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Jade Nettrour is a senior in high school and has already designed an early prototype of new Christmas tree lights to make the annual decorating process easier — and more cat-friendly — for her family and their five felines. Nettrour’s demonstration earned her second place in a student “Shark Tank” pitch competition in 2020, and she’s now exploring patent options.
The success of Bread by Chelsa B is not only a culmination of Smith's previous work experience in online sales or the influence of her social circle of entrepreneurs, she said:
DES MOINES, Iowa—Computer jargon is not for the faint of heart, but Dieudonne Samuel follows the lesson with ease, typing a series of brackets and letters that somehow translate into a newly created website. This process of breaking down the page to its core components makes sense to him. He used to take apart electronics to see how they were put together, a baffling curiosity and mastery for a boy who just a decade ago lived in a refugee camp in Mozambique.
Nancy Mwirotsi, founder of Pursuit of Innovation 515 (Pi515) in Des Moines, Iowa, is already well-known in the community for her advocacy work on behalf of underserved women, refugees, and low-income students. She will now be able to expand these efforts, thanks to a 2020 Nation of NeighborsSM grant.
Nancy Mwirotsi, an African native living in Des Moines, noticed how the refugees resettling in the city struggled, particularly the young girls. "I realized that we really need to start a unique program to reach out to the girls and really let them know that we are here for them," said Mwirotsi.
The Legos are part of the curriculum for PI 515 (pursuit innovation)—a Des Moines-based non-profit organization that teaches science, technology, education and math (STEM) concepts to underserved junior high and high school students and refugees during the school year. Pi515 uses the Zion Lutheran Church for classes during the week and weekend.
StartupCity Des Moines formed in 2011 as an incubator and coworking space and closed in Sept. 2014. It was a public-private joint effort focused on growing the Des Moines startup community and is viewed by many as the inflection point that led to the modern startup ecosystem. This donation is the final disbursement of funds invested in StartupCity Des Moines.
Pi515 has partnered with AT&T and the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers to create the SMART Cities Summer Challenge. The Pi515 SMART Cities and Data Challenge is a call to Iowa high school students to help identify modern solutions to increasingly urgent urban challenges faced by the state of Iowa.
Des Moines nonprofit Pi515 has received a $100,000 donation from entrepreneur and philanthropist John Pappajohn to help grow and expand the program. Founded in 2014 by Nancy Mwirotsi, Pi515 is a Des Moines-based nonprofit organization that empowers disadvantaged youth to succeed by teaching them technology skills.
We must prepare for foundational shifts to virtually all industries, including a necessarily altered workforce profile. All jobs are quickly changing but we are not adapting to change as quickly as we should. While automation and the Internet of things (IoT) are making many processes easier for each one of us, these fast-evolving technologies also present hurdles to overcome, particularly in terms of how we prepare our youth. As a community, we need not wait for an outside force to coddle or coerce us to adapt, rather, we can look to local resources to collectively prepare for and consciously choose the future we want.
The U.S. labor force is facing a crisis that’s been brewing for decades and has become readily apparent thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of Americans are without jobs, yet millions of job postings are unfilled.
The 6-week FG Cohort transformed my fundraising storytelling capabilities. It helped me refine my pitch deck and pitch. Also, establish more confidence in my abilities to raise money for my company.
We know how important science, technology, engineering and math are for future workers. It is also important to make sure we are training a diverse group of students with STEM skills. In honor of National STEM Day, which was celebrated on Sunday, November 8th, we introduce you to Pi515.
Pi515 works to prepare our students to meet the growing demand for digital literacy in the labor force.
The Greater Des Moines Partnership has collected stories from people within the startup community to share during Global Entrepeneurship Week Nov. 8-12, 2021.
The drive to draw more young women into science, technology, engineering and math has been gaining momentum in recent years. There s a program in Des Moines that makes sure low income girls are given a chance at the so called STEM fields.
In 2010, Nancy Mwirotsi founded Pi515 to serve refugee youth throughout Greater Des Moines (DSM) by teaching them technology skills, coding and critical thinking to help them become innovative and empowered for STEM-field careers.
We close the gaps in terms of accessibility of technology, by starting at home," said Nancy Mwirotsi, executive director of Pi515.
DES MOINES, Iowa — Across the country, people observed Juneteenth in their own ways. Some took to having celebrations, others looked to continue the push for social justice, and then there were some people who stopped to take a look at what the new federal holiday means to them as business owners.
Nancy Mwirotsi was inspired to make a difference for refugee families living in Iowa, so she created a free program that teaches middle and high schoolers how to code.
Nancy Mwirotsi, founder of Pursuit of Innovation 515 (Pi515) in Des Moines, has been awarded a $10,000 Nation of Neighbors grant from Royal Neighbors of America, one of the first and largest women-led insurers in the country.
DES MOINES, Iowa — Technology is the wave of the future, being taught to kids who may not always have the tools to create one. “I wanted to target kids from those areas because what I’m trying to impact poverty. I am trying to make sure the young people growing up in poverty today can actually get out of poverty and be successful,” said Nancy Mwirotsi, the founder of Pursuing Innovation 515 in Des Moines.
Pi515 programs are designed for underserved middle and high school students. Pi515 serves over 100 low-income youth, most of whom are immigrants, refugees, or identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC).
