Where are they now – two local tech talent superstars

We caught up with two Miami residents focused on diversifying the tech workforce for our series, “Where are they now?”

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Revisit our features on diversifying talent in tech with Brandon Okpalobi of Dibia DREAM and Chandler Malone of Bootup. 

We have been talking a lot about talent lately here at Opportunity Miami. A key pillar of our mission is to ensure that the region’s economic future is powered by a diverse and highly skilled workforce.

Helping to increase diversity in our science and tech talent pipeline is Brandon Okpalobi, who started Dibia DREAM in 2014 to mentor underserved youth through sports, STEM, and education. 

We joined Okpalobi and his team in November 2022 as students participated in a hands-on workshop on how to build a bottle rocket. You can view that workshop and interview with Okpalobi here. 

The programs expose the next generation to different career paths through after-school programs, summer camps, and hands-on workshops that foster life skills and development in STEM – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

Since we met with Okpalobi, Dibia DREAM has received funding from F1, Mercedes, and the Bezos Family Foundation Grant to continue creating STEM pathways for Miami and beyond. The organization also partnered with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Orange Bowl Committee. 

On a global scale, the organization expanded its DREAM Academy, STEM Saturdays, and STEM Fest programs to Bermuda and sent eight high school seniors to the Dominican Republic for a leadership experience. Dibia scholars have secured fourth place against 172 schools in Miami-Dade County in the National SECME Olympiad Standout Performance. 

As Okpalobi says: DREAM big.

DEMAND FOR TECH GROWS

The tech world continues to fall behind on racial diversity: only eight percent of employees in tech jobs and three percent of technology executives in the C-suite are Black. Research done by McKinsey & Company found that the gap will likely widen over the next decade: While technology jobs are expected to grow 14 percent by 2032, Black tech talent is expected to grow only eight percent over the same period.   

As the demand for tech workers grows, how can our region fill roles while driving social mobility? 

From youth to adults, Miami startup BootUp is “solving the tech talent crisis while providing opportunity to everyone,” said founder Chandler Malone in an interview from December 2022. The company – which launched in the summer of 2021 – offers an educational marketplace for people to navigate the growing and increasingly complex world of boot camps and training programs to land a well-paying, upwardly mobile, job in tech. 

Since our conversation, a CEO has been appointed to help launch a new company called Path (www.yourpath.ai) in the Future of Work/EdTech space. The platform uses AI as a career coach and skills trainer to help people find their career path. The company just closed a funding round with participation from Zeal Capital, 1863 Ventures, and strategic angel investors.

Malone and his teams continue to work with organizations such as the national nonprofit Urban Strategies to support those in the area of Liberty City as well as with Miami Dade College and the makeitMVP, a collaborative community for tech transitioners.

Malone also founded The Family, a venture studio focused on Black and Brown founders. Along with business partner Christopher Gray at Path, his goal is to help place ten million people into jobs by 2030. 

PITCH US 

If you have a company or entrepreneur to suggest or an idea to share that relates to building Miami’s future, email us at next@opportunity.miami. We invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on our social media channels. If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can subscribe by clicking here. And if you are new to Opportunity Miami, you can learn about our mission and work here. 

Hope to hear from you. 

– Suzette