Meet Michael A | Tech Strategist, Design Leader, Tech & Design Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael A and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
First, some stats:

– In the US tech sector, Black Americans hold 7% of tech jobs (despite representing 14% of the national population) and less than 1% of executive and management roles.
– In the US tech sector, Hispanic/Latino Americans hold 8% of tech jobs (despite representing 17% of the national workforce) and 1.6% of executive and management roles.
– In the US tech sector, Asian Americans hold 20% of jobs, 36% of executive and management roles.
– The high-tech industry employs a smaller proportion of women (36%) compared to the overall private sector (48%).
– Even though women make up approximately 50% of the global workforce, only 26% of jobs in computer-related sectors are held by women.
– In executive roles, about 80% are men and only 20% are women.
– Gender equality in the tech industry has worsened compared to past decades. In 1984, the female representation in the industry was at 35%, highlighting a regression over time​.
– Overall, ethnic minorities constitute only about 22% of the tech workforce in the U.S.​
– The representation of ethnic minorities in tech leadership positions in the U.S. is only 17%, which drops to 2.6% in the UK. This lack of diversity in leadership roles can perpetuate a cycle of underrepresentation and lack of mentorship for minority tech professionals.

The punchline? The future is being built and decided on today and *we* aren’t building it or helping to make the decisions of how the future will look like. Let’s take something very relevant and talked about today like AI: there are many ethical concerns regarding data used to train AI systems, bias, AI avatars, and more. This is just one example, but this underscores why our people need to be present.

This is why I started the Rita Group and the various initiatives within it. The Rita Group is made up of various initiatives each targeting a different aspect of the career journey. From Rita Lab (community, events, seminars) to Rita ABC (a career journey tracking app we’re currently developing) to our other initiatives, we’re incredibly passionate about welcoming more of our people into tech.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
For my day job, I’m a Director of Design. I’ve been in tech for over a decade building digital products via design. I started my career as a Frontend Developer. In high school, I became fascinated by web development and taught myself everything I needed to know about HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. That led to me studying Computer Science in college. After a couple of years of Comp. Sci., I pivoted over to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). HCI helped me leverage my technical skills and incorporate my design interests into my studies. When I was coming up, I thought tech meant technical. I had no idea there was a creative and strategic side to tech in design. Had I known, I would’ve went straight into design. Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t know. That’s my punchline – your journey is unfolding the way it needs to. Even if you feel like it’s not working out, you have to trust that it is. That doesn’t mean you don’t make moves. It means you don’t give yourself a hard time for where you’re at and you keep it moving. To go even further, I thought I’d be designing for the rest of my career… Yet here I am, leading teams and educating the next generation. AND here I am, starting my own thing to shape the future of tech. The world needs *us* to keep it moving. We got this! And even more than that, we can go even further when we move together.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Y’all, I worked for NYC’s marketing and tourism department. It’s almost not fair… 🙂

Here’s an itinerary I put together when I worked for NYC:
https://www.nyctourism.com/itineraries/exploring-latino-culture-in-sunset-park-brooklyn/

I was born and raised in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. I’ll be honest, I’m super biased.

Fun fact: I’m related to Don Paco from Don Paco Lopez Panaderia. Say my name to get the presidential treatment! Ha!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Can I give 3 shoutouts? I can’t have this opportunity and limit myself to only 1 shoutout! 🙂

First, the borough that raised me – Brooklyn! Let me explain. I find that a lot of people from historically underserved urban neighborhoods focus on leaving these neighborhoods behind. Take rap music for example, music I grew up on, many songs reference “making it out” of the places we grew up in. The older I get, the more I come back to this idea. The more I progress in my career, the more I want to come back to the memories and experiences that raised me, like my neighborhood, and give back to help those coming up like I did. I wouldn’t be me without Brooklyn, my humble beginnings, my neighborhood, my friends, my family, the people I grew up with, etc. I know I’m hacking the system a bit here – but shoutout to all of y’all!

Second, Minds Matter. Minds Matter is an organization I need to hype up more. Minds Matter gives students from underrepresented neighborhoods and backgrounds the opportunity to access resources and support they would otherwise not have access to leading up to college. This includes mentorship, educational opportunities, college prep, and global travel. I was lucky enough to be accepted into Minds Matter during my junior year of high school. Thanks to this program, I was able to travel to Istanbul, Turkey – FOR FREE. It was my first time out of NYC and it changed my life. It opened my eyes to possibility, opportunity, and dreaming big. I haven’t looked back since. Thank you, Minds Matter. I’m forever thankful.

Lastly, shoutout to all of my students. This may seem like a cop-out, but I mean it wholeheartedly. I currently teach at Kingsborough Community College, a school under the CUNY umbrella. I’ve been teaching for over 5 years and mentoring for even longer. It would be reasonable to assume that teaching is all about giving, but it’s not. Teaching is about so much more. I love what I do in my own profession but teaching has made me aware of a passion that I didn’t know I had – shaping the next generation of innovators. Thank you to every student and mentee I’ve had the opportunity of supporting. Y’all have kept me motivated and hungrier than ever.

Website: https://www.michael-a.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelmakesco

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmakesco/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmakesco

Other: Rita links: https://www.ritalab.community/
https://www.ritaabc.com/
https://www.ritaxyz.com/
https://www.rita.fyi/
https://www.ritacue.com/