Is BDPA Con one of the tech industry’s best kept secrets? If you ask some of this year’s attendees, the answer is resoundingly yes.
While Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA), established in 1975, is not a secret, this year’s conference welcomed many first-time attendees, students, and aspiring tech professionals alongside top-level innovators and leaders in technology.
BDPA is an organization dedicated to advancing talent in information technology (IT), advanced computing and data science. The annual BDPA conference aims to provide networking, learning and growth opportunities for aspiring and established tech professionals.
The 2026 conference, Innovation in Motion: Keeping Pace with Emerging Trends, offered workshops and speakers covering many perspectives on topics such as AI, data, innovation, women in leadership, health equity and business ownership. The Indianapolis BDPA chapter was this year’s host city, bringing attendees to the Hyatt Regency in downtown Indianapolis.
As president of the BDPA Indianapolis chapter, Stephen Jeffers said hosting this year was a “milestone” for the chapter and the city.
“What made this conference matter wasn’t just the sessions or the career fair — it was the connections. Students left with mentors. Job seekers left with real opportunities,” Jeffers said.
Jasmine Smith, a first-time attendee from Louisiana, is a young professional pursuing a career in cyber security. Her instructor told her about the organization and the conference.
“This conference will help me, just with connections (and) learning new things I didn’t before,” Smith said, who was looking forward to the opportunities BDPA Con offers.
Smith is early in her career, and she believed BPDA could provide the chance to build her network within the field.
At the IU Indianapolis Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, students are required to accompany their academic work with professional experiences like BDPA Con. Luddy Associate Program Director Lilandra Lestz hoped the students she accompanied would come away from the conference with “experience and exposure.”
“We can teach in a classroom, but how can we have that real world exposure, that networking connection?” Lestz said, emphasizing the importance of building meaningful relationships as part of career advancement.
More than 200 students from various schools and universities were in attendance to participate in the workshops, competitions and coding projects. At this year’s gala, BDPA awarded $60,000 in prizes to 33 students in various categories such as the Pitch Competition, Robotics Arms Competition, 40th High School Coding Competition and Esports.
Creating a pathway for young people entering the profession is also a driving force for Delden Fane, an IT developer, business owner and consultant with more than 40 years of experience.
“I have a passion for giving back, to not only the youth, but young professionals,” Fane said.
His new focus in giving back is sharing a lesser-known career path called Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V), with young people who are considering jobs in tech. NASA’s IV&V Facility is named after Katherine Johnson, a Black woman mathematician who was portrayed in the film “Hidden Figures” for making significant contributions to early human space exploration.
Fane said there weren’t many people who looked like him in the field when he started in 2013 and there still aren’t many today.
“And that’s something I want to share here with BDPA so that they’re aware of it and possibly (other) career pathways for them,” Fane said.
Likewise, TechIndiana CEO Dennis Trinkle said on a panel that the Indiana Career Apprenticeship Pathway (INCAP) is “one of the most significant initiatives that he will work on in his life.” The program provides high school students and adults with “paid on-the-job training,” according to the website, with the aim of preparing them for the current needs in the workforce.
Trinkle said Indiana does not have “a talent problem, but an alignment problem,” meaning the state has room for improvement to prepare people with the skills that employers are looking for. He believes INCAP will help.
Other BDPA Con panelists included Citizens Energy Group President and CEO Jeffrey Harrison, former BDPA National President Terry Morris, Indianapolis International Airport Senior Director of Strategic Alliance Holli Harrington, and Nicole Tate, senior vice president of Enterprise Business Development and Client Enablement at World Wide Technology, one of the country’s largest Black-owned tech companies.
In a survey following the conference, attendees expressed their appreciation for “a space of Black excellence.”
Smith said conferences and organizations like BDPA matter to her.
“It’s very important because we need somewhere to go. Our other colleagues, you know, they help each other and it’s good to be a part of (a group of) like-minded people, just like us.”
For more information on Black Data Processing Associates, visit BDPA.org or for the Indianapolis chapter, visit bdpa-indy.org.
Contact Editor-in-Chief Camike Jones at 317-762-7850.
Camike Jones is the Editor-in-Chief of the Indianapolis Recorder. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Jones has a lifelong commitment to advocacy and telling stories that represent the community.
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