Happy Birthday: Monique Berry (National BDPA President)

Today, we celebrate the born day of Monique Berry! Monique is our National BDPA president. She has been a member of the BDPA Philadelphia Chapter since 2003. Currently, she is concluding her 2-year term as National BDPA president. Anyone that knows Monique is aware of her passion for BDPA. In her own words,

"As anyone who knows me can attest, I am and have always been very passionate about BDPA. I can remember when I was elected president of the Philadelphia chapter people telling me that I would get tired and burnt out and that my passion would wear off over time. Well, it hasn't. I'm in my second year as a chapter president and as passionate as ever."

Monique is employed by Vanguard; a mutual fund company located in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Her background includes experience in ERP systems, LMS systems and software development.

Monique is a committed community advocate serving on the boards of community organizations, family and children's services, and faith based community ministries. She's been a volunteer elementary school instructor for Junior Achievement and a computer instructor for Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia.

Monique is a member of several professional and civic organizations, including the American Society for Training & Development, Project Management Institute, Network of Women in Computer Technology, Society for Human Resource Management and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Her experiences in a variety of boards and organizations bode well for BDPA.

"I can promise that I will conduct myself with civility and respect for others, discussing differences in an open and honest manner. Moreover, I promise to remain passionate about BDPA. I am looking for your passion and committed support of BDPA. Think you are up for the challenge? I urge you to join our conversation here. We are going to change the game."

I join with all of BDPA-nation is wishing national president a truly magnificent birthday!

This Week in BDPA (November 10-16, 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 :

• Nov 10: BDPA Chicago - Workshop, 'Virtualization, Linux, Security and Cisco'
• Nov 12: BDPA Education and Technology Foundation - Webinar, 'BDPA iRadio Show'
• Nov 13: BDPA New Jersey - Webinar, 'How Cloud Computing Can Cut Your IT Costs by Half'
• Nov 14: BDPA Dallas - Program Meeting, 'Text Marketing is Taking Technology to the Next Level'
• Nov 14: BDPA Atlanta - Fundraiser, 'Awards & Recognition Banquet'
• Nov 15: BDPA Dallas - Workshop, '3D Printing & Robots'
• Nov 15-16: National BDPA - Meeting, '4Q-2013 National Board of Directors'
• Nov 16: BDPA Dallas - Workshop, '3D Printing & Robots'

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.

Wordless Wednesday: National BDPA Officers (1993-1994)

BDPA Birthday Love for Ollie Morgan

Please join us in remembering Ollie Morgan on his natal day! Ollie served on the national BDPA board of directors for a number of years as BDPA Chicago chapter president, national president and immediate past president. At the time of his passing he was an author and photographer living out his dreams in New Mexico.


Ollie was a key player in the growth of corporate sponsorships. He created the concept known as 'Corporate Advisory Councils'. We now have active CACs in many of our larger and more successful chapters around the nation. Ollie was the first to understand the importance of developing a 'return on investment' value proposition. Ollie's vision turned into the record-setting corporate sales revenue coming into the BDPA Chicago and National BDPA treasury over the past decade.

Ollie was a prolific writer. His articles about BDPA regularly appeared in the National JOURNAL and the BDPA Chicago PROFESSIONAL newsletters.

I appreciate the powerful legacy of Ollie Morgan ... particularly in the 1993-1995 era. Ollie should be a member of the BDPA Hall of Fame. For now, we honor him here in cyberspace.

Please share your memories of Ollie and think a good thought of him on his date of birth!

Message from BDPA Chicago Chapter President

Greetings,

I am seeking your support to become your next National Vice President of BDPA. I am passionate about the organization and know that I have what it takes to move us forward. My key focus areas will be Brand Rejuvenation, Member Value Proposition and Cultural Transformation of National BDPA.

Please review the attached brief summary and also share with your delegates to gain a little more insight about me.

Pamela Sexton, Candidate, National BDPA Vice President (2014-2015) from Wayne Hicks

I am looking forward to meeting you and your delegates next week to discuss any suggestions or concerns you may have going into 2014. Thanks for your support.

