Capital One presented the second annual Innovate(her) [Inno-va-tor] conference in partnership with The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019.

Capital One associates, UTD students and professionals from the community served as mentors to help 250 middle school girls from Dallas, Richardson, Fort Worth and Grand Prairie learn personal branding, entrepreneurship, design thinking, finance basics, coding and technology through the following activities:

• Comet Cents An interactive game that challenged students to reimagine budgeting in a practical way.
• Pitch Perfect: Students learned the art of persuasion by presenting a pitch to peers.
• Design Thinking: Working in pairs, students designed a better morning routine for their partners using customer empathy to create a problem statement, solve the problem based on human needs and refined their solution through feedback and improved revisions.
• Coders: Students created their own mobile app called “Mole Masher” that rids a field of pesky moles that kept popping up.

“Capital One is proud to widen the educational opportunities for girls in STEAM and help them gain the skills of tomorrow, today so they can break barriers in the career of their choice,” said Hilary Jackson, vice president of technology at Capital One Financial Services. “Through programs like Innovate(her), girls are encouraged to explore, create and innovate in order to build skills that will make their future even brighter.”

Hilary Jackson, VP of Technology, Capital One Financial Services

Capital One works with partners like UTD across the region to make its Future Edge commitment come to life. Future Edge is an initiative aimed to help more Americans get the skills, tools and resources they need to succeed in the 21^st century. As part of this initiative, Future Edge DFW symbolizes Capital One’s commitment to make Dallas-Fort Worth a destination for top talent, spur growth as a world-renowned technology hub and nurture the leaders of tomorrow.

Monica Shortino, Arthur Gregg, Hilary Jackson, Dresden Goldberg, Sarah Crowe, Kim Warren, and Denyse Carpio

In partnership with The Dallas Entrepreneur Center (The DEC), Capital One presented WEDallas: Meet your Mentor where women with technology businesses and other industries shared their expertise with female startups in speed mentoring sessions, WEDallas is designed to inspire, equip and empower women entrepreneurs. Through the speed mentoring, attendees met a new mentor every 15 minutes from a variety of industries. The event gives new and aspiring women entrepreneurs across North Texas the opportunity to network and gain resources.

Mary Jo Hoch, Senior Vice President Commercial Banking

“The WEDallas events are important for women in tech because men heavily dominate the field of technology,” said Kelli Thomas-Drake, founder and president of Dallas-based healthcare app, My Purple Folder. “There are not enough women mentors present for females in this industry. WEDallas helps level up the playing field for women, so we can be there to help each other succeed.”

Capital One has partnered with The DEC for the past four years to sponsor the WEDallas initiative. Capital One works with partners across the region to make its Future Edge DFW commitment come to life. In 2015, Capital One launched Future Edge, an initiative that pledged $150 million over five years to help more Americans get the skills, tools and resources they need to succeed in the 21^st century. As part of this initiative, Future Edge DFW symbolizes Capital One’s commitment to make Dallas-Fort Worth a destination for top talent, spur growth as a world-renowned technology hub, and nurture leaders of tomorrow.

“Technology will catapult us to the future. As a mentor, I always tell other startup owners to stay motivated and be willing to embrace new technology to stay successful,” mentions Thomas-Drake.

To better represent the role of women in technology, Capital One created its Women in Tech initiative that is bringing women and men together to focus on developing a love of technology in young women and girls, improving the representation of women in the technology field and supporting the career development of women in tech roles. Capital One’s commitment to The DEC and WEDallas perfectly aligns with its Women in Tech and Future Edge initiatives.

The DEC supports local entrepreneurs including women business owners and the ventures they lead. The organization is committed to growing jobs in North Texas through support of small businesses and entrepreneurs. The DEC is a 501c3 non-profit organization which serves entrepreneurs in the Dallas area, providing a location where they can receive training, education, mentorship, coworking, events/programs, promotion and access to capital in order to encourage and equip the entrepreneurial community to start, build and grow their business.

