The Hidden Genius Project was founded in 2012 by five Black male entrepreneurs and technologists unnerved by the dramatic juxtaposition between the high unemployment of Black male youth and the plethora of career opportunities within the local technology sector. To address this challenge, they established a program to connect young Black males with the skills, mentors, and experiences that they need to become high-performing entrepreneurs and technologists in a 21st century global economy.
Our INTENSIVE IMMERSION PROGRAM is a holistic 15-month mentorship experience that provides computer science, software development, entrepreneurship and leadership training for Black male youth. Following an application, interview and acceptance into the program, students receive more than 800 hours of mentorship and training.
“The Hidden Genius Project has invested time, energy, knowledge, love, and resources in me like no other person, program, or friend ever has and that is what motivates me to do better and make something of myself and give back to my community to help other[s] like myself.” – Anonymous Hidden Genius
62
# of Richmond Immersion Students
129
Total Intensive Immersion Program Students
67
# of Oakland Immersion Students
“A rising tide lifts all boats…when we can take care of and protect our Black male youth, everybody stands to benefit. They’re protectors by nature, they’re creators by nature, but they need opportunities and love.” – Akeem Brown, Programs Director
YOUTH EDUCATOR PROGRAM trains students that graduate from our Intensive Immersion Program, in partnership with East Oakland Youth Development Center, to support the next generation of Hidden Geniuses and serve as brand ambassadors and educators – delivering content to the greater community (school-age through senior citizens).
CATALYST PROGRAMS are free single- and multi-day introductory technical workshops and exposure opportunities, led by our Youth Educators, for middle and high school youth of color, including STEM festivals, Tech Slams, and our annual Brothers Code event.
362
Youth Educator Program Participants
1853
Catalyst Program Participants
Click the markers on the map below to see the impact our Youth Educator and Catalyst Programs
have had on local, national and international communities.
GENIUS OVERSEAS
INTERNATIONAL TECH SLAM
We hosted our second international Catalyst Program experience in London, and for the first time in Johannesburg, South Africa. Throughout this inspiring experience, our team of 10 Hidden Genius Alumni Youth Educators exposed over 700 students to tech career pathways with the support of program partners including Team Inc., Oakland Natives Give Back, Chelsea Football Club Foundation, LEAP Science and Maths Schools, Colorintech, West Ham United Foundation, and a host of collaborators.
2,344
TOTAL STUDENTS SERVED IN 2019
TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS SERVED SINCE 2012
6,400
Through December 31, 2019
103,200
MENTORSHIP HOURS IN 2019
TECHNOLOGY CREATION • ENTREPRENEURSHIP • LEADERSHIP
310,400+
TOTAL MENTORSHIP HOURS SINCE 2012
In 2019, over 15 Hidden Genius Alumni have been trained and deployed as Youth Educators, leading to 56 in total,
who then facilitate workshops for our Intensive Immersion and Catalyst Programs.
STUDENT OUTCOMES SINCE 2012
STUDENT RETENTION RATE
For all Intensive
Immersion Program Geniuses
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE
Geniuses eligible to
graduate high school
POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION MATRICULATION
Of age Geniuses that
have graduated high school
COLLEGE ADVISING AND HIGHER EDUCATION
In partnership with the Destination College Advising Corps (DCAC) at UC Berkeley, The Hidden Genius Project received assistance from a full-time College Advisor in 2019 to provide our students with comprehensive services related to college success plans, financial aid, scholarship opportunities, test preparation, and frequent advising.
28
SENIORS WHO WERE PROVIDED A 1-ON-1 SESSION
30
SENIORS WHO REGISTERED FOR SAT/ACT TESTS
28
SENIORS WHO SUBMITTED THEIR FAFSA/CADAA
26
SENIORS' FAMILIES WHO MET WITH ADVISER AT LEAST ONCE
24
SENIORS WHO RECEIVED FINANCIAL AID ASSISTANCE
22
SENIORS WHO SUBMITTED 1+ COLLEGE APPLICATION(S)
POWERED BY COMMUNITY
150
NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS IN 2019
The following local restaurants have generously stepped up to the plate in 2019 to provide meals for our Geniuses:
A Girl Named Pinky • Bakesale Betty • Big Apple Cafe • Catered To You • Chick-Fil-A • Everett and Jones • Kinder’s • Ramano’s Macaroni Grill • Pinx Catering • Wingstop • Zachary’s Pizza
Their support not only helped us by offsetting costs that can go back into our program, it also provided the fuel our Geniuses need to stay focused during our Intensive Immersion Program.
