Leshell Hatley
Leshell Hatley is the Founder of Uplift, Inc., the nonprofit that submitted Youth APPLab for the DML Competition. She is also a PhD Candidate in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland. Leshell has over 15 years experience teaching technology to youth of all ages. She is interested in technology that supports learning (animation, mobile apps, intelligent tutors, and virtual instructors), cultural relevance, information access and human-computer interaction.
Leshell Hatley: Youth AppLab
Spotlight talks with Leshell Hatley, executive director of Uplift, Inc., about Youth AppLab, a new after-school program in Washington, D.C. that teaches software and mobile application design. The project just won a Learning Lab award for innovation in digital media as part of the 2010 Digital Media and Learning Competition.
Leshell Hatley: Youth AppLab from Spotlight on Vimeo.
Leshell also created the Myles & Ayesha Black Inventors Match Game for Android and iPhone.
Marco Jacobs
Marco Jacobs is an experienced Application Developer. He is passionate about technology and motivates others to be passionate about technology as well. Marco is knowledgeable of the full software development life-cycle and has more than five years of professional experience. His experience includes gathering software requirements, developing Java Web Services, web applications, and desktop applications. At this moment, Marco is working on his first start-up company, PressPawz.com, which will attempt to bridge the gap between pet owners and pet service providers.
Patrick Smith
Patrick Smith is a successful entrepreneur whose most recent business, Market Hardware, Inc., was acquired by IAC subsidiary ServiceMagic.com in 2009. He’s an experienced product developer and technologist with expertise across the web development technology stack, successfully leading organizations and development teams through the product development lifecycle.
He’s an accomplished manager, solely responsible for business-critical technology, operational and organizational projects, and he routinely leads high-risk, high-profile projects. He gets particular satisfaction from growing a functional, self-sufficient organization and coaching and mentoring members of his team.
Patrick is active in the community as organizer of TEDxPotomac, co-organizer of the DC Lean Startup Meetup and advisor to the non-profit Uplift, Inc. – in particular, their MacArthur Foundation-funded program Youth AppLab.
Imani Lee Hector
Imani L.H. was born and in Queens, New York and moved to her new home in Newark, New Jersey at the age of 10. She is now a Sophomore Film Studies student in the John H. Johnson School of Communications at Howard University and a Photography minor. She photographs events that her peers at Howard University have, from fashion to music to speaking forums and is the current photographer for Youth APPLab.
She was interested in the after school program which teaches African- American youth computer science, software design and mobile technology, and was elated to be brought on board by the project’s creator Leshell Hatley. She appreciates the relationship between film and photography and also is very interested in the technical areas of both fields. She is striving in both and continues to learn as she grows in each field.
Adegboyega Akinsiku
Adegboyega Akinsiku is a 3rd Year Computer Engineering student at Howard University from Cheltenham, Maryland. He is a member of Howard University National Society of Black Engineers (Secretary for 2010-2011 School Year) and Howard University Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2010-2011 School Year). He also currently works as the Design/Layout Editor for the “Howard Engineer” magazine. Current Projects:
- Calculating the Potential Energy Distribution of Vibrational Molecules
- “Howard” Bison Mobile Application
Monique Lindsay / Almazi Film & Video
Monique Lindsay is a freelance writer, photographer, and videographer with over 15 years of experience. She is passionate about her art and seeks to transform global audiences with engaging, honest, and provocative material. Through social justice initiatives and a commitment to activism, Monique inspires and motivates creative change for the purpose of promoting the positive and uplifting the masses. Almazi Film & Video is an independent production company Monique founded while pursuing her Masters of Fine Arts degree in Film. As an independent artist, she continues to realize her dreams while contributing to the development and success of others.