African Americans in Technology
Supporting the theme of this year’s annual multi-city tour, HFAS recognizes the contributions of African Americans in Technology selected regionally from across the technology industry in a celebration of “African Americans in Technology.”
2020 Honorees: New York City
2019 Honorees: Washington DC | New York City
2020 Honorees
The Historic Riverside Church, New York City

Gilda A. Barabino, Ph.D.
Gilda A. Barabino, Ph.D.
Daniel and Frances Berg Professor and Dean of The Grove School of Engineering
The City College of New York (CCNY)
Gilda A. Barabino is the Daniel and Frances Berg Professor and Dean of The Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York (CCNY). She holds appointments the in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering and the CUNY School of Medicine. Prior to joining CCNY, she served as Associate Chair for Graduate Studies and Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory. At Georgia Tech she also served as the inaugural Vice Provost for Academic Diversity. Prior to her appointments at Georgia Tech and Emory, she rose to the rank of Full Professor of Chemical Engineering and served as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Northeastern University. She is a noted investigator in the areas of sickle cell disease, cellular and tissue engineering, and race/ethnicity and gender in science and engineering. Dr. Barabino received her B.S. degree in Chemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Rice University.
She is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES). She is Past-President of BMES and Past-President of AIMBE. Her many honors include an honorary degree from Xavier University of Louisiana, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, AIChE’s Award for Service to Society, and the Pierre Galetti Award, AIMBE’s highest honor. Dr. Barabino is a member of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Advisory Committee for Engineering, the congressionally mandated Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering, the National Academies Committee on Addressing Sickle Cell Disease and the National Academies Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Dr. Barabino consults nationally and internationally on STEM education and research, diversity in higher education, policy, workforce development and faculty development. She is the founder and Executive Director of the National Institute for Faculty Equity.

Eddie Bright Jr.
Eddie Bright Jr.
Global CEO and Chairman
HCM Staffing and Consulting Group
Eddie Bright Jr is currently the Global CEO and Chairman of HCM Staffing and Consulting Group, a River capital Group Company. HCM is a Minority and Veteran certified supplier.
Prior to this role he was CEO of ApTask an global IT Staffing Company, over a 4 year period Eddie lead Aptask through an industry setting execution and growth track.. ApTask, ApTask was recognized as one of the nation’s premiere providers of Staffing and Workforce Solutions in the U.S and globally. An MBE and member of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, Aptask was named to the 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, 2017 and 2018 INC. list of 5000 fastest growing companies and one of New Jersey 50 fastest Growing Companies #20 as well as top ten for best place to work.
Prior to Aptask Eddie grew to the position of Managing Director and EVP of IT Solutions of Solomon Page Technology Partners where he organically grew a 52M annual book of business
Eddie’s role as Chief Executive Officer is too support his extensive relationships within the IT and Business Supply community globally and strategically always growing new opportunities for HCM and River cpital Group suite of Human Capital Solutions.
Eddie has been consulted to build entire organizations and support strategic mindshare with IT Mgrs, Sr Mgrs, Managing Directors, CIOs, CFO and CEOs.
Eddie is a seasoned Human Capital Resources Leader, Adept Strategist, Trusted Advisor and Executive Sales and Marketing facilitator. He maximizes over 20 years of global experience in a variety of Business Partner and Consulting roles. Regularly working at C-Suite levels—he has a broad range of change management experience and proven track record building global teams, managing and executing transformational IT/Business change efforts, people integration/restructuring plans, diversity & inclusion strategies and leadership development.
Eddie is also the founder of Sports U Team IZOD recognized as one of the top Leadership/Basketball AAU programs in America which has produced over 100 Division1 full basketball scholarship player. 30+ international professional players and notable NBA players like Karl Anthony Towns. Kyrie Irving, Deandre Bembry, Nazreon Reid, Wade Baldwin, Louis King, Chris Silva, to name a few.
Eddie is a former United States Marine a graduate of Northeastern University and Northeastern Bible College.
He is the husband of Kay Marshall Bright and they have one son Brandon. He most proud that they celebrated their 20 year wedding anniversary this year back in 2019.

Roy Gundy
Roy Gundy
Head of Operational Technology (OT) Cyber Security
Johnson & Johnson
Roy Gundy, Head of Operational Technology (OT) Cyber Security at Johnson & Johnson, is responsible for leading the OT Cyber Security Program & establishing the operational model within the J&J Supply Chain Manufacturing Sites and the Customer Logistics Services (CLS) Distribution Centers. He is responsible for driving the Program with Deployment Teams across different regions and business segments, liaising with Global Information Technology (IT) to establish suitable solutions for implementation in our critical OT sites. He has extensive experience working in both OT and IT for the past 28 years. Roy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce & Engineering with a concentration in Operations Research and Master of Science degree in Engineering Management both from Drexel University.

