By Barnett Wright
The Birmingham Times
The Alabama Collective, a newly established campaign to bring together talented tech professionals and entrepreneurs to develop and expand the state’s emerging tech, innovation, and entrepreneurial programs kicked off last week in downtown Birmingham.
The campaign, spearheaded by TechMGM and TechBirmingham, will host a series of community conversations to grow the talent base and propel Alabama’s up-and-coming innovators and entrepreneurs.
“We are thrilled to strengthen the partnership between the tech, innovation, and entrepreneurial communities in Montgomery and Birmingham. This collaboration will allow us to attract and grow minority tech professionals and entrepreneurs and position our regional ecosystem as a major player in the Southeast,“ said Charisse Stokes, TechMGM Executive Director.
Deon Gordon, President & CEO of TechBirmingham, said, “Both Birmingham and Montgomery, together, were central to our national efforts for progress. The collaboration between leaders in both cities should inspire our work today as we strive to build on recent successes such as Shipt and the Montgomery Internet Exchange, respectively.”
He added, “We are stronger together and TechBirmingham is proud to partner with TechMGM as we work to position our collective region as the hub of inclusive innovation.
During the kickoff a conversation was moderated by co-founder and investor of Fearless Fund, Arian Simone and featured Dr. Haley Kendrick of Bronze Valley and Dr. Nichole Thompson from The Lab on Dexter. In addition, Marcus Shaw and Rashim McKinney of Montgomery TechLab and Waymond Jackson from EdFarm served as panelists. The second conversation will be on Oct. 29, in Birmingham, and the third conversation in Montgomery on Wednesday, November 24, 2021.