“These events are important because it helps empower women,” continues Thomas-Drake. “They can come here to network and find solutions for any challenges they may be facing. I love being able to serve as a mentor and give back to the entrepreneurial community.”

Capital One believes that a quality education is the most important factor for our youth’s future success. Capital One has supported the NAF mission in aiding high school academy students with career tools since 2009, working with a total of 90 NAF interns over the years. Through NAF Future Ready Lab,

Capital One strives to widen the educational opportunities for students through programs that help them gain the skills of tomorrow, today so that they can work in the career of their choice. Capital One works with partners like NAF and UTD across the region to make its Future Edge DFW commitment come to life.

In 2015, Capital One launched Future Edge, an initiative that pledged $150 million over five years to help more Americans get the skills, tools and resources they need to succeed in the 21st  century. As part of this initiative, Future Edge DFW symbolizes Capital One’s commitment to make Dallas-Fort Worth a destination for top talent, spur growth as a world-renowned technology hub and nurture leaders of tomorrow. 

“This program has elevated me in wanting to pursue my dream. I was in a community where I didn’t have much technology. As a future computer engineer and entrepreneur, I would like to create new technology for communities that don’t have the resources,” concluded Parrish.

NAF is a national network of education, business, and community leaders who work together to ensure that high school students are college, career, and future ready. NAF works with high need communities to transform the high school experience through an educational design that includes industry-specific curricula, work-based learning experiences, and relationships with business professionals, culminating in a paid internship. NAF academies fit within and enhance school systems, allowing NAF to become an integral part of a plan for higher achievement at a low cost. NAF academies focus on one of five career themes: finance, hospitality and tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences. During the 2017-18 school year, more than 100,000 students attended 644 NAF academies across 36 states, including DC and the US Virgin Islands. In 2017, NAF academies reported 97% of seniors graduated with 90% of graduates with post-secondary intentions.

Capital One associates are sharing forward-leaning practices and technology they apply at work wit two Dallas ISD teachers from NAF during a two-week immersive program this summer. In turn, the educators can infuse this experience into their teaching to trigger exponential learning amongst their students. The paid teacher externships run from June 11 through the 22^nd  on Capital One’s Plano campus. The NAF IT Academy teachers are from Skyline High School and South Oak Cliff High School.

Through this intensive technology program and its exponential learning, externs are able to “teach the teachers” since they will then share their learned skills with other educators who can integrate this knowledge into students’ education, and thus impact more students as a result.

Jorge Calderon, Capital One associate mentors teacher externs, Euranie Patin and Darion Walton

Capital One externs are integrated into cross-functional teams where they participate in a collaborative, learning environment. Workforce training skills include:

• Agile methodology for project management processes
• Problem solving
• Coding and app development
• Design thinking
• Python programming language
• Marketing 

Capital One recruiters also meet with the externs to give them a look at what employers are looking for in candidates so that educators can help shape curriculum to meet future industry needs. Today, teachers worked with their Capital One mentors on app development.

“In the classroom while giving a demonstration, it’s important to make sure students are comprehending the curriculum. This app deals with Multiple Response Strategies (MRS) so that the presenter uses the app and clicks a button or shakes the device to populate strategies to engage the audience,” said Darion Walton who teaches Web Technology and Web Design at Skyline High School and the NAF IT Academy.

One strategy is “turn and talk” so that students discuss the subject matter with other students as well as the teacher. That way, the teacher can assess if the lesson is being comprehended or if further learning is needed. “Our objective is for 90-100% of students to retain the information being taught and understand it well before the bell rings,” he added.

Capital One has enjoyed being a NAF partner for ten years. With the quality education that teachers provide, educators nurture our future workforce and help prepare youth for success.

“This externship helps me prep students for college and future jobs with the career pathways available to them that are innovative on what’s trending in the business, especially in IT,” said Euranie Patin, who teaches Principals of Technology, Digital Media and Web Technology at South Oak Cliff High School and the NAF IT Academy.

