Centro is proud to announce it has been awarded a commitment of nearly $3 million from Ascendium Education Group to establish the Centro Tech Hub, a transformative initiative designed to expand access to digital literacy, workforce development pathways, entrepreneurship, and leadership opportunities for the Latinx community across Wisconsin and beyond.
This community-centered initiative represents a powerful intersection of equity and innovation, advancing access to education and career opportunities within the technology sector. “Communities are best served when diverse pathways exist and that is why we are so pleased that organizations like Centro are here to serve the community” stated Brett Lindquist, Vice President of Communications and Community Engagement.
For far too long, the Latinx community has been underrepresented in technology and innovation spaces. Through the creation of the Centro Tech Hub, technology will be leveraged not as an end, but as a catalyst for equity, workforce advancement, and long-term community empowerment. Centro Tech Hub will include three phases: community-informed research, expansion of inhouse training pathways, and development of a bilingual online learning platform to broaden access.
“I crave a future where Latinx families are prioritized, mobilized by many faces of all kinds of backgrounds that says our thriving will only expand and certainly will not be jeopardized.”- Karen, Executive Director of Centro stated.
Ascendium Education Group is committed to making education and training after high school a reality for learners from low-income backgrounds. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we fund initiatives across the U.S. that help learners from low-income backgrounds achieve upward mobility; provide student and employee success solutions to colleges and businesses; invest in education-focused innovations to improve learner outcomes; and provide information, tools, and counseling to help millions of borrowers successfully repay their federal student loans. While we have many roles, we have one goal — elevating opportunity by creating a world where everyone can rise to their highest potential. To learn more, visit ascendiumeducation.org.
Centro As the leading non-profit organization working with the Latine population in Dane County, Wisconsin which includes Madison and the surrounding communities, Centro has a 40-year history of uplifting and strengthening local communities. The organization has worked tirelessly to keep up with the growth of the Latine community in Dane County and now supports over 7,500 individuals annually with more than 20,000 hours of programming. Centro’s initiatives are some of the only bilingual/bicultural programs focused on serving Latinx communities in Dane County and the organization serves as a key resource for the city, county, state and local school districts and partners with over a hundred nonprofits and employers in the area. To meet the growing needs of Latinx in Dane County, Centro has tripled the size of its staff and doubled the number of programs it offers from just ten years ago.