Thanks & Regards,
Pamela Sexton
BDPA Chicago Chapter President
National BDPA VP Strategy & Planning
2013 National BDPA Conference Director
Email pamela.sexton@bdpa.org

BDPA iRadio Show: May 14, 2013 (Khalia Braswell, Craig Brown and Derrick Brown)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is very proud to be the creator of the BDPA iRadio Show. You can listen to the archive version of the show using the widget shown in the right-hand sidebar of this blog. FREE download from the iTunes Store is also available for our listeners!

Listen to internet radio with BDPA on BlogTalkRadio

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The guests on the May 14th show:

Khalia Braswell - 2007 HSCC Alumni, BDPA Charlotte Chapter - Khalia competed in the 2007 national BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship as a member of the team trained by BDPA Charlotte chapter. Her team finished in 6th place. Khalia earned a Eli Lilly Scholarship for BDPA Students in 2008. She used that scholarship to help offset the costs for college studies at North Carolina State University (NCSU). She plans to graduate with a Computer Science degree in 2013. She can share some excellent insights in the impact that BDPA had on her college and career choices. It is worth noting that BDPA and Eli Lilly are accepting applications for the 2013 Eli Lilly Scholarship right now. Also, Khalia was recently featured for her work at NCSU. Her twitter handle is @KhaliaBraswell.

Dr. Craig Brown - Vice President, National BDPA - Dr. Craig Brown was elected to be National BDPA Vice President (2012-2013). He works with national president Monique Berry and the regional officers to ensure that BDPA is moving towards its vision. Dr. Brown has a 25 year career serving as an expert systems and database architect within leading technologies like Oracle, Oracle-PeopleSoft, SAP, IBM and Microsoft. His experiences are more particular to the Enterprise Resource Planning, Decision Support and Relational Database Management Systems technologies. He earned over 20 certifications within these technological areas and currently provides implementation and integration expertise along with a variety of other technological disciplines. He holds a BS in Computer Science as well as a Master's in Business and a Doctorate in Management Information Systems. He has over 1 million followers on Twitter and thousands of followers on his Facebook page. Dr. Brown should be able to share with our iRadio Show audience his vision for the future of BDPA. His twitter handle is @craigbrownphd.

Derrick Brown - President-Elect, BDPA Atlanta Chapter - Derrick Brown is the president-elect of the BDPA Atlanta chapter. As such, he has been part of the leadership team in Atlanta that has rocked the BDPA-nation over the past two years with its new programs, new energy and remarkable new results. Derrick is poised to take on the chapter presidency in 2014-2015. Our listeners will be intrigued to get the inside scoop on the magical journey of BDPA Atlanta chapter from one of its architects.. His twitter handle is @DSBrown3000.

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We hope you enjoy the insights and commentary on the show from each of these guests. Please take a moment to post a comment to let us know that you care!

Happy Birthday: Diane Davis (Past National BDPA President)

Today is the birthday of past national president Diane Davis!

Diane Davis will be one of the charter members of the BDPA Hall of Fame when it is created. I went to my first BDPA program meeting in 1988 while living and working in Detroit. Diane Davis was president of the BDPA Detroit chapter. She sat up in the front of the meeting and shared her insights on BDPA. I was hooked. I joined BDPA that day ... attended my first national conference later that year in Chicago. Diane appointed me as Program Committee Chairperson for the BDPA chapter ... and recommended me for National BDPA Membership Director a few months later. BDPA Detroit chapter won back-to-back Chapter of the Year Awards under her leadership. Suffice to say I think Diane is a major part of the BDPA story...

Diane has over 25 years experience in the technology industry. Her work as a consultant with Hewlett-Packard’s Managed Services Division utilized her knowledge of local and global engagements in the manufacturing, government, and health care industries. She advised C level management teams of Fortune 500 corporations on infrastructure support practices, organization design, and the implementation of strategies, technology and principles to meet their specialized business requirements. Before this position, Diane was a Program Manager for multi-million dollar worldwide accounts and served as the CIO for a major automotive supplier.

Diane has lived and traveled throughout the United States, Canada, and South America as a software engineer and consultant in the design and implementation of management systems. Her technical career began developing robotic systems for the automotive industry. Later, she led the artificial intelligence development and implementation teams responsible for the support of corporate executives with “state of the art” technology including voice activation and annotation.

