OUR STORY
NPower is a national nonprofit that leverages an evidence-based model to foster economic empowerment through digital skill enhancement and industry recognized credentials for military-connected individuals, young adults, and women from under-resourced communities. Our strength is seeing students of nontraditional backgrounds through pivotal life transitions. Our unique approach combines rigorous, free training and trauma-informed support services, career readiness skills and job placement assistance.
We have offered foundational and advanced career training opportunities to over 10,000 graduates, with the goal of scaling to serve 15,000 annually by 2030—all while maintaining strong placement outcomes. Led by a committed team, we seek to create a tech workforce that mirrors the world around us and empower students to drive change in their own lives and communities.
Over the past decade, NPower has expanded its program reach and developed a robust network of Fortune 500 companies, mid-sized enterprises, government agencies, staffing firms, and a network of nonprofit partners that host its interns and hire its graduates full-time. NPower is a vital solution towards bridging the national talent gap that exists in the high-growth technology industry.
To learn more about NPower, visit npower.org.
ORDER OF CEREMONY MARYLAND
WELCOME REMARKS
Sandra Bempong Grants Officer, CareFirst & NPower MD Regional Advisory Board
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REMARKS
Demetrius Goodwin
Executive Director, NPower Maryland
COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER
Dori Henderson
Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Information Officer, CareFirst
CLASS SPEAKERS
Christian Rondon NPower Maryland, Spring 2024
Artese Johnson NPower Maryland, Spring 2024
ALUMNI SPEAKER
Shaniah Mason
NPower Maryland, Fall 2022 NPower Community Help Desk Apprentice
PRESENTATION OF SPECIAL AWARDS
Sandra Bempong Grants Officer, CareFirst NPower MD Regional Advisory Board
PRESENTATION OF GRADUATION CERTIFICATES
Diamond Staley Alumni Engagement Manager, NPower Maryland
CLOSING REMARKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Anthony Butler Placement Director, NPower Maryland
COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER
Dori Henderson
Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Information Officer, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
Dorothea (Dori) Henderson oversees the Information Technology organization. With a strong focus on digital transformation and enhancing user experiences, Dori leads initiatives to drive business value and ensure robust business continuity. Previously, she held leadership roles at Collins Aerospace, where she drove growth in business aviation digital solutions and managed cybersecurity and global networks. Dori holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance & Accounting from Penn State University.
CLASS SPEAKERS
ALUMNI SPEAKER
Shaniah Mason
Christian Rondon
Artese Johnson
GRADUATES CONGRATULATIONS!
Spring 2024 Tech Fundamentals
Nadia Abdo
Adegbenro Adeduro
Irfanullah Ahmadi
Victory Akinmadeyemi
Heidi Baptiste
Richard Barber
La’Nya Barnett
Courtney Bernard
Blake Blackwell
Daniel Cameron
Yusuf Cason
Elijah Chambers
Greg Clark
Mark Coles
Marc Cuffy Jr
Masoud Cully
Avrion Davis
Rushil Desai
Colin Dunning
Asante Dyer
Shimira Edmonds
Emeka Ekwutife
Cameron Ellis
Charles Ervin Sr
Ujunwa Eze
Lionel Fisher
Deontae Frederick
Joseph Frishkorn
Jennifer Gregory
Tysean Haigood
Chapelle Hamlett
Gary Harris
Davon Harris
Karen Helms
Lavelle Hood
Paul Jacobs
BreAnna Johnson
Artese Johnson
Alexis Jones
Blaise Jordan
Fatmata Kamara
Nadia Khan
Victoria Lake
Markeyiea Lee
Curtis Levere
Taryn Lewis
Ashly Lovings
Valerie Lowe
Katherine Martinez
Masho McAlister
Vivian McCullough
Norahs McGowan
David McLaurin
Jeffrey Miller
Roheyatou Minteh
Dorian Oakley
Eva Orengo
Kim Pelham
Jamal Ponton
Roberto Portillo
Akira Queen
Delree Robinson
Aniya Roebuck
Christian Rondon
Jamaal Sanu
Desmond Seisay
Michael Sesay
Lincoln Tanyi
Aniyah Taylor
Natasha Thompson
Monique Tyler
Jose Varela
Janinne Vargas
Lataira Wilson
Erica Wilson
Ciara Wilson
KEY CLASS STATISTICS
THANK YOU
To Our Funders
The Abell Foundation
Amazon Web Services
Baltimore County Office of Workforce and Economic Development
Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Employment DevelopmentTrain Up
Baltimore Women’s Giving Circle
Bank of America –Maryland Region
Bloomberg L.P. CareFirst
Comcast
Fund II Foundation
The Harry and Jeanette
MARYLAND REGIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
Frank Baitman CHAIR
Global Head of Digital Strategy Stealth Mode Startup
Sandra A. Bempong Grants Officer Community Health & Social Impact
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
Michael Robert DiBlasio
Sr. Technical Program Manager
Amazon Web Services
Eboni Fotang Director, Quality and Mission Excellence
Northrop Grumman
Weinberg Foundation
Kaiser Permanente
LifeBridge Healthcare - West Baltimore Renaissance Foundation
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
Maryland Department of LaborEARN Maryland
National Society for Information Management – Capital Area Chapter (SIMCAC)
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
NIST – Coppin State University
Gayle Guilford (Retired) Chief Information Security Officer Baltimore City Government
Scott Harris President VIAcode
Blair Johnson Consultant
Ed Mullin Business Development Manager DP Solutions
NIST – Morgan State University Northrop Grumman
PNC Financial
The Ronald and Cynthia Gula Family Foundation
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Education and Training Program – State of Maryland
The Thalheimer Eurich Family Foundation
The Venable Foundation
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Natasha Murphy Director of Health Policy Center for American Progress
Andrew Parlock Director, New Business, Defense ICEYE
Bruce Williams Retired
IBM Thank you for your sponsorship PNC Financial
