Black Tech Unplugged

Arlan Hamilton shook the tech world when she hopped on the scene in 2015. She took what once used to be the 'good old boys' club and made room for a new group in town by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT via her company Backstage Capital. Now her life wasn't always rainbows and butterflies (hell she was homeless before this all started). BUT, Arlan us...

There’s many paths you can take in law, but have you ever thought about being a lawyer in tech? Bärí A. Williams didn’t KNOW that would be her route in life, but many years later she has worked at startups and companies (including Facebook and Stubhub) to make sure they are protected. Oh! And did I mention on top of being a lawyer she is a diversity warrior? Her passion for making people see every...

Imagine starting your career thinking you are going to write scripts and act in movies, then.... that doesn’t work out. So now what? With a little help from her guidance counselor, Pariss found her new career path, TECH. Find out how joining a coding boot camp helped elevate Pariss to become a woman who wears many hats in the tech industry including being the founder of #BlackTechTwitter & Black T...

Sometimes we think 'if I just fit in with the rest of the group I'll be alright'. Some call it Leaning In, others call it survival mode, in this case no one was the winner. Allow me to introduce Yassmin-Abdel Magied, a young Black women who tried to lean into her tech job, but found herself fighting to shine her extraordinary light with the world! On episode 033 of the podcast Yassmin and I discus...

Who would've thought a boy from the hood of Stanton Island would end up in the White House? We did, but I digress... On episode 032, David Holmes shares his story of how his love for computers at an early age led him to become the Director of Engineering at USDS. From being called the n-word (it wasn't intentional) to hackathons to his dream role, this is David Holmes story. Full story notes here:...

Greg Greenlee is the man we all want to be... the man who has over 17 years of experience in tech. The person who has used his personal experiences in the industry as a motivator to create change in the industry. And furthermore, that's why I had to have him on episode 031 of Black Tech Unplugged, it was time to share his knowledge with us so we can be motivated too. On episode 31, Greg & I discus...

When I tell you that Charles Kuykendoll has been on a ride and yet doing the most, I'm not exaggerating! This man went from an operations internship at Barclays, which he had no experience to do, to now leading engineering recruiting at AirBNB. On episode 030, Charles breaks down his unique journey into tech, why being a good person is going to get you far, and how he has a business that doesn't i...

Episode 029 features Latesha Byrd, the Founder & CEO of Byrd Career Consulting — a consulting firm on the mission to help millennial professionals turn their dreams into careers that allow them to live life on their own terms. On this episode Latesha and I discuss: * Stigma around career switching * Why you need to take control and "manage up" today * The importance of LinkedIn and why you should...

Like many of us, Jessica Williams had no idea that she would end up working in tech. Learn how Jessica went from following people in the office to managing a team in episode 028 of Black Tech Unplugged. Full show notes: https://blacktechunplugged.com/2019/08/13/ep-028-jessica-williams-unplugged/ Vote for Black Tech Unplugged's SXSW Panel: https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/99023 Connect with Jessic...

Last week Black Tech Unplugged celebrated 2 years of podcasting!! In order to celebrate I had a live podcast in Chicago! Listen to the live episode that includes my 4 panelist: Will McNeil, Jane Hamner, Giovanni Perez & Vunzai Yeazel. This episode is full of amazing advice from these Chicago techies and of course the full show notes have all the cliff notes and links you need. Full show notes: htt...

Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, I wanted to acknowledge the month with a tech + mental health discussion. Introducing Solome Tibebu, an investor (Launchpad Digital Health) and tech entrepreneur (Cognific) who is passionate about frontier technologies transforming digital health, equity and access, behavioral health and more. During episode 026, we discuss: * the stigma of mental health...

Have you met a developer, scrum master, and network professional before? Well that is exactly who Devin Jackson is, a man of many technical hats. On this episode, Brooklyn native - Devin Jackson walks you through his moment of taking a friend's recommendation of attending a boot camp to now trying to help fellow Black techies achieve their tech dreams. Join the waitlist for Mavens I/O: Black Women...