In 2003, Diane established her own consulting firm that provides strategic, organizational, and leadership services. In 2004, she expanded her business to include a robust Wellness Program established to help people improve their health, quality of life, and become financially independent. Diane has volunteered her time and supported several professional, community based, and educational organizations during her career, including BDPA. She has worked as an instructor at University of Detroit Mercy, led numerous strategic, leadership, quality, and team building workshops internationally for both profit and non-profit organizations.

Diane Davis was ol' school BDPA. Please share your remembrance of this powerful sister if you have time or inclination to do so.

BDPA iRadio Show: March 26, 2013

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is very proud to be the creator of the BDPA iRadio Show. You can listen to the archive version of the show using the widget shown in the right-hand sidebar of this blog. FREE download from the iTunes Store is also available for our listeners!

Listen to internet radio with BDPA on Blog Talk Radio

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The guests on the March 26th show:

Dr. Craig Brown - National Vice President, BDPA - Dr. Craig Brown was elected to be National BDPA Vice President (2012-2013). He will work with incoming national president Monique Berry and the incoming regional officers to take BDPA to the next level. Dr. Brown has a 25 year career serving as an expert systems and database architect within leading technologies like Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP, IBM and Microsoft. His experiences are more particular to the Enterprise Resource Planning, Decision Support and Relational Database Management Systems technologies. He earned over 20 certifications within these technological areas and currently provides implementation and integration expertise along with a variety of other technological disciplines. He holds a BS in Computer Science as well as a Master's in Business and a Doctorate in Management Information Systems. He has over 1 million followers on Twitter and thousands of followers on his Facebook page. Dr. Brown shared his vision for the future of BDPA with our BDPA iRadio Show audience. His twitter handle is @craigbrownphd

Beverly Allen - High School Computer Competition coordinator, BDPA Los Angeles - Beverly Allen has been the HSCC coordinator for our BDPA Los Angeles chapter for a number of years. She watched her son, Terell, participate in national HSCC championships in 2007-2009 before going off to college at Morehouse College. The computer camp program in Los Angeles is making remarkable progress under its leadership … including winning the bronze medal at the 2012 National HSCC championship. The 2013 computer camp program is underway with over 35 students. Beverly has a unique way to look at the BDPA Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program that will be of interest to BDPA-Nation. Her chapter's twitter handle is @bdpala

Jacqueline Sanders - VP, Education & Professional Development, BDPA Atlanta - Jacqueline is part of the BDPA Atlanta leadership team that is shaking up the nation. Her chapter won numerous honors at the 2012 national conference … and they have their eyes set on the largest prize of all – ‘Chapter of the Year’ – right now. A major part of that success can be found in the education and professional development programs that Jacqueline is providing for IT professionals in Atlanta. This includes an ambitious professional development boot camp. The boot camp provides an intense all-day interactive series of exercises to test and challenge participants soft skills. Participants leave with a personalized assessment, mentoring and a career roadmap. Her twitter handle is @RequirementsPro

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We hope you enjoy the insights and commentary on the show from each of these guests. Please take a moment to post a comment to let us know that you care!

Where Are They Now: 2003 BDPA Leaders

One of the things that I love to do with this blog is highlight the legacy of our organization. In the past, we have asked 'Where Are They Now?' about:

• 1996 national BDPA leaders
• 1999 BDPA chapter presidents
• 2001 national HSCC champions
• 2005 Northern Virginia charter members
• BDPA Member-of-the-Year award winners

Today, we ask the question about the brothers and sisters who served as BDPA leaders in 2003. I would love for these powerful brothers and sisters to come visit with us on this blog. Perhaps we can get them to POST A COMMENT to let us know what they are up to now. Here are those 2003 leaders:

• Vercilla Brown, executive director
• Milt Haynes, national president
• Wayne Hicks, national president-elect
• Rick Giraudy, national VP-Finance
• Donna McKay, national VP-Strategy & Planning
• Reggie Gardner, national VP-Member Services
• Brooks Baker, national VP-Membership Management
• Renee McClure, national immediate past president
• Earl Pace, founder
• Bob Blackwell, outside director
• Will Bundy, outside director
• Michael McCrimmon, outside director
• Anita Vega, national conference treasurer
• Janice Coleman, national conference planner
• Cris Levy, national conference planner
• Jeffry Kimble, national parliamentarian
• Ricky Penick, chapter president liaison

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These are remarkable brothers and sisters. I hope that you will share your thoughts and rememberances on the 2003 BDPA leadership team down in the POST A COMMENT link down below. What say u?

