| Jr. Devs

STEM Conference honors Army CIO as 2020 Black Engineer of the Year

WASHINGTON — Lieutenant General Bruce T. Crawford, U.S. Army, who was sworn in as the Army Chief Information Officer (CIO) on Aug. 1. 2017, was awarded the Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) for his outstanding efforts to mentor the next generation of American scientists, technologists, and engineers.

As the Army’s chief information officer and G-6, Lt. Gen. Crawford reports both to the secretary of the Army as CIO, and also to the chief of staff of the Army as G-6.

He sets the strategic direction of the Army network and supervises all command, control, communications, and computers (C4) and Information Technology (IT) functions. He also oversees the Army’s $12.2 billion IT programs, manages enterprise IT architecture, establishes and enforces IT policies, and directs the delivery of C4IT capabilities to support war-fighters and business users.

As the G-6, he advises the Chief of Staff of the Army on the network, communications, signal operations, information security, force structure, and equipping.

JROTC photo at BEYA2020 courtesy Neal Daniels, Dunbar High School, Washington, D.C.

A native of Columbia, South Carolina, he was commissioned through South Carolina State University’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program on May 28, 1986, after graduating as a Distinguished Military Graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He also holds a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

During his 33 years of service, LTG Crawford served in leadership positions at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels. In previous assignments, he served as commanding general, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), director of C4/Cyber and Chief Information Officer, U.S. European Command (EUCOM), commanding general, 5th Signal Command (Theater); and G-6, U.S. Army Europe in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Each year, the annual BEYA Conference hosts award ceremonies for people who create innovation and inspiration, opening up opportunities for careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Black Engineer of the Year awards are made based upon peer-reviews of hundreds of nominations submitted by organizations and employers across the country.

— Sources, photos, and original articles: blackengineer.com and bdpatoday

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2019 Community Technology Awards

WASHINGTON — National BDPA’s Greater Washington, D.C. Chapter (BDPAdc.org) is hosting an evening of professional networking and Holiday Soirée with Tech Industry executives on Thursday, November 21, 2019, at Samsung Electronics Executive Briefing Center, 700 PENN S.E., Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.

2019 High School Computer Competition Champions — 2019 National High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Champions from Washington, D.C.

This year’s annual Tech & Media Reception, Community Technology Awards, and Holiday Soirée is co-hosted by Samsung Electronics. In closing out this exciting decade, the association is honoring the region’s High School Computer Competition (HSCC) national coding championship team (above), celebrating the 55th Anniversary of The Washington Informer, and celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the H.O.P.E. Project DMV.

2019 Community and Technology Award Winners

2019 Lifetime Achievement Awards

Denise Rolark Barnes, Publisher, The Washington Informer
Larry Irving, Internet Hall of Fame Inductee
Valerie L. Thomas, NASA Inventor and Data Analyst

2019 Industry Sponsor of the Year

Best Buy
Developer + Career Programs

2019 Community Service Award

Eugene W. Grant, Mayor
“Smart City” Mayor of Seat Pleasant, Maryland

2019 Member of the Year

Terry Wilson-Brox, KPMG
Tech ‘Team Mom‘ for 2019 National HSCC Coding Champions
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Information Security Auditor (CISA).

2019 Entrepreneur of the Year

Ron Hamm , President, HCG
Government Relations (GovRel) contributor to bdpatoday

2019 President’s Technical Career Awards

Anu Fomengia
Dernard Hawkins
Lynette Hinton
Sedley Randolph
Phyllis Ussery
Brittany Walker

Since 1975, BDPA’s mission sets continue to pay it forward into its fifth (5G) decade to bridge application development, cybersecurity, information technology (IT), and telecommunications competency gaps between Industry, Academia, governments and traditionally underserved communities.

Local BDPA Chapter goals across the National Capital Region (NCR) are set forth to provide access to technology and career training programs. Events with regional sponsors and mission partners include educational outreach programs for professionals, junior developers (Jr. Devs), young adults, and youth technology programs across the Greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area (DMV) in direct support of economic development, technology inclusion, and workforce development initiatives.

Reservations for this year’s reception and BDPA Professional Membership drives for 2020 remain open until Monday, November 18, 2019. Discover more by visiting the trade association’s landing pages, publications, and archives → https://bdpadc.org

Amazon’s Future Engineer Program funds High School Computer Science Courses

Jeff Bezos visits Dunbar High School in Washington,D.C. Amazon launches Future Engineer Program

SEATTLE, WA—Amazon today announced it reached a new milestone—through its Amazon Future Engineer program, it is funding computer science courses in more than 2,000 high schools supporting students from underserved and underrepresented communities across the country. Benefiting more than 100,000 high school students, from Nenana, Alaska to Washington, D.C., Amazon is funding full-year Intro and AP computer science courses, primarily for public Title I schools that have never offered AP computer science courses before. Amazon Future Engineer is a four-part, childhood-to-career program that works to inspire and educate 10 million children and young adults each year from underserved and underrepresented communities to try computer science.

