The Flash Tech Summit was created to provide a space for kids to come and learn about the diverse fields of work in Information Technology. The career paths are endless and the Summit provides an opportunity for all to explore.
What is the Flash Tech Summit?
So what does the summit consist of?
Workshops
Workshops focusing on various areas of technology to engage young minds
Lunch and Learn Panel
A panel of black professionals working in tech fields that share their knowledge with the kids, along with Q&A, and lunch!
Registration is FREE
We want all kids to be exposed and have access to this experience so it's free!
Check out the Tech Panel from the Past Tech Summits
Sponsors
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Speakers
Sharnikya Howard
01
Panel Moderator
Sharnikya Howard has dedicated her career to the advancement of STEM. She has served as a Tech Director and is a certified Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Agilist, leading software development enterprises, managing the full System Development Lifecycle (SDLC) from a lean-agile perspective. A graduate of Bennett College for Women with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, she also holds an MS in Project Management, an MBA, and completed the Cornell University Women’s Entrepreneurship certificate program. As a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) she has provided stellar support to her clients. As a testament to her great work in the field, she was selected to join the Project Management Body of Knowledge Review Team for the most recently released “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) - 5th Edition”. Committed to STEM, she chairs the Girls In Technology Sharing Our Success program and co-leads a program that teaches elementary and middle school aged children the full System Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
Cyrena Jackson
Manager, Cybersecurity
Cyrena Jackson is a people leader in the Cyber Operations & Intel division at a Fortune 500 Financial Institution where she is responsible for a dynamic team that ensures brand protection, takedowns of customer phishing, domain protection, intellectual property protection, social media protection and customer education. She leverages her 12 years of experience in the industry to prioritize, remediate and mitigate cyber enterprise risks. She is a passionate supporter of Women and Blacks in Technology, and mentors school-age children through various technical programs. She has made it a personal mission to make a meaningful impact during her IT career that helps make it easier for other women and people of color to succeed. She received an A.S., Computer Networking System and a B.S., Information Systems and Cybersecurity. Cyrena is a devoted mom and wife who hopes her career success will serve as an inspiration for her children.
02
Panel Speaker
03
Panel Speaker
Aisha Lawrey
Head of Global Education Programs, AWS
STEM advocate, Aisha Lawrey, has 25 years of experience on this journey. Working in industry, government, nonprofits, and education she knows how to engage many different stakeholders, at all levels. Her focus is on increasing the number of women and minorities in engineering.
Aisha currently works for AWS (Amazon Web Services), as the Training & Certification Global Head for Education Programs, AMER (North, Central, and South America). Her role represents all the Education Programs spanning K-12, higher education, and professional skilling, reskilling, and upskilling learners. The goal is to show multiple pathways to learners that lead to professionals joining the cloud workforce.
She is currently an AAAS IFTHEN STEM Ambassador and even has a 3D scanned statue in her image. Aisha obtained her degrees in Engineering Education, Public Policy and Administration, and Electrical Engineering. A New Jersey native, Aisha now resides in Maryland with her husband and 15-year-old twins.
Michael Banks
Security Engineering Manager
For nearly a decade Michael has been a noteworthy leader in the cybersecurity community. Michael is currently a Security Engineering Manager within the AWS Security Operations Center (SOC). He has been with Amazon for over five years. He leads global teams of security engineers that investigates and manages security issues across the world that focuses on incident response. Michael is also a Cyber Operations Officer in the Army Reserves serving on a Cyber Protection Team. Michael has served in the Army Reserves for over 12 years. He holds over a dozen industry cybersecurity certifications and a Master’s Degree in Information Security Management from Augusta University. Michael is from Augusta, Ga and currently resides in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area
04
Panel Speaker
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Torrence Reed
05
Panel Speaker
Founder and CEO, Cybershield Security
Torrence Reed, has over 19 years in security infrastructure
engineering, data center operations, software development, data analysis and cloud migrations. Versatile and strategic professional with
technological expertise used to generate higher levels of revenue,
profitability, and shareholder value.
With Black entrepreneurship being a top priority, Torrence is also a
technical advisor and consultant to several startups like Freeman Capital, MyBlackReceipt, Empower Global and many more.
As a 2018 Black Enterprise Modern Man recipient, Torrence is a proud
graduate of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in
Greensboro, NC (Aggie Pride!), where he acquired a BS in Management Information Systems.
Garrison Best
Cloud Infrastructure Architect
Garrison is a Cloud Infrastructure Architect with AWS Proserve. He is born and raised in Washington DC. He has been working in the consulting world for over 5 years. His hobbies are coaching(lacrosse), and traveling
06
Panel Speaker
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Obum Egolum
07
Panel Speaker
Senior Associate, Cyber Security Engineer at Capital One
Obum Egolum (he/him) is a native of Anambra, Nigeria and immigrated to America in the late '90s with his family. Obum currently resides in Bowie, Maryland with his mum and siblings. Obum is a second year grad student at The Johns Hopkins University where he is pursuing his M.S. in Systems Engineering. Obum obtained his B.S. in Information Technology with a Cyber Security concentration and a minor in Business from George Mason University. Obum works as a Senior Associate, Cyber Security Engineer at Capital One Financial where he and his team work to provide automated bot protection to Capital One’s apps. Obum is an active leader in the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) with 7yrs of experience at nearly all levels of leadership and is currently serving a second term on the National Professionals Executive Board. Obum is also a proud brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.
Workshop Facilitators
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Adrian McClanahan
Event Host & Workshop Facilitator
Adrian McClanahan is a mother, a wife, and a Network Control Center Engineer, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Network Information Systems and is CompTIA A+ certified. She's been in the IT field for over 14 years, she's passionate about technology and seeing more Black people within the technology space. Adrian also channels that passion for tech into her technology blog and website design business, ChicDivaGeek, LLC. She also teaches introductory coding classes for kids at Prince George's County Recreation Centers. The Flash Tech Summit was her brain child to expose youth regardless of resources to different career fields in technology.
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Victor L. Terry
Workshop Facilitator
Victor L. Terry is Data Storage Engineer. He's actively been working in the Information Technology Field for 13 years supporting a number of Military & Federal Agencies. He's also passionate about sharing all the new technology he learns with youth so that they may consider a career in technology. He's been working with youth in his community for 15 years. He has a non-profit called Fly By Nature, who's mission is to promote anti-bullying. It has an Bullying Prevention Curriculum that it plans to make nationwide standard for schools to create a bully free, positive environment for kids so they can focus on achieving their academic success
Contact
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