Presenter: Tony Reid, Founder at Drone Cadets https://www.linkedin.com/in/dronetechuas Description: Drone Cadets is a unique Drone Education Program designed to produce safe and responsible drone pilots of any age. Our Certified Drone Instructors have taught more than a thousand students. We work with schools and organizations throughout the Hudson Valley to bring life-changing technology education to families and under-served populations here and throughout the world. FIRST-RATE CURRICULUM: Whether you're an experienced pilot, ready to get your FAA Part 107 Certification; a hobbyist, ready for more; or you never touched a drone in your entire life, and you think it sounds cool, Drone Cadets has a program for you! We train individuals, families and groups. Drone Cadets can deliver a program or train your trainers to duplicate what we know works best. We can even provide analytics to support your grant proposal. COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE: Educators are challenged with providing the best and newest teaching available, despite limits to their budgets, backgrounds and training. Drone Cadets offers the benefit of a pre-packaged curriculum and program, with lessons designed to fit in a 50-minute class-time. Each lesson includes both instruction and hands-on learning exercises or “missions” as we say. The Program can be customized into different configurations to meet your requirements; from one day, to many months. We also provide virtual drone education, drone camps, virtual drone racing and drones for kids of all ages. Ask: To make our program scalable nationwide we urgently need: Volunteer Trainers; Equipment Sponsors; Money for Back-End Solutions. LEARN MORE AT HTTP://WWW.BLACKLEARNERS.ORG

Presenter: Kenneth Whitfield, Vice President Of Global Business Development, Channel and GTM at Classera Inc. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenneth-d-whitfield-jr-1b103b1b/ Description: Classera is a global LMS School Community product with the sole fundamental purpose of providing every learner with all of the tools necessary to inspire achievement. By empowering school districts with community partners invested in helping schools develop talent, we offer a wholistic approach to school community success. Our A.I. powered LMS offers school districts a product with over 40 modules designed to work in concert to help inspire and engage Students, Parents and Teachers alike. Our custom, localized solution removes the need for investment in multiple products, while simultaneously optimizing Distant Learning Engagement. The Problem: The U.S. Title 1, Free and Reduced Lunch and RTI strategy is leading directly to the expansion of the School to Prison Pipeline. Simply put, we are failing as a society to adapt our curriculum strategy to address specific needs around black learners. We are not engaging, inspiring, or producing enough talent necessary to address the need for black learners to earn degrees that result in more high paying careers. Pushing Black learners nationwide to RTI, and referrals, has led to a dramatic increase in the school to prison process. There is no known product that is designed to help Black Learners succeed in education. Nothing. The Solution: Classera Inspire. We developed our Motivation and Inspiration tools to help schools engage students. We understand that every student has different motivations that fuel daily academic activities. Classera will help expand school communities to include local business and public leaders who want to develop a serious, systematic strategic initiative to address the challenges that Black Learners face in K-12 education. From the outset of our mission, we set forth a clear path to promote academic positive behavior within three interrelated focus areas: 1) Custom Classroom differentiation and adaptation tools that serve as key instruments to drive student Motivation & Inspiration. 2) Allow teachers, schools and parents to help students grow towards their own goals with constant automated positive feedback. 3) Provide Black Learners the Recognition Tools needed in an activity-based system designed to drive engagement around their path towards career from the earliest grades. Ask: School Community Pilots – Introductions to School Admins, Curriculum, S.T.E.M. K-12; Partner with Ed Tech Companies that Impact Outcomes – (Build out Partner ecosystem); Potential Series A investment – (Accelerate U.S. operations to address need in K-12); Black Greek Organization participation – (Increase Local Role Model Access); Introduction to U.S. Education focus groups.

Presenter: Steve Ward, Founder at Future N Focus Dream Catcher Enterprises https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-ward-b8868476 Description: Future N Focus/Dream Catcher (DC) Enterprises is B to B/ B to C educational award-winning software & media company operating in the Ed-tech space. DC is a SaaS model company founded by CEO Steve Ward. The company is in early revenue selling online software to middle schools, high schools, colleges, and community organizations. The business is based on an annual recurring revenue model. It addresses a federally mandated requirement for career readiness and workforce development programs, which are government paid with annual earmarked funding. The problem we are addressing is young people entering the workforce without a clear career path and understanding of the unique value they bring to society. Dream Catcher’s SaaS solution is a curriculum designed for students from 12 years of age through adulthood, discovering their purpose and value-aligned with their most suitable career path. DC provides unique and effective, project-based assignments (Virtual Interviews) that guide students to Explore and Discover their Purpose, Set Purpose-Driven Goals, Identify Career Choices based on Purpose and Gifts (Self-Awareness, EMSI Database & Myers Briggs), Create Action Plans, and Track and Monitor Progress. To learn more about Future N Focus Dream Catcher Enterprises, please visit www.dreamcatcherprogram.com

Presenter: Jay Veal, Founder at It’s Not Complicated Education https://www.linkedin.com/in/inctutoring Description: INC Education is the #1 AA owned private tutoring and education company in the Southern US serving students of color globally in STEM Subjects, Test Preps, English, Reading, Writing, and Foreign Languages. We also do academic coaching/counseling, mentoring, resume reviews/writing, literature reviews for potential physicians, homeschooling services, and workshops. We are an 11 time Award winning company and have been featured in 50+ media outlets including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, NBC, and more. Black Tutors of Social Media is the World's First and Leading edtech nonprofit geared toward an intuitive and filter reactive directory of black-owned private tutoring companies as well as community programming and resources. Ask: INC Education • Locate a Tech Cofounder • Funding or Investment to get the edtech solution developed • Help with crowdfunding solution as well for F and F Round; Black Tutors of Social Media • Help spreading the word about BTSM • Share http://bit.ly/BTSMApply for tutoring companies that want to apply to be a resource • Visit www.blacktutorsofsocialmedia.com to get on the list for Atlanta and Dallas launch of the website in September • Connections to orgs, parents, educators, schools.