“We applaud the teachers who took the initiative to bring these courses to their deserving students, and we are humbled to be a part of the important work they do in their classrooms across the country every single day,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO Worldwide Consumer, Amazon. “This is an important milestone for our Amazon Future Engineer program and its quest to make sure more students, especially those from underserved and underrepresented communities, have the access to and the opportunity to dive deep into an exciting computer science education.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2020 there will be 1.4 million computer-science-related jobs available and only 400,000 computer science graduates with the skills to apply for those jobs. Computer science is the fastest-growing profession within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) field, but only 8% of STEM graduates earn a computer science degree, with a tiny minority from underprivileged backgrounds. Students from underprivileged backgrounds are 8 to 10 times more likely to pursue college degrees in computer science if they have taken AP computer science in high school.

Amazon Future Engineer provides access to computer science courses in more than 2,000 schools through its curriculum providers – Edhesive and Code.org. Since the beginning of the 2019/2020 school year, the vast majority of the high schools accepted in the Amazon Future Engineer program are public schools that have received or are eligible for Title I funding.

“Having Amazon Future Engineer fund courses for our students in rural Oregon means we are able to give our students exposure to technology rich skills that directly impact their future career choice,” said Kyle Sipe, Instructional Coach and Robotics Mentor, Umatilla High School. “Because of this program, we can alter the knowledge base of our students and assist them to select a career that better suits our local job market’s needs. Amazon Future Engineer has given our kids the amazing opportunity to get relevant and applicable technology content.”

“We have future scientists, engineers, and inventors in our classrooms throughout the District, and I am proud that we have resources like Amazon’s Future Engineer program to provide them with the learning opportunities they need to achieve their goals,” said District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee. “We are excited to welcome the Amazon team to Dunbar High School to see our students in action, and their passion and excitement for computer science is what drives us to continue to expand our STEM programming through National Academy Foundation (NAF) Academies, courses, extracurricular activities, and more.”

“As demand for computer science skills impacts a wide range of industries from manufacturing to customer service, the demand for a diverse labor force equipped with technical capabilities also rises,” said Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI). “It’s why we applaud all efforts from the public and private sector to increase access to a robust computer science education and to nurture the growth of our nation’s economy. I am looking forward to seeing all that the next generation of students in Michigan’s 11th district will achieve, as the Amazon Future Engineer program launches at high schools there and across the country.”

The Amazon Future Engineer high schools will receive funding from Amazon to offer Intro & AP computer science courses. Amazon’s funding also provides preparatory lessons, tutorials, professional development for teachers, fully sequenced and paced digital curriculum for students, and live online support every day of the week for both teachers and students. All educators and students participating in this program have access to a no-cost membership with AWS Educate, Amazon’s global initiative to provide students comprehensive resources for building skills in cloud technology. Students will receive content to learn about cloud computing and access to the AWS cloud for their coding projects.

Launched in November 2018, Amazon Future Engineer is a four-part childhood-to-career program intended to inspire, educate, and prepare children and young adults from underrepresented and underserved communities to pursue careers in the fast-growing field of computer science. Each year, Amazon Future Engineer aims to inspire millions of kids to explore computer science; provides over 100,000 young people in over 2,000 high schools access to Intro or AP Computer Science courses; awards 100 students with four-year $10,000 scholarships, as well as offers guaranteed and paid Amazon internships to gain work experience. Amazon Future Engineer is part of Amazon’s $50 million investment in computer science/STEM education. In addition, Amazon Future Engineer has donated more than $10 million to organizations that promote computer science/STEM education across the country.

Cover photo: Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, visits an Amazon-funded computer science class at Dunbar High School in Washington D.C.

— Source and photos: Amazon and NBC Washington

BDPA Huntsville Helps Students Get Wired Up!

HUNTSVILLE, AL — National BDPA’s Huntsville Chapter was given the opportunity to train students about STEM at Mae Jemison High School. BDPA Members Bernard Nealy, Brandon Fields, Pat King and Jason Bradshaw were the instructors for this training session.

The training session included high school seniors from Mae Jemison, one high school senior and two elementary students from Birmingham who were guests of the instructors. During the session the students had the opportunity experience electrical engineering by connecting a Raspberry Pi microcomputer to a CAMJam Kit breadboard by wiring the two devices together. While also installing resistors, and red, green, & yellow lights to the breadboard.

Once the students completed wiring the two devices together they connected the Raspberry Pi to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. After it was safely connected the students then were able to connect power to the Pi and proceed to use Python programming to complete the project. Once they completed the code which dictates how the Pi provides power to the breadboard, to each light, and when to halt from sending electrical current, then their results would either be red, yellow, or the green lights to power on.