19,250
Total number of meals provided
10
FULL TIME STAFF MEMBERS
56
YOUTH EDUCATORS HIRED
547
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HOURS
GENIUS AT AFROTECH
From winning first place in the first-ever Youth Pitch Competition to leading a panel discussion about Design Thinking, our Geniuses shined on multiple fronts at AfroTech, the nation’s largest black technology conference.
“AfroTech was a great experience. It was unreal seeing so many black faces come together to define the next generation of black technology.” – Kyron Loggins, OAK4 Hidden Genius Alum
UBER CAREER PREP PROGRAM
After a breakthrough year in 2018, Uber
expanded their 2019 cohort to 30 college
engineering students of color from around
the nation and completed the program.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Increased our internal capacity by onboarding our tenth full-time staff member to support Richmond programming and two auxiliary team members to deliver college prep and holistic services.
GENIUS IN CLEVELAND
In partnership with the Python Foundation, our
team of Geniuses attended the PyCon Conference in Cleveland, Ohio
to network with Python experts and facilitate tech workshops.
I AM TECH – LOS ANGELES
Kicked off Computer Science Education Week by partnering with Critical Design and Gaming School (C:\DAGS), UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools (CTS) and TEAM, Inc. to host I Am Tech in West Los Angeles.
2K
Academic Institute of Excellence (AIE)
Affirm
Alameda County Board of Supervisors, Office of Keith Carson
Alameda County Health Pathways Partnership (ACHPP, a division of Alameda County Health Care Services Agency [HCSA])
Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center
Amazon Web Services
Andreessen Horowitz
Aon
Autodesk
Augustus F. Hawkins High School (Critical Design and Gaming School)
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
BASE Ventures
Bay Celebrations
Black Girls Code
Bridge Housing
Bugcrowd
California College of the Arts
Capital G
Care Services Agency (HCSA)
Casey Family Programs
City of Oakland (OFCY)
Claremont Middle School
Chelsea FC Foundation
CodeHS
Colorintech
College Education Prep
Community Financial Resources
Construct Video Games
Corporately
Cre8ation Ventures Accelerator
David E. Glover Education and Technology Center
Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.
Dewey Academy
East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation
East Bay College Fund
East Oakland Youth Development Center
ECMC
Electronic Arts
Elevator Works
Fam 1st Family Foundation
GAP
Golden State Warriors // Warriors Foundation
Golden State Warriors // Community Team
Google (Trust and Safety)
Head Royce School
Independent Living Program (ILP)
Institute of Design at Stanford
Kaiser Permanente
Kapor Center for Social Impact
Kick n’ It
KIPP King Collegiate High School
Know Your Rights Camp
Last.fm
LEAP Science and Maths School
Lorenzo Alexander ACES Foundation
Manticore Games
Microsoft
Mentoring in Medical Sciences (MIMS)
Merritt College
Merritt College Cyber Security Program
MetWest High School
Oakland High School
Oakland Natives Give Back
Oakland Unified School District
Oakland Technology Exchange
Playstation
New Venture Fund
Oakland A’s Foundation
Positive Communication, Practices Rites of Passage Program
Python Foundation
Richmond Police Activities League (RPAL)
Robert Clack School
RYSE Youth Center
Samsung
Sony Interactive Entertainment
SPAAT (Student Programming for Academic & Athletic Transitioning)
Sphero
Splunk
St. Mary’s College
Stripe
Tech Exchange
Tech Exposure and Access through Mentoring (TEAM)
The Brotherhood of Elders Network
TRUChallenge
Twitch
Uber
Ubuntu Villages
United Negro College Fund
United State Military Academy
University of California, Berkeley (Graduate School of Education)
University of California Office of the President
University of California, Los Angeles (Center for the Transformation of Schools)
UPS
Up to Code Academy
Upward Bound
Visa
West Ham FC Foundation
Youth AID Nonprofit
Youth Empowerment Project
Youth Impact Hub
4505 Burgers & BBQ Restaurant
Akamai Foundation
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
All Stars Helping Kids Foundation
Amazon Web Services
The Andre Tyler Iguodala Living Trust
Anonymous
Aon
ASCEND BLO
AT&T
Berkeley Engineering
Blue Sheild of California
BridgeBank
The Brotherhood of Elders
The California Wellness Foundation
Capital One
CBS Interactive
Cisco Foundation
City of Oakland (OFCY)
The Clorox Company Foundation
Comcast Foundation
Community Bank of the Bay
CSAA Insurance Services (AAA)
DaVita
Dropbox
East Bay Community Foundation
eBay
Fairview Foundation
Fenwick and West
Ford Motor Company Fund
Freddie Mac
Fullerton Family Foundation
Futures Foundation
Goggio Family Foundation
Golden State Warriors Community Foundation
Google.org
Illinois #3 Foundation
Jacob Emmert Aronson Foundation
Jack and Jill of America Inc. – Oakland Chapter
Kaiser Permanente
Kapor Center
Koret Foundation
LeapFrog
Lorenzo Alexander ACES Foundation
Microsoft
MindBlown Labs
Miranda Lux Foundation
Oakland Athletics
Oakland Natives Give Back
Oakland Black Firefighters’ Association
Quest Foundation
Palayam Foundation
PayPal
PJS Consultants
Port of Oakland
Ron Brown Scholar Program
Salesforce
The San Francisco Foundation
San Francisco 49ers Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Splunk
Uber
User Testing Inc.
