The Social Engineering Project

10/08/2026

Today is DAF Day—a reminder that charitable dollars already set aside in donor-advised funds can be put to work supporting organizations and communities right now.

As The Social Engineering Project prepares for our rescheduled 10th Anniversary Gala on March 20, 2027, our programs and commitment to young people continue. A grant from your donor-advised fund can help us provide culturally relevant STEM education, mentorship, career exposure, and leadership-development opportunities for students from historically underserved communities.

If you have a DAF, please consider recommending a grant to The Social Engineering Project. If you do not, you can still help by sharing this message with friends, relatives, colleagues, and companies within your network.

Learn more in our DAF Day update:
https://mailchi.mp/thesocialengineer/dafday2026

Thank you for helping us continue opening doors for the next generation of STEM leaders.

10/08/2026

The Social Engineering Project’s Founder, President & CEO, Kevin L. Nichols, joined a timely panel exploring AI’s impact on workforce development, public education, and economic mobility.

Thank you to Bobby Pope for the invitation, Chris Norwood and the Bay Area Tutoring Association for moderating and organizing, and fellow panelists Jabari Ali of Hack the Hood and Ashonte Smith of SVLG for sharing their insights.

At TSEP, we believe AI’s promise grows when young people have access to education, mentorship, and meaningful career opportunities. We’re committed to helping them build the skills and confidence to shape that future.

10/05/2026

Here’s a crash course on ethical AI concerns and debate!

10/04/2026

Thanks to head counselor Chelsea 🌹 for holding it down at the HBCU Fair for us today!

10/04/2026

How do we help Black students pursue excellence while protecting their joy, identity, and well-being?

I appreciated the opportunity to explore that question at The Nueva School’s Excellence Without Exhaustion event. We discussed belonging, affinity spaces, family support, and how to build community without making achievement another source of pressure.

Thank you to our friend Taryn Grogan for the invitation, and to our fellow panelists representing Gateway Athletes, the Dr. Frank S. Greene Scholars Program, Street Code Academy, and Nueva Summer. It was a pleasure to representing alongside organizations creating meaningful opportunities for young people.

The biggest takeaway: Our children deserve to know they are valued before they accomplish anything. Let’s encourage their ambition while making room for rest, connection, and the freedom to be fully themselves.

10/04/2026

Thanks to head counselor Chelsea 🌹 for holding it down at the HBCU Fair for us today!

10/04/2026

Great way to conclude a wonderful week of celebrating the innovation and creativity coming out of Oakland for

10/03/2026

The future STEM workforce is being shaped in classrooms today.

As part of , we’re excited about today’s STEM Teachers Shape the Workforce conversation at the Oakland Museum of California, centering the voices and experiences of Black STEM educators. (BlackFemaleProject)

The conversation features Dr. E’rika Chambers (BlackFemaleProject), Kia Walton (Black Teacher Project), Dr. Desire Whitmore (Exploratorium), Adamaka Ajaelo (Self-eSTEM), Karen Bush, and Rodney Zinyemba—connecting what happens in our classrooms today with who becomes the scientists, engineers, technologists, and innovators of tomorrow. (Burnoff)

At The Social Engineering Project (TSEP), this resonates deeply with our mission. We believe building a more inclusive STEM workforce starts early—with great educators, meaningful exposure, hands-on experiences, mentorship, and ensuring young people can see themselves in STEM.

Thank you to Teacher Truth, BlackFemaleProject, and Black Teacher Project for bringing this important conversation forward, Black Vines for sponsoring, and Oakland Tech Week for creating space for it. (BlackFemaleProject)

Supporting STEM educators is workforce development.

10/03/2026

Oakland is having an important conversation today about capital, technology, entrepreneurship, and who gets to participate in the wealth being created by the next generation of innovation.

As part of , the Venture Futures Forum at Kissel Uptown is bringing together an impressive group of founders, investors, civic leaders, and community builders for conversations that go well beyond technology.

The lineup includes:

🔥 Innovator’s Fireside
Erik Moore, Co-Founder of Base.Ventures and Fewture.VC, in conversation with James Norman of Black Operator Ventures.

💰 A New Era in VC
Scott Beechuk of Norwest Venture Partners, Drew Glover of Fiat Ventures, and Saydeah Howard of Cherryrock Capital, moderated by Arjun Arora of Format One, exploring how networks, operating experience, and relationships are reshaping venture capital.

🌱 Well & Good
Daryn Dodson of Illumen Capital and Kyra Mungia of the Oakland Fund for Public Innovation, moderated by Thurman White, discussing how technology, philanthropy, and investment can work together to generate meaningful returns and shared prosperity in Oakland.

🏙️ The Wealth Next Door
Erica Joy Astrella of the City of Oakland, Fred Blackwell of the San Francisco Foundation, and Justin Steele of Kindora, moderated by DeCarlos Love of Thrive AI, tackling a question that I believe is particularly important: How does Oakland ensure that the extraordinary technology and wealth being created around us translates into jobs, businesses, investment, and opportunity for Oakland residents?

🚀 From Big Tech to Big Leap
Chalmers Brown of Jarmin, Shanea Leven of Empromptu AI, and DeCarlos Love of Thrive AI, moderated by Naji Barnes McFarlane of Google Cloud, discussing what it actually takes to move from an early idea or MVP to a venture-scale company.

These are exactly the kinds of conversations we need to be having—not simply about what technology can do, but about who has access to capital, who gets to build, who benefits, and how innovation can create economic mobility in communities like Oakland.

Looking forward to connecting with founders, investors, technologists, civic leaders, and community builders today.

📍 Kissel Uptown | Oakland
📅 Friday, October 2

Learn more and RSVP: https://oaklandtechweek.com/ventureforum

10/01/2026

🎮 Featured Activation: Kings In The Making: Architects of the Arcade

Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM PDT

Location: MetWest High School (Oakland, CA)
Our young Kings are taking over MetWest to showcase what happens when Black youth transition from scrolling and gaming to coding, designing, and launching their own interactive arcade experiences, digital tools, and community MVPs.
👉 RSVP Here:

Saturday, October 3 · Overview An intergenerational game-design hackathon bridging Ancestral Intelligence, retro gaming, and AI.