President's Message

Happy New Year to all and greetings from BDPA-RI,

I just wanted to send this message out to the current members and the future members of Black Data Processing Associates - Rhode Island. I wanted to give you a little background about your new president and to let you know what my goals are for the organization this year. My first goal, as some of you may already know, is to personally speak to each of you individually to get a recommitment from you or in some cases a new commitment to the organization and also to find out what BDPA-RI can do for you. We will not be having our first program meeting this month due to other activities going on. Next Monday the nation celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. and there are a number of activities locally that I hope you will be participating in. We have, also scheduled the strategic planning meeting on the "Save Our Boys" initiative next Wednesday, Jan. 19th.

My Background:
I am currently a Deployment Manager for the Wintel Server Utility group (WSU) within Bank of America's Network Computing Group (NCG). What this means is that I manage projects that deploy Application and File&Print servers to data centers all over the Country. So, my normal day consists of project meetings, talking to technician and application owners and other project managers. My work day can run from 6am to 7 or 8pm depending on the time zone the systems are being deployed in. I have worked for the "Bank" for 20 years. I say the "Bank" because the name has changed 4 times. Yes, I have survived 4 large merger/acquisitions. I have a BS in Computer Systems Management and a Masters in the art of Teaching, both from Johnson & Wales University. I have worked along side Lisa Ranglin our immediate past president for two years. Last year I served as President-Elect and as the Coordinator for the High School Computer Training Program.

My Goals based on our Mission and Vision:

1. Continue to grow the High School Computer Training program.
2. Expand the professional development training Series
3. Partner with the Johnson & Wales University Multicultural Center to open a Community Training Center so that Technology can be more accessible to the community.
4. Continue to develop partnerships with other organizations in order to leverage resources, especially professional resources.
5. Continue to work with our current corporate sponsors and acquire new ones.
6. Support the “Save Our Boys” initiative
7. Re-establish our Corporate Advisory Committee
8. 100 Rhode Island members by August 2005

There is much work to do in our minority communities and in Corporate America. Please join me this year in making a difference. I know time is a precious commodity and I will value yours and promise not waste any that you give to me or dedicate to this organization. Invites to our February Program meeting will be out soon. I am anticipating your support.

There is a saying that states - the only thing that is consistent in life is change. Since change is inevitable, let’s take the initiative and this opportunity to influence these changes into something positive in our communities, schools and in our places of employment. Looking forward to working with you in 2005.