Union Bank
United Airlines
University of California Office of the President
Verizon Foundation
Visa Black Employee Resource Group
Walmart Foundation
Wells Fargo
Westly Foundation
Workday Foundation
Zachary’s Chicago Pizza
Aakanksha Pudipeddi
Adam & Julie Menter
Adam Berke
Adam Hale
Adrianna Alterman
Agus Pratama
Alex Elent
Alex Kingsley
Alexander Lehmann
Alexis Plair
Alice Penton
Allan George
Alli McKulla
Allison Bain
Allison Ottoboni
Althea Tabon
Alvaro Martinez Echevarria
Amy Helfant
Andre Vanier
Andrea Cousins
Andrea Phillips
Angela Hooks
Angelica Beard
Anne Keck
Anthony Byers
Anthony Turner
Antoinette Raines
Anwar Miller
Arianna Senteio
Ariel Devine
Art Parygin
Ashley Kim
Autumn Sullivan
Ayanna Reed
Ayinda Garza
Ayushi Samaddar
Bahij Austin
Barthelemy Menayas
Baylan Megino
Benjamin Chirlin
Beric Alleyne
Bette Johnsrud
Biff Clark
Blaine McFadden
Blaire Bender
Braden Powell
Brandi Simpson
Brandon Callendar
Brenda Martinez
Brian D. McGhee
Brian Evans
Brian Sonneborn
Brian Tuinstra
Briana Jeffery
Brittney Barmaki
Caleb Chacha
Calvary Rogers
Caroline Blitz
Catherine Barragan
Cecilia Montecillo
Cedric Brown
Chad J. Thomas
Charla Blackmon
Charles Couric
Charles H. Harris
Charles Hahn
Charlotte McGoldrick
Chase Hensel
Cherry Kedia
Chevronda Stafford
Chris Fetterolf
Chris Mooney
Christian Areas
Christina Davis
Christopher Lewis
Christopher Mooney
Courtney Williams
Crystal Cohen
Dalvin Sejour
Dan Polsby
Daniel Kessler
Daniel Lasman (In honor of LaPointe Family)
Daniel Levin and Naomi Andrews
Danielle Wikler
David Cremins
David Gainsboro
David Liem (In honor of Terry & Megan)
David Meyer
David Parrott
Deborah Neal
Delores Lemon
Denise Carey
Denzel Russell
Desiree Almendral
Dewayne Perry
Diana McHenry
Diana Scearce
Donyale V. John
Doris M. Victory
Dorothy Guy
Duane Wiley
Ed LaPerche
Elaine Leung
Eleanor Beaton
Ereika Stimley
Eric Bostic
Erin Sweeney
Ervin Mathew Jr.
Eva Smith
Ezra Kebrab
Fabiola Cazares
Fareedah Sabree
Fatima Alleyne
Felicia Jeffley
Frank E. Pare
Frank Oppong
Fred Norris Jr.
