The April 9th grand opening celebration of Per Scholas Newark brought together more than 300 community members, nonprofit and business leaders, Per Scholas alumni, staff and the nineteen students of the site’s first cohort. The facility is the third Per Scholas location within the tri-state area, and will provide training and professional development to more than 200 graduates pursuing tech careers over the next three years. Two thirds of these graduates will be Newark residents. Per Scholas’ expansion to Newark was made possible through the generous support of Champion Founding Partner Barclays, Signature Founding Partner Prudential Financial, Major Founding Partner PSEG, and Founding Partners AT&T and Guardian Life.

“Newark is experiencing an explosion of technology companies choosing to locate here.” says Mayor Ras Baraka. “One of our highest priorities is to ensure that Newark residents benefit from the city’s accelerating development, investment and job growth. The decision by Per Scholas to come to Newark is both a confirmation of Newark’s technology leadership and a boost to our goal of preparing residents for well-paying tech jobs.”

April 9, 2019, Dallas TX – Per Scholas is pleased to announce Tino Mathew has been promoted to Dallas Advisory Board chair, after three years supporting the nonprofit. In addition, five new members will be joining the Dallas Advisory Board. For twenty-five years, Per Scholas has been preparing motivated and curious adults who are unemployed or underemployed with the technical and business skills to launch successful careers in technology, creating onramps to businesses in need of their talents.

Today Per Scholas operates in eight cities across the country: Atlanta, GA; Greater Boston, MA; Greater Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; the National Capital Region; Newark, NJ and New York, NY, launching the Dallas site in 2015. Per Scholas collaborates closely with employers, government agencies, philanthropies, and non-profit organizations to develop a more diverse and inclusive technology workforce. In Dallas, Per Scholas has an 89 percent graduation rate, 92 percent certification rate, and an 83 percent job placement rate for graduates. On average, in their first job post-graduation, Per Scholas alumni earn four times their pre-training wage.

Local board members are an integral part of the continued support of this mission. The new Dallas-based advisory board members are:

Jasmin Brand has a decade of executive experience in digital publishing and marketing strategy, currently serving as CEO of LAUNCH, a forward-thinking Texas media company laser-focused on connectivity. She is also the founder and president of Darby James, a digital publisher, and experiential marketing agency focused on developing comprehensive brand and event strategies for cities and startups. Jasmin has been named one of the 10 Texas Women to Watch in Media, ATHENA Award presented by the Dallas Regional Chamber and KPMG, Minority Business Leader of the Year presented by the Dallas Business Journal, and one of TechWeek’s 100 Talent Cultivators.

Elizabeth Caudill currently serves as the managing director of higher education and workforce at the Dallas Regional Chamber, where she works with local businesses, higher education institutions, and the Texas Legislature to improve the city’s talent pipeline. She also serves on the board of CitySquare, a nonprofit fighting the causes and effects of poverty. Formerly, Elizabeth was a 2016-2017 Fellow in the ACCE National Fellowship for Education Attainment, a member of the Dallas Mayor’s Star Council and appointed to serve on the Dallas Community Development Commission.

Stephanie Herrera completed the Per Scholas IT training program in September 2017 and now works as an IT Service Desk Analyst for Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), the region’s largest transit agency. Stephanie is the first alumna represented on our local board and began volunteering as a guest speaker upon graduation from our training. In addition to her qualifications earned through Per Scholas, Stephanie has an Associate of Science degree in Information Technology and CompTIA A+ and ITIL Foundation certifications. She is preparing to sit for her Microsoft 365 Modern Desktop Administrator Associate and Microsoft Office 2016 Master credentials in the coming months.

Cynthia Humphries is a senior mechanical engineer at General Dynamics Mission Systems, working to support technical programs to deliver communications equipment to customers across the world. Combining her interest in wanting to help others and support STEM education and training, Cynthia collaborated with colleagues and others to create the Chris Nelson Memorial Scholarship Fund. Proceeds raised go directly to support Per Scholas Dallas’ training.

Ian Moses has decades of experience helping companies solve some of their most pressing human resources challenges, including recruiting, corporate training, and workforce management. Currently, as the global head of inclusion and diversity at Allegis Global Solutions, Ian is responsible for developing, promoting, and communicating AGS’s diversity and inclusion strategy to its employees, partners, and clients, with a specific focus on building high performing teams that are reflective of the community. Ian has dedicated himself to ensuring diversity and inclusion are not just buzzwords in the workplace, but a way of life.

