National Nonprofit NPower Hosts First Virtual Gala, Advocating for Diversity and Inclusion across the Technology Industry

Press Release (ePRNews.com) - New York, NY - Oct 19, 2020 - One of the country’s largest nonprofit tech training programs, NPower, has announced they will be hosting their annual fundraising gala virtually for the first time on October 19th, 2020. The virtual event, hosted by Soledad O’Brien, will bring together the biggest leaders and innovators across the tech industry.

This year’s theme, Re-Wire, addresses unequal representation of communities of color in the tech industry. The event seeks to raise funds to sustain and increase NPower’s free tech training program serving young adults, minorities, veterans and military spouses.

This year, NPower honors Julie Sweet, the chief executive officer of Accenture, for her history of championing equality and her commitment to closing the skills gap in technology—for example, advocating for apprenticeships and providing opportunity to underserved people across industries in the digital economy.

A Diamond sponsor of the 2020 gala, Accenture is one of the original founders of NPower and over the past two decades has worked alongside the organization to help scale its impact. Accenture has hosted more than 90 NPower students as apprentices and interns, has hired over 110 NPower graduates into full time positions, and currently powers the Cloud Computing training program for NPower alumni.

The gala will also include CIO sessions with several tech icons including the CIO of Global Banking and Markets at Bank of America, David Reilly. The gala will be preceded by a 30-minute cocktail reception, known for being a big networking experience. These sessions will give NPower supporters a chance to engage with industry CTOs and CIOs on topics ranging from cloud migration to remote work trends.

The gala will also feature a virtual after-party with an interactive performance from Freestyle Love Supreme, an improv hip-hop group originally created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, of Hamilton and The Heights. Guests will interact virtually in this live performance by offering suggested themes and words for the performers to incorporate into their act.

“As COVID-19 unfolded, NPower quickly pivoted to remote course offerings where students could continue their work training in the safety of their own homes,” said Ceccarelli. “Our tech training programs, mentoring and internships didn’t stop with the pandemic. Today, many of those first virtual graduates have already launched their tech careers with some of the country’s biggest tech companies.” Additionally, they piloted their first nation-wide, virtual ServiceNow training in partnership with ServiceNow. Accenture will be apprenticing 24 of the program graduates.

NPower is one of the country’s largest tech training nonprofits that serves military veterans, their spouses as well as young adults from underserved communities. NPower offers classes for a range of entry-level technology skills that include hardware, software, networking and security. NPower also provides students with opportunities to earn IT certifications and quality job placements to help launch their digital careers.

Other sponsors for this year’s NPower gala are Dell Technologies, World Wide Technology, Bank of America, Google Cloud, HPE, Microsoft, NetApp, Salesforce, SHI and more. The Gala Committee includes several leaders from the tech industry including Matt Horner, Co-Chair (World Wide Technology), Chris Perry, Co-Chair (Broadridge), David Reilly, Co-Chair (Bank of America), Steve Murphy, NPower Board Member (Accenture), Peter Trizzino, NPower board member (Dell Technologies), Ed Fandrey, NPower Board Member (Microsoft), Tony DeLisio (Infinidat), Richard M. Greenbaum (Formerly Citi), Phil Guido (IBM), Peter Quirk (HPE), David C. Boyle (Ernst & Young LLP), Kyle Seibert (formerly HSBC Private Banking), and James Kaplan (McKinsey & Company).

About NPower

NPower is a national nonprofit on a mission to move people from poverty to the middle class by training youth from underserved communities and veterans in a range of tech skills and placing them in quality jobs. Students who enter their free, six-month program, earn industry-recognized certifications and graduate with the competencies of an IT professional with one to two years of experience. NPower also places students in paid internships with corporate and nonprofit organizations. Eighty percent of NPower graduates get a full-time job or continue their education. Not only is NPower changing life trajectories for individuals from vulnerable communities but they are also strengthening the overall competitiveness of U.S. businesses hamstrung by today’s limited pool of IT talent. To learn more about NPower and their event, visit http://www.npower.org/gala.