From The Bronx to South Florida, this ed-tech founder is working to build STEAM skills for our future workforce (Courtesy of Refresh Miami) — Growing up in The Bronx, Carlos Vazquez (pictured above) saw firsthand how underrepresented communities were missing the opportunities they needed to excel in the workforce. As a first-generation college student himself, he also understood the importance of education, and knew that becoming an educator was what he was meant to do.
“My mom was a single mother trying to raise me in New York, and the only thing she knew and would always tell me was that if you do well in school, you can excel,” Vazquez said. “That was the golden solution.”
Now, as the founder of Miami EdTech, a 501©(3) education technology non-profit organization, and GoSprout, an apprenticeship management platform, Vazquez is dedicated to providing opportunities for not only students, but also Miami’s local workforce.
A JOURNEY THROUGH MIAMI’S OPPORTUNITY GROWTH
Although Vazquez was always interested in education, he earned a degree in Computer Science and landed a tech sales job after graduation. However, after working in the industry for five years, he saw an advertisement on his way home from work one day to become a New York City Teaching Fellow, and decided to apply.
That one decision changed not only the trajectory of his life, but the trajectory of many other lives to come.
“Becoming a teacher was what I was really passionate about – it was all about making a difference,” Vazquez said. “It changed my life; because of that experience, I learned how to welcome new ideas, and enable people to find themselves as well.”
After working as a fellow for a few years and earning his Master’s degree in Education, in 2009, Vazquez made the move to San Francisco to work for Year Up – a non-profit workforce development organization. It was during his time in San Francisco that Vazquez saw the growing need for more programs, like Year Up, to help underrepresented communities in need.
“At Year Up, I see young adults, some as young as 18, trying to figure out their life trajectory, and you realize that the system has failed them,” he said. “They didn’t have access to resources, and a lot of them, like me, didn’t have someone to guide them. That age is the last frontier for opportunity.”
Year Up was growing fast, and in 2012, Vazquez was sent to Miami to launch the organization’s first college model. “They gave me the resources to figure out something that can potentially change the entire dynamic for people in South Florida,” Vazquez said.
When Vazquez first arrived to Miami, his task was to implement Year Up in Miami Dade College. He met with Madeline Pumariega, now Miami Dade College’s president, who helped him transform the market for South Florida’s talent and employers.
“Madeline Pumariega was instrumental. It was an amazing partnership. We had some great success stories with employers hiring students and local talent for paid apprenticeships and jobs,” Vazquez said.
FROM MIAMI DADE COLLEGE TO FINDING HIS OWN BUSINESSES
Vazquez’s newfound love for opportunity growth through Year Up sparked his passion even more for the edtech industry, and after a few years working for nonprofit organizations like Year Up and Enstitute, Vazquez decided it was time for him to make an even greater impact – and in 2017, Miami EdTech was born.
“Miami EdTech provides teachers, workforce members, students, and the community with engaging and effective professional development opportunities in STEM, to ultimately support edtech innovation through connection and mentorship,” Vazquez said.
Since its inception, Vazquez and his team, who he says is full of people who have either gone through a non-traditional pathway, or have been underrepresented in the past, have helped hundreds of students, teachers, and community members pave their way to success in technology through education.
It’s what pushed him to want to launch another venture to help even more underrepresented talent gain the opportunities they need to excel in the South Florida market.
“GoSprout is a platform and online tool that helps employers launch and manage their programs while providing opportunities for job seekers,” Vazquez said. “I wanted to create a system that would increase apprenticeships in our ecosystem, and bring real jobs to the community – and ultimately, that’s our goal with GoSprout and Miami EdTech.”
Through his work with Miami EdTech, and now GoSprout, Vazquez is laser-focused on using tech innovation and tools to elevate our talent to employers across South Florida. And, thanks to partnerships with local leaders, like Dr. Lupe Diaz, executive director for MDCPS’ department of career and technical education, Vazquez is integrating skill development and apprenticeships to younger students across Miami-Dade County.
“The beautiful thing about apprenticeships is that we can create career opportunities from as young as middle school,” Vazquez said. “Through apprenticeships, employers can be intentional about how they develop people. When economic mobility is at the heart of the community, that means opportunities are not confined – it’s available as a part of the infrastructure.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
For the future, Vazquez and his team, who are all a reflection of the communities they want to help, are looking forward to scaling their impact for both the workforce and South Florida employers. They want to continue to educate the community on the importance of apprenticeships and the STEM industry, while also uplifting the community through skill-building workshops – which can ultimately change not only the future of our workforce and talent, but what Miami can look like.
“Coming to Miami 12 years ago and now being an entrepreneur, husband, and father with two children, I look at South Florida as my home and the place that I advocate for,” Vazquez said. “We have a solid opportunity to really accelerate Miami to be a hub of innovation and talent – and I think Miami is an example of what the rest of the country can look like.”
Photo courtesy of Miami Tech Ed