Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, January 2014)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. The streak of five straight months of membership growth ended in December and a new streak began last month!  The total membership increased by 3% in the first month of the new year.  This reflects the new excitement and energy brought to membership recruitment and retention under the leadership of National BDPA president Dr. Craig Brown and National BDPA VP-Membership Management Adrienne Thomas.

We want to congratulate BDPA Chicago chapter for maintaining its dominance when it comes to membership size.  The chapter has been holding the #1 spot for over a decade ... although I understand that there are a few chapters making moves to challenge them in 2014. BDPA Chicago chapter president Reggie Rush will have to stay on his toes this year!

Reggie Rush

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Reggie Rush
2. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter 
3. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Cincinnati - president, Dalric Webb 
6. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney (up 2 spots from last month)
7. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson (down 1 spot)
8. Dallas - president, Chad White(down 1 spot)
9. New York - president, Tyronne McKinney
10. Detroit - president, Beverly Moore

We continue to have four chapters in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Related articles

• Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, December 2013)

This Week in BDPA (January 19-25, 2014)

BDPA offers strong programs in 46 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar:

• Jan 21: BDPA Greater Birmingham - Program Meeting, 'A Look Into 2014'
• Jan 23: BDPA New York - Program Meeting, 'What the Recruiter Won't Tell You'

Please let us know of other BDPA events 

that we may have missed! 

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA Foundation Twitter Account
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events.

Related articles

• Introduce Yourself
• Message from BDPA Atlanta Chapter President
• Thiw Week in BDPA (Jan 5-11, 2014)

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, December 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. The streak of five straight months of membership growth ended in December.  The total membership totals only dropped by two people ... but, it means that we need to enter into the new calendar year with renewed emphasis on recruiting and retaining members!  National BDPA president Dr. Craig Brown nominated Adrienne Thomas (BDPA Baton Rouge) to serve as the incoming national VP-Membership Management.  The full board is scheduled to vote on her confirmation at the 1st quarter board of directors meeting on January 24-25 in Orlando FL.

We want to congratulate BDPA Chicago chapter for maintaining its dominance when it comes to membership size.  The chapter remained in the #1 spot throughout the two years of leadership under its president, Pamela Sexton.   The chapter earned national recognition with the presentation of the 2013 Chapter Membership Management Award announced during the national conference by BDPA founder Earl Pace!

Pam Sexton accepts award from Earl Pace

The 'secret sauce' for the success of BDPA Chicago chapter can be found in its consistent delivery of tangible programs and services.  The chapter delivers a powerful value-proposition for IT professionals, students and sponsors.  If other chapters want to ever leap-frog Chicago into that top spot ... they will need to come up with consistently powerful programs and services in 2014.

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter 
3. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte 
6. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson 
7. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart 
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Detroit - president, Beverly Moore

We continue to have four chapters in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Related articles

• Message from National BDPA President
• Message from BDPA Atlanta Chapter President
• Message from Cincinnati Chapter President

Where Are They Now? BDPA New York Chapter Presidents

BDPA New York chapter was founded in January 1983. The idea took hold at the end of 1982 when Stan White (New Jersey Chapter) contacted several of his co-workers at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Greater New York inquiring if we wanted to get together to talk about an organization named Black Data Processing Associates. A group of people met in the Blue Cross cafeteria and decided to pursue the idea.

The initial charter members for BDPA New York chapter included: Willie Cummings, Barbara Gordon, Debra Johnson, Ernest Molina, Stan Seymore and Stan White. Their decision to create a chapter was a good one as evidenced by the fact that BDPA New York was named 'Chapter of the Year' in 1988, 1999, 2011 and 2012. I was a member of the BDPA New York chapter in 1996-1997 while living and working on Long Island.

Judaea Lane, George Baker, Renee McClure & Tony Codrington

It would be great to hear from our past, current and future BDPA New York chapter presidents. Here is the list as best we can tell:

• Ernest Molina (1982-1983)
• Willie Cummings (1984-1985)
• Anita Wilson (1986)
• George Baker (1987)
• Michael Robinson (1988-1989)
• Roxanne Burrus (1990)
• Tony Codrington (1991-1992)
• Roger Dunn (1993)
• Renee McClure (1994-1997)
• Shirley Monrose (1998-1999)
• Jeffry Kimble (2000-2005)
• Judaea Lane (2006-2010)
• Renetta English (2011-2013)
• Tyrone McKinney (2014-2015)

Two of the past New York chapter presidents served as national officers: Roxanne Burrus (national BDPA treasurer) and Renee McClure (national BDPA president).

