Dear Champion of The Hidden Genius Project,

It probably goes without saying, but business has just about picked up. In 2023, we celebrated the return of our first full year of in-person programming and activities since 2019. This stirred up within me a great deal of gratitude, and served as a reminder to appreciate every opportunity to be in creative spaces.

Speaking of creative spaces, in 2023, we officially opened our Ubuntu Center within our Oakland Headquarters building, providing for the first time in our history a space for young people to drop in, innovate, and tinker on their own time. The new center also allows us to offer our own parallel programming to the general public—also a first for our organization. Inspired by this landmark moment, we began to generate new partnerships that allowed us to deliver programming at multiple community technology centers beyond our own.

Marching forward in 2023, The Hidden Genius Project continued its national growth trajectory (outlined in our five-year Strategic Plan) by launching two new programming sites in Chicago, Illinois, and Atlanta, Georgia thanks to the generous support of Comcast NBCUniversal, Google.org, NBA Foundation, and the Jordan Family Foundation. In the summer of June 2023, we welcomed our inaugural Chicago and Atlanta Hidden Genius cohorts.

Since our founding, the vision to expand The Hidden Genius Project was a key goal formed to meet the exigent needs of Black male youth in other cities. Guided by a strategic plan set in 2019 that defines objectives for programmatic growth and becoming an influential leader and network for cascading mentorship, The Hidden Genius Project pushed forward.

In 2020, The Hidden Genius Project expanded to South Central, Los Angeles, making it the first new programming location outside of the Bay Area. Two years later, our team launched its first programming site on the East Coast in Detroit, Michigan. Then in 2023, The Hidden Genius Project hit a major growth spurt by opening two locations in Atlanta and Chicago in one year.  This summer, we will be welcoming our inaugural Baltimore, Maryland cohort of Geniuses, bringing our total number of programming sites to seven.

Click the markers on the map below to see the impact of our growth nationwide.

“We have been honored to engage young people across the globe to inspire them to leverage technology to reveal their genius, and we have seen some tremendous results. Even as we have expanded to establish comprehensive sites in Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, and Chicago, we continue to encounter the same brilliance, bold spirit, and infectious leadership qualities among our Black male youth.”

– Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Brandon Nicholson

Geniuses had success learning how to set goals and develop a plan to accomplish them.

Geniuses reported being proud of who they are

Geniuses understand the steps needed to get into college

Geniuses feel they can use their professional networks to achieve personal goals

“I’ve gained long-lasting relationships, created such a wonderful project, and learned a bunch of ideas I wouldn’t have learned in school. I’ve also learned how to establish unity amongst myself, my family, friends, and my brothers.”

– Kameron Winchester, Oakland Cohort 10 Hidden Genius Alum

We hosted five End of Summer Celebrations across our Bay Area, Detroit, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago regions highlighting the tremendous achievements of our Oakland, Richmond, CA, Detroit, Los Angeles, and inaugural Chicago and Atlanta cohorts (OAK10 Black, OAK10 Gold, OAK11 Black, OAK11 Gold, RICH6, RICH7, DET1, DET2, LA3, LA4, ATL1, and CHI1).

Energized by enthusiastic event attendees featuring friends, family, community partners, and generous sponsors, all of our Geniuses shined as they showcased at our 2023 End of Summer Celebrations. Thank you all for showing up and supporting our next generation of Black leaders, technologists, and entrepreneurs.

CATALYST PROGRAMS are free single- and multi-day introductory technical exposure opportunities driven by our Youth Educators for middle and high school youth of color.

Click HERE to watch highlights from our first Brothers Code catalyst event in Chicago.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS provides on-site, exposure-based technology workshops delivered by our Youth Educators for local youth throughout the greater Bay Area and Los Angeles. 

Click HERE to learn how our Youth Educators supported Compton Girls Club youth with the creation of their digital magazine.

Youth who felt comfortable using and exploring technology after summer engagement

Youth who felt the organization helped them better understand computer concepts

Youth know more about computer programming at the completion of summer engagement

Youth feel more confident incorporating technology to solve problems

By Mallory Zapata, Communications Manager, After School Matters

High school years can be a challenging phase for young people. It’s a time when teens grapple with self-discovery, finding their place, and envisioning their future. As a homeschooled teen, Yusuf Seward was no different. Though he didn’t experience the conventional pressures of navigating school hallways, he struggled with confidence and lacked the typical social interactions of his peers. However, participating in After School Matters programs allowed Yusuf to discover his voice, gain confidence, and realize his leadership potential.

Yusuf shared, “ASM allowed me to enhance my collaboration skills, something I hadn’t fully developed due to being homeschooled. It showed me the power of working with others towards a common goal.”