BDPA’s 48th National Conference Energizes Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (bdpatoday®) — Technology professionals, students, educators, and industry leaders from across the country gathered in Indianapolis July 15 through 18, 2026, for the 48th BDPA National Conference, known as BDPACON26. Hosted at the Hyatt Regency under the theme “Innovation in Motion, Keeping Pace with Emerging Trends,” the four day event blended professional development, student competitions, recruiting, and community programming in the heart of the Circle City.

Founded in 1975 to address the underrepresentation of minority professionals in technology, BDPA has spent more than five decades advancing careers “from the classroom to the boardroom,” in the words of BDPA National President Stephanie Gloster. The Association last brought its national technology conference to Indianapolis in 2014, an event this year’s organizers remember as one of its most successful, the city’s growing tech ecosystem, and strong university connections made it a natural choice for the conference’s return.

A Program Built Around Emerging Trends

Conference co-chairs Justin Christian, CEO of BCforward, and Rupal Thanawala of Trident Systems assembled a program focused on artificial intelligence (Ai), cybersecurity, cloud computing, and culture. Dr. Jerome Adams, former United States Surgeon General and now a health equity leader at Purdue, delivered the keynote address. Featured speakers included Larry Quinlan, retired Global CIO of Deloitte, Tim Coleman, board director and former CTO at Lilly, Tony Leraris, CIO at Accenture, Vincent Shorter, Field CIO at CDW, and technology leaders Terry Morris and Genevie Jones. Attendees also chose from executive receptions, hands on AI workshops, leadership masterclasses, career fairs, and a startup pitch competition, capped by the Saturday Awards Gala celebrating professionals, students, and youth.

Community impact was a deliberate part of the design. Organizers offered free admission to 100 local students so that young Hoosiers could experience conversations about Ai, innovation, and the future workforce firsthand, and they partnered with Indiana Black Expo (IBE) on collaborative programming. Sponsors and partners, including Accenture, AIS, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), BCforward, Brooksource, Deloitte,  Eli Lilly and Company, Johnson & Johnson, Prolifics, The Indianapolis Foundation, The Mind Trust, and World Wide Technology (WWT), supported BDPACON26.   Media sponsors for BDPACON26 included the Indianapolis Recorder and bdpatoday®.

Students Take Center Stage

As always, BDPA’s SITES student programs anchored the week. The 40th anniversary High School Computer Competition (HSCC) , one of BDPA’s longest standing coding traditions for Jr. Devs, drew over 35 high school student finalists from seven local BDPA Chapters, including Cleveland, OH; Indianapolis, IN; Northern Virginia (Lorton, VA); Milwaukee, WI; Southern Minnesota (Rochester, MN); St. Louis, MO; and Washington, D.C.

Younger students competed in STEAMBlitz, a middle school challenge that welcomed 12 participants from five chapters with prizes sponsored by A Hand in Learning LLC. High schoolers battled in an eSports gaming competition sponsored by STEAMSports LLC with $1,500 in prizes funded by the BDPA Atlanta Chapter, and the Youth Technology Experience introduced students from Indianapolis, Baton Rouge, and Milwaukee to SUMO Robotics through hands on competition.

Young professionals and college students engaged in a Robotics Arm Coding Challenge, with Johnson & Johnson sponsoring scholarship prizes of $4,000 each for two first-place winners and $2,000 for the second place. This year’s professional track featured a cybersecurity workshop that included Capture the Flag (CTF), workshops on preparing for graduate school and IT research careers, as well as an Ai workshop sponsored by Deloitte. In addition, for this year’s From Idea to Launch (FI2L) program, the annual pitch competition for entrepreneurs, AWS awarded cash and platform credits totaling more than $45,000 in combined value for three winners.

For student members and JROTC cadets, conference organizers worked to keep this year’s technology conference accessible and affordable while delivering senior executive access aligned with nationally scaled SITES competitions. As BDPA looks ahead, BDPACON26 reinforced its theme for Indianapolis.

About BDPA

Founded in Philadelphia, PA as Black Data Processing Associates, BDPA has facilitated the advancement of talent within the realms of Information Technology (IT), Advanced Computing, and Data Science. Since its inception in 1975, BDPA has actively championed inclusion across information communications technology  (ICT) sectors through its network of more than 30 local community chapters situated in major cities throughout the United States. The establishment of the Student IT Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in 1986 marked BDPA’s commitment to being a leader and innovator in technology and  digital workforce upskilling for IT professionals, encompassing our college, trade school, and high school Student BDPA Members.

The Association’s national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) program, which offers practical training, has exposed tens of thousands of high school students to coding and application development, while also providing pathways for students to secure college scholarships, thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and partners. With a steadfast focus on both students and professional members, BDPA remains dedicated to fostering the Association’s upward trajectory for all of its members “from the classroom to the boardroom.”

Sources: BDPA, BDPACON26, Indianapolis Recorder

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