As we all know, February is Black History Month. It’s a month where we honor those who have made an impact on American culture for equal rights, those who have invented, those who have a helped others and those who have inspired everyone to be the best they can be, not only as a person of color but as a human. For the past two years for Black History Month, I started an online series called 28 Days Diversity where I would feature someone new everyday during the month of February for just being awesome in their own right. Even though it’s black history month, the goal for 28 Days of Diversity is to feature not just African-Americans but other minorities in the web/tech space. Also note that 28 Days of Diversity is not a popularity contest or an influencer list but a list of thought leaders in the social web sector, including entrepreneurs, bloggers, conference organizers, IT professionals and friends not ranked in any particular order who I have either met in person or followed online. Each post will include a picture, bio, two links from the selected person and this paragraph.
For 2012 I wanted to not just feature individuals but also ask a question to where each featured person could share their passion with others. For 28 Days of Diversity 2012 each post/person will answer the question “What motivates you to become successful?”
For the next 29 days since 2012 is a leap, come back to visit SocialWayne.com/tag/28daysofdiversity and/or 28daysofdiversity.com to see who’s on the list. For day 6, I would like to introduce to some and present to others:
Christine Celise Johnson
Twitter: @iamdtech
Website/Blog: www.Iamdtech.com
Bio
A graduate of College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Christine is the Founder of DiversiTech, an organization that provides educational programming, networking opportunities and access to resources for minorities in technology. DiversiTech is based out of the Baltimore/Washington area and has national partnerships with like-minded organizations working to change the look of the technology startup landscape. No stranger to the startup culture, she has been the driving force behind the success of the national model for technology transfer and commercialization showcases for the nation’s top seed/early-stage funding company since 2001.
Ms. Johnson’s background includes owning a successful event planning and marketing company that serviced various tech and non-profit clients, creating a visual arts gallery and education program, being published in a number of poetry journals, contributing to business and creative publications/blogs, and facilitating healing arts and women in entrepreneurship workshops. She has been recognized as an outstanding woman entrepreneur by Morgan State University’s Entrepreneurial Development Assistance Center (EDAC).
Ms. Johnson is presently on the board for The America21 Project, an open, collaborative and innovative platform that fosters solutions-based approaches to 21st century community economic development. She is also a member of the Emerging Technology Center (ETC) Ambassador Council, an award-winning incubator in Baltimore, MD. Her previous service includes a national advisory committee member for the National Association for Blacks in Bio; board member for A Step Forward Rehabilitation Facility; committee member for Prince George’s County (MD) Business Summit; and board member for Youth Warriors Environmental Justice Organization.
Ms. Johnson has been interviewed on various topics by Sophie’s Parlor on WPFW (DC), BriefCase Radio on WEAA (Baltimore), Mario Armstrong’s Digital Lifestyle Show on XM Radio, Technology Today and WomanSphere by Amina on Blogtalk Radio.
These days she spends much of her time developing relationships with, and advocating for, amazing minority technology entrepreneurs.
What motivates you to become successful?
What motivates me to become successful? – My spirit and the belief that there is nothing I can’t do. When I see there is a need in the world and I get a “spirit tug” to create something that will make a difference, I act. In the end, it’s all about the people you touch and the amazing ways that touch changes you.
You can follow the status of 29 Days of Diversity 2012 on http://28daysofdiversity.com, https://socialwayne.com/category/28-days-of-diversity/ and syndicated on BlackWeb 2.0.
