ Information Technology and Information Assurance; Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, congressional representative of the District of Columbia; David L. Steward, President and Chief Executive Officer of World Wide Technology; Dr. E. Faye Williams, National President/CEO of the National Congress of Black Women; and Harry Wingo, President and Chief Executive Officer of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce as their top Honorary Chairs at this year’s 37th Annual National Technology Conference and Career Fair, "Evolution of IT--Embracing the Digital Future," August 18-22, 2015 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.

Read the rest of this Business Wire article.

Cincinnati.com, 6/29/2015 (Tyra Oldham)

Dr. Tyra Oldham

Cincinnati Blacks in Technology: 'Why is the Smart Grid So Important?' So, do you want to collaborate with the like-minded technology professionals of color in our city? Please be our guest for the Cincinnati Blacks in Technology event at Brown Mackie College (1011 Glendale Milford Road; Cincinnati OH 45215) on Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 6:00pm. Our discussion will answer the question, 'Why is the Smart Grid So Important?'.

Dr. Tyra Oldham, CEO of LANDsds, a management and consulting company providing sustainability and development, will provide an overview of smart grid and its importance to technology professionals. Smart technologies and smart providers and users are what make this unfolding system relevant and important. Dr. Oldham’s presentation is informative and interactive. Smart grid is not only relevant to our energy, but necessary for users to understand the importance on how we move forward considering people, infrastructure, facilities, business, systems, homes, technology and play. Learn about smart grid, smart grid technology, companies engaged in smart grid, careers

Click here to read the full Cincinnati.com article.

My CState Daily News, 4/16/2015 (Frank Hill)

Frank Hill

Cincinnati State Honored at BDPA Event. Cincinnati State was recognized as the Corporate Sponsor of the Year by the Cincinnati Chapter of the BDPA.  During an awards luncheon last week, the organization also recognized the work of Instructor Frank Hill (pictured above) from the Business Technologies Division and read a proclamation from Ohio Gov. John Kasich recognizing the College’s work in the field.

BDPA was originally known as Black Data Processing Associates. It is an international organization with a diverse membership of professionals and students in the fields of information technology, computer science and related STEM fields. Members are actively engaged in serving the community through outreach and charting the future of the IT industry.

Read the rest of the My CState Daily News article.

UCCA Ambassador Newsletter, 1/31/2015 (Carol Bell)

Carol Bell

Bootstrap Computer Gaming Algorithm Class.  Bootstrap Computer Gaming Algorithm and Career Enrichment Program is a pilot program developed for 7th grade students through BDPA Huntsville chapter (president, Carol Bell). The Bootstrap Computer Gaming and Algorithm Career Enrichment Program is designed to teach students how to develop a video game that can be played on their mobile devices.

BDPA is an international organization with a diverse membership of professionals and students at all levels in the fields of information technology, computer science and related Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

This front-page article appeared in the Jan 2015 issue of the Union Chapel Christian Academy newsletter.

BDPA Student IT Education & Scholarship (SITES) Program in Huntsville, Alabama from BDPA Education and Technology Foundation

Cincinnati.com, 1/28/2014 (Jessica Waddell)

Jessica Waddell

BDPA Cincinnati Announces New Leadership - Jessica Waddell - BDPA Cincinnati chapter, a nonprofit organization made up of racially diverse information technology professionals, announced a new member of its executive team. Jessica Waddell was named the Vice President of Finance. Jessica is a financial analyst at GE Aviation. She handles financial planning, cash forecasting, billing and project management in her current position. She has been working for almost nine years at GE Aviation, one of the largest corporations in Cincinnati. Jessica was vice president of the National Black MBA Association chapter on the campus of Ohio State University, where she earned her degree in Finance.

Read the rest of this Cincinnati.com article.

My Fox Twin Cities, 1/9/2015 (Fred Blocton, Justin Wulf)

My Fox Twin Cities - BDPA Twin Cities is celebrating 25 years of education at its 10th annual awards ceremony. Students learn new technology and compete with other students all over the country.

KMSP-TV

See more.