Staff
Meet the IT-oLogy team.
Emard was instrumental in the formation the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management and was named the executive director in January 2009. He is responsible for the strategic planning and tactical operations of the Consortium, including financial management and facility planning. He has been passionately working to bring academic, business, economic development and public relations entities together to address the need for more workers in the IT talent pipeline.
Emard joined BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina in 2002 as the director of staff resource management for the information systems division. Under his direction, the BlueCross BlueShield information systems organization grew from 1,200 employees and contractors to more than 2,300 in seven years. His management techniques helped the IS division maintain a 93 percent retention rate at a time when other information technology companies were struggling to keep their best people.
Emard also was responsible for the Managing People Program, which includes best practices in talent acquisition, development, management and retention. He introduced the organizational, structure design (OSD) model as a valuable framework for the Institute for the Management of Information Technology offered by the Rushing Center at Furman University.
Before he joined BlueCross BlueShield, Emard spent 18 years as an information technology professional working for Amoco Corp. He followed the model IT career path, holding seven different types of IT positions before becoming an IT executive manager. Emard also worked on several major organizational redesign efforts and began integrating organization development theory into IT. His efforts during this time also included roles as executive lead recruiter for Georgia Tech and the Atlanta University Center, where he began developing innovative techniques for academic and industry collaboration.
Emard serves on several boards, including the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Information Technology Council, Midlands Education and Business Alliance, New Carolina's Insurance Technology and Services cluster and the Innovation in Insurance organization.
He graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a bachelor's of science in computer science in 1981.
Kristine has over six years of experience in IT talent recruitment. She was part of the original BlueCross, USC and IBM team that began meeting in 2007 to design a program that would increase the number of talented individuals in the IT talent pool. That program has evolved into an entire organization, today known as IT-oLogy.
Karl has worked in the IT industry for 16 years. He brings with him a deep knowledge of the IT space, having worked in most areas of IT, including systems support, administration, and development. Karl has also been a successful CIO and business executive, leading multi-million dollar product initiatives and overseeing company expansions into new territories. Those experiences provided him with first-hand knowledge of the IT skills gap and the vital role IT-oLogy can play for its partners. Most recently, Karl has led an entrepreneurial team at an Internet startup, Voterheads.com. Karl has spoken to audiences about ITIL, IT management, and IT's future in business at conferences throughout the southeast. Karl regularly shares his viewpoint about technology and IT management on his blog, http://karlstech.blogspot.com.
Karl manages corporate and business partnerships with IT-oLogy.
Diedre has more than 20 years experience in marketing, event and program management in non-profit, entrepreneurial and corporate settings. Prior to joining IT-oLogy, Diedre spent ten years in high-tech marketing at Avaya, Inc. as Global Marketing Manager and during her tenure her responsibilities included direct marketing, event and tradeshow planning, sales management, product management and solution development. A do-gooder at heart, Diedre believes in applying her talents to supporting the mission of IT-oLogy by helping businesses and organizations develop innovative programs that reach from the classroom to the boardroom. Diedre manages the venue, and is the person to contact regarding events and venue rentals.
Lindsey serves as the Campus Relations Manager for IT-oLogy. She is connecting college students with real-world experience through the Next Generation IT Internship Program. Lindsey also travels to college career fairs all over the East Coast. Lindsey is a graduate of Lander University with a degree in Mass Communications and has worked in the recruiting and HR consulting profession for over eight years prior to joining IT-oLogy in 2010. Lindsey manages the IT Gateway, Next Generation IT Internship Program and the Teach IT initiative.
Powers comes to IT-oLogy with seven years of fundraising and communications experience in a non-profit setting. A native of Mount Pleasant, Powers has been in Columbia for nearly five years. Powers graduated from Presbyterian College with a Bachelor of Arts degree. As Communications Manager, Powers works to connect students, parents, educators, professionals and the media with IT-oLogy to increase the IT talent pipeline across the Southeast. Powers manages all communications, marketing and PR efforts for IT-oLogy.
Alicia comes to IT-oLogy with over seven years of customer service and training experience in the IT world. Having taught software to Americans and local staff at over 40 US embassies overseas, she has been exposed to the information technology business world-wide from an educational standpoint. Alicia is excited to be a part of an organization that Promotes IT, Teaches IT, and Grows IT. Alicia manages the Promote IT (K-12) initiative, as well as the administrative side of IT-oLogy.
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Taylor Harrison
Events Coordinator
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Taylor Harrison is a Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management major at USC with a concentration in meeting and event planning. She is completing her professional internship as an event coordinator and will be working alongside Diedre Murphy to support IT-oLogy as venue and meeting space. She looks forward to the opportunity to host a variety of events and contribute to the marketing of the space. Taylor graduates in May, 2012.