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Community

Milky Way Tech Hub Startup – Minorities to Majorities is granted $25,000 UpWork Grant

Jasmine Chigbu is founder and CEO of Minorities to Majorities [MTM] , a company that aids underrepresented and low income students in calculating their financial needs and then connecting them with scholarship and grant opportunities. MTM is an active participant in the Milky Way Tech Hub community, having received both fund raising assistance and counseling through Milky Way Tech Hub’s entrepreneurship program. Chigbu, who has a master’s degree in biomedical sciences, conceived MTM after noting that there was a distinct lack of diversity in her undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. In line with her experience and the need she identified, her company’s mission is to “serve the under-served and create a world in which students can pursue the education of their dreams without financial barriers.”

One of MTM’s short term goals is to raise operational capital. In 2018 Chigbu met Nadiyah Johnson, CEO and founder of Milky Way Tech Hub. Since that time, Milky Way Tech Hub has aided MTM in their mission by exposing them to different financial resources, helping them craft grant applications and pitch decks, and connecting them with various funding opportunities. In November of 2019, MTM placed second in one of the tech hub’s pitch competitions, raising its profile both in the Milky Way Tech Hub community and city of Milwaukee. As a result of the competition, MTM has been able to develop relationships with potential investors and sponsors including AMFAM Institute, a key supporter of Milky Way Tech Hub. More recently, Minorities to Majorities was awarded a $25,000 grant from Upwork. These funds will be leveraged to assist with operational costs and the development of the second phase of the MTM app. Based on the recent traction made in fundraising, Chigbu welcomes the opportunity to continuous collaboration with Milky Way Tech Hub on other fundraising efforts and connecting to local tech talent in the Milwaukee area.

“Our goal is to serve the under-served and create a world in which students can pursue the education of their dreams without financial barriers.”

Jasmine Chigbu

MTM’s long term goal is for all students who attend a U.S. public high school and identify as underrepresented or low income have access to and be aware of her platform. MTM also wants to reduce the student loan debt in the country among low income students by at least ten percent in the next fifteen years. The organization has taken steps towards their goal by conducting scholarship and financial management workshops, partnering with educational organizations like the HBCU college fair , United Way Houston, and Duke BOOST. Overall, they have connected with fifteen thousand students in ten countries. Milky Way Tech Hub is prepared to help Chigbu reach her goal by helping the company to hone its business strategy, navigating the start-up world and ultimately standing out in the marketplace.

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Community Tech for Milwaukee

Secure Bridges Enters The Milky Way – A Collaboration in the Fight Against Sex Trafficking

The fight against sex trafficking gained a new ally in a young woman by the name of Shayvon McCullum. It might not have been her original intent to take on a social justice endeavor that has become an international issue but once she began her research in late 2018, there has been no breaks or pauses. Her research turned into a strategy session, that produced her organization, Secure Bridges. Shayvon found herself motivated after attending many events dedicated to the issue especially discovering she was the only African-American woman present. This was in-congruent to the data she’d collected from her research that stated that Black and brown children were at the highest risk of being sex trafficked in the Milwaukee area. The help she knew she would need to make a huge impact arrived in the form of Nadiyah Johnson of Jet Constellations and The Milky Way Tech Hub.

Jet Constellations reached out to her after Shayvon had been highlighted during an interview for the Morning Blend. Nadiyah informed her of her mission for the Milky Way Tech Hub and how the use of technology could elevate her fight against sex trafficking. Shayvon took the initiative to do more research but this time it was to gain insight into information systems. Her studious nature and attention to detail impressed Nadiyah, and it was during the following meeting that she began to map out how a Secure Bridges app could provide preventative measures to dismantle youth sex trafficking.

“The Milkyway Tech Hub meet-ups had become routine for my Saturday mornings. It was encouraging to see such a beautiful and diverse room of entrepreneurs learning and building and connecting with each other.” – Shayvon M.

The app will give the under-served youth in the community multiple opportunities and resources in one place. Shayvon credits Nadiyah’s patience and support for her being able to win at the Milky Way Tech Hub Pitch Night, which led to the privilege of joining Jet Constellations’ One on One concierge accelerator. The entire experience culminated in the clickable demo constructed by Jet Constellations and Milky Way Tech Hub affiliate, MB Collab (led by Sirene Mireles and Irina Becker). Secure Bridges is currently raising funds to complete the app and bring it to market.

Follow Secure Bridges :

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/securebridgesmke/

Instagam: https://www.instagram.com/securebridges/?hl=en

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Community STEAM & DREAM

STEAM + DREAM Curriculum – A Solution for Students

The state’s Safer at Home order has transformed many parents into teachers overnight. Thousands of families are tasked with keeping the minds of young people engaged during this time.
In response to Covid -19 American Family has partnered with the Sherman Phoenix, The Milky Way Tech Hub and Connect Business Consulting to develop an online curriculum for elementary and middle school students.  The STEAM & DREAM  curriculum will touch on topics that will equip students with a foundation to launch their STEM journey. The development of the on-line curriculum allows the Sherman Phoenix to pivot programming originally funded by American Family to happen in person. Topics in the curriculum cover – learning how computers understand us, computational thinking, design thinking, app development and more.  The online curriculum will be available to those that register using the link below. 

Along with the curriculum, the group of organizations are planning to roll out 150 laptops to the community. This effort has been put in place to address the lack of devices and access to technology that currently poses a barrier to continuing education in many families. The online curriculum will be available to those that register using the link below. If you or someone you know is in need of a laptop in order to participate in the online curriculum you’re encouraged to specify this need in the enrollment form below.

