Milwaukee Tool is the latest corporate member of the Milky Way Tech Hub, a local social impact organization focused on building the city's technology ecosystem in a way that centers on people of color.
The two organizations are currently conducting a four-week program with the Milwaukee Academy of Science teaching middle school students computer science skills focused on hardware and embedded systems, according to a Dec. 1 announcement.
"We firmly believe that instilling computer science skills is critical as we build the workforce of the future, and by partnering with Milky Way Tech Hub we have a unique opportunity to introduce these skills to the City of Milwaukee’s youth,” Milwaukee Tool manager of construction technology Brianne Stewart said in a statement.
Milwaukee Tool group president Steve Richman joined the Milwaukee Academy of Science board of directors in March and the company contributed to the public charter school's $5 million third-floor addition that was completed this summer.
The Milky Way Tech Hub, which was founded in 2017, has struggled to attract corporate sponsorship, the organization's founder Nadiyah Johnson previously told the Milwaukee Business Journal. Johnson also is the founder and CEO of Jet Constellations, a Milwaukee-based app and web development company.
American Family Insurance has been one of the Milky Way Tech Hub's main corporate supporters to date. Milwaukee-based e-commerce solutions firm Brilliance Business Solutions is another corporate member, Johnson said. Other new corporate members have not yet been announced.
Last month, American Family Insurance announced it would contribute $300,000 to the Milky Way Tech Hub over three years as part of its Urban Future Centers initiative to support existing groups that impact diverse Milwaukee neighborhoods through science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) programming,
