Digital NEST
Model & Strategy
Digital NEST (Nurturing Entrepreneurial Skills with Technology) is a nonprofit tech training and collaboration space for youth from under-resourced agricultural communities in California. Since 2014, Digital NEST has served nearly 4,000 young adults ages 14 to 24, providing them with access to well-paying careers.
The Problem
In California, economic disparity is a significant problem in agricultural communities, where poverty rates are much higher than other parts of the state. In these communities, youth are often funneled into low-wage jobs in agriculture, maintenance, and service industries, limiting their financial stability and perpetuating economic inequality. This issue is particularly acute for Latinx and other underserved youth, many from immigrant families, who often struggle to envision a future beyond these low-wage sectors. Existing solutions have fallen short, lacking community-based approaches that foster a sense of belonging and possibility.
The Solution
Digital NEST builds positive futures for Latinx and other underserved youth by growing their knowledge, skills, and confidence to launch and succeed in well-paying careers. Their theory of change starts by fostering a sense of belonging and agency for their members through technical and professional training. It then advances to developing partnerships with employers who mentor members and provide opportunities for wealth-building careers. Ultimately, this leads to Digital NEST members modeling success and giving back, creating a more prosperous future for their families and community members.
Digital NEST provides all services for free, including access to Wi-Fi and computers, technical training, career workshops, mentorship, job placement, and career advancement. As a Latino-led, community-based organization, they offer inclusive learning centers with representative role models that create a sense of belonging for Latinx and other underserved youth, often from immigrant or migrant families. Their goal is to make Digital NEST an integral part of their members’ lives — the third place they go besides home and school — where they become inspired to prepare for and launch careers they never knew were available.
Digital NEST has sparked a nationwide dialogue among educators, policy-makers, and the media as a model for closing the digital divide in under-resourced communities throughout the U.S.
The idea for Digital NEST was formed one night when Jacob saw a young woman sitting outside a locked building working on her laptop. Curious about what she was doing sitting outside in the cold he approached her and asked. She told him she was a student at the college but had no access to the internet at home. “I come here for Wi-Fi so I can complete my homework assignments,” she explained. It was all too common to see young people huddling outside locked buildings in rural agricultural communities trying to complete schoolwork, apply for jobs, and access the social and networking opportunities enjoyed by their connected peers. The need was clear: our youths need a safe place; a place to learn the skills that prepare them for the 21st Century workforce. They need a place that connects them to free Internet and the latest technology. They need teachers, mentors, and professionals to connect them to opportunities. They need a community that values who they are and the potential they represent. And they need a place that will teach, nurture, and guide them to become the very best version of themselves. And so, Digital NEST was born.
Jacob is a Latino leader at the forefront of a critical issue: ending the disparities and confronting the biases that bar Latinx Californians in rural/agricultural communities from economic opportunity. He is pioneering a model that helps rural youths “upskill,” earn credentials, learn entrepreneurship and enter the technology workforce. He employs culturally competent strategies to connect newly-trained, middle-skill workers with employers, launching these workers into prosperous careers. His model is visionary, using on-the-job training to turn youth into leaders in community-driven economic development. An outspoken Latino leader, Mr. Martinez is calling out the biases and barriers perpetuating economic disparities in Latino communities and creating a regional collaboration to end them. His work is being recognized both locally and nationally, including speaking at the first White House Tech Meetup in 2015, and was named by Tech Crunch as one of 2014’s Top 10 Men in the Country Supporting Women in Technology.
Impact
Since launching in 2014, Digital NEST has opened centers in Watsonville, Salinas, Gilroy, and Modesto, and, starting fall of 2024, in Stockton.
Over 150 members have secured jobs in tech-focused industries or have furthered their education by attending college.
Nearly 4,000 members have gained invaluable tech and professional skills, with more than 110 members gaining their first tech job experience as paid interns in bizzNEST, their digital media program, working more than 11,500 hours.
