Ramon Richards, senior vice president of integrated technology solutions at Fannie Mae, is the 2019 Dr. Christopher Jones Legacy Award winner. The award was presented by Dr. Christopher Jones,  2016 Black Engineer of the Year and corporate vice president of Northrop Grumman’s Technical Services sector.

Prior to 2016, legacy awards were called Special Recognition Awards. The awards were renamed to honor the legacy of Black Engineers of the Year that date back to 1997.

Legacy awards, presented annually by the BEYA STEM Conference, honor a winner’s voluntary work in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) community, as well as excellence in the STEM workforce.

Richards is senior vice president of integrated technology solutions at Fannie Mae. As an executive leader with the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) organization, he creates opportunities to strengthen the talent pipeline for African Americans in technology leadership.

“At this point, we have had over 18 top technology employees go through ITSMF programs. I am proud of this accomplishment because of the impact this program has had, each participant in the program has shared positive stories of growth,” Richards said. A member of the Fannie Mae Diversity Advisory Council, Richards also helps identify development opportunities for internal talent.

“This is a terrific field that offers many exciting career paths,” Richards said. ” Establish mentors early on the journey and be curious. Ask questions, read, network.”

Richards is responsible for the technology that supports Fannie Mae’s single-family and multifamily businesses. He is focused on frontiers like Intelligent Automation, and tools that will enable more automation. Beyond these efforts, Ramon also established the Robotics Process Automation (RPA) capability across Fannie Mae. He has led Fannie Mae’s integration into a joint venture between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to deliver a platform that supports the management of mortgage-backed securities.

Richards graduated with a mathematics degree from Morehouse College. He also earned an electrical engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.