Zackarie Lemelle
Zackarie Lemelle
President/CEO
New Hope Coaching & Consulting
Zack Lemelle is currently the President/CEO of New Hope Coaching & Consulting. NHC&C is a Executive Leadership Development, Strategic Consulting, and organizational transformation firm. Zack’s responsibilities include leading and growing NHC&C’s, strategic management consultancy focused on energetic organizational engagement and its impact on people, customers, innovation and growth.
Zack has over 42 years working in/with public and private firms from Start-Ups to Fortune 500. Thirty (30) of those years were as a senior leader in information technology organizations and the other five years (5), leading strategic business transformations, several of which have been chronicled in the works of well-known authors, such as Dr. Michael Hammer, and Dr. Neal Rackman. He is also a seasoned guest lecturer and keynote speaker on many topics such as Leadership Engagement, Energy Leadership, Information Technology, “The Global Equalizer”, and “Running Information Technology as a Business”, to new a few.
Zack Lemelle is a Certified Executive Leadership and Business Reengineering Coach. Zack has spent years working with senior executives and executive management boards developing new strategies and relevant operating models. Zack provides the unique expertise of combining people and process coaching to drive transformational change.
Prior to starting NHC&C, Zack spent 18 years with Johnson & Johnson where he served as Director, Systems & Programming and later was promoted to Vice President/Chief Information Officer of J&J’s largest Pharmaceutical Company. Zack also served as Worldwide Vice President/Chief Information Officer of J&J’s largest global Medical Device Company. During his tenure at J&J, Zack also spent 5 years in Human Resources as Director, Business Reengineering. Zack’s final assignment with J&J was as Vice President/Chief Information Officer, J&J Corporate Headquarters.
Zack also served as the former Chair for the Information Technology Senior Management Forum. An organization consisting of Chief Information Officers and IT business owners from Fortune 500 and 1000 companies, whose mission is to increase the numbers of African-Americans in senior executive positions throughout the United States.
Zack served on the North Carolina Central University, Computer Information Systems Advisory Council and the Howard University, School of Business, Information Systems Advisory Council. Mr. Lemelle is co-founder and past Chair of the Johnson & Johnson African-American Leadership Council. He currently serves as the Chair of the Global Leadership Forum. An organization committed to increasing the numbers of black and brown people in STEM.

Anthony “Tony” Mayo
Anthony Mayo
Chief Information Officer & Managing Director of Asset Management Global Sales & Marketing
BNY Mellon
Anthony “Tony” Mayo is Managing Director and Chief Information Officer of BNY Mellon Asset Management Technology Global Distribution and Marketing. Tony is also Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of BNY Mellon Investment Adviser & BNY Mellon Securities Corporation.
Tony is responsible for Asset Management Technology application development of technologies in sales distribution, marketing, and shared services. Tony joined BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, formerly Dreyfus, in 1997 as a Project Manager. In 1999, he held the title of Senior Information Technology Manager before being appointed as CTO in 2003. His distribution and marketing solution responsibilities subsequently expanded more globally in 2012.
Prior to joining BNY Mellon, Tony was a Project Manager at The Walt Disney Company where he was responsible for managing the financial systems of the organization. For more than five years, he was a Systems Analyst and Project Leader at PepsiCo, Inc. where he developed financial systems solutions for Treasury, Planning, Corporate Finance, Legal and Compensation. He was also a Project Manager at American Home Products. Tony began his career as a Computer and Budget Analyst for New York City’s Parks & Recreation Fiscal Budget Department.
Tony’s work has been featured in financial publications such as The Financial Times, Financial Planning, and Ignites. He collaborated on a book publication entitled, “Conversational Insights | From Great Minds” specifically speaking of “The Necessity for Adaptability”.
He is a member of several professional organizations, including the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF), Project Management Institute, Institutional Investor Financial Technology Forum, and Investment Company Institute. He has served as Chair of The Dreyfus Diversity Council, was a member of the Mellon Corporate Diversity Council and served as a Board Member for the Dreyfus Charitable Trust. Tony is an active member of BNY Mellon’s Employee/Business Resource (E/BRG) Community – specifically, IMPACT and IMPACT DiverseTech.
Tony has served as an Executive Board Member, Treasurer of a Not-for-Profit organization called One Stop Senior Services, and a board member of the Tenafly United Soccer Club. He also serves as a board member of Tenafly Youth Center.
Tony holds a B.S. in Computer Science and M.B.A in Finance from St. John’s University. He has attained Project Management Professional and SCRUM Master certifications. He is a recipient of the BNY Mellon Star Award. He is a graduate of the ITSMF Executive Academy.

Sheila McBride
Sheila McBride
Stryker VP
Global Enterprise Service Delivery
As the Vice President of Global Enterprise Service Delivery, Sheila oversees the Global Application delivery and application managed services functions. She is accountable for the support and deployment of application systems within scheduled timelines, budgets and with the appropriate governance. She is tasked with improving the consistency, predictability and efficiency of the organization, as well as the overall project delivery capability, providing leadership in best practices to support the overall vision and strategy of the company. She collaborates with business partner organizations to make sure requirements are met, aligning the delivery organization’s objectives in a manner that is consistent with stakeholder expectations .
As an Information Technology executive with over 25 years of corporate experience in manufacturing, pharmaceutical, retail, and high technology industries. Sheila has expertise in strategic planning, ERP system selection and deployment, financial systems management, order management and procurement with an emphasis on change management. She anticipates changes and opportunities in the business, and continually identifies new techniques for leveraging people and technologies to maximize productivity and to achieve strategic goals.
Sheila is process-oriented and is always looking for opportunities to simplify, streamline and eliminate redundancy in daily activities starting with service introduction to portfolio and demand/resource management to change and release management.
Sheila is recognized as an individual extremely dedicated to quality and constantly seeking ways to improve systems, business processes, and customer service.
Sheila has been nominated for and has received numerous industry awards including the CIO Ones to Watch (nominated 2019) ; the Executive Mentor of the Year – awarded by Information Technology Senior Management Forum (2011) and the Tribute to Women in Industry (TWIN) Award by the YWCA in 1997.
Sheila’s first love is dance. She graduated from the High School of Performing Arts/Dance Division where she studied under renowned teachers of modern dance and ballet,Gertrude Shurr, Norman Walker, David Wood, Nina Popova and May O’Donnell. In her spare she still teaches modern dance technique and choreography.

