COMPUTOPICS
Volume XLX Issue 7 June 2010
FEATURED ACTIVITY: IN THIS ISSUE
Officer Elections and Annual Business Meeting
• Upcoming Events ................... 1
• Quick Updates ..................... 2
This event is open to the public. Any attending dues • Candidate BIOs ................... 3
• Past Events ....................... 7
paying member in good standing counts towards quorum • Calendar at a Glance .............. 7
for this meeting and may vote on any motions raised at
this meeting.
The theme of this meeting is "The Year In Review." Each officer and committee chair will
summarize what they accomplished in their own areas and offer suggestions for future improvement,
to be taken up by the new Executive Council in July. This meeting is a good opportunity for members
to learn more about the DC ACM activities of the past year and how we will move forward.
We will also hold officer elections at this business meeting. Please note that online absentee ballots
should be cast between June 1-15. All eligible Members can vote in person on June 22. If a Member
casts an absentee ballot but also votes at the meeting, the in-person vote takes precedence. Quorum for
the elections will be determined from both absentee and in-person ballots. Please look further in the
Newsletter for our candidate short biographies. Additionally, you can view our candidates and vote
online by going to the following links:
Candidate Bios: http://www.dcacm.org/elections/default.aspx
Online Ballot: http://www.dcacm.org/elections/Lists/Online%20Voting%202010/overview.aspx
Password Reset: http://www.dcacm.org/PasswordReset.aspx
After the meeting, all are invited to the Black Rooster Pub for drinks, comaraderie, and celebration of
another successful year of DC ACM.
Agenda:
Approval of the 5/26/2010 Executive Council Meeting minutes
Reports from the officers: chair, vice chair, treasurer, secretary, member at large -
Reports from the committees: programs, professional development, communications, membership
Reports from the ad-hoc committees: historical, privacy policy
Elections will be held at 8 p.m.; any remaining reports will be postponed until after the elections.
Upcoming DC ACM Events Upcoming DC area Events
Tuesday June 15th Friday, June 11th - June 20th
Last Chance to Vote for DC ACM Digital Capitol Week
Officers Online
First Tuesday of each Month
Sunday July 25 - Weds July 28 DC Perlmongers
The 16th ACM SIGKDD Conference
Second Wednesday of each Month
November 11th - November 12th DCPHP Meetup
The 1st ACM SIGIHI Symposium
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QUICK UPDATES
Jumping on the Google Apps
Finances Bandwagon
Balance Sheet as of May 25, 2010 by Andrew Conklin
Checking Account $ 898.70
Money Market $36,046.70 DC ACM has a website transition project underway. We
Certificates of Deposit $10,273.70 intend to switch over from our existing Sharepoint website
Other Assets $ 551.19 to a Drupal and CiviCRM based website. The first stage of
Total Liabilities $ 0.00 the transition involved the migration of email, calendar,
NET WORTH $47,769.59 and document hosting from within Sharepoint over to
Google Apps. The benefit will be a much more flexible
Membership Count and collaborative environment for volunteers who keep DC
ACM moving forward on a day-to-day basis. I'll leave the
As of June 14th, 2010, the DC ACM had 153 registered Drupal and CiviCRM discussion for another day. For now,
members. This total number includes 68 Members and here's a short list of benefits and time savings with our use
85 Associate Members. of Google Apps, should you be considering its use in your
own situation:
DC ACM's New Vision Statement
Google Docs - Sharepoint can only host document files and
Our Vision is a world where computing is governed by a keep track of versions, with no capability to edit within the
standard Code of Ethics. Professionals in the field are browser. Users are required to install and use a desktop
competent, continually advancing their knowledge, and office suite to edit hosted documents. Those users also
using expertise effectively to benefit their professional have to download and upload those documents manually if
and broader communities. they are using a non-Microsoft word processor like
OpenOffice.org. Google Docs provides the user with the
Local Tech Events capability to edit documents, spreadsheets, and
by Andrew Conklin presentations within the browser, and they can also be
embedded into web pages as well.
