On-Ramps to Careers

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Monique LeNoir Pittman is a seasoned communications professional with more than 25 years of experience in the field.  She has served as the National Director of Communications for UNCF (United Negro College Fund) for the past 4 years, where she is responsible for running the day-to-day of the Branding, Marketing and Communications Department. Monique previously served on the senior leadership team as the Director of Resource Development for the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO). Before joining BAEO, Monique worked as Director of Communications for the Washington Teachers' Union, where she was responsible for all media and communications activities. She also worked for DC Public Schools where she managed the day-to-day of the Communications Department for 7 years, as the Communications Manager for an international microcredit organization the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), and ran her own freelance public relations firm, Madison McKenzie Communications, for several years. She has held Board of Director positions for Washington Yu Ying Public Charter Schools and Ethnic Health America was an advisory board member of the UNCF Walton Fellowship Program and is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, Jack, and Jill of America Inc., and Twelve Days of Christmas Inc. Monique obtained her undergraduate degree in Public Relations from Howard University and a Master’s Degree in Public Communications from American University. A native of Oakland, California she resides in Washington, DC with her husband and two sons.

 

Dr. Neenia Barlatt-Higgins, a Senior Manager at Accenture, is a Talent and Organization Management Consultant and an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Certified Professional Coach, who specializes in helping her clients enhance their employee and customer experiences.

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Prior to joining Accenture, Neenia was a Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and an Administrator within Higher Education (Director of Career and Alumni Services, Georgetown University; Career Counselor, Columbia University; Program Coordinator/Resident Director, Rutgers University; Graduate Assistant, Juilliard School).

 

In addition, Neenia has her doctorate in Human and Organizational Learning from George Washington University and supports On-Ramps to Careers by facilitating Career Development workshops for the students and serving as a Board member and Internship Celebration Host Committee member. 

 

Jim Vollman is the president of Advanced Workforce Systems, which designs software and systems for applications related to job finding and labor market information. He also serves as Senior Vice President of Associated Veterans, LLC, which provides information technology and project management services to the Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies. In past roles, he served as an Associate Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Labor and helped to create labor market information delivery systems in the US, Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Macedonia.  Mr. Vollman is a member of the bar in Michigan and he holds a Juris Doctor degree from Wayne State University and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.

 

As a Pepco Holdings manager of operations, Nigel is responsible for overseeing all maintenance activities on 142 substations within the Washington Metropolitan area.  Nigel is responsible for providing leadership and development to work teams,  conducting performance plans and appraisals, and identifying opportunities for growth and learning.   Nigel is also the leader of the “Diverse Workforce” sub-team on Pepco Holdings Diversity and Inclusion Council.  Nigel is a 4th generation Washingtonian. In his free time, Nigel enjoys volunteering with the National Society of Black Engineers and participating in SAT preparation courses. In addition, Nigel regularly participates in various activities at DC Public High Schools, including technology and engineering fairs and career days.   Nigel Rosser is a graduate of the 2007 class of McKinley Technology High School where he was the first SGA President after its re-opening.  Nigel Attended North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, where he attained a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.

 

As regional director, Christopher advances AT&T’s legislative, regulatory, and external affairs agenda in the District of Columbia and Maryland. Christopher joined AT&T from Maryland state government where he served as Policy and Legislative Director to Governor Larry Hogan, and most recently as Chief of Staff for the Maryland Department of Information Technology. 

 

Bashiyra’s journey to bridge the gap between business and technology began at a very early age when she tested into the nationally accredited Pre-Engineering program “Project Lead The Way” where she learned the importance of problem solving and technical acumen as a high school student. She went on to obtain her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Business Administration from Hampton University with a focus on information systems. Currently, Bashiyra serves as the Global Sponsorship Program Manager on the Public Sector Marketing team at Amazon Web Services (AWS) managing the virtual and in person sponsorship marketing presence of over 90 tech partners, including Intel and VMware, in over nine different countries. Bashiyra credits her early exposure to technology careers in her High School program for her current ability to navigate non-technical roles at technology companies and has a passion for helping diverse students do the same.

 

Frederick is known as a visionary and transformational leader and boasts 35 years of experience optimizing organizational resources to achieve mission impacts.  He works in the field of Client Relations and developed strategic technology solutions in application modernization, cybersecurity, and infrastructure.  Frederick received his Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Technology at Fitchburg State University then went on to receive two Master's Degrees; one in Business Administration and Management from Bowie State University, and another in National Strategic Studies from Army War College.  He is eager to put his skills and experience to use to create opportunities for the next generation of STEM workers by ensuring an inclusive workforce supporting the Digital Transformation Human Capital pipeline.

 

With over 22 years experience, Stephanie provides public and private sector clients with innovative technical solutions through cyber risk-focused strategies, services, and IT business process improvement with core competencies in project management, cybersecurity, user experience design, network and systems engineering.  Stephanie serves as the Business Information Security Officer for Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC.  She is also the Founder and CEO of ThirtySeven21, a digital design agency and leading provider of digital products and technology consulting services.  Stephanie is a passionate supporter of women, girls and minorities in tech, volunteering with organizations such as On-Ramps to Careers, Girls In Tech, Girls Who Code, Women In Tech, National Society of Black Engineers and DC Public Schools.  Stephanie received her Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She is a native of Flint, Michigan and resides with her family in Washington, DC. 

 

Senior Sales Executive with more than twenty five years of successful sales and management experience in a wide variety of IT software and infrastructure solutions. Proven track record in developing sales strategies to achieve revenue and market share objectives and building and restructuring sales teams and field operations in Commercial, Enterprise and Federal markets.

Accomplished organizational leader with exceptional skill set in recruiting, developing “A” players, building strong teams and driving organizational execution and strategies to meet corporate goals. Organizational experience includes start-ups, hyper-growth and Fortune 50 technology companies.

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Quincy received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University.  In his current role at Palo Alto, he is responsible for leading the Palo Alto Sales Teams that cover the US Army, Special Operations Forces and Defense Healthcare.