The chapter hosted the national BDPA Technology Conference in 1991 ('Getting to the Core of Technology').

The chapter has been one of the most dominant chapters in the national high school computer competition (HSCC). BDPA New York chapter won the national HSCC championship in four different years (1988, 1989, 1992 and 1999).

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) awarded Bemley Scholarships to New York chapter students:  Kevin Castillo (2009), Frantzy Jean-Phillips (2009), Christopher Lezama (1999), Kevin O'Neil (1999), Donald Porter (1999), Cazemba Richards (2009), Alan Rosales (2009) and Barine Tee (1999).

We've mentioned alot of names in this blog post.   The question remains:

Where are they now?

This Week in BDPA (December 1-7, 2013)

BDPA offers strong programs in 46 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Dec 2: BDPA New York - Fundraiser, 'Holiday Celebration & Fundraiser'
• Dec 5: BDPA Chicago - Networking, 'JPMorgan Chase Networking Event'
• Dec 7: BDPA Atlanta - Webinar, '2013: Our Chapter's Year in Review'

Please let us know of other BDPA events 

that we may have missed! 

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA Foundation Twitter Account
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events.

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, November 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. As such it is good to note that BDPA membership has grown for the 5th straight month under the leadership of National BDPA VP-Membership Management Curtis Jenkins. In fact, the total membership in BDPA has grown over 43% from this same time last year! In fact, BDPA membership in November 2013 is higher than any month since February 2010!

We also want to congratulate the BDPA St. Louis chapter for advancing four places to become the 11th largest chapter in the nation over the past month.  Chapter president Dwana Franklin-Davis and her leadership team managed to increase membership in their chapter by over 14% in the month of November.  Much of this increase was due to corporate memberships purchased by Monsanto.

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter 
3. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte 
6. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson (up 1 spot)
7. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart (down 1 spot)
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Detroit - president, Beverly Moore

We continue to have four chapters in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective:

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Nov 2012)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Nov 2009)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Election Results: BDPA New York (2014-2015)

BDPA New York chapter has a powerful legacy since its founding in November 1982. The chapter met on November 14, 2013 to determine the leaders who carry the baton in 2014-2015.

Renetta English, Tyrone McKinney and Anthony Dupree

The newly-elected officers are:

• President - Tyrone Terrence McKinney (Bloomberg)
• President Elect - Anthony Dupree (Elizabeth Arden)
• Vice President, Finance - Jim Harrison

Please join the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation in thanking Renetta English and Wanda Jackson for their years of leadership service as they end their executive leadership roles with BDPA New York chapter.  It is worth noting that BDPA New York chapter won numerous chapter awards during their tenure including back-to-back 'Chapter of the Year' awards in 2011 and 2012.

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, October 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. As such it is good to note that BDPA membership has grown for the 4th straight month. In fact, the total membership in BDPA has grown almost 35% from this same time last year!  In fact, BDPA membership in October 2013 is higher than any month since March 2010! Congratulations to National BDPA VP-Membership Management Curtis Jenkins for the work being done within his business area to move membership recruitment and retention in the right direction.

We also want to congratulate the BDPA Detroit chapter for advancing five places to become the 10th largest chapter in the nation over the past month.  Chapter president Beverly Moore and her leadership team managed to increase membership in their chapter by over 36% in the month of October.  It is great to see positive news coming out of Detroit!

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter (up 1 spot)
3. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden (down 1 spots)
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte 
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Detroit - president, Beverly Moore (up 5 spots)

We lost BDPA Middle Tennessee from the Top 10 for the first time in many moons.

We continue to have four chapters in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective:
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Sep 2013)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Nov 2012)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Oct 2011)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Aug 2010) 
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Oct 2009)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Wordless Wednesday: Future Faces of Technology Honored by BDPA New York Chapter (2010)

SOURCE: BDPA Foundation Flickr Photostream

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, September 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. As such it is good to note that BDPA membership has grown for the 3rd straight month. In fact, the total membership in BDPA has grown almost 27% from this same time last year! Congratulations to National BDPA VP-Membership Management Curtis Jenkins for the work being done within his business area to move membership recruitment and retention in the right direction.

Carl Hill

We also want to congratulate the BDPA Triangle chapter for advancing seven places to become the 14th largest chapter in the nation over the past month.  Chapter president Carl Hill and his leadership managed to increase membership in their chapter by over 68% in the month of September.  I wonder what is the 'secret sauce' in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina?