Cheryl D. Miller Communications Designer, Collected Artist
Cheryl D. Miller
Communications Designer, Collected Artist
Cheryl D. Miller, acclaimed New York Corporate Communications Designer, legacy Visual Artist, and Fine Artist is inspired by the "New Generation" NYC Abstract Expressionists and Fauvists. Miller's captures are contemporary design blends of world colors and global places.
Miller grew up during The Washington Color School movement’semergence in Washington DC, during the 1950s–1970s. The inner circle of this new visual art movement consisted of Kenneth Noland, Morris Louis, Gene Davis, Howard Mehring, Tom Downing, Paul Reed to further include Sam Gilliam and Alma Thomas. The Washington Color Field School imagery floods her childhood memory of imagination.
In addition Josef Albers, Frank Stellar, Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning and The Bauhaus as well as Picasso and Matisse are her most favorite influences. These constitute her visual art DNA and genealogy.
Miller’s 1978 Color Field Collection exemplifies the genre of regularizedshapes, or hard edge simple geometric forms, with clean straight lines, and simplified concentric circles to which the movement is known. Further assigned are delineated stripes and hard edge geometric shapes rendered in musical graduates mauve tones. The collection is rhythmic.
Currently, Miller’s visual point of departure leads her into dynamicinterpretations of Contemporary Art and Abstract Expressionism, 21stcentury. Her work is collected.
Unique to her Abstract Expressionistic and Impressionistic Contemporary Design Collection is her St. Thomas US Virgin Island Caribbean Collection of Historical St. Thomas Scenic Views! Her "Coming of Age" Painting Memories of her maternal heritage, take us straight to Paradise! Authentic Original Captures! One of a kind captures!
Her famed Corporate Communications Design Career and design scholarship is now collected as The Cheryl D. Miller Collection at Stanford University. The AIGA Design Profiles catalogues her scholarship and design industry advocacy and contributions. Cheryl Miller developed her private Fine Art Collection while building her legacy design career.
Education:
Rhode Island School of Design, Freshman Foundations Studies• Maryland Institute College of Art, BFA - Graphic Design
Pratt Institute, MS - Communications Design
Union Theological Seminary, Masters of Divinity – Theological
Studies
Permanent Collected Exhibitions and Gallery Appearances:
The Cheryl D. Miller Collection at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.
The Poster House Museum, New York, New York.
The Design Museum, The Hague, The Netherlands.
The MvVO Art AD ART Show 2019, New York, New York. *

Elaine Norman
Elaine Norman
Vice President, Member Services & External Affairs
IT Senior Management Forum (ITSMF)
Elaine Norman is Vice President, Member Services & External Affairs for the IT Senior Management Forum (ITSMF). ITSMF increases the representation of black professionals at senior levels in technology, to impact organizational innovation and growth. ITSMF accomplishes this by developing and nurturing these dynamic leaders through a series of rich, developmental, and career-advancing programs.
As an accomplished technology, strategy and operations management-focused executive, Elaine has always been drawn to companies dedicated to innovation and improving the human condition. She has previously served as Vice President, Support Services for Elekta, Inc, Senior Director, within Hewlett Packard’s Global PMO Office & Office of the CIO; Senior Director of the Enterprise PMO for SageNet, Vice President Technology for The American Cancer Society; Senior Director of IT Strategy and Planning for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and Chief Information Officer for The United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta.
Throughout her 25+ year career, Elaine has been a driving force behind numerous key technology initiates and programs that have led to significant cost savings, increased productivity, and improved enterprise wide operations. And as an accomplished executive and business leader, Elaine is passionate about driving positive change, creating collaborative and inclusive work environments, and building highly effective, high-performance teams. Her industry expertise includes High-Tech, Telecommunications, Consumer Products, Healthcare and Human Services.
Elaine has served as an advisory board member for the Global Leadership Forum, Georgia CIO Leadership Association, IT Senior Management Forum and as an advisor for the Women in Technology (WIT) Foundation. She has also received numerous industry awards for her contribution to technology leadership such as Woman of the Year in Technology by WIT (Women in Technology); CIO of the Year, by the Georgia CIO Leadership Association; Atlanta's 100 Most Influential Women from Women Looking Ahead Magazine, and as a featured MBA alumnus from the Gouizetta School of Emory University.
Elaine has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and Behavioral Science from Oglethorpe University and an MBA from Emory University. Elaine and her husband, Gene Norman, reside in Atlanta, Georgia.

Gene Waddy
Gene Waddy
Chief Executive OFficer
Alpha Business Solutions/DIVERSANT, LLC
Gene C. Waddy is a visionary entrepreneur and owner of Alpha Business Solutions, a minority business enterprise that specializes in providing fully-managed payroll services, IC compliance, and risk mitigation. Gene is also the co-founder of DIVERSANT LLC, the nation’s largest African-American owned IT staffing firm in the U.S. In many ways, both companies are a reflection of Gene’s professional expertise, personal drive, and his commitment to helping others. Gene shares his knowledge and expertise with other MBEs by serving as an active Board Member with the NYNJ Minority Supplier Development Council. Gene is very active in many community service programs. Gene was named the 2013 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year New Jersey winner, as well as a past NJBIZ Executive of the Year Finalist. Gene was raised in New Jersey; Gene attended Fairleigh Dickinson University where he earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
2019 Honorees
Howard University, Washington DC