On episode 024 of Black Tech Unplugged I speak with the co-founders of Black Women Talk Tech. The women talk about how they met, what made them put the Black Women Talk Tech Conference together, and much more! Full show notes at: https://blacktechunplugged.com/2019/03/07/ep-024-esosa-ighodaro-lauren-washington-unplugged/

This tech rockstar took over the tech scene in 2018, but did you know she's been working hard on her business for over 10 years?! On episode 023 of Black Tech Unplugged I speak to Sevetri Wilson about her transfer into tech, how being a first generation college student taught her how to hustle early, and why trying to find funding while being a non-technical founder is for the birds. Connect with...

What do you get when you put 2 techies, 2 marketers, a doctor, and a loan coordinator in a room? I mean you won't get much, but you'll damn sure get this podcast episode. On this episode me, my aunt, and my friends discuss why conferences need to PAY speakers, we attempt to define tech, and we talk about why kitten heels might not be the move (for some). Mixing tech with shade and references to ho...

Ep. 021 features Du'An Lightfoot, founder of Lab Everyday and network engineer. However, Du'An wasn't always a network engineer. He started his career working at the help desk and eventually advanced into networking through hardwork and perseverance.  Never one to take his journey for granted that's why Du'An started Lab Everyday. He wants to help people who are interested in becoming a network en...

Who thought a young serial entrepreneur from North Carolina and a former filmmaker would be join forces to combat the issue of diversity in tech? Well that's exactly what Melinda Epler and Wayne Sutton did when they created Change Catalyst and Tech Inclusion. In episode 020, Wayne & Melinda discuss their tech journey with me. We also discuss allyship and the importance of mental health while being...

Who thought you could take robots, pizza, and a truck and change the food tech game? Well Julia Collins, co-founder of Zume Pizza did! And now you can hear about her business and how she created it on episode 019 of Black Tech Unplugged. Besides her business, Julia and I break down her transition into tech, her love for food, and everyone's favorite question.. HOW TO GET FUNDING! This is a definit...

Ep. 018 features Jeff Williams, co-founder of Be Nimble Ventures. Jeff speaks about Indy diversity event coming up, #DisruptIndy. We also discuss the tech ecosystems in Indy, Cincinnati, Dallas, & Austin. Most importantly we discuss how tech is not only changing the Indy business mindset, but making the city a place for foodies too! Full show notes here: https://blacktechunplugged.com/2018/09/11/e...

I had the pleasure of attending the Chicago Anita B's diversiTECH Hiring Fair last week. So in honor of meeting so many people and speaking with the organizers I bring to you episode 017 Diversitech Hiring Fair Unplugged! I speak with the Chicago Anita B team who put the event together to give you some background on this unique event. I also speak to several women who's companies were sponsors of...

Episode of 16 of Black Tech Unplugged features Emile Cambry, Jr. Emile is a business professor, filmmaker, and social entrepreneur born, raised in Chicago. Mr. Cambry’s largest project to date was founding the technology and entrepreneurship incubator, BLUE1647, expanding to several different locations across the Midwest. Rounding out Mr. Cambry’s experiences include being named on Ebony Magazine’...

Episode 15 of Black Tech Unplugged features Dr. Jeremy Magruder-Waisome. Dr. Waisome is a graduate of the University of Florida's (UF) Department of Civil & Coastal Engineering where she obtained her bachelors and masters of science and doctorate of philosophy degrees. She currently serves as Postdoctoral Associate in the Computer & Information Sciences & Engineering Department at UF and Project M...

Episode of 14 of Black Tech Unplugged features two brilliant guests, Dr. Kortney Ziegler (Director of Research & Design) and Tiffany Mikell (Managing Director)of ZamLabs. ZaMLabs, Inc is an Idea to Seed Tech Incubator for Mad Scientists & Social Engineers.  Their core area of focus is solving problems for the world's most marginalized communities. Their portfolio to-date includes Trans*H4CK, Black...

Episode of 13 of Black Tech Unplugged features Antonio Brasse. Antonio is the founder and CEO of BlockQuake LLC, which will be the most regulatory friendly crypto. Antonio has experience in finance, operations, investments and technology audits. He holds a BS in Accounting and a BS in Computer Science. Being the technology auditor that understands the business has been very helpful in his career....

On episode 12 of Black Tech Unplugged I have the pleasure of interviewing Camille Eddy. Camille Eddy began working on advanced robotics during an internship at HP Inc’s headquarters in Palo Alto, California as a Machine Learning Intern. She continued to intern at X, formerly Google X, in their robotics initiative. And she is currently studying for a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. Cam...