This Black History Month, Inneract Project (IP) invites you to invest in a world where design is inclusive of Black, Latinx, and underrepresented communities of color.

We recently had the chance to reflect on what 15 years looks like with our Education Committee Lead & Associate Board Member, Ji-hern Baek. Read his interview below to hear about his experiences with IP and what empowering black & brown youth means for the future of design.

Inneract Project Volunteer, Jesse Zachery's talks about his experience and inspiration from Black design mentors and how this has shaped his career.

Black Aspirations Matter (BAM) is a group started by five Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) friends and allies who were moved to action by the Black Lives Matter movement in support of the aspirations of Black students.

As Black, Latinx, and underrepresented designers of color, we know that being connected with folks who root for our success can make all the difference in our career journeys. We are excited to announce our partnership with Black Aspirations Matter (BAM), a grassroots, inter-community effort to raise funds for Black college students who are interested in careers in design or technology.

A Pacific Islander design expert reflects on her experiences in the field and shares advice for her fellow underrepresented designers of color.

We recently had the chance to reflect on what 15 years looks like with one of our long term volunteers, Marcela Carrillo. Read her interview below to hear about her experience with IP and what empowering black & brown youth means for the future of design.

For 15 years, Inneract Project has been serving the community with free youth design education programming. As you can imagine, our programs have evolved over the years. What was once a graphic design class is now a series of courses that aim to create a pathway into a range of design careers.

We recently had the chance to reflect on what 15 years looks like with our very first Volunteer, Luke Woods. Read his interview below to hear about the early days of IP and what empowering black & brown youth means for the future of design.

Inneract Project (IP) primarily serves middle and high school youth who identify as Black and/or LatinX, and/or come from low income backgrounds. Rather than offering isolated engagements, IP creates a long-term investment strategy with free design initiatives to introduce youth to creative career paths. In doing so, we work towards a vision of bringing design to local communities and increasing representation in technology.

When I first left Richmond, I was headed to college at University of Washington (UW) on a basketball scholarship. My first, and only, ambition was to play professional basketball. I had it all figured out. I would go to UW and dominate the Pac 10 (Note: Pac 12 was Pac 10 back in my days). My mentality was like most young basketball high school preps who had some success, and was heavily recruited to play college ball.

In 2015, Inneract Project hosted its first-ever panel on diversity and inclusion. That event brought forth an honest, open, and frank discussion about diversity issues in the tech industry and how to develop more informed inclusion strategies.

When I sat down to write this article, I did so with a bit of skepticism. In my mind, because there are so many articles about diversity these days, it is difficult to gauge the climate. I wonder if design diversity is getting worse or if it will ever change…I have been working to increase the amount of designers of color for a long time and have heard it all! That was my first thought anyways…

Inneract Project started in 2004, directly as a result of Maurice Woods’ life. As a kid, Maurice always loved to create things but never considered it as a profession. As one of the tallest kids on the block, basketball seemed like the most logical career path. His athletic abilities helped him secure a college scholarship, but it would be another two years before he realized he could take his passion for creating and parlay it into a career in graphic design.