Dr. Lawrence W. Anderson
Associate Chief Information Officer (Operations) for Federal IT Business Solutions for OPM
Dr. Anderson currently works at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as the Associate Chief Information Officer (Operations) for Federal IT Business Solutions for OPM, Dr. Anderson is responsible for providing business solutions that support the millions of Federal Government employees and their beneficiaries.
Dr. Anderson worked in a number of settings in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. In 1992, he joined the Department of Health and Human Services were he served as a Program Analyst at the Program Analyst and a Computer Specialist for the Office of Research Integrity and the National Institute for Deafness and Communications Disorders respectively. In 1998, Dr. Anderson joined Ciber, Inc. as Lead for Web Applications system supporting multi-tiered web applications IT platforms. In 2002, Dr. Anderson joined the American Red Cross as Manager of Enterprise Infrastructure Engineering, where he managed a number of enterprise IT projects and operations functions including IT capacity planning, configuration management, server optimization, data analytics, database management, system and network monitoring, software development, troubleshooting, data replication, and disaster recovery. Dr. Anderson re-joined the federal government in August 2004 as the Director of Information Technology Services at the NASA Office of Inspector General (NASA OIG) where he focused on developing and implementing case management systems, audit management for the NASA OIG and the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
In January 2011 Dr. Anderson left NASA OIG to join the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services as the Chief Technology Officer. At DOJ, Dr. Anderson focused on IT strategic planning and assessment, program management and implementation, performance improvement, business process re-engineering, capital planning and investment; and system redesign for DOJ grants management systems. Dr. Anderson was instrumental in helping to introduce and implement agile software development methodologies at DOJ.
Dr. Anderson is a 3rd Degree Black Belt in Karate and specializes in teach self-defense and escape techniques specifically for women and children. He is also a musician (electric bass) and musical director for two churches and two local bands playing music ranging from gospel, jazz, soul, blues, and reggae.
Dr. Anderson completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics (1991) from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. Additionally, he earned a Master of Science in Management Information Systems Management (2001) from the University of Maryland Graduate School of Management and Technology, and a Doctorate of Management in Management and Organizational Leadership-Information Systems Management (2011) from the University of Phoenix School of Advanced Studies. He is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, VA and a member of the United States Senior Executive Service.

Rona Bunn
Rona Bunn serves as the Deputy Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (ITA). Alongside the CIO, she is leading the Technology, Services and Innovation (TSI) organization, driving the ITA’s digital transformation; shifting business focus to realization of IT value, while improving the organization’s ability to execute, increase efficiency and resiliency.
Throughout Ms. Bunn’s award-winning technology career, she has been focused on leadership that increases value and optimizes performance. She held a diverse set of leadership roles across business and IT functions. Previously, she served as Chief of Office Automation Staff at the U.S. Department of Justice. She founded and served as CEO of BlueJewelz, a wearable technology company. She served as CEO at SkyeTech Solutions, a business and IT services company. At BAE Systems, she rose through various technology roles to serve as Senior Principal in Business Operations where she led organization-wide efforts to effect multimillion-dollar cost savings. As a Certified Public Accountant, Ms. Bunn has held several business consulting roles.
Ms. Bunn holds a BS in Accounting from State University at Old Westbury, a MS in Computer Science from Bowie State University and an MBA from New York University, Stern School of Business. She held executive board positions at the National Society of Black Engineers - AEDC.

Marilyn Crouther
Principal, Crouther Consulting, LLC
Marilyn Crouther has more than 30 years of experience in the IT industry leading large, complex IT projects. She previously served as senior vice president and general manager, U.S. Public Sector, at DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) where she was responsible for the overall profit & loss, growth and operational success, including the go-to-market strategy and execution, and the commercialization of relevant offerings into the sector. She was instrumental in strengthening the business through solid partnerships while ensuring the delivery of cost-effective, innovative solutions to help clients achieve their business, mission and policy outcomes. In 2017, Mrs. Crouther was appointed by the Commonwealth of Virginia Senate Committee on Rules to the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Centers for Innovative Technology. She has participated in several national programs and initiatives to include the White House Roundtable discussion with President Obama on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the First Lady’s Military and Veterans initiatives. Mrs. Crouther serves as keynote speaker, panelist and moderator for various programs and organizations sharing key insights and perspectives in numerous interviews and publications.
Mrs. Crouther has been recognized by both regional and national organizations. In 2017 she was named one of 300 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America by Black Enterprise and for four consecutive years the Executive Mosaic’s Washington 100 and FEDScoop’s “DCs Top 50 Women in Tech” (2014 - 2017). Mrs. Crouther was awarded the 2015 Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) Tech Executive of the Year; 2015 MS State University Distinguished Professional; 2014 Federal Computer Week’s Fed 100 and 2014 IT Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) President’s Award. In 2010, she was recognized by US Black Engineer and Technology magazine as a leader in the IT industry and inducted into the Career Communications Group (CCG) Alumni Hall of Fame. In 2007 she received the CCG National Woman of Color Professional Achievement award and the NVTC Community Service Award. Mrs. Crouther served as Vice Chair on the board of directors for the NVTC and as a Board Member for the EDS Federal Credit Union and the Martin Luther King Multicultural Foundation.
Mrs. Crouther earned a Bachelor of Professional Accountancy from Mississippi State University, she is a graduate of the Southern Methodist University Finance Certificate Program and the Thunderbird Executive Development Program. In addition to her vast industry and business expertise she is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Texas Society of Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She has a passion for leadership development and community service. She is an American Heart Association Executive with Heart and supports various other philanthropic and veterans’ initiatives.

Dena Jones
Director, Project Management, Integrated Technology Solutions (ITS), at Fannie Mae
Dena Jones is a Director, Project Management, Integrated Technology Solutions (ITS), within the Chief Operating Office of Fannie Mae. Dena is responsible for leading cross-functional program management activities and driving strategic alignment in support of the company's business objectives. The portfolio of initiatives that she supports span some of Fannie Mae’s highest priorities including integrating with the Common Securitization Platform being developed by Common Securitization Solutions.
In addition to serving as the program management lead for large-scale transformational efforts, Dena leads business office and organizational management functions across the entire ITS organization. Dena has built, developed and transformed teams, while executing strategic priorities and driving organizational efficiency.
Previously, Dena was Director, Program Management in Capital Markets where she supported efforts to implement a new securities trading and settlement platform. Prior to joining Fannie Mae in 2003, she held leadership positions at CitiMortgage, First Nationwide Mortgage, Norwest, Prudential and Coopers & Lybrand.
Dena is an active member of HITEC and ITSMF and is an advocate and champion for organizations that promote diversity and inclusion in technology. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two sons. She holds a B.S. in Finance from George Mason University.

