Per Scholas Seattle Establishes Advisory Board

Leaders from Technology Contribute to Transform America’s

Tech Workforce in the Pacific Northwest.

Per Scholas Seattle today announces the establishment of its inaugural Advisory Board. Leaders from technology will contribute their time and talent to supporting Per Scholas Seattle and its mission to transform America’s technology workforce through rigorous tech skills training.

Inaugural Per Scholas Seattle Advisory Board Members include:

• Ashley Russell, Global Head of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Amazon
• DeiMarlon Scisney, Founder/CEO, HOP
• Kevin Wang, Founder, Mentors in Tech

“The establishment of our Advisory Board is a pivotal milestone for Per Scholas Seattle. Having the leadership and talent exemplified by this board aligned with our mission gives me a great deal of confidence that we will further our impact in the Puget Sound region as we continue our work of connecting skilled talent to careers in tech,” stated Per Scholas Seattle Managing Director Brian McRae.

Since opening in 2021, more than 200 learners have graduated from Per Scholas Seattle and have gone on to employment in tech roles at a variety of companies across the city – from large financial service institutions to small startups. 

Per Scholas Seattle is grateful for Founder’s Circle partners TEKsystems as well as generous support from Comcast, the Norcliffe Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.  

Currently, Per Scholas Seattle offers a variety of tech training courses including Software Engineering, IT Support, and more. To learn more, please visit www.PerScholas.org/seattle.

Per Scholas Celebrates $20 Million Investment from Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott

Transformational Investment Propels and Positions Tech Skills Nonprofit for National Future Impact

BRONX, New York (September 28, 2023) – Per Scholas, a national nonprofit committed to advancing economic mobility and unlocking potential through technology career training, today announced a $20 million investment from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

Receiving this transformational investment from MacKenzie Scott, one of the most dynamic philanthropists in modern times, is a testament to Per Scholas' impact over our nearly 30 year history. As we've evolved from a computer recycler in the South Bronx to a technical skills trainer in 22 cities and counting across America, we are so grateful for this $20 million gift – the largest, unrestricted funding our organization has ever received. This investment will propel Per Scholas for even greater national impact well into the future, centered on growth and innovation and ensuring our alumni achieve a thriving wage through our Career Accelerator. — Plinio Ayala, President & CEO, Per Scholas

To date, Per Scholas has prepared more than 20,000 individuals across the U.S. for high-growth careers in technology by offering tuition-free, rigorous, 12- to 15-week training in the nation’s most in-demand tech skills. The evidence-based Per Scholas model has been proven in multiple gold-standard research studies, and on average, Per Scholas-trained technologists go on to earn three times their pre-training wage in their first job following graduation. All told, Per Scholas graduates have earned more than $2.4 billion in their post-Per Scholas careers, powering economic advancement in communities across the nation.

Per Scholas connects graduates to high growth careers through our network of 850+ employer partners, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups, and supports alumni through the organization’s latest innovation, the Career Accelerator, which provides Per Scholas alumni short-term upskilling opportunities, in turn propelling careers. As a result, every dollar invested in Per Scholas results in at least $8 in net economic return.

I'd like to express my most heartfelt gratitude to Per Scholas staff, funders, employer partners, and supporters, who have believed in our mission to advance economic equity and increase opportunity through America's hottest sector - technology. While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life in ways previously unimagined, it presented the opportunity for Per Scholas to innovate a new delivery model, which proved so successful that we were able to scale our impact four-fold. I echo Plinio's gratitude to Ms. Scott - this $20 million investment will certainly position Per Scholas well into our next decade of unlocking potential. — Lewis Miller, Per Scholas Co-Founder and National Board Chair

Today, Per Scholas operates in 20+ U.S. markets including Atlanta, Baltimore, Greater Boston, Chicago, Greater Cincinnati, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Newark, New York, North Carolina, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. This investment will enable Per Scholas to continue to expand its training and talent solutions to additional communities across the United States, with the goal of training 10,000 learners per year by 2026.

About Per Scholas
For more than 25 years, Per Scholas has been advancing equity and increasing opportunity across America. Per Scholas unlocks potential for individuals, communities, and employers through rigorous training for careers in tech. Partnering with dynamic employer partners, from Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups, we are building sustainable and diverse talent pipelines, together changing the face of tech. With national remote training and campuses in 20+ cities and growing, Per Scholas offers tuition-free training in the most in-demand tech skills, including Cloud, Cybersecurity, Data Engineering, IT Support, Software Engineering, and more.

