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Patrick Callihan
Tech Impact
Markevis Gideon
NERDiT NOW
TECHNOLOGY TOURISM
Tech Impact was founded in
collaboration with Microsoft as part
of the NPower Network, national
nonprofi t on a mission to move people
from poverty to the middle class by
training youth from underserved
communities and veterans in a range of
tech skills and placing them in quality
jobs. In 2013, it rebranded and became
independent. Tech Impact is a national
workforce training program, but has
extensive operations in Delaware and
Philadelphia, as well as a training
center in Las Vegas. In the last four
years, Patrick Callihan has overseen the
acquisition of two fi rms: the Delaware
Data Innovation Lab and Message
digital marketing agency.
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NERDit NOW CEO Markevis Gideon
built the company off a simple idea:
what can donating 100 computers
do? From there, he launched the fi rst
I.T. recycling company in the state,
while also opening a shop to repair
electronics. Th rough the company’s
nonprofi t arm, it has donated more
than 10,000 computers to at-risk
communities in the state and started
an apprenticeship program for those
who live in the Riverside community.
Last year, NERDiT NOw transitioned
to focus on bulk orders and electronic
recycling. To solidify this transition,
Gideon cut the ribbon on a new offi ce
in the Riverside Opportunity Center
with plans to hire around 75
employees by 2026.
ALMA MATER:
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Q&A:
Stephanie Eldridge
Code Differently
Th e technology workforce is about
35% women, with 3% Black women
and 1% of Hispanic women. But
with Code Diff erently, a coding
education program that focuses on
underrepresented people, that stat
is fl ipped. Classes are 98% people of
color and about 40% are women.
Code Diff erently CEO Stephanie
Eldridge was working as an executive
director at JPMorgan Chase at the
Delaware Tech Center before she
met Tariq Hook and was inspired to
make a diff erence in tech deserts
and workforce training. During
COVID-19, the state granted funds
to Code Diff erently to develop a 20-
week program to quickly reskill
adult Delawareans. Today, 95% of
college participants of Code
Diff erently programs go on to jobs
in the tech sector.
ALMA MATERS:
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Jen Boes
Greater Wilmington
Convention and
Visitors Bureau
New Castle County’s tourism sector
generates $2.5 billion in tourism
spending per year, and the Greater
Wilmington Convention and Visitors
Bureau is the chief marketing
organization to boost its visibility.
Executive Director Jennifer Boes
has served as the chief marketer
since 2021, leveraging her more
than 30 years of experience in
tourism and hospitality marketing,
branding and tourism research.
She took the top job as the state was
working its way out of the COVID-19
pandemic which cut into revenues
and President Joe Biden shined a
spotlight on the region. Boes has
overseen a new advertising campaign
launch, opened a new visitor center
and continued to spread the word of
northern Delaware on regional panels.
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