Frederic Descamps
Garfield Windross
Gaynelle Chase
Geetha Rajagopal
Geroge H. Brown
Gina Hodgson
Gopal Balasubramaniam
Gregory DAndrea
Hadiyah Mujhid
Halbert Au-Yeung
Halimah DeLaine Prado
Harry & Vivian Synder
Hector Salazar
Henry Canivel
Herbert & Lenore Griffin (In honor of Chandi A. Griffin)
Hesten Parrish
Hubert Humphrey
IgorLiskovets & Bianca Ling Fund
Jackson Cummings
Jackson Georges
Jacob Kaufman
James W. Jenkins
James White
Janan Crocker
Janine Mixon
Jason Young
Jayanth Iyengar
Jayveer Singh
Jeanae Jackson
Jessica Hallett
Johan Duramy
John Jones
John Ruzicka
John Zissimos
Jon Lesser
Jonathan Beauford
Joselyn Coogler
Joseph R Breen III
Julian Gutierrez Djanai
Julian Lin
Julie Cross
Julie Haniger
Juliette Benton
Justin Baumli
Justin Makeig
Kaila Tenedorio-Carty
Kanwarpal Dhaliwal
Kasandra White
Kat Karacozoff
Kate Hartley
Katherine Henrickson
Katherine Noson
Katherine Tong
Kathryn Brockbank
Kathy Bernart
Keeli Harris
Kelley Lemon
Kelli DesRochers
Kelly Garrett
Kenichi Takimoto
Kenneth Carthen
Kerah Davis
Kevin Dooley
Kevin Hogan
Kilimanjaro Robbs
Kimberly Aceves-Iniguez
Kimberly Seashore
Kimberly Simpson
Kiona Suttle
Koushik Ray
Kristin Drew
Kyle Biggs
Lachelle Porter-Ainer
Lance Escobar
Latalya Parrish
Latha Murugappan
Lauran and Jeffrey Weinmann
Layawonna Massey
Lenetta Gary
Leola Spencer
Leslie D. Littleton
Linda Mendonsa
Linda Nyberg
Lionel V. Alleyne
Lisa Macalka
Lucas Moller
Lucas Seifu
Lynn H. Dodd
Madison Moyd
Makinde Adeagbo
Mandala Pham
Manny Ojobaro
Marc Cull
Marcus Savage
Maria Jones
Marian Greenfield
Marilyn M. Thomas
Mark Hughes
Marley Padgett
Mathew Yohannan
Matthew Ichinose
Maurice C. Johnson Jr.
Maurice D Golding
Maurice Johnson
Megan Holston-Alexander
Melanie Shaver
Melissa Andrews
Melissa Oliver
Melissa Wheeler
Merideth Marschak
Michael & Adriane Armstrong
Michael Frandsen
Michael Mahaley
Michael Pearson
Michael Wright
Michel Gelobter
Miriam Benford
Mitchell Weisel
Miya E Hayes
Modupe Congleton
Nanette Blum
Natalie Orr
Natasha McKinley
Nathan Gillespie
Nazeem Hasan
Nia S. Garner
Nia Ujamaa
Nikko Merlander
Niko R Wilson
Okim-Osi Nsor
Olabisi Clinton
Osborne Hardison III
Pamela Ulmer
Parth Chopra
Patrice Cappello
Patrick Calleo
Patsy Wilson
Pei Ding
Peter Brown
Peter Mulle
Porsche D. Brownridge
Precious Stroud
Preeti Ray
Quinton Sankofa
Rachel A. Simpson
Rachel Yang
Rahael Seifu
Rajan Perkash
Ravi Parthasarathy
Ravon Taylor III
Rea Panares
Rebecca Richkus
Rebecca Ward
Relonda T. McGhee
Richard Scott
Richard Widmann
Robert Bryant
Robert Cook
Robert Stewart
Robert Stone
Robert Tassy
Robert Wilkins
Roderick Richardson
Rose Broome
Roxanne McFadden
Rune Stromsness
Ryan Spies
Saleemah Alhark
Sandra Hamp
Sara Rudder
Sean O. Ledree
Shamar Edwards
Shana Simmons
Sharon & Phillip Marson
Sheila Grace Singh
Sheryl Walton
Sheyanne Byrd
Sia Charonis
Smith Garric
Sophia Garcia
Srinivas Singampalli
Stephanie Johnson
Stephanie Taylor
Stephen Rucker (In honor of Ms. Vanessa Raabe)
Stephen Spiker
Steven Forman
Supreet Chinnan
Tamar Cohen
Tanya Schillage
Tenika Small
Teresa W. Thornton
Theodore Ford
Thomas Cator
Thomas Lichtenberg
Thurman V White Jr.
Tiffany Price
Tiffany Shumate
Timothy McDowell
Tracy Perron
Tristan Nunnally
Valia Koleva
Victoria Swepson (On behalf of Zeke Swepson)
Vincent T. Martin
Vivian Amachree
WarriorCreditRepair LLC.
WealthFit
Wendy Victory
Wilbert Freeman
William Chavez-Sales
William Muits
Yvonne D. Eashman-Sewell
Zaria Valentine
“So, the greatest need for our Geniuses over time . . . is obviously in the broad sense
continued support over the long term.” – Anonymous Hidden Genius Guardian
As our opportunities to impact young lives continue to blossom,
so must grow the pool of resources we need to propel us forward.
HELP OUR GENIUSES CONTINUE TO SHINE
THEIR LIGHT BRIGHTER AND FARTHER
