Nonprofit Bridges the Technology Gap

Nashlie Sephus, an artificial intelligence scientist at Amazon Web Services, took her experience as an entrepreneur back to her hometown of Jackson, Miss., to bridge the technology gap and plant the seeds for a thriving community.

Sephus founded a nonprofit there that provides free technical assistance and guidance to people and small businesses by hosting tech office hours in local libraries, conducting youth coding workshops, and making grants.

She joins hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette of the Center for Effective Philanthropy in the Season 4 finale to share how the nonprofit she founded, Bean Path, went from informal drop-in hours at the local library to a vital community organization with event spaces, expert-taught courses, and a growing track record of success in helping people of all ages gain tech essential skills.

Nashlie also shares what surprised her about moving from the business world to running a nonprofit and offers advice for other donors with a vision.

We appreciate the opportunity to share this podcast and want to note that the interview was conducted by Buchanan and Nicolette with no involvement from the Chronicle’s newsroom.