Capital One believes that businesses have an opportunity and responsibility to develop the talent pipeline for future jobs. This commitment comes to life with Future Edge. In 2015, Capital One launched Future Edge, an initiative that pledged $150 million over five years to help more Americans get the skills, tools and resources they need to succeed in the 21^st century. As part of this initiative, Future Edge DFW symbolizes Capital One’s commitment to make Dallas-Fort Worth a destination for top talent, spur growth as a world-renowned technology hub and nurture leaders of tomorrow.    

“The knowledge of workforce digital skills learned through this externship, which I will share with my students, will help spark their interest in taking more tech classes in high school and in college so that they can then work in the career of their choice since IT is embedded in all industries,” added Patin. 

NAF is a national network of education, business, and community leaders who work together to ensure that high school students are college, career, and future ready. NAF works with high need communities to transform the high school experience through an educational design that includes industry-specific curricula, work-based learning experiences, and relationships with business professionals, culminating in a paid internship.

“There’s only so much I can teach from a book or video, but real-world experience is the way to get students really engaged because if you’re excited about something, then students get excited as well. My externship will increase student interaction by them wanting to do internships after hearing about my experience. They will see the value,” explained Walton.

He added that sharing his externship experience will also help students take more interest in technology jobs since they will no longer see these careers as just being about numbers. “I can share with them how tech helps corporations see what customers want as well as answer their questions and how it helps with projects. With me sharing the knowledge I’ve learned through this externship, it will open up students’ minds about their career opportunities in technology.”

NAF academies fit within and enhance school systems, allowing NAF to become an integral part of a plan for higher achievement at a low cost. NAF academies focus on one of five career themes: finance, hospitality and tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences. During the 2017-18 school year, more than 100,000 students attended 644 NAF academies across 36 states, including DC and the US Virgin Islands. In 2017, NAF academies reported 97% of seniors graduated with 90% of graduates with post-secondary intentions.           

Capital One celebrated its 10^th anniversary of opening the Plano campus and establishing community partnerships at an inspiration-filled event with a full lineup of engaging speakers on Friday, April 20.

The event kicked off with a nonprofit showcase with organizations from Dallas, Frisco and Plano including:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County
• Girls Inc.
• My Possibilities
• NAF
• NPower
• Per Scholas
• Plano ISD Teacher Externship
• Sci-Tech Discovery Center

The nonprofits shared their mission with attendees and encouraged volunteerism to make the community where they live and work even stronger.

The 10^th anniversary was also marked with Capital One awarding 2018 grants to 10 area nonprofits from Dallas, Frisco, Plano and Rockwall, including:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County
• Cody’s Friend’s Rescue
• GEMS Camp
• Girl’s Inc.
• Hope’s Door
• Mi Escuelita
• My Possibilities
• Patriot Paws
• Resource Center of Dallas
• Solar Car Foundation

Sanjiv Yajnik, president of financial services at Capital One said, “Our nonprofit partners play an incredible role in making our communities thrive. We go all in to support them, not only with funds but through our time and engagement. We take care of each other like one big family.”

A panel of Plano mayors from the last 10 years kicked off the program with a past and future look at the economic development of the city. The past decade has been filled with steady growth, positive change, and community engagement. Since 2008:

• Plano has grown from approximately 257,000 residents to 277,000
• Collin County has grown in population from 763,438 to 970,945
• Capital One’s Plano campus has grown from 51 associates and one building to more than 5,000 associates on its eight-building campus
• Capital One associates have brought community commitment to life and have volunteered nearly 210,000 hours in DFW and continue this engagement.

The Mayoral Panel, Then & Now: A Decade in Our Community included Plano mayors Pat Evans (2002-2009), Phil Dyer (2009-2013), Mayor Harry LaRosiliere (2013 – present) and moderator, Mike Feeney, senior vice president-operations for Capital One Auto Finance. Each shared the changes that have taken place in Plano since 2008, and how Plano has grown to become an award-winning city.

Former Mayor Pat Evans said, “I’m very proud we’re on the cutting edge. We are out there trying new things, always. If the newest thing is clean air, we are out there, and we are leading it. If it’s recycling, we will be the ones leading the way in teaching other cities around us. I’m proud we go the extra step.”

