Post-9/11 vets groups highlights innovative programming

PHILADELPHIA (February 18, 2016) – Tomorrow, IAVA Senior Strategy Fellow, retired Command Sgt. Maj. Wayne Robinson, will moderate the “Veterans’ Education Transition” panel at the 30th Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Global Competitiveness Conference. The three day conference, held this year in Philadelphia, brings together students, college administrators, recruiters, engineering and IT professionals, scientists and high-level decision-makers in an effort to broaden diversity in technical and scientific work forces. Robinson’s panel discusses the Post-9/11 GI Bill and opportunities for veterans to become professional educators.

“The BEYA STEM Conference is central to IAVA’s mission to connect, unite and empower post-9/11 veterans,” said Robinson. “As we celebrate the service of all black veterans during Black History Month, we are proud to partner with BEYA and the Veterans Transition Initiative to create new opportunities for veterans. Veterans are highly skilled problem solvers and just need a small amount of guidance to contribute to American society in new ways. We are excited by the recent success of IAVA’s Careers RISE program in 2015 and look forward to empowering more veterans in 2016.”

Careers RISE (Research, Initiate, Succeed, Empower) is IAVA’s innovative new career readiness program. It provides individualized career assistance through personalized pathways and intensive daylong career bootcamps, leveraging IAVA’s top corporate and NGO partners and its vast veteran network, as well as existing best-in-class resources and tools. IAVA’s first RISE bootcamp in 2015 was held in New York City’s Civic Hall and attended by 30 veterans. Since 2004, IAVA has connected more than 7,000 veterans with employment support in partnership with top companies like, Google, HP and Linkedin.

The conference’s Veterans Transition Initiative, “Expert Discussions About Transition and Career Fair,” will be held on Feb. 19, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown in Philadelphia. Registration is free for veterans. Veterans are encouraged to RSVP here.

BEYA STEM is hosted by US Black Engineer and Information Technology magazine, the Council of Engineering Deans of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Lockheed Martin Corporation.