Les McCollum II
Managing Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer
Mr. McCollum serves in a Senior Executive Leadership capacity, in the role as a Managing Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer. He is responsible for establishing and maintaining Enterprise Security, its vision, strategy and program; to ensure all information assets and technologies are adequately protected. He leads his teams in identifying, developing, implementing and maintaining efficient processes across the organization to reduce security technology risk. In addition, he’s responsible for the Security Innovation, Security Operations, Identify and Access Management, Disaster Recover, and Business Continuity function.
Mr. McCollum joined ICMA-RC in October 2011 and has more than 24 years of combined technology and information security experience across a diverse background of private and public sector organizations. It includes driving strategic direction and operational leadership of enterprise IT infrastructure, comprised of security operations, help desk support, datacenter operations, and network voice/data services.
Mr. McCollum also serves on the board of directors for Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) and various industry advisory committees to include SPARK Data Security Oversight Board, IANS Security Client Advisory Board, and NTT Security Client Advisory Board. He also earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Computer Information Systems from North Carolina Central University. Mr. McCollum also holds the following certifications and license: C|CISO, SANS GIAC/GSLC, and FINRA Series 99.

Lena Hickman-Miott
Lena Hickman-Miott is Chief Information Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Miottech, LLC a start-up business development consulting and program management firm focused on businesses, technology, engineering and data analytics.
Lena brings more than 30 years of industry and multi-million to billion-dollar responsibility business experience leading professional services delivery for data networking, security, cloud and voice at fortune 500 companies, including a career at Cisco Systems. Lena’s expertise includes driving operational strategy, rigor, and continuous services improvement for large high touch, transformational and highly complex customers. Lena has held various executive positions as well as Director, Management and Engineer positions in Sales Engineering, Business Operations, Technical Marketing, New Product Introduction, Manufacturing, Test Design, Hardware Development and Software Engineering.
She has been awarded the Northern Virginia Women of Achievement Award, recognized as a distinguished pioneer in the field of Electrical Engineering and recipient of the Global Service Award community award. Lena is an advocating mentor across many organizations including the ITSMF and the Hesselbein Global Academy For Student Leadership & Civic Engagement. Lena has served as an ambassador for inclusion and diversity within the workplace across her career.
Lena serves on the ITSMF Board of Directors as Corporate Secretary, Parliamentarian and Bylaws Committee. Her educational background includes a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, MBA from Meredith College and an Executive Advanced Management Certification from Duke University Fuqua School of Business. Lena believes in her community and serves as a leader in several organizations, sorority and boards focused on community service and STEM. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband and family.

Adeyinka Ogunlegan
Adeyinka Ogunlegan is a Senior Manager of Government and Regulatory Affairs at Comcast. In this role, she responsible for negotiating multi-million-dollar franchise agreements, regulatory compliance, and managing the company’s relationships with elected officials and non-profit partners in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area.
Prior to her work at Comcast, Adeyinka held the position of Vice President of Public Policy and Outreach at Chesapeake Public Strategies, a government and public affairs firm, where she led the legislative and community outreach group. Her team developed and executed award-winning outreach campaigns for complex policy issues.
Adeyinka is active in several organizations and currently serves as Chair of the Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Action Committee, on the Board of The Arc Prince George’s County, as and head of the children’s ministry at the Redeemed Christian Church of God Word of Life Center. She is passionate about politics, civic engagement, and working with young people.
In recognition of her leadership, professional accomplishments and community service, Adeyinka is a recipient of the Maryland Daily Record’s VIP List Award and a Prince George’s County Forty Under 40 honoree.
Adeyinka is proud alumna of Phillips Exeter Academy and received her B.A. in Government from Georgetown University and J.D. from Howard University School of Law. A native New Yorker, she currently resides in Laurel, MD with her family.

Nicholas Sparrow
Technology Operations Manager at Deloitte
Nick Sparrow is a senior-level information technology professional with over eighteen years of experience in IT strategy, management, systems design, implementation, and support. He successfully combines his technical knowledge with his business acumen. Nick has proven himself to be a valuable asset to the organizations he serves.
Mr. Sparrow recently joined Deloitte as a Technology Operations Manager. Prior to his employment with Deloitte, he led the Executive Leadership Council’s IT operations as their Director of Information Technology. As Director, he was responsible for all aspects of technology including strategy, infrastructure, project management, IT security, execution, and support.
In 2001 Mr. Sparrow started his career working for the University of Maryland College Park’s Department of Resident Life. During his tenure, he was elevated several times and was selected to lead their help desk support operation.
Mr. Sparrow earned his MBA and Masters in Technology Management from the University of Maryland University College. He also holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Maryland College Park
Mr. Sparrow is a member of the Information Technology Senior Management Forum.
Mr. Sparrow resides in northern Virginia with his wife Yu, where they are devoted parents to their adventurous son Kai.

