Washington Post, 2/22/09 (John Eckenrode)

A Year After 'Tech Tax' Scare, Maryland Firms Follow Up With Lawmakers. A year ago, Maryland technology companies were holding rallies and pushing a last-minute lobbying campaign at the State House as they tried to persuade legislators not to impose a new tax on the industry. House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel), has told tech executives not to worry about another tax, said John Eckenrode, president of the Maryland Computer Services Association. "But anything's possible and it can happen very quickly in this environment," he said, referring to the ongoing economic downturn. "Next year is an election year, so it should be okay, but 2011 could be another story."

NOTE: John Eckenrode is on the BDPA Foundation board of directors.
Read the full article here.

Computerworld, 2/16/2009 (Earl Pace)

BDPA's Earl Pace Talks About Racism in the IT Workplace. Early in his career, when he was working as a programming manager at a financial services firm, Earl A. Pace Jr. went to a computer conference in Arizona where there were 200 attendees -- 199 white people and him. Well aware of the opportunities in the exploding industry, he decided that ratio needed to change. That decision led to the founding, in 1975, of Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA), a national organization that now has more than 50 chapters and aims to provide what it calls "a pathway from the classroom to the boardroom."

Read the full article here.

City of Kansas City, 2/12/2009 (Phillip Vann)

Black Family Technology Awareness Week (BFTAW) in Kansas City MO

View more documents from Wayne Hicks.

Petersburg People's News, 2/12/2009 (BDPA Richmond)

High School Computer Training and Competition. The Richmond VA chapter of the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) is pleased to announce the start of its Annual High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Program. The goal of this exciting training and competition is to increase youth interest in information technology.

Read the rest of the media story here.

Black Star News, 2/7/2009 (BDPA New York)

Black Family Technology Awareness Week (February 16-21, 2009). In our ongoing tribute to Black History Month, we pay homage to Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) who have created a conduit through which Black History meets Black progress via technology. As part of their Black Family Technology Awareness Week (BFTAW) 2009 program, the New York Chapter of BDPA is offering a series of family and business events, coming up in various locations throughout New York City. BFTAW is a collaborative public awareness campaign between the BDPA, the Community Network of SBC and the W.E.B. DuBois Learning Center, focusing on closing the digital divide by helping bridge the gap between Black families and technology by encouraging more African Americans to incorporate technology into their businesses and daily lives.

Read the rest of the story here.

CollectiveX Champions, 2/5/2009 (Perry Carter)

Harvesting and Sharing Data at BDPA. BDPA is a national organization. Introduced by their Northern Virginia Chapter, the CollectiveX service is now used by other chapters as well as BDPA Chapter Presidents. Chapter committees wanted to be successful with a user-friendly collaborative solution -- and, were required to tie it in directly to a top business objective. (For instance, BDPA's Washington, D.C. Chapter's goal was to publish a monthly newsletter while concurrently leveraging "ezine," or "electronic magazine" formats).

Read the full article here.

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.