Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE: TFC) and Truist Foundation today announced $17 million in commitments to support affordable housing in Charlotte and career development and economic mobility programs across North Carolina.

The Truist commitment consists of three initiatives:

• $15 million equity investment from Truist Community Capital in the Housing Impact Fund II to combat displacement, secure affordable housing and facilitate critical services for low-to-moderate income families across Mecklenburg County. It is the second such fund formed by Erskine Bowles, former head of the U.S. Small Business Administration and White House Chief of Staff under President Clinton, and Nelson Schwab, a founding partner of Carousel Capital.
• $1 million Truist Foundation grant to Per Scholas North Carolina to expand technology skills training in rural North Carolina.
• $1 million Truist Foundation grant to NPower to provide technology skills and employment opportunities for military-connected individuals and underserved young adults in the Raleigh community.

Read the Truist press release here.

On July 20, Per Scholas Diverse by Design hosted our first-ever Unlocking Potential Summer Concert and Spoken Word Celebration. This hybrid event, produced live from Per Scholas New York and Per Scholas North Carolina and streamed at PerScholas.org/Concert, brought together Per Scholas staff, learners, alumni, partners, advisory board members, and more to rally around our mission to unlocking potential. 

This inspiring event featured talented musicians and poets who work, learn, and partner with Per Scholas, including:

• Deji Adefuye, Per Scholas Dallas Teaching Fellow, who premiered two original songs titled Persevere and You Believe In You
• Melodie Rodgers, Per Scholas Manager of Career Advancement, sharing her original poem, Unlock Your Potential 
• Zaidi Howard, Per Scholas Chicago Teaching Fellow, sharing his original poem, Soul Questions 
• Caprice Green, Per Scholas Detroit Alumna, performing Astonishing from Little Women 
• Mike Terrell, Per Scholas North Carolina Managing Director, performing Tears for Fears’ Everybody Wants to Rule the World 
• Omoanatse McCarther, Per Scholas Diverse by Design Senior Director, sharing her original poem, Forged Key 
• Broadway Star Tim Connell, performing Corner of the Sky from Pippin
• Nonprofit Consultant and Leadership Coach Saundra Thomas, performing her original poem, Silver Linings

Hosted by Executive Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Culture Ken Walker, viewers had the opportunity to hear from our EVP of People Montreece Smith, Regional Senior Vice Presidents Noah Mitchell, Jaclyn Boyes, and Robin Nadeau, as well as President and CEO Plinio Ayala. Chief Development Officer Caitlyn Brazill delivered remarks live from the Bronx and introduced the final performances. 

Scores of Per Scholians came together for this exciting event; many thanks to Per Scholas Columbus, Per Scholas Dallas, Per Scholas New York Bronx, and Per Scholas North Carolina for hosting on-campus viewing parties.

In closing, the event showcased just a handful of our brilliant Per Scholas alumni, which you can watch here.  If you missed the Unlocking Potential Summer Concert and Spoken Word Celebration, you can watch the recording here! If you feel inspired and want to help unlock potential, please give at perscholas.org/donate.

On July 20, Per Scholas President and CEO Plinio Ayala joined visionary leaders for the JobsFirstNYC “Adapting to the Future of Work: Listen Up” conference, back in person for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. The annual convening featured workforce development professionals, employers, educators, policymakers, and philanthropists coming together to discuss how to create an adaptive and inclusive workforce. 

Plinio shared his experience on a panel entitled, Adapting to the Future of Nonprofits, alongside Phoebe Boyer, President & CEO, Children’s Aid; Karen Ford, Executive Director, Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services; Lisette Nieves, President, Fund For The City Of New York; Chymeka Olfonse, Managing Director, Robin Hood Foundation; and Jerome Walker, Associate Director of Partnerships, Year Up.

Throughout the panel, these nonprofit leaders explored the dynamic landscape of the nonprofit sector while lifting up emerging challenges and providing innovative solutions for the future. When asked about what the nonprofit sector needs to consider when cultivating partnerships as part of the future of work, Plinio discussed how partnerships are more valued now than ever before.

”Partnerships are no longer for the sake of partnership, but meaningful ones where everyone is winning and doing what they are good at,” Plinio shared. “Better alignment with the corporate sector requires robust dialogue with employers, partnerships that consider child care and stipends/loans for participating in programming, creating equity for all.”

Learn more about Adapting to the Future of Work and additional takeaways here!

In May, Per Scholas led an insightful panel discussion about workforce development and training Houston’s future technology workforce at the Ion District during the Ion’s second annual Activation Festival. This dynamic panel brought together industry leaders, experts, and innovators to explore the critical role of skills training and partnerships in building a robust tech industry in our newest city.

Damien Howard , Chief Enterprise Solutions Officer at Per Scholas moderated the conversation featuring Angela Berardi, National Account Manager, Certified Marketplace Diversity Ambassador at TEKsystems; Lavone Jones, Vice President, Human Resources at Comcast; and Janet Pope, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility at Capgemini. The discussion highlighted the latest trends and challenges in the tech industry, the importance of upskilling and reskilling, and best practices for creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive tech workforce. 

This month, Per Scholas Executive Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Culture Ken Walker moderated an innovative and important panel for the City & State NY 2023 Diversity Summit. The summit featured conversations and panels centered around diversity in New York with local government and business leaders.

The panel, Emerging DEI Practices in New York, highlighted ways  New York is working harder than ever to implement inclusive hiring practices and DEI frameworks to make sure that all environments are diverse. Panelists included Wendy Garcia, Deputy Commissioner, Equity and Inclusion, New York City Police Department; Sadye L. Campoamor, Chief Equity Officer, Office of NYC Comptroller Brad Lander; May Boucherak, Principal, KPMG; Larry Scott Blackmon, Vice President, Fresh Direct; and Kwame Cooper, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Fire Department Of New York. 

