Women’s History Month marks an opportunity to celebrate, support and uplift women. And at this time, I am reminded of both the people who had a strong influence on my life and Maya Angelou’s words, “Prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud. Be a blessing to somebody.”

February is recognized as Black History Month. The month honors those who have endured centuries of struggle, and those who continue to fight for civil rights.

While the first original celebration of Negro History Week was in February 1926, Black History Month was expanded to the entire month of February in 1976, the nation’s bicentennial. Negro History Week originally spanned the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two figures pivotal to abolishing slavery in the US. The initiative to establish an entire month of honor was spearheaded by author, journalist and historian, Carter G. Woodson, known most notably as the “Father” of Black History due to his influential work.

Today, there are nearly 50 million African American people in the US; from 2020 to 2060, African Americans will contribute to more than 20 percent of the total US population growth.

As part of honoring Black History Month, Quest would like to provide you with a list of key organizations serving the African American community, particularly those with a focus on technology, leadership, and professional development in functions that many of our members perform in their companies. As technology continues to change, the need for new thoughts and ideas will also increase.

The Quest community has a history of being a diverse and inclusive organization, as we believe our community is stronger and more valuable to its members because of its diverse make-up. Quest is continuing its DEI journey with a focus on formalizing many of our practices in search of continuous improvement (an organizational core value), and to ensure our beliefs are reinforced and operationalized in organizational behavior that endures. Before I get into some of the details of Quest’s DEI plans, please allow me to provide a little background.

Mark Thomas joined Hays Recruitment Specialists in 2008. Hays is a leading global specialist recruitment firm, and the market leader in places such as the UK, Germany, and Australia. Located in London, England where Mark holds the role of UK & Ireland IT Director, he and his team are directly involved in all aspects of the running, updating and solution design of the Oracle platform. The team is responsible for ensuring the stability and reliability of the systems by implementing regular patching and updates as well as designing and implementing creative solutions to solve business challenges.

Ken Piddington, Vice President & CIO at U.S. Silica, enters his second year on the Quest Board of Directors. When it comes to Digital Transformation, Strategy, and Innovation, Ken is a leader in the industry - an Award-Winning CIO recognized for his leadership and management effectiveness through IT innovation and an established Keynote Speaker. Recently elected by his board peers as an Officer At-Large, Ken serves on the Board’s Executive Committee and will lead the new Executive Programming Taskforce at Quest, where he will guide the development of specific executive programming initiatives and engagement plans for continued outreach.

Josh Stauffer, Senior Director, Information Systems/Information Technology at HarbisonWalker International has been a member of the Quest Board of Directors since 2018. During his tenure, Josh has served on the Event Strategy and Strategic Taskforce Committees. In 2022, Josh will advise on the Quest Strategy Committee, the Cloud Taskforce, and the Nominating Committee.

Bryan Brewer, Information Technology and Operations Manager at the Womble Company has been a member of the Quest Board of Directors since 2018. Elected by his board peers as an Officer At-Large, Bryan serves on the Board’s Executive Committee and has held the role of Treasurer since 2021. In the Treasurer’s role, Bryan is charged with overseeing the management and reporting of the organization’s finances including facilitating and encouraging the board’s strategic thinking about the short and long-term financial viability of the organization. In 2022, Bryan will also serve on the Quest Strategy Committee, the Executive Programming Taskforce and the Nominating Committee.

At Womble, a leading provider of internal and external pipeline coating systems, Bryan is a Senior Technology Leader experienced in delivering efficient business solutions, problem solving, strategic planning, and organization development. He has experience in solutions architecture design, development and optimization in Finance, Supply Chain/Distribution/Logistics, Manufacturing, EDI and Management Reporting applications; multiple lifecycle Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems (Oracle/JD Edwards) implementations, upgrades and support. Prior to Womble, Bryan held positions with numerous IT organizations including the CD Group, Huffy Corporation and MCSi and brings over 35 years of experience in Purchasing, Receiving, Sales Order Processing Inventory Control, Manufacturing, and Accounting Systems.

Tammy Gaston, Senior IT Specialist & JD Edwards Manager at Stoner, Inc. in Quarryville PA just completed her first year of service as a member of the Quest Board of Directors.

Quest CEO, Jon Vaughn, recently authored a blog for Oracle’s Modern Finance Leader: How User Groups Enable Innovation and Agility in the Digital Age. As a member of the Quest community, we know that you know how user group participation can help organizations get more out of their technology investments, but it’s still a good read and a good reminder of how a good user group can help companies expand technical know-how, build employee skills, increase efficiency and drive big business value from their enterprise solutions faster and more impactfully.

Becky Ivy joined Baylor University in August 2010. She currently holds the role of Assistant Vice President of HR where she and her team support faculty, staff, and students through a variety of Human Resource programs utilizing Oracle Cloud HCM. Baylor University embarked on the journey to the cloud starting in 2018, going live in…