To date, more than 20,000 individuals have gained the skills to launch high-growth tech careers, earning three times their pre-training wage. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is in our DNA: 85 percent of Per Scholas learners are people of color, two in five are women, and more than half have a high school diploma as their highest education credential. Visit PerScholas.org and follow us on LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

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Meet Esther, Per Scholas Dallas Graduate & Technologist 

Esther is just one of Per Scholas’ 20,000+ alumni. She’s a proud Per Scholas Dallas IT Support graduate and successful career switcher, living her dream of working in tech. Click below to hear her story and how she’s benefitting from the Career Accelerator – earning more stackable credentials to propel her tech career! 

On July 14th, Per Scholas Seattle hosted its first in-person graduation celebration, honoring the 16 technologists from their very first Software Engineering cohort. 

Per Scholas Seattle Managing Director Brian McRae welcomed graduates, alumni, colleagues, and partners and reflected on Per Scholas Seattle’s impact since launching in May 2021.  He also inspired our newest Per Scholas Seattle alumni to embrace their bright futures in tech. This cohort joins the more than 230 Per Scholas Seattle alumni trained in a variety of skills including IT Support, Software Engineering, Java Development, and Cybersecurity.  

“I couldn’t be more pleased with these graduates. From week one they exhibited such rare camaraderie and it was extremely exciting to watch them grow and develop throughout the program in such a collaborative way,” stated Brian McRae. “The graduation ceremony marked a very important milestone for Per Scholas Seattle.  Being our first one, we wanted to make it extra special by having it at the Seattle Jobs Initiative’s beautiful space which overlooks the Puget Sound, Olympic Mountains, and downtown Seattle.  It ended up being a wonderful, unforgettable day for this momentous occasion,” he reflected. 

The graduation ceremony consisted of remarks and reflections from distinguished guests and encouraging words from Mariama Suwaneh, M.A., Assistant Director of the Office of Equity and Human Rights for the City of Tacoma; Jae Taylor, Founder & CEO at Mentor Mesh; Community Partner Remarks from Kevin Bromer, Ballmer Group; and Per Scholas Chief Development Officer Caitlyn Brazill. 

Learn more about upcoming training opportunities at Per Scholas Seattle and apply by visiting PerScholas.org/Seattle. 

Last week, Per Scholas Seattle launched its very first in-person cohort! Noting the high, organic demand for web development and programming courses in the Seattle area, the campus decided to offer Software Engineering as its first in-person course. 

The course, which is still currently offered online, will prepare learners for a career in the technology industry as “an adept developer with a ready-to-present professional portfolio to share with potential employers,” and will cover areas of Web Development, App Development, and many more.

“Many of our learners have very little training in coding,” said Per Scholas Seattle’s Managing Director, Brian McRae. “Most of them know the basics such as HTML and CSS. Our curriculum will expand their knowledge of front-end frameworks and introduce them to back-end frameworks such as Mongoose, Express.js, Node.js, REACT and more. With both individual and group projects in the curriculum, our learners will build very substantial technical portfolios to demonstrate their job ready competencies to prospective employers.”  

Seattle’s first person cohort is an incredibly diverse one. Of the 17 registered learners, 29% identify as female, and 82% are people of color. Of the learners who identify as Caucasian, all are immigrants from either Russia or Ukraine, and others in the course hail from Morocco and Ethiopia. 35% of the learners possess only a high school diploma or GED, while the remaining 65% have earned more advanced degrees. The average learner age is 30.

The Seattle campus held its Kick-Off for the first in-person class at its new site on March 27th. We are so excited to see how the cohort progresses!

“I am absolutely thrilled that Per Scholas Seattle is finally at the point where we can offer our classes in-person,” McRae reflected on the campus’ opening. “This is a significant milestone for us. When we first began offering classes here in the Puget Sound area, we were limited to only remote classes mainly due to the pandemic. Now that things have begun to open back up, we can now focus on our traditional model of on-premise training, enabling our learners to experience this curriculum the way it was originally designed.  

“These 17 learners, while coming from very diverse populations, have already begun to develop cohesive, productive relationships with one another. They help each other grow and develop, and each leverages their strengths to collectively uplift each other together. It’s remarkable to see this level of camaraderie at such an early stage – so much so that I cannot wait to see the end result.”