Current Occupation: Senior Biotech Manager/Founder BlackGirlsCode
Favorite website: www.BlackGirlsCode.com
Favorite read: The Alchemist
Recent read: The Hunger Games
2012′s ultimate goal: Grow and expand Black Girls CODE to three cities.
Quote Governing Your Mission or a Quote that Inspires You: “I come as one, I stand as 10,000″ Maya Angelou
Twitter handle: @Blackgirlscode

Welcome back to another installment of the largest running profile series on African-American women in technology.  I have a very special entry for you this time readers!  Ever met an extremely successful executive holding  it down who also runs a robust philanthropic endeavor ? Well, let me introduce you to Kimberly Bryant.   This biotechnology/engineering professional is changing lives in a profound way through her organization BlackGirlsCode that is fast becoming a premier collective that introduces young Black women  to technology and computer programming.  I am so glad to have caught up with this colleague.  Here’s a bit of our recent encounter:

LDC: So Kimberly, what was it like growing up in the South and what led you to pursue a career in engineering?

KB: I grew up in Memphis, TN which is a small metropolitan city in the South.  Although I was not surrounded by technology, I was lucky to grow up during a time when it was cool to be smart and at least for me I had many opportunities to strive and achieve throughout my K-12 academic career.  My strong focus in math and science led me to a career in engineering at Vanderbilt University at a time when the recruitment of women in STEM paths was at an all time high.

KB: I have worked in the Biotech/Pharma industry for more than 15 years in a variety of leadership roles in engineering management.  My current role is a Senior Biotech Project Manager.  In this role I get the opportunity to work with a multiple of clients on projects ranging from IT and infrastructure upgrades, manufacturing design projects, and technical transfer projects.  Because of my diverse background in engineering and IT, I have an opportunity to work in multiple business functions which makes my current position both challenging and exciting.

KB: After many years of working in Corporate America, I decided that my skills and abilities could be transfered to an entrepreneurial endeavor in the rapidly exploding mobile health field.  I began to network in the tech community and attend technical events where I found myself one of very few women and minorities.  My focus shifted at this point.  I felt a very strong drive to reach back into my community and help other young women of color discover the many opportunities for career growth and achievement in technology and decided to create Black Girls CODE as a vehicle to expose young women of color to the technical space and introduce them to computer programming and digital technology.  I feel strongly that it is our mission to “change the equation” so that more women and minorities enter the IT field as creators.

KB: From the start of our program, we made a commitment to be a part of our community and to offer the Black Girls CODE programs to the youth who were least likely to have similar opportunities or programs available to them.  The Bayview-Hunters Pointe community is one of the oldest and still largest African-American communities in the Bay Area.  It sits literally right at the footsteps of technology and discovery being less than an hours drive from Silicon Valley and at the foot of the biotechnology hub in the bay.  Yet most young people in the community have very little to no insight into biotechnology or computer programming and little exposure to these STEM areas as potential career paths.  We were very blessed to find a strong community partner in the Bayview Youth Organization- 100% College Prep Institute , who literally opened their doors and their rolodexes to help us get our program off the ground.  They allowed us to launch our pilot program from their new computer lab and actively recruited students from their existing programs to our pilot class.  We have maintained a strong commitment to Bayview-Hunters Pointe and will continue to reach out to these students and the community as we grow and expand.

There is so much we can learn from the legendary Steve Jobs. He’s not only changed the way we communicate and receive information, he has also shifted the minds of many. Here are a few life lessons we can learn from Mr. Jobs – Read here..

Who knows maybe we can change the world too…

Steve Jobs, the former Apple CEO, co-founder and creator of the personal computer, iPod and iPad, iPhone, iMac and iTunes has passed away today. He was 56. Jobs, who had been battling a rare form of pancreatic cancer, succumbed to the disease after years of diminishing health. In August, after coming to the decision that he couldn’t fulfill his duties, Jobs stepped down as CEO of his influential company. After helping to found Apple Computers in 1976 with Steve Wozniak, the college dropout was a millionaire by the time many of us are still paying off college loans, and he went on to shape the way we look at and use technology. From how you do your work, to how you listen to music, and even how you buy your music, Jobs revolutionized everything about the tech experience. And even if you tried to root for other companies, you probably owned something from Apple. Let’s just be honest. Outside of his iconic and profitable company, Jobs leaves behind his wife Laurene, and four children. What a loss.

By Alexis Garrett Stodghill

The world is reeling today from the news that Steve Jobs is stepping down as CEO of Apple after bringing the company back from the brink of extinction. After taking the helm of the struggling firm in 1997 (after being forcible ousted in 1985), Jobs created whirlwind growth for Apple, making it the most valuable corporation in the world. More than just making money, Apple has touched peoples’ hearts. The products and services of Jobs’ (former) employer have improved our lives in countless ways, enabling millions to enjoy music, share photos, and make art through Apple’s tools. Here are 11 little known facts about Steve Jobs, the unusual man with a very interesting history who has empowered us all through his creative mind.

Steve Jobs: A College Drop Out
According to CNN: “He dropped out of Oregon’s Reed College after one semester, although he returned to audit a class in calligraphy. He quit one of his first jobs, designing video games for Atari, to backpack around India and take psychedelic drugs.” The counter-cultural attitude and concern for aesthetics these experiences honed in Jobs would go into the unique brand he would develop for Apple.

