Technology Expresso Cafe, 7/31/2014 (Wayne Hicks)

Read All About It – #TechXOradio Interview’s BETF Executive Director Wayne Hicks (Part 1 & 2) - David Blackman and Jacqueline Sanders are the co-founders of Technology Expresso Cafe, a multimedia platform that promotes all aspects of the IT industry with a focus on BDPA programs, scholarships and services.

An Internet radio interview was conducted with BDPA Education and Technology Foundation executive director Wayne Hicks, however, due to technical difficulties, the show was never archived. David and Jacqueline were kind enough to post a complete transcript of the interview on their website.

Click here to read Part 1 & 2 of the interview.

Click here to read Part 3 & 4 of the interview.

SBWire, 5/17/2013 (Wayne Hicks, Ted Jordan)

Ted Jordan

BDPA Success Stories Enjoyed on iRadio Show. Ted Jordan is the visionary behind Funutation Tekademy. Funutation stands for fun and education! The company runs kids' camps, called Tek Labs, during the summer teaching kids to make computer games, build web sites, and program battle robots. Funutation commits to providing children the finest experience in technology skills education. As a result, computer programming and teamwork are integral parts of the Funutation Tek Lab experience.

"We didn't think it would turn out to be this good", commented Wayne Hicks, executive director of the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation. "BDPA Cleveland Chapter loaned a few laptops to Funutation to help them run tech camp pilots thinking this would grow to be a great program for kids in Cleveland. Ted has taken this to the next level."

Read the full Funutation Tekademy article.

Scientific American, 2/4/2013 (Danielle Lee, Wayne Hicks)

Black Family Technology Awareness Week celebrates STEM achievement and interests during Black History Month. Black Family Technology Awareness Week (BFTAW) is a national public awareness campaign designed to encourage more African Americans to incorporate technology into their daily lives. It is a nationwide program to educate and empower families – multiple generations, not just youth – through technology. Partners include community, corporate, and professional supporters who host events in cities throughout the United States to help families and communities learn about career opportunities in technology, engineering, science and math (also referred to as STEM by me and many others), as well engage them in fun learning games and gadgets to help individuals become aware of the many ways that technology improves our lives.

Read the rest of the Scientific American article.

ConnXus Blog, 7/9/2012 (BDPA Cincinnati, Wayne Hicks)

BDPA Advances IT From Classroom to Boardroom. BDPA was formed in the mid-1970s to address a challenge that lingers today: a lack of African-American representation in the IT industry.

Since the first chapter was launched in Philadelphia, BDPA has become a sophisticated national organization. The nonprofit aim is to identify and advance African American leaders in IT.

“We provide programs, scholarships and services to help our communities win the future,” Wayne Hicks, BDPA Education and Technology Foundation executive director, tells us.

Read the rest of this ConnXus Blog post.

CNN, 11/12/2011 (Lisa Chambers, Wayne Hicks, Wesley Williams)

Wesley Williams

Building More Minority Engineers, As Early as Elementary School. As a young teen, Wesley Williams believed his only career option was to work at a local warehouse in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.

“I wasn’t planning on going to college, I wasn’t planning on graduating high school, I was planning on doing nothing with my life,” he said.

Now, nearly 10 years later, he is a college graduate and an IT administrator and developer.

“I would be either dead or in jail," he said. "Those would have been my options had it not been for BDPA.”

BDPA, formerly known as the Black Data Processing Associates, is a non-profit organization founded to increase the number of minorities in information technology related industries.

In high school, Williams had no interest in academics and spent most of his time hanging out with the wrong crowd. His mother pushed him to join the local BDPA chapter. There, he discovered a love for technology.

Read the rest of the CNN.com article here.

Diversity/Careers Magazine, 6/30/2011 (Monique Berry, Milt Haynes, Wayne Hicks, Curtis Jenkins, Pamela Sexton)

BDPA Will "Ignite, Inspire and Empower" This Summer in Chicago. The thirty-third annual Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) Technology Conference and Career Expo promises exciting new features in addition to the panels, workshops and competitions attendees have enjoyed in past years. It will be held August 3 to 6 at the Hilton Chicago, located downtown on the Michigan Avenue Cultural Mile.