Rory Miott
Rory Q. Miott is an executive leader whose career has focused on operational processes and technology advancements for business results. Currently, as a Director of Program Management for Freddie Mac, he manages corporate investments in business process and technology changes. Rory specializes in leading business intelligence (BI) and business analytics initiatives from concept to delivery to enhance business outcomes.
After graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point, (“West Point”) with a B.S. in Engineering, he served as an Infantry Officer in the U.S and Europe. While in the Army, as a Captain, he project managed the deployment of a system to manage training budgets for combat battalions Army wide. Rory earned a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Fuqua School of Business of Duke University.
Rory joined the IBM Corporation and progressed from Systems Engineer, Marketing and Sales to Managing Consultant focused on major client engagements in health, finance and insurance. At IBM, he was responsible for significant deployment and integration of PCs throughout the North Carolina State Department of Education and the major universities of UNC, NC State and Duke. As a managing consultant Rory managed significant work on “the physician’s workstation,” which pulling together critical clinical information from disparate systems for physicians available via workstations and early tablets.
Rory was recruited as the Senior Manager of Data Communications Infrastructure at the Freddie Mac and rose through the ranks as a highly award recognized director to lead the corporate data networks, services, and staff through major conversions in technology and corporate business integration leveraging the Internet and advanced technologies.
Rory volunteers in the community and enjoys teaching teens personal investing, which he believes can empower everyone, regardless of age or income who has strong interest. Rory is an active member of the IT Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. He also enjoys jazz music, plays golf and watches sports particularly football. He resides in Potomac Falls, Virginia with his wife, Lena and son, Charles.
2019 Honorees
The Historic Riverside Church, New York City

Carole Bilson
President, Design Management Institute
Carole is the president of the Design Management Institute. dmi.org
DMI is the premier global organization of emerging and senior leaders that connects, promotes and elevates the role of Design, Design Management, Design Thinking and Innovation in business, culture and society. They host conferences, workshops, webcasts, have 2 magazine publications, and Harvard Business Case studies.
DMI communicates weekly with 30,000 leaders in 44+ countries.
DMIl just launched the dmi:Diversity in Design Manifesto, an initiative to advocate for and build a leadership pipeline for diversity in design globally. They recently held the first Design Conference ever dedicated to Diversity & Inclusion. For the last 2 years they have dedicated their second quarter issue of the dmi:Review (magazine) to Diversity & Inclusion in Design. In 2014 DMI launched the first dmi:Design Value Index to measure the value of design in business (this effort has now been adopted and enhanced by McKinsey & Co.); the dmi:Design Value Awards; and the dmi:Student Essay Competition.
Prior to this she has held the following positions:
President, Strategic Change & Innovation, providing strategic and operational guidance to managers and executives wishing to create organizational change, utilizing design thinking and innovation.
Vice President, Global Design & Usability & Technology Support Operations at Pitney Bowes. She was the first African American woman ever to head a global corporate design organization. She led an award-winning team of designers, human factors specialists, engineers and software developers. Under Carole’s leadership, her department received 12 international Design Awards and was awarded 49 patents; and helped the company win a $21 million dollar bid from the Federal Government. She spearheaded an innovation project for the division that resulted in a product launch for Apple App Store.
She led the company’s first User Experience Council, which made recommendations to the CEO. This Council’s efforts resulted in the Company’s creation of the first department of Customer Experience and significant cost savings ($12 million over two years). She also initiated the first User Experience and Innovation Day at the company. Carole was then invited to join the CEO Council, a group of 40 senior executives who contribute to strategy development of the company.
Prior to this Carole worked at the Eastman Kodak Company, in various Product Development and Marketing Management roles. Her most notable assignment was as Worldwide Marketing Manager to deliver the Award-winning Kodak Picturemaker™, the digital photo kiosk that delivered over a Billion dollars in revenue for Kodak.
She took a two-year leave from Kodak to become a Loaned Executive/ Rochester Coordinator, for the National Science Foundation’s Statewide Systemic Initiative. Working with 5 school districts in the state of NY and leaders at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to support systemic change and improve the teaching and learning of Math, Science and Technology from K-12.
In addition to being the holder of two patents, Carole has been very active in the community for which she has received numerous awards and recognition. She has served on numerous non-profit Boards, spoken globally, on a variety of topics including: user/customer experience, design management & strategy, the value of R&D Tax credits, systemic change in public education, women in leadership roles.
She was co-founder of the first employee Network at Eastman Kodak Company called Network Northstar; president of the Rochester Women’s Network one of the largest women’s networks for professional and Executive Women in the country. She was President and Founding Board Member of the Greater Fairfield County Foundation, Inc., the philanthropic arm of the Fairfield County Chapter Links. She was a member of the Links Rochester and Fairfield County chapters for 20 years providing community service to youth, women and the underserved. Currently, Carole is a member and co-founder of the User Experience Design Consortium, a consortium of corporate design executives. She is also a member of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), and the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF).
Carole holds a BFA in Industrial Design & Graphic/Visual Design from the University of Michigan and executive development certifications from Amos Tuck School, Dartmouth College; the University of California at Berkeley, and ITSMF.
She is married to T. Andrew Brown, Managing Partner of the law firm BrownHutchinson LLP and Vice Chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents. They have one child.

Devon Bryan
CISSP, CIPP/US, CIPP/EU, CISA
Executive Vice President and
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Federal Reserve System
Devon Bryan is Executive Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer for the Federal Reserve System. As Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Devon oversees information security, including incident response, for the enterprise, ensuring information security architecture, standards, policies and programs remain effective and efficient. Devon was appointed System CISO in February 2016.
Devon came to the Federal Reserve from Fortune 500 payroll and human resources provider ADP, where he served as Global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Devon led ADP’s information security strategy, collaborating across the company’s geographically dispersed business operations to ensure coordination, consensus, and effective execution across global operations. Prior to joining ADP in 2011, he served as the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after directing the IRS’s FISMA-compliant information security program and leading the IRS’s incident response team.
His information security career began in the U.S. Air Force, where he served as a Captain and lead engineer working on systems and programs to protect the critical network and communications tools of the Air Force’s Air Combat Command.
Devon is Co-Founder & President of ICMCP (International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals), which he launched in an attempt to bridge the ‘great minority cyber divide’ by providing academic scholarships, innovative outreach, mentoring and networking programs targeting minority cyber security professionals worldwide and by promoting academic and technical excellence in our tradecraft.
Devon received a Bachelor of Science, Applied Mathematics from South Dakota Technological University and a Master of Science, Computer Science from Colorado Technological University, graduating Summa Cum Laude. He holds multiple certifications: CISSP, CIPP/US, CIPP/EU, and CISA and participates in several industry forums and is a sought after speaker and writer on emerging cyber security trends and issues.
On a personal note, Devon has been married to his wife Andrea for 34 years and has two children Danielle (27 y/o) and Dominic (21 y/o). The couple resides in North Haledon, New Jersey.