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte (up 2 spots)
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson (down 2 spots)
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney (up 1 spot)
9. New York - president, Renetta English (down 1 spot)
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation the past three months in a row. BDPA Cincinnati (up 3 spots) made the largest move in the top ten ... the chapter gained 40% more members in the month of September and 70% increase in membership over the past 12 months. move towards the top.

There is a new chapter in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that BDPA Atlanta chapter joined joined Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC as a fourth member of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective:
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Jun 2013)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Nov 2012)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Oct 2011)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Aug 2010) 
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Sep 2009)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, August 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. As such it is good to note that BDPA membership has grown for the 2nd straight month. In fact, the total membership in BDPA has grown over 9% from this same time last year! Congratulations to National BDPA VP-Membership Management Curtis Jenkins for the work being done within his business area to move membership recruitment and retention in the right direction.

We also want to congratulate the BDPA Chicago chapter for winning the 'Chapter Membership Award' at the 35th annual BDPA Technology Conference last month in Washington DC. Chapter president Pamela Sexton accepts the 'Chapter Membership Award' from BDPA founder Earl Pace as shown in the photo to the right.

Pam Sexton & Earl Pace

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte
8. New York - president, Renetta English
9. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation the past two months in a row. BDPA New York (up 1 spot) made a move towards the top. BDPA New Jersey (down 1 spot) is the only chapter to lose traction in this month's membership ranking.

There is a new chapter in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of hosting an annual conference are obvious when we see that BDPA Washington DC chapter joined Chicago and Philadelphia as a third member of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective:
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Jun 2013)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Jun 2010)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

2013 BDPA Chapter Management Award: New York

BDPA New York was awarded the Chapter Management Award for the third year in a row at the 2013 National BDPA Technology Conference at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington DC.

BDPA co-founder Earl Pace presented the Chapter Management Award during the opening ceremony. The BDPA Chapter Management Award was bestowed upon the BDPA New York and its members for their outstanding achievements in the operational and organizational management of their chapter.

The award was presented to the BDPA New York chapter president Renetta English.

BDPA is a global member focused organization that positions its members at the forefront of the IT industry. BDPA is committed to delivering IT excellence to their members, strategic partners, and community. The National BDPA Awards Program provides a means to recognize individual chapters and members for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the mission and objectives of the National organization.

BDPA New York High School Computer Competition Team (2013)

The Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) program has been up & running for over a quarter century with BDPA. Two of the frequent initiatives under the SITES umbrella are the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) and the BDPA IT Showcase. BDPA New York chapter has a powerful legacy in both of these student initiatives.

These are some of the students participating in the SITES program this year:

Left to right: Jahmosi Hay and Keshaun Williams

Not Shown: Keenan Edwards and Leslie Thomas

In 2013, BDPA New York chapter continued their partnership with Medgar Evers College Preparatory School for the HSCC program. The school consists of a middle school and high school and offers the opportunity for students to graduate with a high school diploma and a college associate degree from Medgar Evers College. The HSCC program meets weekly on Saturday afternoon and consists of training the students in HTML, CSS PHP, SQL and soft skills such as presentation and project management.

The IT Showcase Program is held at a local church and the participants consist of students in high school and college.

The chapter seeks your help in growing its BDPA New York Scholarship Fund either with a donation or joining as an online fundraiser!

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, July 2013)

Can you smell the excitement in the air when it comes to BDPA? We are only a couple of weeks away from the 35th annual BDPA Technology Conference and you can see the increased buzz at chapter meetings and throughout the various social media platforms. You can tell by the increased number of people that are joining or renewing their membership in BDPA that momentum is strong!

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. Success with organizations like BDPA can be distilled into three words: MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP.

Corporate America recognizes as much. In recent weeks we've had financial commitment from the Environmental Protection Agency, Life Technologies and Wal-Mart to underwrite the annual dues for over 180 college student members. That is a wonderful testament to the powerful college student programs that BDPA deploys on a local, regional and national level.

The membership totals for July 2013 have been released. It is time to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
4. Atlanta - president, Felicia Jones
5. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation last month. The only change from last month is with BDPA Washington DC (up 1 spot) who made their move on BDPA Atlanta chapter (down 1 spot). The move by BDPA Washington DC is even more remarkable ... the chapter grew by over 40% in a single month.

The top two chapters - Chicago and Philadelphia - are members of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective - Top 10 BDPA Chapters (July 2010)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, Jun 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. Success with organizations like BDPA can be distilled into three words: MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP.

If you accept that truth then it is worth the time to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Atlanta - president, Felicia Jones
4. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
5. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation last month. BDPA Washington DC (up 1 spot) and BDPA Los Angeles (up 3 spots) made a move towards the top. BDPA New Jersey (down 4 spots) lost 20 members last month, however, those numbers are likely to improve as the energy from their 10th annual Families in Technology Day take hold.

