Norwalk News, 1/31/2009 (Lydia Barron)

Norwalk Teens have 'Breakfast with Champions' at Carver Center. Athletes, writers, sports trainers and other professionals gave teens advice Saturday on how to become what they want to be when they grow up. Lydia Barron, chief information officer for JNet Communications, told those in attendance points to remember when trying to get a job or a raise. She said small things -- such as making eye contact with a prospective and dressing well to an interview -- could make a world of difference.

[NOTE: Lydia Barron is a member of BDPA Foundation Board of Directors.]

Read the full media story here.

SlideShare, 1/29/2009 (Pablo More)

BDPA Orlando chapter president Pablo More gave this presentation at January 2009 program meeting. He provided some tactical tips for BDPA members in central Florida that were seeking to find a job or move forward in their career within the IT industry.

Career Development and Successful Job Hunting Strategies

View more documents from Wayne Hicks.

Gazette.net, 1/1/2009 (John Eckenrode)

Annapolis: A Wish List. A year ago, Maryland business leaders were scrambling to campaign against a potential sales tax on computer services. While it's unlikely that a computer sales tax or something similar will come up this session, that doesn't mean business executives such as John Eckenrode are not monitoring the legislature. The state's budget shortfall for fiscal 2010 could reach $2 billion, making executives wonder if tax hikes will be proposed.

Read the full media story here.

Diversity/Careers Magazine, 1/1/2009 (Lewis Roberts)

Biotech & Pharma: The Chemistry Feels Right. Dr Lewis Roberts was born and raised in the West African nation of Ghana; he graduated from the University of Ghana Medical School in 1982. For a year he served as a medical and surgical intern at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana, and as a teaching and research assistant in the med school’s department of physiology.

Read the full article here.

Diversity/Careers Magazine, 1/1/2009 (David Segura)

Finance Finds Strong Diversity Program a Help in Tough Times. Ten years ago an article in Diversity/ Careers profiled David Segura’s new Vision Information Technologies (Detroit, MI) as an MBE on the rise. Segura launched his fledgling business in 1997, and a year later he was projecting $1 million in revenues. His business provided IT personnel to its clients, developing a pool of talented professionals with varied skills and connecting them with jobs.

Read the full article here.

Diversity/Careers Magazine, 1/1/2009 (Rhonda Boyd)

At Allstate, Rhonda Boyd Heads Up an Innovation Lab. Rhonda Boyd is a literal “dream weaver.” It’s her job to help employees of insurance giant Allstate Insurance Co (Northbrook, IL) articulate their ideas and, in many cases, make them come to life.

Read the rest of the article here.

Diversity/Careers Magazine, 12/31/2008 (Norman Mays)

BDPA Creates the IT Corps. Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) is going global with the creation of an IT Corps much like the highly successful Peace Corps. The idea went public at the June 2008 Leon H. Sullivan Summit, an economic development conference held in Arusha, Tanzania.

Read the rest of the article here.

ComputerWorld, 12/22/2008 (Earl Pace, Ralph Gordon)

Editor's Note: Race issue still beset by destructive labels. After I interviewed Earl Pace for a Q&A that was posted on our Web site last week, I knew some pieces of it would end up on the cutting-room floor. I'd had an hourlong conversation with the African-American IT pioneer and co-founder of Black Data Processing Associates, and clearly not all of it would see the light of day.

Read the full editorial here.

Detroit Free Press, 12/16/2008 (Eatonia Williams)

Student Inspires West Bloomfield Woman to Launch Eyeglass Project. Eatonia Williams was working for the Detroit Public Schools, doing lessons on conflict resolution and peer mediation, when she realized one of the junior high kids sitting at the front of the class had a problem.

Read the rest of the media story here.

NOTE: Eatonia serves on National BDPA Board of Directors as Detroit chapter president (2004-2005) and National VP-Membership Management (2008-2009).

ComputerWorld, 12/15/2008 (Earl Pace)

Q&A: Tech pioneer Earl Pace on racism in the IT workplace. Early in his career, while working as a programming manager for a financial services company, Earl A. Pace, Jr. attended a computer conference where he was the only African American among the 200 attendees. He decided that needed to change.