Patrick Hunter
CBCF, STEAM Ambassador Founder, Patcasso Art LLC
www.Patcasso.com
Patrick Hunter is a nationally recognized STEAM Ambassador promoting the intersection of the arts and technology onstage as a live performance painter and in the classroom with arts integrated STEM programming designed for creative problem solving through collaborative and hands-on
learning.
He choreographs the arts to music creating dynamic visual performances that captivate his audiences.
Thousands have seen him perform live turning a blank canvas into icons such as MLK, Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Nelson Mandela and Ray Charles in minutes to a diverse genres of music. He has been featured at charity events for the Atlanta Braves, NBA, Sundance Film Festival and celebrities such as Ben Stein, Tim Wise, Hank Aaron, Geena Davis and Snoop Dogg.
Patrick Hunter joined CBCF’s Center for Policy Analysis and Research (CPAR) as our STEAM ambassador in 2017 and produced the CBCF’s first STEAM interactive workshop with 100 Baltimore High School Students at the 47th Annual Legislative Conference. This collaboration with Johns Hopkins University’s P-Tech Program and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation has resulted in an invaluable effort to expand CBCF’s local presence in the DMV through exposure, interaction, and education with African American and minority high school students in particular. Patrick will kick-off the second annual STEAM workshop this year at the 48th Annual Legislative Conference. Patrick and CPAR are currently working on a three year partnership to scale our collaboration beyond ALC in an effort to provide STEM and STEAM training opportunities throughout the year.
A native of Detroit, Patrick holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan.

Ibrahim Jackson
As the Head of North America for Leading Edge Forum (LEF), Ibrahim Jackson is responsible for end-to-end results of LEFs North America business. Ibrahim has a proven record of increasing growth and utilization of LEF research, advisory services and events with C-Suite executives of Large Cap companies. Prior to joining LEF, Ibrahim was executive director of IT Business Relationship Management at The Estee Lauder Companies Inc., responsible for leading technology enabled programs to drive top and bottom line results. Ibrahim serves on the Board of Directors of BRM Institute and is an active mentor, award recipient and member of Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF). He holds a BS degree from Kaplan University, School of Business and Information Technology and holds a Strategic Partnership certificate from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business. Ibrahim was a contributing author to ITSMF’s Conversational Insights | From Great Minds Vol. 1.
Ibrahim is based in New York and enjoys family time with his wife Natasha and their children Darion, Morgan and Jared. He enjoys audiobooks, adrenaline sports and partying with people who have good vibes. Lastly, his personal vision statement is to, “Be a productive contributor to society, make history and leave a positive legacy.”

Larry Jones
With over 25+ years of experience at Johnson & Johnson, Larry has maintained several IT leadership positions across its Medical Devices, Consumer, and Pharmaceutical sectors. Since 2015, he has served as the global Group CIO for one of the largest Medical Device companies in the world. He currently leads another significant business transformation effort for the $27+ billion device company, driving significant business value through new enterprise capabilities, and business process improvements. In addition, he and his team are driving connectivity and integration solutions for Johnson & Johnson’s ventures into next generation Digital Surgery. He serves as a member of the MD Global Senior Management Leadership team.
In his previous role, he was Vice President & Regional CIO, for Janssen Americas - the fastest growing Pharmaceutical company in the US, Japan, and Canada. He represented IT on the Regional Janssen Management Leadership team and additionally served as the IT leader responsible the Janssen Pharmaceutical ASPAC & LATAM regions. During his tenure, he implemented global commercial excellence solutions, led across-function global digital strategy, supported the development of the Commercial Data Engine (integrated, cloud-based commercial analytics solution), while supporting major product launches like Stelara®, Symponi®, Remicade®, Invokana®, and Xarelto®.
In 2009, he led a Corporate I/T strategic imperative to develop an enterprise approach for improved market intelligence. In 2010, he also participated in a Pharmaceuticals Action Learning Business Team to evaluate and support improved data integration to support our product value proposition. In 2011, his team embarked on driving next-generation sales force \ marketing excellence solutions via mobile devices in field sales for Janssen. As a result, his IT team was the first non-marketing division to win the prestigious James Burke Marketing Excellence award
With a strong commitment to the J&J Credo and its core values, his leadership teams have driven consistently high employee engagement results and technology execution. He is an executive member of the Johnson & Johnson African American Leadership Council, J&J BDPA executive sponsor, and represents J&J as member of the prestigious Executive Leadership Council.
Larry Jones has a MS / MBA in computer engineering from the University of Pennsylvania & Wharton School. He has a BS in computer science from St. Peter’s University, where he was an accomplished student-athlete. Currently, he is a trustee / board member for the Parker Life Home facilities and was previously Board Member for the Boys & Girls Club of Trenton / Mercer County.
A Newark, New Jersey native, Larry lives with his lovely wife, Luciana de Castro Balduino in Millstone Township, New Jersey.