The top two chapters - Chicago and Philadelphia - are members of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective - Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Jun 2010)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

The Best Twitter Accounts for BDPA Members

BDPA members who are not using Twitter to market their chapter or business are missing out on a great opportunity. Twitter can also be a huge resource for BDPA members in the day-to-day operation of their chapter or business. However, BDPA members must know the right accounts to follow in order to benefit from all that Twitter can offer.

Here are 10 Twitter accounts that every BDPA member should be sure to follow:

1. TED Talks (1,630,325 followers)- @tedtalks - TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. TED Talks began as a simple attempt to share what happens at TED with the world. These online presentations give everyone on-demand access to the world's most inspiring voices. TED Talks have been viewed more than one billion times.



Craig Brown

2. Craig Brown (1,036,086 followers) - @craigbrownphd - Craig is the National BDPA vice president at the moment.  He is also the only nominee to become the National BDPA president for 2014-2015.  Craig has more Twitter followers than any other member in the history of BDPA.  Hopefully he will be able to translate his ability to attract support in Twitter with a similar ability to attract new members to BDPA in the coming weeks and months.  Craig is a remarkable IT thought leader and I encourage you to get to know him.
3. Roland Martin (218,100 followers) - @rolandsmartin - Martin is managing editor for TV One; senior analyst for the Tom Joyner Morning Show; syndicated columnist for Creators Syndicate ... and most importantly to BDPA members is that he will be our keynote speaker at the 35th annual BDPA Technology Conference later this year in Washington DC. Martin is an unabashed champion for his fraternity and his favorite NFL team. Perhaps we can get him to be as much of a champion for BDPA programs, scholarships and services as well!
4. Change The Equation (8,637 followers) - @changeequation - A non-partisan, CEO-led initiative to connect and align efforts to improve STEM learning in the United States. These folks seek to mobilize the business community to change the way that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning takes place in America. Don't you agree that BDPA members should be engaged in this initiative?
5. BDPA Foundation (2,415 followers) - @bdpa - You didn't think that I was going to give a Top 10 list and not include my own Twitter account, did you? BDPA Foundation is one of the most active Twitter accounts focused on BDPA programs, scholarships and services. The tweets give updates on funding sources, grant proposals, BDPA accomplishments, college scholarships, corporate sponsors, career opportunities and much more. These tweets also prove to be very useful to others nonprofit professionals outside of the BDPA family as well.

6. Blacks In Technology (1,974 followers) - @blkintechnology - The premier online community for Black techies. Membership is free and the camaraderie is priceless. Their motto is 'Bringing Unity to the Black IT Community'. One of the most outstanding ideas to come forth from these folks is the BIT Tech Digest - an online resource of technology information written entirely by Black technology professionals.
7. Blerdology (761 followers)- @blerdology - 'Blerds' are Black Nerds. This twitter account is the Black tech social enterprise that fuels their ambitions, facilitates collaboration & makes blerd life more awesome. It is an outgrowth of the Blerdology website and I hope that we see more Blerds in BDPA over the coming weeks and months!
8. BDPA Conference (235 followers) - @bdpa_conference - The annual BDPA Technology Conference has taken place since 1979. It is the largest gathering of African American information technology professionals in the world. All BDPA members should make the trip to this BDPA mecca at least once during their collegiate or professional career. These tweets keep you updated on scheduled workshops, plenary sessions, keynote speakers, corporate sponsors and so much more.
9. BDPA Atlanta - @atlantabdpa (144 followers) - This chapter is fast-becoming a BDPA powerhouse.  They are the home of the defending national High School Computer Competition champions.  They put on some very powerful programs that serve as 'best practices' for the other 45 local chapters around the nation.  This chapter is focused and successful in a number of ways that should be admired by all BDPA members.  I strongly encourage all BDPA members to do themselves a favor ... follow this Twitter account right now!
10. BDPA New York (87) - @bdpanewyork - BDPA New York is the 2-time defending 'Chapter of the Year'.  They don't have many Twitter followers ... but, they are very active in terms of programs and services to the IT community.  The chapter president, Renetta English, is one of the hardest working leaders in BDPA-Nation.  Show them some Twitter love ... they've earned it!

Well, those are my Top 10 Twitter accounts that I think should be followed by all BDPA members. What do you think? Which Twitter accounts do you think are missing from this list? Which of these Twitter accounts do you co-sign as being truly worthy of our attention? I look forward to your comments!