Former Mayor Phil Dyer added, “When Plano has a win, it’s a win for the region. We have so much going on here. It’s a superb place to live no matter what age and a superb place to be successful in business.”

The panel also dove into the corporate relocations moving to Plano and what conversations with those companies have looked like.

“We tell corporations that it’s not about being in Plano, it’s about being a part of Plano, and we use Capital One as a benchmark,” said Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere. “It’s incredible the amount of people equity Capital One has put in the community.”

Next came the Future Edge Panel: Preparing our Communities for the Digital Future made up of Mike Simpson, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County, Jennifer Bartkowski, CEO of Girl Scouts (GSNETX), Mansoureh Tehrani, work based learning associate at NAF, Peter Claffey, executive director of Sci-Tech Discovery Center and moderator Tiffany Cason, Dallas market president, Capital One.

In 2015, Capital One launched Future Edge, an initiative that pledged $150 million over five years to help prepare more Americans with the skills, tools and resources they need to succeed in an ever-changing digitally-driven economy. As part of this initiative, Future Edge DFW symbolizes Capital One’s commitment to make Dallas-Fort Worth a destination for top talent, spur growth as a world-renowned technology hub, and nurture leaders of tomorrow. The panelists dove into the practicalities of what it looks like to build up a pipeline of STEM talent by collaborating with corporations like Capital One.

“It’s very important for students to see STEM is used everywhere,” said Tehrani. “We try to provide as much work-based learning as possible. Last year, we had a Monster Coding Jam, a coding event on Halloween, where more than 500 students partnered with Capital One associates and now have a Guinness World Records title for the largest programming lessons. Since then, many students have changed their track to IT.”

Claffey added, “Through partners like Capital One, we receive feedback on how we can build up the future workforce. Three years ago we had a shakeup in our organization’s model, and now, we are working directly with kids starting in elementary, providing exposure when they’re young. It’s had a huge impact.”

Continuing the conversation on innovation wasArjun Dugal, SVP Technology at Capital One, who spoke on the intersection of community and technology and how Capital One has used its associates to bring its expertise to help make nonprofits succeed.  

Dugal said, “Our Capital One associates volunteered 49,000 hours last year in the DFW community. We’ve been able to partner with incredible organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County and Girls Inc. where we’re able to work with the leaders to bring innovative technology solutions to propel their organizations into the future.”

On the subject of innovation and disruption in the future was a presentation by Dr. Peter Diamandis, Founder and Executive Chairman of XPRIZE whose mission is to open the space frontier for all. Diamandis is a New York Times best-selling author and an international pioneer in incentive competitions and commercial space. He highlighted the immense amount of innovation that has taken place over the past 100 years, and why that should make us excited and optimistic for the future. 

“We are living in the most extraordinary time in human history. There is not a problem we cannot solve. It’s just a matter of whether we do what it takes to solve it,” said Diamandis.

He provided examples and quotes of leaders from companies that no longer exist because they weren’t willing to innovate.

“The world changes constantly,” he said. “If you’re not changing with it, you’re going to be extinct. In fact, if you think the world is moving fast now, hold on to your seats!”

In conclusion, Yajnik reflected on the past ten years of Capital One’s community engagement in North Texas and its commitment ahead to help communities thrive and support organizations that create a positive impact.

Yajnik said, “A company needs to be responsible to the community where it lives and works. The communities that are most vibrant in the world are those where everyone joins arms and takes care of one another.”

When addressing the future, he added “The next 10 years hold excitement, innovation, change and challenges. The only way to move forward is to make sure we don’t operate as disparate organizations. Together, we will make an amazing difference.”

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About Capital One

Capital One Financial Corporation, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, is a Fortune 500 company with branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Its subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One applies the same principles of innovation, collaboration and empowerment in its commitment to its communities across the country that it does in its business. Capital One recognizes that helping to build strong and healthy communities -- good places to work, good places to do business and good places to raise families -- benefits us all, and Capital One is proud to support this and other community initiatives.