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So far Cristhian Romero has created 15 blog entries.

i.c.stars Names Samantha Maldonado Executive Director of Milwaukee Office
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i.c.stars Names Samantha Maldonado Executive Director of Milwaukee Office
Milwaukee, National, News

i.c.stars Names Samantha Maldonado Executive Director of Milwaukee Office

Cristhian Romero2026-08-28T09:54:24-05:00August 27th, 2026|Milwaukee, National, News|

August 27, 2026

i.c.stars Names Samantha Maldonado Executive Director of Milwaukee Office

Veteran organizational development leader and longtime i.c.stars partner to lead Milwaukee’s growth and community impact

MILWAUKEE, WI — i.c.stars announced today that Samantha Maldonado has been named Executive Director of its Milwaukee office. Maldonado brings more than fifteen years of experience leading growth, culture, and leadership development at Fortune 500 companies, along with a deep, hands-on history with the i.c.stars’ Milwaukee community.

Maldonado has spent her career leading growth at organizations including Northwestern Mutual, Principal Financial, and Kohl’s, working across Organizational Development, People & Culture, and Executive Leadership Coaching. She is a trusted voice in strategy and change leadership, and her coaching and consulting work spans from individual contributors to senior executives across industries — covering leadership development, strategic planning, and organizational culture. […]

i.c.stats Chicago Cycle 56 Commencement
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i.c.stats Chicago Cycle 56 Commencement
Chicago, News

i.c.stats Chicago Cycle 56 Commencement

Cristhian Romero2025-04-14T13:54:52-05:00April 14th, 2025|Chicago, News|

Cycle 56 recently completed their i.c.stars internship, comprising a talented group of 19 interns.

Milwaukee Champion of Diversity & Inclusion in Tech Award

Cristhian Romero2024-08-05T16:54:18-05:00May 14th, 2021|National|

The Milwaukee Business Journal will honor 11 Milwaukee-area companies and individuals as part of our inaugural Tech Awards.

Among the winners are GE Healthcare, which is being honored for its “Artificial Intelligence in MRI” initiative, Sojourner Family Peace Center, which is being

honored for its “Centralized Data System” and Waterstone Mortgage, which is being honored for its “Digital Mortgage / Remote Online Notorization eClosing”

system. Neal Sample, Northwestern Mutual’s executive vice president and chief information officer, was chosen as “Technologist of the Year.” Sample leads the

technology organization at Northwestern Mutual, which includes approximately 2,500 employees and makes up more than a third of the company’s home office

workforce.

STEM is growing, but minorities still underrepresented

Cristhian Romero2024-08-05T09:46:15-05:00February 19th, 2021|National|

Growth and innovation in STEM has become a guiding force in the economy, but minorities continue to be underrepresented in these fields, according to a

Milwaukee business panel.Leaders from Northwestern Mutual, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Jet Constellations and IC Stars spoke at a virtual event put on

by Fuel Milwaukee to discuss the importance of diversity in science and technology.The failure of corporate leaders to properly integrate diversity into their hiring

strategies is the root cause of low numbers of women, African Americans and Hispanics in the industry, they said.

Plans to Aid 30,000 Displaced Workers

Cristhian Romero2024-08-05T09:11:58-05:00February 18th, 2021|National|

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Today the SkillUp Coalition, which provides displaced workers with opportunities to gain new skills and secure

in-demand jobs, announced the launch of a fund with the goal of benefitting 30,000 workers displaced by COVID-19. Known as the SkillUp Together Fund, money

raised immediately goes to recipients in the form of grants that cover the cost of training, equipment, or special support services. The Fund will target those most

impacted by the pandemic who are making under $40,000 a year and have less than a bachelor’s degree. SkillUp aims to raise $30 million in total and disperse the

funds fully within 12 to 18 months.

Minority-Owned Businesses for Back2Business Grants

Cristhian Romero2024-08-06T11:35:08-05:00February 16th, 2021|National|

Approximately $1 million in grants available to businesses based in the city of Chicago or Cook County

BROOKFIELD, Wis., February 16, 2021 – Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, today

announced it is accepting grant applications from minority-owned small businesses based in the city of Chicago or Cook County as part of its ongoing

Back2Business program. The program is designed to help support minority-owned businesses that have been negatively impacted by the ongoing COVID-19

pandemic.

2020 in review: Our most read pieces

Cristhian Romero2024-08-01T12:44:58-05:00December 22nd, 2020|National|

As Covid-19 affected our personal and working lives, 2020 was a year of unimaginable change. Microsoft on the Issues covered topics including cybersecurity,

digital skills accessibility and more, and the pandemic influenced many of the stories we brought you.As we say goodbye to 2020, here’s a look at some of this

year’s most read stories, from the Puget Sound region and beyond. This is a look at i.c.stars, a rigorous, tech-focused program that provides young adults from low-

income communities with the tools to develop the technical and leadership skills needed for a career in technology, a field that continues to lack diversity and be in

high demand.

ESSENCE Entrepreneur Summit: Speaker Line Up
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ESSENCE Entrepreneur Summit: Speaker Line Up
National

ESSENCE Entrepreneur Summit: Speaker Line Up

Cristhian Romero2024-08-05T17:02:02-05:00December 9th, 2020|National|

The 2020 ESSENCE Entrepreneur Summit is just around the corner and we have a host of successful business owners and thought leaders ready to equip you with

everything you’ll need to carry your brand into the new year. The second installment under our Level Up & Thrive series, the ESSENCE Entrepreneur Summit will

be presented in part by Chase, Aveeno, Microsoft, Walmart and Pepsi. From surefire strategies for securing capital for your business to tips on how to perfect your

pitch to valuable insight from celebrity entrepreneurs on how to balance it all and so much more, this is one virtual event you absolutely won’t want to miss. Scroll

through for a look at our speakers’ lineup and then be sure to tune in to ESSENCE.com or ESSENCE Studios on Wednesday, December 9 at 6PM as we close out the

year with the ESSENCE […]

Celebrating Kalderos’ partnership with i.c.stars
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Celebrating Kalderos’ partnership with i.c.stars
National

Celebrating Kalderos’ partnership with i.c.stars

Cristhian Romero2024-08-06T10:40:03-05:00December 1st, 2020|National|

In a year that has been so unique for so many, we are grateful that there are still things to be thankful for. In this time, amidst a global pandemic, we feel grateful

for the chance to be able to support our community. In that light, this Giving Tuesday, we’re proud to announce our partnership with i.c.stars, an organization that

provides a rigorous program of tech-based workforce development and leadership training for underserved adults. i.c.stars then works to place these candidates in

roles ranging from front end developers to business analysts. Click Here

i.c.stars Milwaukee grows in a pandemic

Cristhian Romero2024-08-05T16:45:10-05:00November 18th, 2020|National|

The local nonprofit i.c. stars Milwaukee increased its fiscal 2021 budget by 21% as it looks to grow its Milwaukee team and support its mission as a tech training

hub despite the effects of the pandemic. i.c. stars was started in Chicago over 20 years ago. The organization expanded to Milwaukee in 2018 with the help of a

Dohmen Company Foundation sponsorship. It is currently based at 411 E. Wisconsin Ave. but is planning for its new home at the Eagleknit Innovation Hub at 507

S. Second St. The nonprofit is moving into the new facility in January. “Our goal is to provide access and opportunity to low-income adults to get into the tech

industry and to really help build diverse pipelines for talent for companies in Milwaukee and in the region we are in,” i.c. stars Milwaukee executive […]