Emil Menzies
Managing Director, Technology, BNY Mellon
Emil Menzies is a Managing Director within BNY Mellon Technology with over 25 years of financial services experience. He leads Third-Party Risk Management Strategy, Governance and Product Management for the Technology division. In this role, he collaborates with the Corporate Third Party Governance organization to develop the strategic third-party risk management program to drive more value from technology third-parties that have a strategic impact to our clients and lines of business. He supports the delivery of a consistent, risk-based oversight of the relationship and performance of technology third-parties for BNY Mellon clients and services.
Prior to this role, Emil served several key technology leadership roles, including Chief Information Officer for BNY Mellon’s Corporate Trust business where he managed the application development function for the 3,000 Corporate Trust users and their clients around the world. The division is responsible for providing development, risk management, and maintenance of applications and services used to support the Corporate Trust business strategy.
Other previous appointments include, managing the Global Trading Systems Group, which supported Global Markets, Global Treasury, Credit and Market Risk Management Trading Technology and Derivatives support for Asset Servicing OutSourcing.
Emil is an active and passionate advocate for BNY Mellon’s IMPACT business resource group, which drives diversity and inclusion in the workplace with a focus on multicultural talent. He is the Technology executive sponsor for DiverseTech, an IMPACT initiative designed to raise awareness with multicultural technologists of technology career paths in the financial services industry and improve the diversity of BNY Mellon’s technology talent pipelines. He is also a member of the firm’s African American Leadership Forum. Emil previously served as co-chair of the Strategic Projects sub-committee, which aims to accelerate the development of programs that leverage multicultural diversity and advance multicultural talent at BNY Mellon and outside the company.
Emil received the Black Achievers in Industry (BAI) Award from Harlem YMCA in recognition of his professional and civic accomplishments and for being a role model for young people. In addition, Emil is a member of the board of the Girls Scouts Heart of New Jersey.
Emil holds an MBA from Pace University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics with a Minor in Computer Systems from Goshen College.

Michael Palmer
MICHAEL PALMER is the Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer of the National Football League. His role is to govern the league’s cyber security strategy, policies and programs while protecting its brand, intellectual property and assets. Michael also oversees the NFL IT Strategy and Governance team including the IT Project Management office. Michael’s background includes 20+ years of broad cyber security, and enterprise risk management experience. Passionate about diversity and inclusion in the technology space, Michael is a committee chair of the NFL’s Diversity Council, a strategic advisory board member for the International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals (ICMCP) and Member of the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF). Michael serves on the Rochester Institute of Technology Computer Security Advisory Board. In his work at the college, he helps to shape the educational programs that train the next generation of cyber defenders. Michael has been honored with numerous industry recognitions and awards.

Robert Peterkins
Robert is a senior IT leader in the financial services industry who leads large-scale data management, reporting and analytical platforms with a particular focus on financial risk management, compliance and regulatory controls. Prior to his current role as Vice President - Technology Data Management at J.P. Morgan Chase, Robert held leadership positions at GE Capital and Bank of America. He also spent several years supporting the world’s largest trading floor as part of Hedge Fund Services at UBS Investment Bank.
Before working in Finance, Robert did pre and post sales and engagement management for Reuters Consulting He had global responsibility for exchange trading and market valuation products and led engineering teams in Europe and Latin America. At IQ Financial he was the lead engineer for a commercially sold portfolio management software product.
Robert grew up in Brooklyn, NY and went to Brooklyn Tech H.S. and Pace University. He is a member of the Information Technology Senior Management Forum and enjoys mentoring you through several community organizations. Robert currently lives in Stamford CT with his wife and children.

Conchita Tucker
Conchita Tucker is the President of Tucker Technology, Inc. (TTI) a national telecommunications contracting company. In her role as President she manages a staff of over 250 telecommunications professionals. She has led her team to successfully support several wireline/wireless network deployments including 4G for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless.
Prior to assuming the role as President of TTI, Conchita worked in various roles honing her general management and business development skills. In the area of profit and loss management she has been able to consistently deliver profit margins well above expectations, while delivering record year over year revenue growth of over 200%.
Conchita is an active member of several service organizations. She is an executive board member of the Stamford-Norwalk Graduate Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, and most recently completed her term as treasurer and technology chair, now currently serving as 2nd Vice President and Membership Chair. In addition to Alpha Kappa Alpha she is an active member of the Fairfield County Chapter of The Links, Inc. and Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs, where she services as the Co-Chair of the New York Chapter.
Conchita holds a bachelor’s of science in Marketing from St. John’s University and Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Conchita is a mother of a 5 year old son, she lives, and works in New York City.

Frank A. Tucker
Frank A. Tucker is Chairman of the Board and CEO of Tucker Technology, Inc., headquartered in Oakland, California, with an east coast office in New York City. He is also the Chairman of the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area. Prior to his present status, he held the position of Vice President of Technology House in San Francisco. In his current position, he oversees the provision of full service telecommunications solutions for voice and data applications and facilities throughout the continental United States and Hawaii.
The Oakland Chamber of Commerce has named Frank Tucker entrepreneur of the year and the US Small Business Administration named him Small Business Person of the year. The firm serves many major businesses and government agencies including AT&T, Lucent Technology, U.S. Navy, The Port of Oakland and The City of Oakland. For four years in a row years, the firm has ranked in the top 10 on INC. Magazine's Inner City 100 list of the fastest growing urban businesses in the nation. Furthermore, Tucker Technology has placed on the INC 500 and ranked #1 on a list of the fastest growing privately held companies by the East Bay Business Times.
Mr. Tucker currently serves on the Board of Directors of Capital Commitment; a Washington D.C.-based non-profit organization dedicated to training economically disadvantaged people for the telecommunications trade. He has served as chair of the City of Oakland’s Workforce Investment Board, chairs the Oakland Black Caucus’ Economic Development Committee, is on the executive committee of the Oakland African-American Chamber of Commerce, and the 100 Black Men of the
Bay area. Mr Tucker is a member of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. He is on Advisory Boards for First Bank & Trust, the Women’s Economic Agenda Program, Project Transition, and Alta Alliance Bank. Additionally, he has served as the small business delegate to the Inner-City Economic Development Forum.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from York College of the City University of New York.
A native of New York City, Mr. Tucker has resided for more than twenty-five years in Oakland, California.