From where I sit, the road ahead is promising and full of exciting challenges and new opportunities. The past few months have been full of transition within ITSMF. Viola Thompson retired. I joined the organization in August. We have some new staff members on board as well and new internal promotions. I am confident that we have a strong team in place, and I look forward to sharing our progress with you.
We are seeing rapid growth in the IT Industry, most of our corporate partners are hiring talent in large numbers. There is also a stronger interest from our corporate partners to invest in and grow diverse leaders from within their ranks. GIPD is growing. Our members continue to experience promotions, wage increases, professional awards, launching new businesses, publishing books, and securing major public speaking engagements. We needed a place to share all of this.
Many of our Alliance Partners are experiencing executive leadership changes while seeing new opportunities for funding/grants in the IT and workforce development space and they are even more interested in strengthening their partnership with ITSMF. We will keep you informed. Please also feel free to share funding opportunities with us that you come across them.
We are planning to resume hybrid in-person symposiums and networking events in 2022. We are launching a COVID-19 protocol to maintain safety and we hope to see more of you next year. It is time to come together. More information will be shared in this issue and the coming months.
We need you on this journey! Let’s stay connected. Read the newsletter monthly and let us know what you think. Feel free to share announcements and content that you think our members and partners should know. Become a guest columnist. After all,……. We are family…. Let’s work together.
Johanna Jones
President & CEO
About Information Technology Senior Management Forum
Since 1996, Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) has been dedicated to increasing the representation of Black professionals at senior levels in technology to impact organizational innovation and growth. We do this by developing and nurturing these dynamic leaders through enrichment of the mind, body and soul. At its inception, only 3% of senior-level positions in the technology industry were held by Blacks. With a half-million new computer-related jobs expected by 2028, ITSMF is committed to increasing the number of qualified Black professionals for these positions. For more information about ITSMF, visit www.itsmfleaders.org.