The website DC Tech Events is ambitiously dedicated to
promoting all local tech events in the Washington DC Google Calendar - The Sharepoint calendar, previously in
metropolitan area, with a target audience of developers, use, had a good relationship with our blog reel on the front
tech professionals, and enthusiasts. The content of the page. Unfortunately, we were not able to provide RSS
site is an embedded Google Calendar, overflowing with feeds without having to sign into the website. With Google
events that cover a wide spectrum of technology related Calendar, we can set up a series of calendars easily, embed
categories, topics, and career paths. DC ACM has been them where we like, and offer iCAL and RSS feeds without
granted permission by Ross Karchner, the maintainer of requiring authentication.
DC Tech Events, to embed the calendar on our website.
Google Gmail - We previously did not have dcacm.org
To view the calendar, click one of the following links: email accounts. DC ACM's setup consisted of aliases
http://www.dcacm.org pointing to one or more personal email accounts within the
http://dctechevents.com DC ACM domain name. That approach worked, but it left
To send us your event, send an email to: our email decentralized from an organizational standpoint.
events@dcacm.org It fragmented email conversations from our other
rosskarchner@gmail.com communications, like the Eecutive Council Sharepoint
forum. Currently, we have email accounts for all
volunteers, which allows them the option to use that
Did You Know? account and email forwarding as they see fit. We also use
The DC ACM Website has the following aliased Google groups for our committee mailing lists. We
information in the Resources tab can send emails to each other and they will be archived
• Event Materials and Media
• CompuTopics and Meeting Minutes within the affiliated Google group for historical reference.
• Historical Information
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Google Talk - We now have the capability to instant Professional Experience:
message each other if we are working at the same time, More than 10 years in IT management, including strategic
on the same project, or even on the same document. direction, budget preparation, vendor relationships, and
planning and operation of network operations centers.
Google Sites - Much like Sharepoint permits basic Currently the Director of Open Source Solutions at
website creation by nontechnical individuals, so too can inCommon, Inc., a provider of professional services to
Google Sites. federal government clients with expertise in data center
automation, virtualization and infrastructure and platform
Mobile Phones - Unlike Sharepoint, Google Apps works service solutions.
quite well on mobile phones.
ACM Activities:
In addition to Google Apps, we are also exploring Professional Member, ACM, 2005 - present
Docstoc.com for PDF document viewing and Eventbrite Membership Chair, DC ACM, 2009 - 2010
for event postings. Docstoc embeds a PDF viewer Historical Chair, DC ACM, 2009 - present
within its website eliminating the need to install Adobe Vice Chair, DC ACM, 2008 - 2009
Reader on one's computer. We may explore embedding
the PDF viewer in our own website as well. Eventbrite Other Activities:
is used by a lot of tech event hosts across the nation. For Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), Professional
additional information regarding the following areas: Member
Washington DC Chapter of the ACM (DC ACM), Member
Changes to the website, go to: International Association of Software Architects (IASA),
http://www.dcacm.org/ Full Member
DC ACM Eventbrite page, go to: IEEE Computer Society (IEEE CS), Affiliate Member
http://dcacm.eventbrite.com/ Open Source for America, Infrastructure Team
DC ACM Docstoc page, go to:
http://www.docstoc.com/profile/dcacm/ Position Statement:
The Washington, D.C. Chapter of the ACM is one of the
premier professional associations in the local DC
Candidate for Chair: Metropolitan area. In early 2000, the membership of DC
Isaac Christoffersen ACM was in the single digits. Today, DC ACM has more
than 150 members, and shows no sign of leveling off.
Our last two professional development seminars have been
profitable. We have been able to partner with area
organizations to bring in over $5,000 of free advertising for
DC ACM, and each lecture program we co-host with the
New America Foundation brings in more than $2,000 in in-
kind donations. In addition, we have established new
relationships with SIGADA, the Baltimore ACM Chapter,
SIG-CHI, and DC-SIGGRAPH, and held several joint
programs and seminars for the benefit of each of our
memberships.