Read the full Q&A session here.

John Carroll University, Winter 2008 (Ken Wilson, Norman Mays)

Technology Team. John Carroll University helped prepare a winning team. Linda Seiter, a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, devoted months to helping a group of area high school students get ready for a national programming competition in August.

The rest of the article can be found here on page 10.

TechColumbus, 11/15/2008 (BDPA Columbus)

HSCC Kick-off Meeting. Come out and join BDPA as we welcome the parents and students who are interested in the HSCC web development program. All members are encourage to attend this event. This is a great opportunity to learn about BDPA and the programs we provide.

Read the rest of this media story here.

Buckeye Soul, 11/10/2008 (BDPA Columbus)

Columbus BDPA High School Computer Competition 2009. Come out and join Columbus chapter of BDPA as we welcome the parents and students who are interested in the High School Computer Competition web development program. All members are encourage to attend this event. This is a great opportunity to learn about BDPA and the programs we provide.

Read the rest of the media story here.

The Providence Journal, 11/4/08 (BDPA Rhode Island)

African American Community News. BDPA reception: Black Data Processing Associates of Rhode Island will hold its 4th annual Education and Scholarship Reception at 7 p.m. on Saturday, at Johnson & Wales Inn, 213 Taunton Ave., Seekonk, Mass. The keynote speaker will be Antonio DaSilva, Bank of America, senior vice president, RI consumer market executive. Tickets are $30 per person, $50 per couple.

Read the full media story here.

Diversity/Careers Magazine, 11/1/2008 (S.Bridges, M.Haynes, D.Hebner, B.Hedberg, D.Holland, L.Holmes, D.Olivencia, E.Pace, R.Taylor-Nash, J.Weiss)

BDPA Rounds Out Its Third Decade. Atlanta, GA was the setting for the thirtieth annual national technology conference of BDPA (Black Data Processing Associates). The event featured a variety of workshops, panel discussions and technical sessions, and brought together African American IT pros from all parts of the country.

Read the full media story here.

Diversity/Careers in Information Technology, 11/1/2008 (Wayne Hicks, Karen Smith)

Financial IT: Tough Times Call for Sharp Skills. From bank tellers to bank presidents, the financial industry is going through rough times, says Wayne Hicks, executive director of the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) Foundation. But despite all the problems, Hicks notes, folks in financial IT are probably least affected by the downturn.

“It’s important to ensure that your skill sets are as up to date as possible in case your institution is hit,” he advises. “If you’re working with proprietary systems, remember they may not translate well in the market, so be sure to brush up on your general skills as well. I’ve noticed at conferences that IT pros are using their networking skills much more than in prior years,” he adds.

Read the full article here.

SlideShare, 10/31/2008 (Wayne Hicks)

Working With BETF: Do You Want to Bring More Money Into Your Chapter Treasury. Presentation made by BETF executive director Wayne Hicks to the National BDPA Board of Directors in Oct 2008. The presentation focused on ways to raise additional revenue for local BDPA chapters thru a solid relationship with BDPA Foundation.

Working With BETF

View more presentations from Wayne Hicks.

Metro, 10/29/2008 (Asia Williams)

Cracking the Career Code. When it comes to computers, Asia Williams was a natural. Ten years ago, when she was a home health care aide, her computer expertise led her to become the CEO's administrative assistant. With no formal computer training, Williams caught and fixed a major error in the company's payroll system.

You can read the full article here.

Call and Post, 10/29/08 (BDPA Columbus)

Let's Talk Politics in the Digital Age. Come out and join BDPA as we welcome Democratic Rep. Tracy Heard, LaShawn Brown the Owner/CEO of One in a Billion Consulting, and Samuel Gresham, Jr. Executive Director of the Ohio Commission on African American Males in an in depth discussion about the candidates, the role of technology in their campaigns, the importance of voting and why early voting is important.

You can see the full media story here.

TechLINKS.net, 10/22/08 (BDPA Atlanta)

Come discover the keys to passing the PMP Exam! BDPA Atlanta chapter program meeting, 'Project Management: A Universal Approach to Executing Strategic Vision' presented by Floyd Trotman. Floyd Trotman is an accomplished and highly demanded educator in the Project Management industry. As one of the few individuals that have mastered every version of the PMI’s PMBOK® Guide, Floyd has personally trained thousands of professionals across the country with nearly a 100% pass rate.

