Erica Banks, vice president of technology for CNN’s platforms group, oversees the teams that alert millions of people worldwide to breaking news. She’s also a computer science alumna who credits her Georgia Tech education with shaping her problem-solving skills and preparing her for a fast-paced career in global media technology.

Her own financial challenges as a student inspired her to establish a needs-based scholarship supporting first-generation and underrepresented students in the College of Computing. 

Banks shares her story and why she wants to expand opportunity and help future technologists build their own paths forward in the following Q&A.

How did your time at Georgia Tech influence the trajectory that brought you to your current role with CNN?

Imagine millions of people rushing to CNN.com and CNN apps the moment breaking news happens, all while your teams are deploying a major platform update! That is my world. My B.S. in computer science taught me to think in systems and logic, not just write software code.

Today, I lead an organization of 80+ engineers and technical leaders building CNN's news publishing platforms and frameworks. As a VP of Software Engineering, I balance system design, crisis response, organization strategy, and diverse problem-solving all at scale.

It sounds like your team hires many early-career software engineers. What skills or qualities do you look for in new talent, and how do Georgia Tech students stand out?

Academic achievements matter because they demonstrate your technical intellect and prove you can master complex concepts. Georgia Tech students naturally excel in pushing through intellectual challenges and rigorous curricula. What stands out beyond your GPA are curiosity, willingness to learn, ability to collaborate, and resilience. Can you go from abstract ideas to tactical software directions? Can you debug your own thinking? Do you ask great questions to understand risks and uncertainties? How well do you work on project teams? The best technologists I have hired have strong technical fundamentals, the ability to collaborate, and the humility to learn. This self-awareness is invaluable.

You're helping expand internship—and potentially co-op—pipelines in Atlanta, New York, and Ottawa. What opportunities do you hope these pathways will create for students?

During my undergraduate years at Georgia Tech, I worked as an intern and co-op at IBM. Transitioning to full-time at IBM after graduating was significantly easier with this real-world work experience. I was already experienced with shipping "real" code, understanding production systems, and learning how corporate organizations operate. I hope to create the same real impact through new hiring pathways, where early experience across different industries equips students with sufficient real-world experience and career jump-starts.

As a HOPE Scholar who faced challenges with living expenses, how did those experiences shape your perspective on access and affordability in higher education?

I'm incredibly grateful to have been a HOPE Scholar during my undergraduate years at Georgia Tech. The program had just started 2 years prior to my entry, so I knew my tuition, fees, and books were covered for 4+ years as long as I maintained a 3.0 GPA or higher. However, I did not qualify for need-based aid because I came from a middle-class family. I did not have the resources to cover my room and board to live on campus. This taught me the lesson that "access" requires far more than admission. I was fortunate to have supportive parents and income from my internships and co-op experiences. But I can only imagine how much more difficult it is for brilliant students to fill financial gaps each semester. Financial stress doesn't just limit opportunities. It steals focus from learning and creates a "ceiling" for how far you can go academically.

Your existing scholarship fund supports first-generation and underrepresented students. Why is this focus especially meaningful to you?

Underrepresented students often carry what I call an "invisible" weight: how to navigate environments without a clear roadmap on what/who/why/when/how, all while trying to build their own future. During my undergraduate years, I was frequently the only, or one of a few, women and/or people of color in my computer science classes. This same pattern has continued throughout my 25+ year career, especially as I have climbed higher on the tech leadership career ladder. As a VP, I have personally met only 10 or so other black female VPs in technology (ever). I established my scholarship fund at Georgia Tech to help change this narrative for future generations. I want to support underrepresented students in pursuing their dream degree at one of the best schools in this country!

You've made a new commitment—$100K over five years—that will qualify your scholarship for the Invest in the Best match. What inspired you to expand your support at this moment?

I am very grateful that the Invest in the Best Match will help my scholarship fund reach a level where a significant financial impact can be achieved every academic year. I am at a stage in my career where I can accelerate what I wish had existed for me. I am personal proof that only one semester of financial security can change a student's entire trajectory. This commitment is also a huge stepping stone toward my ultimate goal of my scholarship fund reaching the $1 million level in future years, creating sustainable support that outlasts my own contributions and my lifetime. 

When you think about the long-term impact of a $200K need-based endowed scholarship, what outcomes or student stories do you hope to see?

I hope scholarship recipients will graduate and then find rewarding careers or seek entrepreneurship that changes their lives. This is how my personal journey has progressed: I continue to seek life-fulfilling challenges, overcome any hurdles, and fulfill my life's purpose by helping others. I hope they reach a point in their life where they look back with gratitude and choose to pay it forward. I am looking forward to reading their alumni newsletter feature one day, where they announce their new self-named scholarship fund and tell the next generation of students, "Someone invested in me. Now I am investing in you."

Many alumni want to give back but aren't sure where to start. What advice would you offer to donors who want their philanthropy to be meaningful and aligned with their values?

I had the idea of starting a scholarship fund at Georgia Tech for over 10 years. I feared making the financial commitment and kept deferring the decision for years. Finally, in 2021, I decided to reach out and request information on the starting steps. There is flexibility in how to meet the initial commitment, including funding sources and the timeframe. Start with this, then focus on scaling the fund later.

The bigger picture is that you are helping future students with their financial needs and letting them know that a Georgia Tech alum believes in them. This profound impact is far greater than any fears over starting a fund.

Looking ahead, how do you envision partnerships between industry leaders like CNN and academic institutions like Georgia Tech shaping the next generation of computing talent?

The best partnerships treat students as colleagues, not just pipelines of talent. We need stronger two-way connections between academia and industry, where theoretical boundaries merge with real-world opportunities. Take streaming video delivery as a concrete example: millions of simultaneous viewers need to watch a live presidential debate or a live March Madness game on their iPhones. How do you maintain quality when network bandwidth drops during a debate? How do you scale real-time infrastructure when traffic spikes from 10 million viewers to 20 million viewers at one time? How do you personalize video delivery by various factors without introducing latency? The next generation of technologists will greatly benefit from learning to solve these problems while actively earning their degrees.