Google ChromeBooks are the latest tech toy to hit the scene.  The cloud-based OS meets the laptop is the concept behind this much-discussed product. While built and optimized for web use, these computing devices may be new entrants but most players in the game are in agreement that ChromeBooks are not really all that revolutionary. Consumers will want to make decisions after careful analysis but at least here are what could be considered the best 5 elements that ChromeBooks currently have to offer:

#1 - Google apps such as Gmail are available off-line. This means not having to actually connect so it saves time.  Ideal for Gmail, Google News and otherwise Google app addicts

#2 – The new Angry Birds app comes loaded and ready to go. And who can’t live without that?!  That’s right, the mobile gaming hit is available to Chrome users, even offline.  And users of this software get a special set of Angry Birds levels.  Let the games begin.

#3 – The price starts at only $399 (though it is debatable as to whether this is a steal or not based on what the product actually offers). There are also plans to ship a smaller model, with an 11.6-inch screen and a full-size keyboard. Both models will be available in WiFi-only or 3G connected

#4 – It’s produced by Samsung which is really making some of the best made devices out today. Samsung is going to charge $429 for the WiFi version, and $499 for the 3G model

#5 – Educational institutions can lease a ChromeBook for only $20 per month (via Google, 3 years) and only $28 a month for businesses. Google says that users can avoid system crashes, long boot times, application conflicts, software updates, viruses and security issues. Thus, they see the benefit of higher productivity and ease of use for schools and businesses

All in all, an interesting development,  but the verdict is not out just yet on if you, the consumer, will actually gravitate to Chromebooks.

Lauren DeLisa Coleman is a writer, speaker and thought-leader specializing in the diverse segment of the Gen X,Y demo, tech and its convergence with socio-economic concerns. Follow her @mediaempress

Last month 58 laptop computers,  two desktops and one projector was stolen from a West Philadelphia High school.

The police were able to recover half of the stolen laptops and the projector.

But thanks to the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, the kids will be getting 29 new Apple laptops and one desktop to replace the stolen property.

While Will won’t be able to deliver the computers himself, due to a prior engagement, his long-time friend and community activist, Charlie “Mack” Alston will bring the gifts to the high school students.

Get the rest of the story over at Black Voices.

(Time) — Apple is fond of saying that its Macs “just work.” That’s a relative term, of course. Macs do indeed deliver the smoothest integration of software, hardware and services in the computer business, with a record for reliability that most big makers of Windows PCs can’t touch. But these days, it’s Apple’s iPhone and iPad that set the standard for seamless simplicity. Compared with them, Macs are mere personal computers, complicated by features that aren’t absolutely necessary, parts that are prone to failure and interfaces that aren’t instantly comprehensible to clueless newbies.  That’s one way of looking at things. And judging from last week’s press conference at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., it’s the direction that the company’s own thinking is going. M.C. Steve Jobs explained that the event’s title, “Back to the Mac,” referred to borrowing good ideas from the iPhone and iPad and taking them to Macs.

Read More…

by Sheryl Nance-Nash

Paul Judge is the kind of guy who looks for problems to solve. He has his hands full doing his part to keep the world of computing safe as an internationally recognized authority on information security issues. Simply and humbly, Judge says he “takes on the bad guys.”

There’s no shortage of foes. “There is a set of attackers that are pretty good at what they do. They are well funded, with hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said.  “They are highly skilled, and some are supported by governments. We are in a challenging arms race between good and bad. This fact keeps me going. I know I can’t take a vacation for two years because they are relentless.”

Judge is chief research officer and vice president of Barracuda Networks, which last year acquired Purewire, a leading Web security-as-a-service company that Judge founded in 2007. Barracuda Networks combines premise-based gateways and software, cloud services, and sophisticated remote support to deliver comprehensive security, networking and storage solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes offerings for protection against email, Web and IM threats, as well as products that improve application delivery and network access, message archiving, backup and data protection.

Before Purewire, Judge was chief technology officer and senior vice president at Secure Computing, where he led the technology and product strategy. In 2000, he joined the founding team of CipherTrust which became one of the fastest growing companies in North America with 300 employees and over 3000 customers in 50 countries, including half of the Fortune 500. CipherTrust was acquired by Secure Computing for $273 million in 2006. While at CipherTrust and Secure Computing, he headed the technology strategy and spent time leading research, engineering and product management. He is an inventor of about 30 patented and patent-pending computer security technologies. He also worked briefly at IBM and NASA.

Judge, author of numerous papers published in academic journals and a presenter at industry and academic conferences around the world, has won numerous awards including InfoWorld Top 25 CTOs, Atlanta Power 30 under 30, and MIT Technology Review Magazine’s 100 Top Innovators under 35. He has also spearheaded multiple research initiatives and founded the Internet Research Task Force’s Anti-Spam Research Group.

At 33, Judge has accomplished much. He remembers clearly his early fascination with computer games in high school and programming. Originally, he thought he would pursue a career as a chemical engineer, but by the time he got to college he was captivated by the internet and e-commerce. “I saw that there was going to be so much money spent on the net. The big question was how to keep that money safe?” said Judge, who got his B.S in Computer Science from Morehouse and received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Network Security from Georgia Tech.