Sabrina Short launched tech collective NOLAvate Black in 2018 in response to systemic racism and social injustices. Short said these issues prevented people of color and certain communities from gaining access to high-wage jobs and demand in the technology sector.
NOLAvate Black hosted Black Tech Nola, “the largest Black tech meetup in the south,” at Loyola. According to Short, the ultimate goal for the organization is to promote advancement, entrepreneurship, and employability for people of color interested in having a career in STEM.
One organization in attendance, Operation Spark, provides opportunities for upward mobility through software training.
“If you don’t know [tech fields are] an opportunity for you, you can miss out,” said Johnny James, operations coordinator for Operation Spark. “We want technology and technology careers to be accessible to more and more diverse organizations and diverse people.”
Professional panelists discussed music business, AI, film, media, and entrepreneurship. Key speakers included Lou Hill, Tavia Osbey, Angelique Roche, Kunique Stewart, and Donovan Williams. The conference offered an introductory coding class plus opportunities to network with tech professionals. After hours, Short shared her insights around building a pipeline for new talent to prepare for the future.
Employers connected with students over job opportunities, including CGI, The Idea Village, Culture Forward, Ochsner, City of New Orleans, Job1, Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company, Excella, Greater New Orleans, and Operation Spark.
“As we’re developing new technologies, new innovations, artificial intelligence, all of those things, the people working on these devices, products, and services are just as diverse as the people that are going to be using them,” Terry Duglad, DEI Consultant at CGI said. “So it’s incredibly important for us to make that investment.”
