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. 

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