Presenter: Nilda G. Thomas, Founder at Workforce eTraining Solutions https://www.linkedin.com/in/nildathomas/ Description: Nilda Thomas established Workforce eTraining Solutions LLC (WETS) with a a vision of providing access to online technical training to minorities, women, teens, veterans, and underserved communities. WETS is a distributor of cloud and web-based learning technologies. We help bridge the skills gap and digital divide by providing online career and technical training in the areas of Information Technology, Career, Leadership and Professional Development, Small Business and Entrepreneurship including much needed soft skills courses. We partner with schools, organizations, community colleges, and companies to provide workforce readiness training to help the current and future workforce acquire the skills companies seek for in-demand jobs and for companies needing a solution to train, upskill and recertify their workforce. Catalog - https:// www.wetscatalog.com With the COVID-19 pandemic and realizing the need and demand for online education for children and youth, k12 Virtual Solutions was formed as a subsidiary of Workforce eTraining Solutions. k12 Virtual Solutions offers a portfolio of some of the most innovative eLearning and STEM programs in the k12 space. We help schools integrate technology into classrooms and virtually for a blended learning experience. Additionally, through our EdTech consulting services we assist in developing career pathways and identifying funding sources. We partner with parents and schools to offer a variety of online learning styles that will keep students engaged and wanting to learn. Additionally, through Workforce eTraining Solutions schools can provide professional and leadership development to upskill their staff and districts. Supplier of PPE products and AI Temperature Monitoring kiosks for businesses and schools. A minority and woman-owned business. To learn more about Workforce eTraining Solutions, please visit http://www.workforceetraining.com

On Thursday, June 18th ConnectYard held a discussion on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Distance Learning and Racial Justice on structural equity issues including access to technology devices and reliable wi-fi; households with multiple students; opportunities for academic support (classroom, civic and community-based); parental support and involvement; caregiver considerations, and more. Hear directly from educators and equity leaders Reverend Alfred Cockfield, Founder & Executive Director of Lamad Academy Charter School; Demond Pearson, Senior Program Director at Good Shepherd Services; Michelle Henry, Proud Parent of 6th Grader at P.S. 109, Brooklyn, NY; and moderator, Dr. Grant Warner, Co-Founder & COO at ConnectYard, as we discuss tools and strategies to better serve our most vulnerable students and families in these uncertain times.

Presenter: Temante Leary, CEO of Class Updates https://www.linkedin.com/in/temante Description: Class Updates is an education technology startup company founded in 2017, based in South Florida. We have created a mobile communication app for professors and students, which allows for real-time communication to any mobile device using push notification technology. No cell phone numbers are needed. Class Updates works on any mobile device. Our database contains every college and university in the country therefore Class Updates can be used by all college and university students, professors, and faculty. Class Updates is free to use, FERPA compliant and a Student Privacy Pledge Signatory. Class Updates also lets students connect with each other and their professors on social media by allowing users to share their social media links in their profiles (optional). All Class Updates users must create a profile with the information they want to share, include any appropriate picture they desire and can add links to social media (optional). Classmates can also connect with each other and chat directly as classmates. Classmates must, however, first accept each other’s requests to connect, which provides their consent. Class Updates also allows professors to create groups; students may attach files (including pictures) and submit their assignments using Class Updates. Professor’s communication can be targeted to one class, multiple classes and/ or groups. As a real-time communication tool, Class Updates can also be used for emergency alerts and notifications. Class Updates is specifically designed with higher education students and professors in mind when it comes to features and user-friendliness. To learn more about Class Updates, please visit WWW.CLASSUPDATESAPP.COM

Presenter: Candice Blacknall, CEO & Co-Founder at GABA Inc. https://www.linkedin.com/in/candiceblacknall Description: GABA, is a chemical in the brain that helps reduce anxiety and increase learning. GABA Inc. is a platform that reduces anxiety and increases learning by leveraging machine learning to help students study more effectively. Our platform enables pre-medical and medical students to create personal profiles. These profiles store the students’ exam scores, professional experiences, and the results of 6 validated cognitive assessments. We then use machine learning to recommend study tools and resources to each user based on this profile data, the exam they indicate that they are studying for, and what other students on our platform have used successfully. We are intentional about supporting the person behind the points. Through strategic partnership, our platform offers 24/7 text-based emotional resilience coaching to support each user's emotional wellbeing as they progress through school. And the best part is that GABA grows with you, so once a student has made it to their 4th year, they can use their GABA profile to complete their medical school or residency application and beyond. To learn more about GABA, please visit www.gogaba.co.