You can summon an army of cars, rent a room in Dubai, and have the yummiest pancakes brought to your doorstep in minutes all through your smartphone. The hardware currently available, along with the ubiquitus Wifi and millions of apps, makes these truly amazing times.

Liliana Monge – Co-Founder – Sabio

Yes, says Maria Burns Ortiz, we live in amazing times thanks to technology. But for whose benefit?

Convinced technology too often focuses on only helping the so-called “1%,” Ortiz and her family have committed themselves to finding ways technology can truly change the world – for everyone.

Their company, 7 Generation Games, is an effort to use AI and gaming software to try to close the achievement gap in math for students, especially those from rural and underserved communities. Many of those communities, says Ortiz, have been left out of the tech revolution.

The company is currently testing out their innovative gaming/education software at schools around the country, including at a South LA elementary school.

Using video games as a teaching strategy isn’t new. But Ortiz says 7 Generation Games takes an untraditional approach.

Acknowledging that too many education games are boring because they neglect the gaming aspect, 7 Generation Games relies instead on the obsessive nature of the gamer.

“Kids will play a video game over and over and over again to get incrementally better. Even when it’s a game know they’ll never win – they just want to improve their score. Our games continue to challenge the player (student) during the game. As they get better in the game, their math skills get better.”

It’s a unique approach by an admittedly unique tech company.

“We’re a very nontraditional startup,” says Ortiz. “We’re a Latino family business and that’s not common in tech.”

That’s probably because stereotypes don’t allow us to believe a Latina mom and grandma can hold three advanced degrees and even a black belt in Judo and have time to start a tech company. But that’s the family Maria grew up in – the kind that tends to shatter both tech and Latino myths and stereotypes.

“I was used to people discounting my abilities either because I am a woman or a Latina. We want to shift that perspective and we’re very outspoken about that.”

That, says Ortiz, is only part of what she and her family want to accomplish.

And it’s a pretty unique family.

Ortiz is co-founder and CEO of 7 Generation Games. After graduating from NYU, the Southern California native worked at ESPN as a social media columnist and authored a NY Times bestseller. She was an adjunct professor at Emerson College and visiting lecturer at Tufts University on digital integration in sports and media.

Ortiz’s mother, Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, who holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and an MBA, is a founder and president of 7 Generation and is also a programmer. She is also the first American to win a gold medal at the World Judo Championships in 1984. Then there’s Ortiz’ sister – MMA fighter Ronda Rousey who put women’s MMA fighting on the international stage –who is an investor and periodically serves as a game tester at 7 Generation Games.

Ortiz will be sharing more of her stereotype-shattering experience and perspectives at the Cerritos College STEM Syposium next month. On a panel to discuss how technology is transforming our lives, she also hopes to promote more creative uses of technology to bridge all those gaps that continue to keep disadvantaged communities out of the tech mainstream.

“Tech is built upon networks. Who can make the introduction, whose in that network. Our goal is to disrupt that and insert ourselves into those networks.”

Cerritos College, and Sabio are working together to bring to life an innovative day of STEM activities on Friday, Feb 9th from 9am – 6pm for the Cerritos College Community.

The STEM Symposium will feature national Tech professionals that will discuss how technology is poised to transform our daily lives in a profound way in the years to come. The topics also include Smart Cities initiatives being powered by Big Data and IoT, and innovative educational models impacted by machine learning and cloud computing.

Policymakers and anyone planning their career path or who is influential to someone planning their future is encouraged to attend this informative event. Speakers will provide insights that can influence educational pathways.

In addition, all attendees will receive a raffle ticket.

• We will raffle $500 worth of gift cards to Amazon and Best Buy during the Networking Reception (Must be Present to Win).

Symposium Agenda:

9:00 AM — Opening Remarks

9:30 AM — Program Overview

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

 

 

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

12:30 – 2:00 PM

Complimentary Lunch – Student Center Stage

2:15 PM – 3:30 PM

It’s hard to describe without sounding like a cliché. The moment you decide to change your life – that “enlightened” moment that people refer to when talking about this. But you see, that cheesiness is what I think it makes it special.

People always tell themselves, “I want to change my life,” and learn change is difficult.

My story started that way too but making the change was easier than I thought. All it took was a little effort – the decision to actually pull the trigger – and then taking that first step to change my life.

Like many other Sabio fellows, I found myself in a place two years ago I didn’t want to be. I remember a conversation I had with Gregorio Rojas (Sabio Co-Founder). I told him how worried I was taking this gamble – moving out of a stable (yet underpaid, unhappy job) to see if I can make it in the tech world. I’ll never forget the look he gave me. “Gamble? It’s not a gamble if you know it works!”

A month after graduating I was making about 50% more than before I decided to jump into tech. Today, now I’m a little over two years into my new career as a software developer and I’m making twice what I used to make.

I had to go out of my way to find tech courses. I did a lot of research and a lot of reading to understand the basics without a mentor. This is one of the biggest issues I think. The concept of a career in computer programming is abstract to many people and our current education system is just becoming aware of these opportunities but not fast enough to catch up with the industry.

Even colleges are guilty of this. The industry moves way to fast to wait for students taking five to six years to get a computer science degree. Our education system still operates like it did 20 or 30 years ago with some minor changes. That gap is what we need to work on, and places like Sabio, or any other reputable coding bootcamps are helping to fix this. Yet there’s still a stigma about learning to code at a bootcamp.