You can read the rest of this article here.

Buckeye Soul, 10/16/08 (BDPA Columbus)

BDPA Columbus Hosts 'The Importance of Voting'. On Thursday, October 30, 2008, the Columbus chapter of the BDPA will host the Columbus Information Exchange with a discussion on The Importance of Voting. The guest speakers will be Tracie Heard, LaShawn Brown, and Sam Greshem. The event will be held from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at 1111 Polaris Parkway, Columbus, OH 43240 in room 1B3086/1B3297. The cost is FREE and food and beverages will be provided. For more information contact lance@bdpacolumbus.org.

You can read the full story here.

4Syndication, 10/8/2008 (John Eckenrode)

Editor's Note: John Eckenrode was appointed by National BDPA on November 6, 2008 to serve as a director on the board of the BDPA Education & Technology Foundation.

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John Eckenrode & Tom Loveland of the MCSA Named as 2008 GBTC Connector Award Winners. The Greater Baltimore Technology Council (GBTC) is excited to announce that John Eckenrode and Tom Loveland, co-creators of the Maryland Computer Services Association (MCSA), have been selected as joint recipients of this years Connector Award.

Read the rest of the article here.

Business Compute-N-Show, 9/8/2008 (Nancy Ford, April Jackson)

Computer Troubleshooting and Fixes Made Easy. April Jackson, Desktop Support Specialist and BDPA Memphis member, is interviewed on the Business Compute-N-Show by host Nancy Ford.

View the full televised interview here.

BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, 9/2/2008 (Will Bundy, Denise Holland)

Health Care Service Corporation Named "The Best Place in the Country to Work for Blacks in Technology". Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) was recently named the best place in the country to work for blacks in technology by National Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) and WorkplaceDiversity.com.

Read the full BlueCross BlueShield press release here.

Network World, 9/1/2008 (Larry Quinlan)

How Deloitte's IT Team Has Gone Green. Saving on energy costs is obviously a good thing, but to Larry Quinlan, CIO at the consulting firm Deloitte LLP, green IT simply makes good business sense. "If you run green IT right, you will end up with a vastly superior IT organization," Quinlan said during his keynote address at the recent Network World IT Roadmap event in Atlanta, in which he described green IT as one of five technologies that will change IT. From reducing demand for IT resources to thin laptops, Quinlan has no shortage of ideas on how to make green IT deliver on multiple fronts.

Read the full media story here.

NOTE: Larry Quinlan is a member of the BDPA Foundation Board of Directors.

The Earth Times, 8/26/08 (Health Care Service Corporation, Will Bundy, Brian Hedberg, Denise Holland)

Health Care Service Corporation Named Best Company for Blacks in Technology. Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) has been named the best place in the country for blacks in technology. The prestigious Epsilon Award is given annually by the National Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) and WorkplaceDiversity.com. Finalists for the award included top companies such as Allstate, Merck, State Farm, Wal-Mart, WellPoint and Wells Fargo Bank...

Read the full media story here.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 8/19/08 (Nat Calvert, Yaa Kwansa, Ahmed Mahamad, Lauren Pemberton, Kunle Roberts, Adwait Walimbe)

Student Programming Team Brings Home Another Win. Call it a dynasty. Five Rochester students recently returned from Atlanta, where they won a national computer programming competition earlier this month -- the third time since 2005 the group has won and the sixth time since 2003 they have reached at least second place.

Read the full media story here.

YouTube, 8/15/2006 (Jesse Bemley, Mario Armstrong)

YouTube, 8/15/2008 (Norman Mays, Ademola Solaru, Mario Armstrong)

KTTC Rochester, 8/10/08 (Zack Garbow)

BDPA National Competition. A few other local high school students have reason to brag this afternoon.Five students from the Black Data Processing Associates traveled to Atlanta, Georgia this past week for the National BDPA High School Computer Competition. The group returned to Rochester today...

Read the full media story here. View the full video clip here.