WWT Welcomes NPower to St. Louis
Local corporate, non-profit, education and community leaders welcome NPower to St. Louis
WWT takes great pride in our corporate culture and commitment to giving back to the communities in which we work and live, and that was manifested on Oct. 11, 2016 as we welcomed corporate, non-profit, education and community leaders to our corporate headquarters to help celebrate the launch of NPower in St. Louis.
WWT has been a long time sponsor of NPower and their efforts in cities such as New York, Dallas and Baltimore to uplift the lives of young people in underserved communities through IT career training and job opportunities. WWT has also been the lead sponsor of NPower's jazz events and additionally provides funding for NPower's national programs.
"NPower St. Louis is an incredible win for the city," said David Steward, WWT co-founder and chairman, "to be able to cultivate local talent, particularly in the underserved community, is something every major company and organization in the region should be excited about and I encourage every one of them to join us in this opportunity to lessen the cost and burden of recruitment as well as to invest in the local community and workforce."
NPower's entry into St. Louis has long been advocated for by Matt Horner, WWT vice president and general manager and vice chairman of NPower's board of directors.
NPower CEO Bertina Ceccareli and team have worked closely with an informal group of volunteers from WWT to assist with all aspects of the organization's launch, including hiring, recruitment, facilities, fundraising and partnerships. According to Ms. Ceccareli,
"The support, advice, and leadership from our partners at WWT has been invaluable as we gear up for our launch into St. Louis. NPower is beyond fortunate to have such a talented and committed WWT team beside us. It is deeply rewarding to work with a company as committed to launching successful careers for under-represented youth as we are."
About NPower
NPower is a national nonprofit that provides underserved young adults and veterans with no-cost IT career training, industry-recognized credentials and paid internships and job opportunities with Fortune 500 companies. NPower also offers career awareness and readiness programs for high school students, facilitated by a network of over 10,000 industry volunteers who offer mentoring, career advice and alumni coaching.
Over 80 percent of their graduates are employed full time or enrolled in higher education within one year of completing our program, which is free to qualified students. NPower St. Louis will be co-located on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University in Midtown.
NPower St. Louis
In September, Trina Clark James was appointed Regional Director for NPower in St. Louis. Ms. James is a native of North St. Louis and has enjoyed a long career in both education and technology, including a successful technology career in Silicon Valley where she led a test engineering team for Apple. She has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of California, Davis.
NPower St. Louis began active recruiting in early 2017 for its inaugural class of students. As of today, recruitment is open to the public for those between the ages of 18-25 who have earned a high school diploma or equivalent. For more information on the program please visit NPower.org.