The Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance is pleased to announce that Cydny Black has been named Marketing and Public Relations Lead for the Alliance. The position is first-of-its-kind for ECEP and was made possible via funding from Google.org. Cydny brings more than 15 years of research and communications experience to the team, and a vested interest in the intersections between storytelling, data, technology, and education. 

In her new role, she will develop and implement a strategic communications plan to support the advancement of ECEP’s goals and highlight the work of the ECEP Alliance states. The Alliance recently accepted seven new member states, increasing membership to a total of 29 states and the territory of Puerto Rico. 

“I’m excited to join this growing team and look forward to building channels and fostering an environment for ECEP members and beyond to easily share the incredible work within states, and the impact the Alliance has on expanding computer science education across the nation,” stated Cydny.

In addition to her work with ECEP, Cydny will provide marketing and PR direction to EPIC, which serves as the headquarters for the ECEP Alliance, working to amplify its mission to broaden participation in K20 computing pathways through research, outreach, professional development, and policy advocacy.

“The ECEP leadership team is thrilled to have Cydny join our Alliance. Our ECEP state leaders are transforming the CS education ecosystems in their states.  Having someone like Cydny to tell the story of their impact will really help us to celebrate their successes,” stated Carol Fletcher, Principal Investigator for ECEP.  

Prior to joining the ECEP Alliance, Cydny served as a Market Research Manager for major technology brands at Illuminas, and as a Market Research Lead and Account Supervisor for non-profit and private organizations at Bloom Communications. 

About ECEP Alliance

The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports ECEP through its Broadening Participation in Computing Alliance (BPC-A) program. The ECEP Alliance seeks to increase the number and diversity of students in the pipeline to computing and computing-intensive degrees by supporting state-level computing education reforms. Through interventions, pathways, partnerships and models that drive state-level computing education change, ECEP supports states as they work to align their state efforts with the national vision of computer science for all.

The ECEP Alliance is headquartered at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at UT Austin. More information can be found at ecepalliance.org or by contacting ECEP Principal Investigator, Carol L. Fletcher at cfletcher@tacc.utexas.edu.