Education: As we continue to grow and reinvigorate the DC ACM
B.S., Computer Information Systems professional community, our main focus must be on growing
the membership and increasing the opportunities for our
members to excel both professionally and academically.
Additional Google Apps Info While our professional lecture series distinguishes our
chapter from other area professional associations and has
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/nonprofit been a major contributor to our membership growth, it is a
worthwhile loss-leader for the chapter, whose expenses can
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only be offset by three elements: sponsorship; a 200- Professional Experience:
300% increase in membership; and an increase in current Since returning to the USA in 1995, has worked as a
revenue-generating programs such as our professional business consultant (mostly market research and IT), and
development seminar. taught Computer Science, Physics, and Math courses at The
American University, Washington, D.C..
My goals for 2010-2011 are ambitious, yet achievable.
They will be to: ACM Activities:
Membership Chair, DC ACM, 2008-2009
Recruit 5-10% of the area ACM members Vice-Chair, DC ACM, 2009 - Present
(approximately 2,220) to join DC ACM through outreach
efforts to local ACM members, academic institutions and Other Activities:
joint promotion campaigns with ACM Headquarters. Member, AIAA
Member, ASME
Increase volunteer participation and hours by 20% Member, IEEE
through the expansion of our recruitment strategies to Member, DCLUG
include other volunteer matching organizations. Host and Associate Producer "Around Space" TV show
http://chapters.nss.org/dc/
Finalize DC ACM’s strategic objectives for education,
community, and professional excellence by the end of Position Statement:
August 2010, and align all activities and resources I intend to assist the Chair in fostering the rejuvenated DC
(financial, volunteer, etc.) to these objectives by the end ACM chapter.
of January 2011.
Candidate for Treasurer:
Establish a new DC ACM sponsorship program that
Ben Schultz
allows us to incorporate small donors and large area
donors and brings in $5,000 in total donations.
Reestablish the DC ACM Site Representative Program,
in which current DC ACM members are ambassadors
and recruitment officers for the chapter within their
workplace and larger personal, academic and
professional communities.
Candidate Vice-Chair:
Kent Miller
Education:
M.S., Information Science, Penn State (Malvern).
B.A., (cum laude) Economics, University of Maryland.
Professional Experience:
Software engineer since 1996, primarily in applications
development:
L-3 Communications, 2006 – present.
Omicron Consulting, 2000 – 2005.
Education: Northrop Grumman, (ex Logicon Geodynamics) 1996 –
Ph.D. Physics, Carnegie-Mellon University 2000.
Independent consultant, 1996.
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ACM Activities: ACM Activities:
Chair, DC ACM, 2009 – present. Communications Chair, DC ACM, 2010 – present
Secretary, DC ACM, 2007 – 2009. Secretary, DC ACM, 2009 – present
Volunteer, Bylaws Committee, DC ACM , 2007 – 2008. Volunteer, Professional Development Committee, DC ACM,
Judge, DC ACM at Fairfax County (VA) Science & Fall 2009
Technology Fair, 2008. Volunteer, Programs Committee, DC ACM, 2009 - present
Member, Washington DC Chapter of ACM, 2008 - present
Other Activities: Member, Association for Computing Machinery, 2009 -
Ruach Minyan, Davening Coordinator. present
Oakton (VA) Condominium Finance Committee, 2008 –
2009. Other Activities:
Volunteer, Social Matchbox DC, Spring 2010
Position Statement: Volunteer, Food for All DC, 2009
I understand finances and financial planning very well. Member, DCLUG, 2007 - present
In my three years to date as a DC ACM officer, I have
come to understand our chapter's fiscal situation very Position Statement:
well. I understand fully the importance of both making I've been taking meeting minutes since August 2009 and
effective use of the chapter's cash reserves and pursuing calling out Executive Council online votes for just as long. I
new revenue sources. intend to work with the council as we continue to lay out the
strategic goals and objectives for our chapter. I will also
Candidate for Secretary: work with the Historical Chair to devise a document
Andrew Conklin retention and archival policy for various historic legal
documents pertaining to DC ACM.