“I’m thrilled to welcome these five local leaders to our Advisory Board,” said Stephanie Valadez, Managing Director of Per Scholas Dallas. “With expertise across education, technology, innovation, fundraising, diversity and inclusion, our board is representative of the excellence and alignment we bring as an organization to the Dallas community and the students we are privileged to serve. We are strategically positioned for continued growth with these leaders at the helm.”

About Per Scholas

Per Scholas is a national nonprofit that drives positive and proven social change in communities across the country. Through rigorous and tuition-free technology training and professional development, we prepare motivated and curious adults who are unemployed or underemployed for successful careers as technology professionals, and we create onramps to businesses in need of their talents. Today we provide our solutions in eight cities across the country: Atlanta, GA; Greater Boston, MA; Greater Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; the National Capital Region; Newark, NJ and New York, NY. To date, Per Scholas has trained 9,000 individuals, helping them build lasting, life-changing skills and careers in technology.

High-Tech Dallas, featuring a technology skills-based curriculum and career services, is the first Per Scholas program designed exclusively for high-school students

DALLAS, Feb. 13, 2019 – Today, national tech training nonprofit Per Scholas announced the launch of a new pilot program for high-school students interested in pursuing a career in technology. The initiative aims to support high school students lacking access to traditional higher education by providing them with the training and career guidance they need to secure meaningful, long-term employment in the tech industry.

As part of the pilot program, which will initially serve 30 students in Dallas, Per Scholas is partnering with the Texans Can Academy – Dallas Oak Cliff campus. Selected students will split their day between Per Scholas IT Support coursework and high school classes, producing an integrated approach that balances academic and on-the-job education. The IT Support courses will be led by instructor and Per Scholas graduate Jake Gordon.

“We’re excited to partner with Texans Can Academy to expand our services to high school students across the Oak Cliff community. Our goal is to ensure that high school students interested in pursuing immediate employment after graduation have the foundation they need to succeed and discover long-term career success. I’ve witnessed first-hand how life-changing this program can be for students at our Downtown Dallas training facility, and we hope to deliver the same impact to the Oak Cliff community,” said Stephanie Valadez, managing director of Per Scholas Dallas.

Texans Can Academy – Dallas Oak Cliff will provide students with laptops and hotspots to help bridge the digital divide that can often exclude them from educational and career opportunities. High-Tech students will have access to internship opportunities through Per Scholas’s employer network, along with career counseling and additional professional certifications, for at least two years upon completing the program. Graduates will have the ability to either seek an internship and immediate employment, matriculate in the fall to a more advanced and specialized Per Scholas training track, or pursue a traditional college education.

“As educators, one of our primary goals is to help students gain the knowledge and skills that will allow them to reach their goals and promote access to sustainable career paths,” said Richard Marquez, president and CEO of Texans Can Academies. “Our goal for our graduating students is to provide the skills and options for a strong career path and higher education. In partnering with Per Scholas, opportunities are available that our students would have never had. Texans Can strives to be a value-added organization through this partnership as well as through our other partnerships.”

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About Per Scholas

Per Scholas is a national nonprofit that drives positive and proven social change in communities across the country. Through rigorous and tuition-free technology training and professional development, we prepare motivated and curious adults who are unemployed or underemployed for successful careers as technology professionals, and we create onramps to businesses in need of their talents. Today we provide our solutions in eight cities across the country: Atlanta, GA; Greater Boston, MA; Greater Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; the National Capital Region; Newark, NJ and New York, NY. To date, Per Scholas has trained 9,000 individuals, helping them build lasting, life-changing skills and careers in technology.

About Texans Can Academies

Celebrating 34 years of providing the highest quality education for all students, Texans Can schools are graduating thinkers. Texans Can Academies are a unique network of 14 charter schools located in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. The schools are tuition-free, open enrollment, public high schools of choice. Texans Can Academies serve students who have struggled in a traditional high school setting by offering students, age 14 to 21, a second chance at earning their high school diploma instead of taking a General Education Development (GED). To date, more than 151,883 youth have been given a second chance at life with the opportunity to pursue their dreams. For more information, please visit www.texanscan.org.