Training NextGen BIPOC Youth for STEAM Careers Can Close the Wealth Gap with Dr. Hassan Brown

Florida’s recent block of an Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course for high school students sent shockwaves across academia and enraged supporters. Providing all students with access to diverse educational opportunities broadens their perspectives and fosters empathy for each other’s plight. To limit those opportunities is to limit their growth. Limits lead to disparities between educational environments, resulting in barriers to learning for some, and privilege for others. As a result of these inequities, Black and Brown communities have disproportionate access to advanced curricula like STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), which are essential to achieving high-income careers and establishing generational wealth, which could alter the trajectory of underserved and under resourced communities. On this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Dr. Hassan Brown, founder of Career Catalyst, talks about his journey into ed tech and the importance of training the next generation of BIPOC youth for STEAM careers. About Dr. Hassan Brown: Dr. Hassan Brown is the Chief Executive Officer of Career Catalyst, an education technology and multimedia endeavor within the Kapor Center, designed to cultivate confidence in young people of color from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue academic and professional STEM opportunities, increasing their odds of being full participants in the future of work and innovation economies, leading to more gainful employment and economic security. Brown is passionate about bridging the gap between social justice, workforce education, and emerging technologies. He has served as the director of Harvard Innovation and Ventures in Education (HIVE) and has also been a startup advisor for the Harvard Initiative for Teaching and Learning (HILT), and currently serves as a startup advisor for Headstream, an accelerator from SecondMuse that focuses on youth wellbeing and centering youth voice in the discourse around emerging technologies. Dr. Brown holds a Bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College, Master’s degree in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Masters in Education from Hunter College, and Doctor of Education Leadership degree from Harvard University.