I have focused a lot of my efforts on the position of
Communications Chair where I have transitioned our
Newsletter editorial process from Microsoft Word to open
source tools such as Scribus, OpenOffice.org, and the GIMP.
I also migrated our email hosting to Google Apps. I'm
currently overseeing efforts to develop a new website that is
more in tune with our membership and the greater DC
technology community.
Candidate for Member-At-Large:
George Romas
Education:
B.S., (magna cum laude), Computer Science, Western
Michigan University
Professional Experience:
Software Developer since 2004, primarily in C++, Java,
and Web development. Currently working on the
Unified Financial Management System for the Justice
Management Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Formerly worked on training simulation software for
various Department of Defense projects.
Software Engineer, CGI Federal, 2009 - present Education:
Software Engineer, Systems Management Technology, B.S., Computer Science and Economics
2004 - 2009
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Professional Experience: William thinking "who's this guy?" in the early going. Once
Has more than 28 years’ experience within the we finally had a conversation, I began to realize why so
Intelligence Community, providing his knowledge and many people get along with him and why he was able to pull
expertise across a wide range of technologies, including: such a diverse group of individuals and introverts together.
modeling and simulation; systems programming; William is easy going, calm in nature, and easy to like.
database development; systems engineering; information
assurance; enterprise architecture and engineering William's most recent accomplishments have been with our
processes. In addition to his work in the federal sector, recently completed Spring Lecture Series. We had lectures
he co-founded an Internet startup in July 2000 and provided by Joey Ponthieux titled "3D Animation and
worked for a Boston-based startup in 1990. His is Modeling for Aerospace", by Dr. George W. Arnold titled
currently Chief Technology Officer for a large business "Re-powering the Nation: Setting Standards for the Smart
group in a federal contracting company. Grid", and by Dr. Allen Tucker titled "Is There a Good
Programming Language Out There?" With that series
ACM Activities: complete, William's tenure with DC ACM as Programs
Member, DC ACM Chair will come to an end.
Member, ACM
Volunteer, Privacy Policy Committee, DC ACM For all of his tireless efforts, we, the volunteers of DC ACM,
thank him tremendously, for we would not be in our
Other Activities: positions without his accomplishments.
Coaching soccer and soccer goalkeepers, reading,
cultural events, exercise, writing, and travel. Seeking Volunteers
by Andrew Conklin
Position Statement:
I will leverage my experience as a CTO to improve and As you can see by this newsletter and the fact that my name
expand DC ACM and its relationships to the community, is credited as the author on virtually every article, we could
other organizations, academia, and the professional use a few more volunteers! With that said, lets get into a
workforce. few desired positions within the chapter.
A Special Thanks to a Special Volunteer Newsletter Editor: We are seeking an editor to take
by Andrew Conklin ownership of the newsletter process, from information
gathering to writing, editing, and formatting. The volunteer
William Fielder loves his Unix and Linux shells almost editor would need to commt up to 10 hours a month and
as much as his wife, but his passion for writing system work with our Copy Editor, Bonnie Williams, and report to
automation scripts and intrusion detection signatures was the Communications Chair.
equaly matched by his determination to revive the
Washington DC Chapter of the ACM. With help from Social Media Coordinator: We have social media.
his wife, Cora, and a great respect for her father's Unfortunately, we don't have a real thought out strategy
involvement with the older DC ACM, William reached behind that usage. Take a look at what we are doing and see
out to colleagues seeking volunteers for the Executive what you can improve. We seek about 10 hours a month for
Council and standing committees. They worked hard to this position and the volunteer would report to the
reestablish the bylaws and standing rules of the chapter, Communications Chair.
