The American Dream with Elias Torres

The secret to helping students succeed in computer science isn't a secret at all. They just need access to a high-quality, robust, curriculum.

But opening those doors to an adequate computer science curriculum is easier said than done.

Lisa Andrew, president of Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF), has dedicated her adult life to working with students and teachers...

In 2015, the Federal Reserve Bank of Massachusetts found that the average net worth of Black households in Boston was $8.00. The average net worth of white households was $247,500.

$8 for Black households, $247,500 for white households.

This disparity was enough to make Nicole Obi spring into action in a new way and commit to a career in nonprofit...

CTO of Wizeline, Aníbal Arbaca Gil, defines his tech company as "an American company with a Mexican heart." That's because Wizeline - a global technology services provider - is headquartered in San Francisco but has its biggest office is in Guadalajara, Mexico...

As a straight, white, male, Bob Rivers is far from an underrepresented individual. But that doesn't mean he's not aware of his privilege. Taking on the role of CEO at Eastern Bank 15 years ago, Bob has made it his life's purpose to ensure that the next generation of corporate America looks nothing like him.

In this episode of The American Dream, Elias highlights a represented individual making a difference...

You can find Vanessa Calderón Rosado's name on Boston Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in Boston list, but that's just one accolade of her many.

For the past 18 years, Vanessa has served as CEO of Inquilianos Boricuas en Acción, a Boston-based nonprofit focused on empowering underrepresented individuals through high-quality affordable housing, education, and arts programs...

Jody Rose is the president of the New England Venture Capital Association, but her first day as executive director 6 years ago was one of the scariest days of her life.

Jody’s bullish attitude led her to be able to overcome imposter syndrome and rise through the high ranks. Now, by co-founding Hack.Diversity, she’s determined to empower the next generation of underrepresented individuals and provide them access to opportunities in tech...

Stacie de Armas knows what it feels like to be the other.

Growing up a Cubana in California, Stacie embraced her Latinx community wherever she could find it, and she quickly noticed the inequalities between them and her white counterparts. Now working in media research at Nielsen, Stacie feels responsible to represent her community and raise awareness of social inequity, which is what she and Elias talk about in this episode...

"To me, it makes humanity better and safer to help people as much as you can."

William Murrell, publisher of BlackBoston.com, found a void in Black cultural resources when visiting Boston with his family. To solve the problem, he built a website where residents and tourists could find all the information they need in one place.

12 years later, BlackBoston...

Richie Serna doesn't take no for an answer.

After hearing that he shouldn't study computer science because he hadn't been studying it since he was 10, that he shouldn't go to a better high school because he wouldn't stand out, and that he didn't have the skill set to succeed in the tech world, Richie graduated from Harvard University, taught himself how to code, and started his own financial tech company in San Francisco...

Holding leadership positions at companies like Motorola, Microsoft, Salesforce, and now Cisco, Maria Martinez made a name for herself in the tech space. But as she says, "the hard part was not the technology but was the people. But it was also the most important part." -That's how she learned the importance of transparency in the workplace...