ITSMF: Growing Black IT careers through leadership programs

ITSMF

The experience was similar for Elaine Norman, vice president of membership and external affairs at ITSMF. She attended her first ITSMF meeting during her time as CIO for United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. Previously, she had attended conferences for executive women in IT, but found she couldn’t fully be her authentic self at these meetings and events. She was often one of the few — and sometimes only — woman leaders of color in the room. When she found the ITSMF, it was the first time she didn’t feel as though she had to dress, act, or speak in a certain way to blend in. She could bring her true, professional self to the meetings and left feeling empowered by the experience.

“If you come to one of our meetings, you will never know who’s the CIO, and who’s the first-level director, because all of that stuff gets checked at the door. It feels like a professional family reunion. And that is what breaks down the walls, to allow mentorship to actually occur because I can say what’s really going on with me and not feel like I’m going to be judged,” Scott says.

ITSMF academies and mentorship

ITSMF offers mentorship programs through three different academies: Executive Academy, Management Academy, and Emerge Academy. The Executive and Management academies offer 10-month programs, while the Emerge Academy program, which is aimed at midlevel and executive-level women of color in leadership positions, offers a one-year program. The Management Academy is aimed at helping middle-level managers and directors develop their leadership skills, while the Executive Academy is designed for those who are “one to three moves away from the C-suite,” Scott says. “And our goal is to help them get across the finish line and actually become C-suite executives.”