Enroll Here

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Community

Quentin Allums – A Misfit and Master of The Intersection

Quentin Allums, the man they call Q is at the intersection of sociology, business, virtual experience and storytelling. Traditionalists beware, he’s constantly performing experiments behind closed doors and looking for new ways to push the envelope.

“We all have clusters, you just have to identify yours, so you’re not focused on somebody else’s. It’s the difference between playing offense and constantly on the defensive.”

-Quentin Allums on how to be successful

The self-professed mad scientist, is constantly in the lab with the data from all of his areas of interest using the vivid memory of being laughed at before the accolades and success as motivation. He recalled one moment in particular where he was describing a virtual reality platform he was working on to utilize as an innovative form of education and was openly mocked and ridiculed for having such audacity. It still fascinates him to witness how he now has people lined up to speak with him about his ideas.

Quentin is well known for his videos on Linkedin and being a co-founder of Urban Misfits Ventures. Urban Misfit Ventures is a video company with a focus on community. They help brands, companies, and people build influence & generate leads through strategy and compelling videos. The key to their success thus far has been their focus on authenticity.

This was my second time sitting down with, Q, (the first on behalf of the Milky Way Tech Hub) and one of the many things I admire is his direct manner. Q is very genuine in communicating his ideas and belief system. When discussing Milwaukee he shared, “Milwaukee lacks narrative. “We need to lean into becoming a Smart City versus channeling all of our energy towards trying to be a tech ecosystem.” He shared the importance of being creative in order to catch up with cities that are much further along in the process.

Q also emphasized the importance of diversity and inclusion as it relates to developing a city that attracts and retains young and innovative people. Creating a culture that embraces all backgrounds seems to be a priority of Urban Misfit Ventures. His advice to those working in a toxic environment where diversity and inclusion are not celebrated is to find a niche within the company and find a sweet spot where you can thrive but if that can’t be made to work simply leave. Of course, he understands it’s not that simple for everybody when it comes to employment but he advises to prepare for the moment it does.

`Q is very strategic when it comes to partnerships and collaborations, through experience he’s learned to only sign on when it makes business sense for both companies. However, he is always willing to help and share contacts from his network. He would be more than willing to partner with the Milkyway Tech Hub if there was a project presented that both teams could benefit from. Most importantly, he expressed interest in being a lifetime ally in the push for diversity and inclusion, those early experiences of discrimination and ridicule will never fade and he wants the playing field to be level for dream chasers, entrepreneurs and misfits. To learn more about Quentin Allums give him a follow on his Linkedin, IG or Twitter below.

Twitter : @tagjustQ

IG: tagjustQ

Linkedin: Quentin Allums

Categories
Community

Kenge: A New Project

The professionalism of Kenge Adams was something I noticed as I approached her in the lounge on the ground level of the Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons to conduct our interview.

During our conversation, Kenge and I shared a laugh as she articulated to me what the role and duties of a project manager were. I quickly learned that this was just a glimpse into an incredibly accomplished woman. Kenge earned a bachelor’s degree from UW-Parkside and a Master of Science in Communications from Northwestern University. After working for over fifteen years as a project manager for corporations such as FIS, Connecture, and Northwestern Mutual, she recently became an entrepreneur on a leap of faith with the mindset of wanting to take control of her career and have the ability to cultivate her own path. This was the catalyst behind her creating Connect Business Consulting: a consulting firm that manages the execution of projects and creates capacity assessments that adhere to her client’s vision, mission, and goals.

Despite her degrees and accomplishments, it didn’t take long to discover that Kenge operates from a place of gratitude and conducts herself in a lighthearted and humble manner. The first client to retain Kenge’s project management services through her firm, Connect Business Consulting, was Nadiyah Johnson and the Milkyway Tech Hub. Kenge is their Principal Consultant who is helping to manage initiatives and projects such as meetups, pitchouts, and events during the 2020 DNC. The Milkyway Tech Hub’s mission is to provide more diversity and inclusion within the tech fields and demonstrate Milwaukee as an emerging tech hub to cultivate an inclusive tech ecosystem.

Kenge first met Nadiyah when she oversaw the STEM outreach program for Northwestern Mutual’s Science Institute (NMDSI). Kenge reached out to Nadiyah for her data science expertise to help create the curriculum that was used in the partnership between Northwestern Mutual (NMDSI) and UWM’s college for kids program. An instant professional and personal bond was formed, which made it even more likely and mutually beneficial for them to work together now. Yet, as much history as they share, Kenge is also just extremely excited about Nadiyah’s vision and the Milkyway Tech Hub’s mission to cultivate an inclusive tech ecosystem.

In addition to working with Nadiyah and the Milkyway Tech Hub, Kenge is working with Morgan Phelps, owner of Colorful Connections. Colorful Connections is a staffing and recruitment agency that matches companies with skilled and diverse talent as well as assists professionals with their careers through professional development services and programs. Kenge sees this partnership as another opportunity to support the various sectors in the marketplace and help make it more diverse and inclusive.

Kenge believes that providing exposure to technology and resources for people of color, women, and people from under served communities is an essential step towards closing the gap of lack of diversity in the technology fields. Her advice to people who feel culturally isolated in the workplace is for them to start getting connected to like-minded and supportive individuals within their organization, regardless of role or department. She emphasizes that people should be involved in passion projects outside of work within their community. Kenge ultimately believes that organizations that embrace diversity and intentionally provide opportunities for all will have better results and more successful outcomes.

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