BDPA Seeks Nominations for 2014-2015 Leadership Positions

BDPA Needs You. BDPA is looking for technology professionals that want a chance to make their voice heard and to effect change for the betterment of the technology profession. Good news is that nominations have been received, but the organization needs MORE.

If you are one of those individuals or know someone who is passionate about driving BDPA to higher level, please consider joining the National BDPA Board of Directors.

National BDPA is now accepting nominations for positions at the regional and national level. In accordance with the National BDPA Bylaws (dated August 6, 2010) Article 5 Section 4, nominations for the following national offices must be submitted no later than midnight on Saturday, April 13, 2013.

In accordance with its by-laws, the National BDPA's Election and By-laws Committee (EBC) is seeking BDPA members to serve on its Board of Directors, with a term beginning on January 1, 2014 and ending in December 31, 2015. The Committee invites those seeking to serve on the association's Board of Directors to declare their candidacies no later than midnight on Saturday, April 13, 2013.

Judaea Lane

Also, in accordance with the National BDPA Bylaws Article 12 Section 1, proposals for amendments of the Bylaws must be submitted no later than midnight on Saturday, April 13, 2013.

If you have questions or wish to discuss further please contact Judaea Lane, EBC Chair via email (ebc@bdpa.org) or phone (301.584-3135) *or* you can visit the BDPA website on http://www.bdpa.org/?page=Election2013 for more information or to make a nomination.

Who Am I? - Craig Brown (National BDPA Vice President)

BDPA and the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation strive to make a difference in both the Black community. We have some serious people who volunteer to implement programs that will advance the careers of African Americans in the IT industry. We don't always get a chance to know our BDPA leaders in a personal way. This blog decided to try and provide you with a different perspective ... a different look ... at our BDPA leaders.

Who Am I?

Dr. Craig Brown

IF I WERE A...

• MONTH, I would be... May
• COLOR, I would be... Blue
• TIME OF DAY, I would be... 5:00 AM
• SUPERPOWER, I would be... Green Lantern
• FLOWER, I would be... Tulip
• SONG, I would be... Kiss by a Rose (Seal)
• CAR, I would be... Volkswagen Bug (Original)
• ITEM OF CLOTHING, I would be... Suspenders
• ANIMAL, I would be... Rhino
• FOOD, I would be... Steak - Filet (Medium Well)
• MOVIE, I would be... Top Gun
• CITY/TOWN, I would be... Chicago
• SPORT, I would be... Motorcycle Racing

You can find Dr. Brown on Facebook, LinkedIn Network or Twitter.

Our hope is that Dr. Brown will join us here on the blog to share deeper insights into these things via the COMMENTS feature! What did you learn about our national vice president via this blog post that you may never have known otherwise?

Curtis Jenkins Accepts Appointment as National BDPA Vice President of Membership Management

Curtis Jenkins

National BDPA president Monique Berry proudly announced a new leadership appointment,

"Curtis Jenkins will be joining our team, as the National Vice President of Membership Management. Please join me in welcoming Curtis to the national executive committee and provide him with your support as he assimilates onto our team."

Jenkins joined BDPA Philadelphia chapter in 2002. He served in a number of leadership positions within the chapter including VP-Business Management, President and chair of the Corporate Advisory Council. This won't be the first time that Jenkins has accepted leadership challenge at the national level. He served as the National Vice President of Strategy & Planning in 2010-2011.

Curtis has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Temple University and a graduate degree in Management of Technology from the University of Pennsylvania – School of Engineering and Applied Sciences & Wharton Business School.

"I am certain that, given his experience and overall skills, Curtis will be a great addition to our team," added Berry.

There are two primary membership management goals in 2013:

1. Retain/Renew 80% of expiring members
2. Increase new members by 25%

Jenkins understands that a major benefit of BDPA membership is the opportunity to network with others in the information technology industry. He said,

"People for years have gone by the statement 'It's not what you know but who you know.' That statement has much less power than 'Who knows you!' Joining and working in BDPA allows people to showcase their value with those in decision-making positions. People that 'know you' will call you when there is a job or need to fill. My last four jobs were as a result of 'who knows me'. That's the power of a network and the power of BDPA."

Please reach out to the new vice president by email (vpmm@bdpa.org) if you want to help recruit and retain BDPA members!