BLACK TECH NOLA
Over 20,000 tech jobs have been created in the New Orleans region since 2006 making it one of the fastest growing tech hubs in the country. NOLAvate Black, the New Orleans Black Tech Collective, organizes the largest, and only, Inclusive Innovation Conference in the region to raise awareness around building an accessible and equitable technology talent pipeline. Since the inaugural event, coinciding with the Essence Music Festival in 2018, the annual convening showcases the intersection of tech, art and culture in the world’s most creative community. In 2020, Black Tech NOLA received over 1100 registrants and participants from around the globe for its first ever virtual event with talks, panel discussions, virtual happy hours, giveaways and job recruitment opportunities. In 2021, our content reached over 40,000 engagements worldwide in 3 days!
Speakers, sponsors and partners of Black Tech NOLA are recognized as industry leaders committed to diversity and inclusion and gain immediate exposure to hundreds of attendees and thousands of influencers in our network.
WE GOT YOU!
Whether you want to take your career to the next level, hire top talent or just connect with a community of dope folks – we got you!
Professionals
Fireside chats, meetups, and talks that celebrate culture, inspire innovation and foster community.Employers
Recruit from top diverse talent from the Gulf Coast Region looking for companies that value inclusion.Creatives
Content designed with creatives in mind. Explore workshops and talks that share tools to upskill and retool to take your work to the next level.Founders
Network with executives and entrepreneurs in tech as they share insights on taking your business to the next level.Students
Learn about ways to get your start in tech. Meet employers, learn from industry leaders and try something new in our makerspaces.
NOLAvate Black
NOLAvate Black launched in 2018 to address the systemic racism and social injustices preventing Black people and under-resourced communities from gaining access to high-demand and high-wage jobs in the growing technology sector. Since launching our social impact programming, we have reached over 2,000 tech professionals. And, as the New Orleans tech industry continues to grow as the “Silicon South,” NOLAvate Black works to find solutions that will promote employability, retention, advancement, and entrepreneurship for people of color interested in advancing their career in technology.
NOLAvate Black is led by Founder and CEO Sabrina N. Short, a community organizer and tech advocate. Sabrina’s unwavering passion for community and social justice has driven her to build the largest Black tech community in the Gulf South. A native of New Orleans, Sabrina has over 19 years of social impact work and has been recognized nationally for her grassroots efforts.
Learn more about ways you can support our efforts to build the network that works at nolavateblack.com.