Check out the full list of speakers and panel discussions here!

In April, Apex Systems volunteered their time with Per Scholas Alumni nationwide for a virtual volunteer event. The hour-long event was led by Kaitlin Westbrook Tolson, National STEM advocate of Apex Systems, and included a presentation on how to work with technical recruiters. More than 40 alumni and volunteers attended in total to increase professional experience in the tech industry with technology professionals and was an exceptional opportunity for alumni to network and gain industry insight. 

Corporate engagement events such as this volunteer opportunity with Apex Systems are a great way to partner with Per Scholas and unlock potential in our learners. To learn more about how you can volunteer with us or host a corporate engagement event, please reach out to Per Scholas Director of Corporate Engagement Miguelina Manriquez at [email protected].

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.”

This month, Per Scholas launched our 21st  campus in Los Angeles! We are thrilled to open a new campus on the west coast as we continue to expand our reach to unlock potential for learners across the nation. Leading Per Scholas Los Angeles is Managing Director Patrice Madu, who grew up in the Burbank area.

To celebrate our newest campus, Per Scholas Los Angeles hosted a welcome breakfast. The event was emceed by Chelsea Clarke, Senior Director of National Expansion at Per Scholas, and included formal remarks from Jason Cordova, Program Manager at The James Irvine Foundation, Carolyn Hull, General Manager of Economic and Workforce Development Department at the City of Los Angeles, Jasmine Miller, Chief Training Officer at Per Scholas, and Emilio Lopez, Per Scholas Alumni and Per Scholas Los Angeles Instructor. Attendees included Per Scholas partners and Los Angeles community leaders.

“The demand for tech talent right here in Los Angeles is high, with nearly 10,000 open tech jobs right now, waiting to be filled,” Patrice Madu remarked. “IT Support is among the top skills our region needs – that’s why Per Scholas is offering our proven and in-demand IT Support training as our inaugural training here in Los Angeles. I’m so proud to share that our inaugural cohort began their IT Support Course in mid-February.”

Twenty-eight aspiring technologists are learning all of the technical fundamentals and growing their professional development skills and will be ready to launch their tech careers later this spring. Additionally, four Los Angeles learners are participating in a remote Software Engineering training offered by Per Scholas, with graduation set for May. 

Learn more about upcoming courses at Per Scholas Los Angeles here.

Per Scholas Phoenix hosted a small reception organized by U.S. House Representative Ruben Gallego to celebrate the winners and participants of the Congressional App Challenge. This event was a nationwide competition for middle and high schoolers led by the United States House of Representatives that has been held since 2016, centered around coding, program design, and computer science. 

In addition to celebrating the winners and all participants of the challenge, the event included remarks from Per Scholas Regional Senior Vice President, West, Jaclyn Boyes, Office of Rep. Ruben Gallego, community members, and challenge participants. 

“Opportunities like the 2022 Congressional App Challenge are what connects our community’s bright young minds to an increasingly digital world,” commented Jaclyn Boyes, former Managing Director of Per Scholas Phoenix. “Arizona is the 12th-highest ranking state in the entire country for our tech industry diversity. It’s so critical that we don’t lose steam behind any efforts for more STEM programs made available to students in our schools.”

Click here to read about the 2023 Congressional App Challenge winners!

Leaders from Technology, Government, Private Equity, Nonprofit Contribute to Transform America’s Tech Workforce in the Southwest

PHOENIX (February 28, 2023) – Per Scholas Phoenix today announces the establishment of its inaugural Advisory Board. Leaders from technology, government, private equity, and the nonprofit sector will contribute their time and talent to supporting Per Scholas Phoenix and its mission to transform America’s technology workforce through rigorous tech skills training.

Inaugural Per Scholas Phoenix Advisory Board Members include:

• Anebi Agbo, Product Builder & Entrepreneur, Eikon Labs
• Rich Asay, Senior Operations Analyst, Global Services, Keyfactor
• Amber Braaten, IS Service Desk Controller, Master Electronics
• Shereka Jackson, Founder/CEO, Future Stars Inc
• Aaron Jones, Software Developer, City of Chandler
• Phillip Pipkins, Founding Partner, Prospeq, LP

“We are thrilled to have inspired leadership from our inaugural Per Scholas Phoenix Board members. Their creative vision will help us connect rigorously trained tech talent with quality job employers, changing the face of tech here in Arizona,” said Jaclyn Boyes, Per Scholas Phoenix Managing Director. 

Since opening in 2021, more than 100 learners have graduated from Per Scholas Phoenix and have gone onto employment in tech roles at a variety of companies across the city – from large financial service institutions to small startups. 

Per Scholas Phoenix is grateful for Founder’s Circle partners TEKsystems as well as generous support from Boeing, New World Foundation Quality Jobs Fund, Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, and Wells Fargo.

 Currently, Per Scholas Phoenix offers a variety of tech training courses including Java Developer, IT Support, and more. To learn more, please visit www.PerScholas.org/Phoenix.

About Per Scholas

Per Scholas is a national organization that has been advancing economic mobility for more than 25 years. Through rigorous training, professional development, and robust employer connections, we prepare individuals traditionally underrepresented in technology for high-growth careers in the industry. We partner with leading employers to build more diverse talent pools, directly connecting our graduates to new career opportunities at businesses ranging from Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups. With campuses in 20 cities, Per Scholas has trained more than 20,000 individuals in tech skills, building bridges to careers in technology. To learn more, visit PerScholas.org and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.