In the north part of the Loop, 20 people will commit to being in an office space from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, for four months, forming a cohort ready to absorb the latest the tech world has to offer.

By the end of their time at IC Stars, they will have amassed 1,000 hours of IT training—what a visiting industry professional called the equivalent of a master’s in IT—while being paid a small stipend to solve a current technological program for an actual corporation. CEOs want to hang out with them and interrogate them about their developing skills. These individuals come from all sorts of backgrounds generally considered underserved: all of the members of this current cohort are people of color. Read Article

Rico Bryant is the Recruitment Manager of i.c.stars, a technology-based workforce development program assisting low-income adults. One of the pillars that i.c.stars touts is its leadership training, how it helps people from underserved communities tap into their potential and grow into forward-thinking leaders. The 33-year-old Bryant knows this well. He was once an i.c.stars intern, finding out about the company through a Facebook post and going on to rise up the ranks there. Bryant describes stumbling upon this random social media post as “a blessing from God,” as he was searching for work and continually having doors slammed in his face, all because he had been incarcerated. Read Article

Brandies Meva’a recalls the experiences that led her to where she is today: co-owner of a digital marketing firm based in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.

One was helping found a nonprofit while she was in high school. Called BOLD Chicago (Building Opportunities for Leadership Development), it taught her a lot about community organizing. Read Article

eshots, Inc founder and CEO Craig Steensma hosted a 60-minute presentation and Q&A with members of Chicago-based i.c. stars. Offering a two-year program, i.c. stars provides opportunities for young adults to develop advanced technical and leadership skills. Since 1999, according to icstars.org, the organization “has been identifying, training, and jump-starting technology careers for Chicago-area low-income young adults who, although lacking access to education and employment, demonstrate the extraordinary potential for success in the business world and for impact in their communities.” i.c. stars engages with Chicago-area companies in two ways, either through the temporary or full-time hiring of i.c. stars alums or custom Fellowship programs.

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Coming back from Lesbians Who Tech Summit in San Francisco, I was reminded of how energizing it feels to be around “your people”; folks who share some part of your experience, and “get it”.

As we close out Black History Month 2017, I wanted to highlight a few of the folks that energize me here in Chicago, that are doing amazing things in tech, and we should all be listening to, lifting up, and gettin’ loud about!

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On the morning of Tuesday, February 21, Chicago Ideas teamed up with Cara and I.C. Stars to host a roundtable discussion on hiring formerly incarcerated individuals. Moderated by WBEZ editor Rob Wildeboer, the conversation brought together Safer Foundation vice president of external relations Sodiqua Williams, Cara admissions specialist Raahsaan Brown, Midway Moving president and CEO Jerry Siegel and Cook County Department of Corrections executive director Nneka Jones Tapia. Read Article