Considering a sponsor to invest in your career journey this conference season?
Terri Evans, a senior technical program manager with a Bachelor of Science degree from North Carolina A&T State University, was able to further her decade-long career thanks to securing a sponsor for her first AFROTECH™ Conference in November 2024. She has worked in several project management roles across companies that include Northrop Grumman, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and Equinix. Her next steps within her career were to move into leadership, and this was an incentive to attend the conference.
“I’m looking to expand to being in a space of manager of a PMO (Project Management Office) or as director of a PMO. I work primarily in the infrastructure and data center space, so there is a lot of growth in that space due to artificial intelligence (AI) and all of the cool and things that are in machine learning that are coming into the space,” she told AFROTECH™. “So because of that, there is a deep need and capacity for infrastructure, and there is not a lot of Black people that sit in those spaces in leadership. So that is one of my goals, to be one of the first, one of the known ones in the tech industry or the infrastructure space as a leader.”
Evans noted the positive experience of her friend who attended AFROTECH™ Conference in 2022 and 2023. She was convinced the event, stamped as the “Black tech mecca,” would be important to attend in order to surround herself with like-minded professionals and to further her knowledge to apply it to her current team. Her focus areas included AI, graphics processing units (GPUs), and leadership.
Evans’s company sponsored her time at the conference. This was because Evans outlined her key focus areas and presented a well-structured itinerary that highlighted her expected takeaways from the event. She also detailed the value she could bring back to the team, demonstrating the impact of her participation to her manager.
Evans was sponsored with a general ticket, although she initially aimed for the corporate ticket. However, it sold out by the time of purchase. Overall she has positive sentiments regarding her experience, which included fulfilling her goal of obtaining insights that would benefit her team’s work in project management as well as connecting with companies at the expo hall.
“I did walk away with conversations with two companies,” Evans explained. “From that there’s still some conversations happening at the moment, so I can’t speak to if anything is going to turn into an actual offer. But you know, that it connected me to a great amount of people… that is worth such a great value, extending your network pool, and being able to go and talk to the people that are on LinkedIn, or being attached to other conferences,” she explained.
Evans also does career coaching, which prompted her to leverage the conference floor to connect with young professionals seeking to land a role in the project management sector. She has since launched Ignited to Shine to empower individuals in the industry. It offers tailored coaching, practical strategies, and expert guidance, its website reads.
Advice
Evans also shares some tips for future attendees looking to land a sponsor.
“Definitely look at the conference and see how it is impactful to your role and your specific team,” she explained. “One of the things about being a business, it’s always about the return on investment. And so the reason why, you know, these companies are willing to sponsor people to go, is because they’re knowing that if they go and get such information, they’re going to return that information to their team… I also will implore people to start early. I missed the opportunity to get a corporate ticket just because of the nature of it selling out. But start having those conversations earlier.”
Evans continued, “As you know we’re coming into the new year, and there is going to be talks about what is in your development plan or goal plan for the year, and we are goal setting. Just begin to mention those conversations to your managers where you’re reflecting and saying, ‘Hey, these are ways that I want to improve my growth. Possibly, is there some way in the budget that we can put in that I’m able to go to the conference?’ Estimate the amount of money that will be spent on that. Continue to have those conversations with your team as the year goes by. And then hopefully by October you’ll have some good news of having your company sponsor you.”
Buy Your Ticket Today
Innovate, learn, and lead at AFROTECH™ 2025! From shaping the future of work to championing tech for good, this is where innovation meets impact. Don’t wait — lock in your early-bird tickets today for Oct. 27-31, 2025, in Houston, TX!
