Nashville, TN — The Nashville chapter of the Blacks in Technology Foundation (BIT-Nashville) announces the addition of five new board members in 2023.
“We’ve worked hard to make sure that we have chosen a board that represents a variety of experts from educational organizations, non-profits, tech companies, and advocacy groups,” said BIT President Holly Rachel. “It takes all of our input to produce well-rounded change, and that is exactly what we are planning to accomplish.”
The new board members begin their one-year terms with BIT-Nashville effective March 14, 2021.
- Corey Barrett – CEO and Founder of CB3, BIT-Nashville Entrepreneurship Liaison
- Angela Grett – Director of Corporate Affairs at Ingram Barge Company
- Summer Wood – Principal, FH Jenkins Preparatory School, BIT-Nashville k-12 Education Liaison
- Carey Hartkopf – Sr. Director ePMO at Tractor Supply Company
- Kathryn Rickmeyer – Business Development at bundleN and founder of tennbeat
Lena Winfree, BIT-Nashville co-organizer and Vice President adds: “We are so excited to have such influential people from Nashville’s tech leadership on our board willing and ready to affect positive change in our community.”
The newcomers join BIT the following eight founding board members:
- Dr. Charles Apigian, Executive Director of the Belmont Data Collaborative, Belmont University
- Sylvester Carstarphen, Vice President of Technology – Engineering, Asurion
- Amy Henderson, President and Chief Operating Officer, Nashville Software School
- Derek Jones, Global EHS Director GSF and Retail Operations, Amazon
- Lennie Patterson, Mid-Market Account Executive, AgentSync, BIT-Nashville Public Policy Chair
- Dr. Tamara Rogers, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Tennessee State University
- Robert Tudor, Director of IT Partnership Solutions and Student Placement, Nashville State Community College
- Dana Ward, Vice President of IT Business Services, Wellpath; Vice President of Women in Technology
Blacks in Technology Nashville, is one of 40 chapters of the BIT Foundation which seeks to increase diversity within the tech sector through education, partnerships and advocacy.
In 2022, BIT-Nashville launched two new pilot programs — the Local Tek Thrive program and Healthcare Analytics Training — hosted 20 virtual and in-person events, and doubled its membership, topping 700 members.
Through the Local Tek thrive program all 150 juniors at Republic High School — a north Nashville charter school whose student population is 91-percent non-white — will earn 6 hours of college technology credits from local HBCU, Tennessee State University. Students will receive 3 hours for Coding Languages and 3 hours for App Development.
15 nonprofits participated in the organization’s statewide Healthcare Analytics Training Program. The 12-week virtual course was designed to help health care non-[profit professionals learn to leverage data to make more impactful decisions.
“The addition of these five board members will help us expand our reach and make an even greater impact in 2023,” said Rachel.