Participating students really enjoyed the training and asked when the next training sessions would be held. These students are our inspiration to do what we do.

— Source and photo credit: bdpahsv.org

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Commemorate Baltimore’s Innovation Week, Hispanic Heritage month, and Cybersecurity Awareness Month next weekend in Baltimore with Regional SHPE, NSBE, and BDPA Chapters!

October 12-13, 2019 | University of Baltimore | Media Sponsor: bdpatoday

BDPA-DC Captures National Coding Title

ATLANTA, GA—The High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team from National BDPA’s Greater Washington, D.C. Chapter (BDPADC.org) captured this year’s national coding and app development title during BDPACon19, the Association’s annual coding combine, 41st National Technology Conference, and Tech Career Expo, hosted by National BDPA in Atlanta, Georgia.

This year, 12 teams advanced from their respective regions to compete nationally for scholarships and internships with National and local BDPA mission-partners and sponsors. For 2019, the top three teams (clockwise, L-R) are BDPA of Greater Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia), BDPA St. Louis (Missouri), and BDPA Southern Minnesota (Rochester, MN.) Click to enlarge photos.

Throughout the year, local BDPA chapters conduct Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) training programs for youth in their communities. These programs are designed to expose students to computing concepts, information technology, and provide them additional expertise to develop web or mobile applications. Some chapters participate in regional competitions throughout the country to further prepare their students.

In May, Bowie State University co-hosted this year’s Regional Innovation Summit and HSCC with BDPA-DC and Patriots Technology Training Center. Participating BDPA chapters are able to send one team of 3 to 5 students to the annual national technology conference (BDPACon) and coding combine to compete against teams from other BDPA Chapters from other regions.

The National BDPA’s High School Computer Competition (HSCC) was founded in 1986 by Dr. Jesse Bemley, of Washington, D.C. What started as a two-team event between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, GA has grown to over 20 teams of various high school students from chapters throughout the nation. It was designed to introduce youth to fields of Information Technology (IT), encourage them to seek technical certifications with higher levels of education, and groom many of them to become our next generation of IT professionals.

Corporate sponsors and mission-partners from the National Capital Region that helped paved the way toward this year’s national championship include AG Grace, Inc.; Assured Information Security, Inc. (AIS); Air Force Civilian Service (AFCS); Best Buy; Blacks In Cyber; Bowie State University; Connected2Tech, LLC.; D.C. Courts System; D.C. SBDC; Defender Academy; Eccalon, LLC; Enlightened, Inc.; Federal Government Experts, LLC; GDIT; H.O.P.E. Project DMV; Howard University; Inclusive Innovation Incubator (IN3); Joint Educational Facilities, Inc. (JEF); KPMG; The Microsoft Store; Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC); Morton Media; National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Oracle; Patriots Technology Training Centers; Premier Enterprise Solutions, Inc.; R&K Cyber Solutions; Samsung USA; SiriusXM Radio, Inc.; U.S. Air Force; U.S. Army; U.S. Coast Guard; Vergo Productions; Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ); WOOD Consulting Services, Inc. and select Department of Defense (DOD) agencies.

The Team has scheduled a special open house and press conference on Saturday, August 10, 2019, from 9:00 am to 12 noon at their Gallery Place training facility in Washington, D.C. Invitations may be requested via email: media@bdpadc.org or info@bdpadc.org.

For additional information, visit BDPAdc.org and BDPA2019.com.

— Photo credits: National BDPA and bdpatoday

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BDPA South Region: Moving On Up!

NASHVILLE, TN — MOVING ON UP!

National BDPA South Region Member Spotlight — Mr. Lancelot DaSilva

by Judy Y. Lane

In the summer of 2005, Lancelot was a member of Inroads and was able to secure an internship with Deloitte. The position introduced him to the world of IT and the rest was technical history. He interned with Deloitte for five consecutive summers while pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering.

Upon graduation Lancelot was offered a full-time job at Deloitte, where he currently is a Lead Business Solution Analyst. During his tenure as an intern, he was introduced to National BDPA. In 2012, he became BDPA Middle Tennessee’s High School Computer Competition (HSCC) & S.I.T.E.S coordinator.

Throughout the year, local BDPA chapters conduct Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) training programs for youth in their communities. These programs are designed to expose our youth to the concepts of software development, high performance computing, rapid prototyping, and provide them full-stack web development expertise while enjoying the camaraderie of National BDPA’s professional and technical networks.

Lancelot firmly believes “children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future”. Lancelot represents the future of IT and is the type of talent one will meet in person by attending this month’s annual BDPA South Regional Conference – June 21st-June 22nd, 2019 in Nashville, TN. Select here for additional registration and partnering details.