Read the rest of the Diversity/Careers article.

EWF News, 5/26/2011 (Wayne Hicks)

Wayne Hicks

The Demand for CS and IT Talent Is On The Rise. Wayne Hicks, executive director of BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (College Park, MD), cautions graduates to keep in mind that lifelong learning is a reality.

"When you graduate, you are not done with the learning process," he says. "Graduates need to continue learning to remain competitive, whether that's through certifications or returning to school."

Hicks urges minorities to do their homework when job hunting. "Investigate the company's stance on diversity," he says. "Are there people that look like you represented throughout the organization, particularly in upper management and in hiring roles?"

Read the full Executive Women's Forum (EWF) News article.

Diversity/Careers Magazine, 3/1/2011 (Wayne Hicks, Judaea Lane, Melodie Mayberry-Stewart)

L-R: BDPA New York Board of Directors (and a visitor)

New York CIO Keynotes BDPA Chapter Awards Dinner; Students Get Citations of Excellence. 'Don't Be Afraid of the STEM!' was the theme of BDPA New York's 2010 scholarship and awards dinner, held November 10 at the downtown Brooklyn location of National Grid, sponsor of the event. Founded in 1982, BDPA New York is currently the fifth largest chapter of National Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA). The annual awards dinner recognizes the achievements of BDPA New York students and honors its community supporters and corporate sponsors.

Read the rest of the Diversity/Careers article here.

Diversity/Careers Magazine, 3/1/2011 (Wayne Hicks)

BDPA Career Fair

The Job Market is Improving for African Americans in IT.  When the economy started getting pummeled a few years ago, the IT job market also took some hits, but 2010 may turn out to be its comeback year, says Wayne Hicks, executive director of the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF).  BETF is a nonprofit charity founded in 1992 to support the education and technical programs of the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) organization.

"The number of firms that purchased booths for the BDPA career fair in July 2010 is a clear indication that corporate America is looking to hire more IT professionals at all levels," says Hicks.

Read the full Diversity/Careers Magazine article.

MidlandsBiz, 2/16/2011 (Lonnie Emard, Wayne Hicks, Jerron Jamerson)

First Annual BDPA IT-ology Scholarship Winner Announced. Congratulations to Jerron Jamerson, the winner of the first annual BDPA IT-oLogy scholarship. IT-oLogy is the new program of the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management, a 501 (c)(3) organization formed in 2009 as a collaborative effort between IT companies and educational institutions to advance IT talent from the classroom to the boardroom.   Jamerson was selected based on the quality of his application, essay and letters of recommendation.  In his essay, Jerron wrote, “Continuous advances in computer science have helped to make business processes more efficient and technology more cost effective for consumers, while computer applications become more and more user-friendly.”  Jamerson is a senior at Phillip O’Berry Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina and plans to study Computer Science at South Carolina State University.

Read the full MidlandsBiz article.

Consortium for Enterprise Solution Management, 2/7/2011 (Lonnie Emard, Wayne Hicks, Jerron Jamerson)

Congratulations to Jerron Jamerson, the winner of the first annual BDPA IT-oLogy scholarship!  Jamerson was selected based on the quality of his application, essay and letters of recommendation.  In his essay, Jerron wrote, “Continuous advances in computer science have helped to make business processes more efficient and technology more cost effective for consumers, while computer applications become more and more user-friendly.”  Jamerson is a senior at Phillip O’Berry Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina and plans to study Computer Science at either North Carolina A&T or South Carolina State University.

Read the rest of the article here.

IT Business Edge, 1/2/2011 (Wayne Hicks)

Don Tennant

IT Profession: Peril or Opportunity for African Americans? ...So I was especially heartened when I subsequently came across an article in the Winter 2010/Spring 2011 issue of “Diversity/Careers in Engineering & Information Technology.” The article, headlined “The Job Market Is Improving for African Americans in IT,” quoted Wayne Hicks, executive director of the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation

Read the full IT Business Edge article written by Don Tennant.

