Press Release
National Association of Webmasters Advances Its "Urban Entrepreneurs" initiative at DCI's Internet Expo February 10-12, 1998
Sacramento, CA (Feb 10, 1998):- The National Association of Webmasters (NAW) announced today that it has been invited to co-sponsor DCI's Internet Expo, February 10-12, 1998, at the San Jose, CA Convention Center. NAW's current priority is its leadership of a consortium that locates bright, motivated young people from at-risk neighborhoods, sponsors their certification training as webmasters, and then finds full- or part-time jobs for them with for-profit companies doing website design, maintenance and support.
"The National Association of Webmasters and DCI are the perfect partners for our next venture," said Bill Cullifer, Executive Director of NAW. "DCI (http://www.dci.com) is known as one of the most comprehensive and respected gatherings for Internet professionals in the world and we are very grateful to the DCI organization for helping us bring our program to San Jose."
NAW identified three talented young people from a bay area community group, Plugged In Enterprises, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the educational opportunities created by new technologies to low-income communities. Thomas Gomez, 14, is a sophomore attending Woodside High School; Dominic Bannister is interested in web page design and likes to work with Adobe Photoshop and Page; and Nathan Kuriger a former student and now a full time Plugged In employee. All will attend an all-day session co-sponsored by NAW and Net Guru Technologies (NGT) on Tuesday, February 10.
Uday O. Pabrai, Founder and President of Net Guru Technologies (www.ngt.com ), will be on hand at Internet Expo to welcome the three young men to the on-site training and invite them to write about their experience for the NAW newsletter. NAW's Bill Cullifer will also meet with all of the NGT students at Internet Expo to learn more about their needs for training and hear their suggestions for additional Association initiatives.
Barbara Gavin Event Manager of Internet Expo noted that non-profit trade associations make the best catalysts for far-reaching efforts like NAW's urban entrepreneurs program. "Industry, education, and individuals all look to organizations like NAW for trends and recommendations. We're pleased to support an effort that not only helps young adults from the inner city, but also proposes standards for the webmaster job and helps schools solve a thorny problem as well."
The purpose of the NAW is to support and enhance the role of individuals and organizations who create, manage or market web sites. For additional information contact NAW at: info@joinwow.org