I was lucky enough to have Gregorio Rojas as my mentor while going through the Sabio program. He is very particular in the way he teaches. There’s no hand holding. By the time we finished the course, I was thinking in code. I saw myself as a software engineer, because in fact, I engineered solutions using code.

Sabio gets you ready to get a job, not just to learn what a few coding functions do. One of the reasons the program works is that they make you feel you are already working for a company. I loved every minute of it.

It’s naive to think there’s no racial/gender bias in tech, but labels don’t help. It’s really not about whether you are Latino, Black, Chinese, Indian – but about how much pride you take in what you do.

The beauty of the tech is that you can create anything. From web pages to full-on apps; from start-ups to big companies; there’s no race or gender in code.

With that said, I for one, would love to work with more Latinos and women of course. I would love to see more apps out there made by Latinos for Latinos. But again, code doesn’t care where you come from, or what color your skin is. It’s about creativity. It’s about good ideas.

I used to dream about designing video games but three years ago I had almost forgotten about my real goals. I was just focused on making enough money to pay for rent, food, go out every once in a while with my family. And here I am, talking to you about been a software engineer and getting ready to launch a few games I’ve made!

— Carlos Ayala

Carlos Ayala is Full Stack Software Engineer for Courthouse News Service. He was born in El Salvador and came to this country with his family more than ten years ago. He graduated from Sabio two years ago and now lives in Monterey Park with his wife and two children.

Jasmine Mora doesn’t think the path she took from the working-class Wilmington community she grew up in to the corporate offices of a major tech company all that significant. It’s just how she was raised.

As the daughter of Mexican immigrants – “It’s just in your blood to work hard.”

But looking back now, Jasmine understands that path may have seemed simple to follow but creating it was not easy.

“My parents have little education but they certainly have a lot of ganas – they worked hard to raise me and my sister. I knew I had to do my best even though I didn’t know the end game.”

That ‘end game’ is going to be an important topic of conversation at Cerritos College on Friday, February 9, when Jasmine and several other tech experts and entrepreneurs gather for a day-long exploration on the ways technology is transforming our lives. More importantly, Jasmine and others will be there to discuss careers in tech.

“There is a desperate need for more Latinos in all levels in all industries – but we are being left behind when it comes to tech jobs,” said Jasmine.

As the Press Secretary for Airbnb, one of the fastest-growing and more influential tech companies in that sector, Jasmine sees first-hand the need for a more diverse workforce.

And while diversity is often viewed as the “right thing” to do – Jasmine views it more pragmatically. “Diversity benefits business. We (Latinos) are consumers. We have significant buying power and if companies are smart they will reach out to us.”

Symposium sponsor Liliana Monge, CEO and Co-Founder of Sabio.la, says Latinos and everyone else cannot afford to be left behind.

“Technology is revolutionizing our entire world. Think about how much of your day is spent on Facebook, Google and Amazon. All those amazing platforms are all made possible via software engineering and coding. Tech is upon us and we must use it to improve every facet of our lives and communities.”

 

What Does it Mean to be an Ethical Leader?

By: Victor Abalos

California headlines the past few weeks have featured a number of Latino political figures getting the kind of attention elected officials try very hard to avoid.

They probably learned the hard way there is such as a thing as “bad” publicity and after reading about their specific situations, it seemed there were several opportunities along the way they could have avoided ending up fodder for the news cycle.

Those missed opportunities are generating conversations among local elected officials about ethics.

Some of these elected officials told me they’ve started asking themselves what they would have done in place of some of their less fortunate colleagues.  We’re not talking about those elected officials who were caught actually committing crimes – we’re talking about the ones who were “tripped up” by making poor decisions when faced with ethical considerations.

It reminded me of a workshop we organized for a group of policymakers from this region a couple of years ago.

Our friends at the Institute for Local Government sent a retired city attorney who gave the group a great little presentation on ethics. But when we went around the room getting feedback one thing became clear: The group had a hard time distinguishing between “what is legal” and “what is ethical.”

The consensus in the room seemed to be that as elected officials, as long as they weren’t breaking any laws or regulations, they could do whatever they needed to get things done.

All of this begs the question: What does it mean to be an Ethical Leader?

It presupposes, of course, that our leaders want to be ethical and based on the many local Latino elected officials we know and have worked with, I believe that to be true.

At the Southern California Latino Policy Center we believe ethical leadership is necessary. It’s why we have a blog dedicated to Ethics in our newsletter every month. Our policymakers must lead by example. At a time when so many resources are being focused on getting Latinos to the polls, reading another story about less-than-exceptional behavior by an elected official doesn’t help that cause.

So what is ethical leadership?

The ILG’s website under “Ethics and Transparency” sums it up with a couple of questions:

“…how does the conscientious public servant sort through competing considerations and determine ‘the right thing to do?’ When it comes to serving the public, how does one put one’s values into practice?”

Starting this week we will utilize social media to pose a series of questions – aimed specifically at Latino policymakers but encouraging others to join in the conversation. We hope our questions stimulate discussion. And perhaps more importantly, greater clarity that there is indeed a considerable difference between “what is legal” and “what is ethical.”

Resources:

Ethical leaders make ethics a clear and consistent part of their agendas, set standards, model appropriate behavior, and hold everyone accountable
(From a non-profit housed at NYU Stern’s Business and Society Program)

Want Different Results? Change Your Definition of Leadership
(Excellent HuffPost article by Kathleen Shafer)

The Personal Lives of Public Officials
(Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University)

Victor Abalos is Executive Director of the Southern California Latino Policy Center and Editor of the Latino Policy Connection.