Diversity/Careers Magazine, 11/11/2010 (Wayne Hicks)

The Job Market is Improving for African Americans in IT. When the economy started getting pummeled a few years ago, the IT job market also took some hits, but 2010 may turn out to be its comeback year, says Wayne Hicks, executive director of the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF). BETF is a nonprofit charity founded in 1992 to support the education and technical programs of the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) organization.

"The number of firms that purchased booths for the BDPA career fair in July 2010 is a clear indication that corporate America is looking to hire more IT professionals at all levels," says Hicks.

Read the rest of the Diversity/Careers Magazine article.

IT Business Edge, 9/1/2010 (Wayne Hicks, Thaddeus Howze)

Innovation and the Evolving Black IT Organization Scene. Wayne Hicks, executive director of the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation, recently raised a question in his blog that’s been begging to be raised for a long time: Where is BDPA when it comes to innovation?

Read the rest of Don Tennant's article here.

Dogon Village, 8/30/2010 (Wayne Hicks)

Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management Scholarship $2,000 for STEM-related degree in the Carolinas.  BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) and the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management (CESM) are proud to announce the first annual CESM Scholarship for BDPA Students. One rising high school senior will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship to pursue a college degree focused on information technology.

Read the rest of the Dogon Village post.

Cincinnati.com, 8/19/2010 (Wayne Hicks)

American Honda Foundation awards $25,000 to BDPA Education and Technology Foundation.  American Honda Foundation awarded a $25,000 grant to the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF), a nonprofit organization led by racially diverse CEOs and executive level management who promote educational programs for students of color in the information technology industry.



Read the full press release here.

IT Business Edge, 6/10/2010 (Wayne Hicks)

Are Foreign IT Workers Disproportionately Racist?  An online discussion forum about African Americans in the IT industry caught my (Don Tennant) eye today, and I was intrigued by the comments posted by one Black IT professional in particular. While too many people in minority communities shy away from openly discussing their experiences with racism, this man had the courage to write about his encounters with racism displayed by foreign IT workers.

Read the full IT Business Edge article here.

Cincinnati.com, 4/9/2010 (Ron Branch, John Eckenrode, Wayne Hicks, Earl Pace)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF), a nonprofit organization made up of racially diverse CEOs and executive level management who promote educational programs for students of color in the information technology industry, announced new officers and members of its board of directors. BETF members re-elected Earl A. Pace, Jr., President/CEO for Pace Data Systems as the new board chairman. John Eckenrode, CEO for CPSI Inc. elected to serve as the board secretary. Ron Branch, President/CEO for Silverback Business Group was elected as a new board member.

Read the full Cincinnati.com article here.

IT Business Edge, 4/2/2010 (Wayne Hicks, Earl Pace)

Navigating the Nuances of Being a Black IT Professional. To the extent that it’s presumptuous for a middle-aged white guy to write a blog post about what it’s like to be an African American working in the IT profession, let me begin with a disclaimer that I don’t pretend to know. But I have befriended and been acquainted with enough Black IT pros to have gained some insights that are worth sharing.

Read the full IT Business Edge article here.

Open Salon, 1/7/2010 (Wayne Hicks, Thaddeus Howze)

Forget about saving the Earth, we'd better save ourselves! As a technologist, I am fascinated by the effect of technology on the human species and the human condition. Recently there were three catalysts that made me think about this again. The first was receiving an email regarding electronic waste or e-waste and its dumping on the African continent as well as its illegal trade in Chinese communities. Wayne Hicks, a leading member of the BDPA posited the idea that something should be done about the dumping of toxic e-waste on the shores of Africa and he asked the question: Does BDPA need to take a public stand on the issue of e-waste? After some research, I applauded Wayne Hicks interest in this controversial issue and agreed with his question. A more definitive stand is required.

Read the full blog post here.