Technologist Talk

As 2022 begins, Charles Eaton, CEO of Creating IT Futures, joins Randi Parker, senior director for partner engagement, for a conversation about ways the challenging journey of the last couple of years has shaped the organization’s vision and direction for the future.

To set the stage for 2022, Colleen Crino, Chief Development Officer for Creating IT Futures, shares stories about the organization’s many partners, who they are and what they do in collaboration with CompTIA’s charitable foundation.

Is there a single workforce development technique that could shrink the nation’s tech skills gap, narrow the technology industry’s gender gap, provide technologists with income while learning, and supply employers with highly trained candidates? Amy Kardel and Stephanie Veck of CompTIA’s Apprenticeships for Tech program believe there is. Listen as they make their case.

As 2021 rolls to a close, Charles Eaton, CEO of Creating IT Futures, joins the organization’s Chief Development Officer, Colleen Crino, for a conversation about how feeling gratitude has shaped – and continues to guide – the team’s mission into 2022.

Why is the technology industry buzzing about a technical skills-sharpening technique from the Middle Ages? Listen as Amy Kardel, leader of the CompTIA Apprenticeships for Tech program, and Wendy Brors, senior consultant at Maher & Maher, an affiliate of the American Institutes for Research (AIR), answer this question. 

Ever heard the expression “Teaching is the highest form of learning?” Listen as technologist Amy Cliett, director of TechGirlz, a program of Creating IT Futures, makes the case from her USAToday/MediaPlanet column that volunteering may be the highest form of learning for women in tech. She also argues that volunteers practice higher forms of networking and resumé-building, too.

What do a small business owner, an operations manager and a special education teacher have in common? In this miniseries, we hear from Gloria Bell, Amy Cliett, and Alicia Park, three key voices from Creating IT Futures’ TechGirlz team, sharing their journeys to discovering a passion for educating, inspiring and connecting the next generation of women in tech. 

What do educators and technologists have in common? A passion for problem-solving, a lot of empathy and the organizational skills to translate understanding into action. Listen as Alicia Park, National Outreach Manager for TechGirlz, shares her journey from full-time educator, to full-time technologist.  Original Technologist Tales theme music by C. Ezra Lange

CompTIA’s new partnership with Girls Embracing Mothers (GEM) helps women leaving incarceration build futures for themselves and their children through customized technical training and enhanced education, such as life skills coaching. Listen as GEM founder Brittany Barnett and Randi Parker of Creating IT Futures discuss how this program develops a more diverse, equitable and inclusive tech workforce.

Is there an ideal time in life to launch a tech career? Amy Cliett, director of TechGirlz, a program of Creating IT Futures, doesn’t think so. Listen as she describes switching to a technology job in her 30’s, why she did and how she’s helping the next generation of technologists develop their talents and skills despite the pandemic.  Original Technologist Tales theme music by C. Ezra Lange

Must the road to a successful technology career begin in a high school STEM program? Or include four years studying computer science in college? No on both counts. Listen as Jason Hernandez, chair of the CompTIA Tech National Alumni Advisory Council, shares how an IT training program operated by Creating IT Futures broadened his job prospects and improved his personal finances.  Original Technologist Tales theme music by C. Ezra Lange  

Zac Cramer, CEO of IT Assurance, a managed services firm in Portland, Oregon, hires graduates of CompTIA Tech’s IT-Ready training program on a regular basis. He also believes fostering greater diversity, equity and inclusion in the technology industry requires turning a critical eye inward before setting sights outward. Listen as Zac gives his take on inside-out DEI leadership.  

The sight of a computer filling an entire room sparked Gloria Bell’s passion for technology at the age of six. Over the years, she translated that fascination into co-founding the Women in Tech Summit (WITS) and earning a leadership position with TechGirlz, a program of Creating IT Futures.

Can one workforce development solution fill the tech skills gap in our nation’s economy? Can the same solution narrow the gender gap in today’s tech workforce? And could that solution shrink the diversity gap in the technology industry at the same time? Join Charles Eaton, CEO of Creating IT Futures, and Amy Kardel, leader of the CompTIA Apprenticeships for Tech program, for a conversation that answers those questions.

Headlines in business publications tell us that the job market for technology workers is the most geographically diverse in the history of the U.S. economy. But does diversity in locations foster greater diversity in the tech workforce? Listen as Nancy Hammervik, CEO of the CompTIA Tech Career Academy and Charles Eaton, CEO of Creating IT Futures, explain how their organizations are developing positive answers to that question.

What makes a great candidate for a career as an agent on an IT service desk? Listen as Caleb Bellow, a senior talent acquisition specialist at Logicalis, an international digital services provider, and his colleague Dustin Seyfert, a senior IT service team manager, explain that the answer goes beyond technical skills. Plus, they share how Custom Training from the CompTIA Tech Career Academy supports Logicalis’ mission.

How does Custom Training from the CompTIA Tech Career Academy help solutions provider Logicalis fulfill its tech-talent acquisition strategy? Listen as Craig Perry, a senior HR executive for LogicalisUS, elaborates how IT service desk technicians enable the company’s “Architects of Change” to accelerate digital transformations for 10,000 customers around the world. 

We’re celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Women in Tech Summit (WITS) by sharing a 3-part mini-series based on a recent session during the South by Southwest EDU conference. TechGirlz director Amy Cliett moderated the session, and the third installment features a conversation with Isis Miller of Black Girls Code. Original Technologist Tales theme music by C. Ezra Lange 

We’re celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Women in Tech Summit (WITS) by sharing a 3-part mini-series based on a recent session during the South by Southwest EDU conference. TechGirlz director Amy Cliett moderated the session, and the second installment features a conversation with Ashley Turner of Philly Tech Sistas. Original Technologist Tales theme music by C. Ezra Lange 

We’re celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Women in Tech Summit (WITS) by sharing a 3-part mini-series based on a recent session during the South by Southwest EDU conference. TechGirlz director Amy Cliett moderated the session, and the first installment features a conversation with Lauren Psimaris of Girls on the Run. Original Technologist Tales theme music by C. Ezra Lange