Betty Stevens-Frecknall began her career in computers as a cardpunch
operator. She trained in the 1940's as a keypunch clerk, a computer repair technician, and a systems analyst. Starting as a civilian employee of
the Navy in Seattle, Betty was soon recruited to a position at Long Beach. Following this, she obtained a position as a systems analyst with
the Department of Housing and Urban Development. From this point on, Betty proved herself with a series of successes on major projects, saving the
taxpayers millions of dollars and gaining a promotion with each success. During these years, Betty was very active in the Washington
D.C. Chapter of DPMA (now known as AITP), serving as chapter president in 1972. She was committed to
developing the chapter and increasing membership, especially among women. She later was active on the Mid-Atlantic Region (Region XI) of DPMA and was
elected Region president in 1979. Betty also served as the president of her Toastmasters chapter, and was very active in recruiting new members
into that organization. Betty retired at a level of GS14 as manager of a large programmer group responsible for major projects within the HUD
information systems infrastructure--all with just a high school education.One of very few women in a strongly male-dominated field, Betty was an advocate of equal opportunity and access to career advancement for all qualified workers. One of Betty's professional and later personal friends was Grace Hopper, the legendary "Mother of Computing". They shared a razor sharp wit and a passion for knowledge, excellence, gender equality, and education.
Betty was a strong advocate of self-improvement through education. Betty was always taking classes, and a favorite saying of hers was "Learn or die--and when you stop learning you start dying." She put herself through her computer training, then put her husband through the same course of study. Both went on to become successful computer analysts. She encouraged her children and stepchildren to pursue higher education, and was always generous in helping them to achieve their educational dreams. Another favorite saying of Betty's was "If you don't watch out, you might learn something."