If you are an IT professional from a diverse background looking for potential career opportunities in the tech space, you will not want to miss the 2023 ALPFA Northeast Regional Tech Summit in April.

It is the first-ever summit of its kind, designed to help fill the diversity gap in the tech industry.

The Northeast Regional Tech Summit is being brought to life thanks to two visionaries and longtime ALPFA members — Johanna Cordisco and Luis Rosado.

During her time with ALPFA, Cordisco has learned a lot. However, she shared one in particular during a recent interview with AL DÍA.  

“ALPFA brings talent to the table,” said Cordisco, ALPFA Northeast regional director. 

Within the IT space, ALPFA members encompass Data Analysts, Tech Project Managers, Product Managers, UX Designers, and much more.

While that is the case, over time both Cordisco and Rosado came to learn that the Latino population overall on average doesn’t have great access to tech, nor a keen understanding of where the industry is heading. 

This is something Rosado experienced firsthand. 

When he first started his IT career, he notes that there were very few Black or Latino individuals. 

“And if I did see them, they typically were limited to help desk support,” said Rosado, co-vice chair of the Northeast Tech Summit Committee and President of ALPFA New Jersey.

“I wanted to take on more advanced levels of it… so I knew that I had to stand out and I wanted to lead the way,” he added. 

The Northeast Region Tech Summit attracts Latino IT professionals from throughout the Northeast region and will be focused on exploring cutting-edge technologies, networking, and learning about opportunities to ascend into IT leadership roles. 

Attendees will also get the opportunity to attend breakout sessions that encompass a variety of topics, from how to leverage digital transformation for success to blockchain and FinTech, and building the tech workforce of the future. 

Cordisco highlighted that the topics are selected with a clear understanding of the member base that ALPFA represents, and the attendees the summit is looking to attract. 

The two days of the Summit will each serve different purposes.

“The topics on the first day are really all around understanding how technology is being leveraged across companies… and communities,” said Cordisco. 

Over 10 world-class tech-enabled companies will be providing insight from expert speakers sharing their unparalleled industry knowledge and real-business experiences and implementations. 

“The second day, the goal there is more around career planning,” Cordisco added. 

Participants will learn about how they can reach their IT career goals over the short, mid, and long terms. 

Afterward, mentors and executive coaches will review those plans and provide individual or group feedback. 

There will also be ample opportunities for organizations to promote their business, display their latest technologies, and network with top professional talent.

The Northeast Regional Tech Summit will attract those based in Baltimore, Boston, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and Washington, D.C. 

In a word, Rosado wants attendees of the upcoming Tech Summit to feel “inspired.”

“And know that there’s a community of Latino IT professionals there to help support and guide them,” he continued.

To this end, Cordisco added that she wants attendees to take advantage of the Summit to understand the needs of the IT industry in today’s tech market and see what opportunities are available given their individual skills. 

It doesn’t stop there, however, as there will also be opportunities to expand on those skills. 

Overall, the goal is for the event to answer two key questions.

The first: “How do we educate our community — our Latino community — around what is happening in the industry, and how technology is driving a lot of the social disparities that we’re seeing,” said Cordisco. 

The second: “What are the skill sets that we need to bring together to make sure that we are educating them and providing that access to opportunities, combined with the member base that ALPFA has,” she continued.

Combined, the hope is that the Summit will take a big step forward in closing the opportunity gap for Latinos in the IT world. 

The 2023 ALPFA Northeast Regional Tech Summit will take place April 21-22, 2023, at the Vanguard headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania. 

Partnering organizations include Google, Prudential, JPMorgan Chase & Co., along with community tech partners, such as HITEC, and SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers), and LIT (Latinas in Tech). 

For more information, contact Johanna Cordisco at johanna.cordisco@national.alpfa.org; Luis Rosado at luis.rosado@newjersey.alpfa.org; or Ben Garcia at ben.garcia@national.alpfa.org.