as well as rejuvenating events that were cornerstones of
the chapter like the Professional Development Seminars, Committee Chairs: Our term is over this month, and with
the Spring and Fall Distinguished Speaker Series, and that comes turn over. If you have any interest in managing a
handing out awards at high school science fairs. committee and getting some work done for DC ACM, we
have several opening up. We are need of Programs, Awards,
When I first started volunteering as Secretary for the and Membership chairs.
chapter, I did not have a conversation with William until
several meetings in. I was preoccupied with "What can I With all of our positions, we provide a forgiving
change?" (even though I didn not know enough to be environment for those seeking new skills and a willingness
able to change anything early on) and I can picture to learn. For more info, contact: aconklin@dcacm.org.
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PAST EVENTS
DC ACM Spring Lecture Series: George W. Arnold
"Re-powering the Nation: Setting Standards for the Smart Grid"
April 5th, 2010
DC ACM Spring Lecture Series: Allen Tucker
"Is There a Good Programming Language Out There?"
May 17th, 2010
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·
DC ACM CALENDAR AT A GLANCE
June 15th - Deadline to vote online for Executive Council officers
June 23rd - Officer Elections and Annual Business Meeting
July 25th - The 16th ACM Knowledge Discover and Data Mining Conference
November 11th - The 1st ACM International Health Informatics Symposium
Sponsorship Opportunities DC ACM Executive Council
Chair Benjamin Schultz
Renewable Annual DC ACM Sponsorships: Vice-Chair Kent Miller
Bronze $500
Treasurer Teresa Hone
Silver $1,000
Secretary Andrew Conklin
Gold $3,500 (one per year)
Member-At-Large Mackenzie Morgan
All sponsors will be prominently recognized for one Communications Andrew Conklin
year on the DC ACM website, on the membership Membership Isaac Christoffersen
pamphlet, and at major events. Please email PDC Eric Noriega
fundraising@dcacm.org if your company is interested. Programs William Fielder
Special corporate sponsor benefits for the Fall 2009 Awards vacant
and Spring 2010 Professional Development Seminars:
Executive Council Meetings are held once a month. They
Bronze 5 employee discounts
are open to all interested parties, though only EC Members
Silver 10 employee discounts
Gold unlimited employee discounts have voting power on any motions raised in the meeting.
Note: The discount is equivalent to the DC ACM Location:
Member Discount and will apply to one seminar. An Radio Free Asia
employee may use multiple discounts if authorized by 2025 M Street NW
the sponsor's management. All sponsors/donors will Between 20th and 21st Streets
receive a letter from the DC ACM Chair verifying the Ground Floor Conference Room
receipt of their donation.
Closest Metro Stations:
About DC ACM Dupont Circle and Farragut North, Red Line
http://www.dcacm.org
Parking: There is metered parking until 10pm and a
The Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Association for garage next door to the meeting room that charges $5.00.
Computing Machinery (DC ACM) was formally Another garage on 19th Street is open until midnight and
established on November 1, 1958. We are a local costs only $7.00 after 5pm.
professional chapter of the Association for Computing
Machinery (ACM), which was founded in 1947. Become an Active Chapter Member
Currently there are more than 2,200 ACM members in Volunteer Opportunities:
the Washington Metropolitan Area.
• Website - Drupal Web Designer and a
The DC ACM is a non-profit 501(c)(3) association Social Media Coordinator
(EIN 526066536) that supports educational activities
• Newsletter - Seeking main editor,
and career development for the local IT professional content contributors, and
community, as well as nurturing future generations of photographers desired.
computer scientists, network engineers, and tech • Professional Development Classes -
policy specialists in the Washington, D.C. area. Volunteers are able to sit in during
the paid classes for free after
Among other activities, we give awards to junior and handling check-in and other
senior high school students for exceptional science miscellaneous duties.
fair projects in the computer science field and we • Archives - Organizers and archivers
sponsor educational lectures for the general public. desired for compiling historical
records of the chapter.
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