Kat_Calvin

Kat Calvin

Kat Calvin

African-American activist, entrepreneur and author

Kat Calvin is an African-American activist, entrepreneur, and author.[1][2] [3]She is the founder of Spread the Vote and Project ID and the Co-founder of Blerdology.[3][4] Calvin's organization supports Americans to obtain their IDs for housing, jobs, and voting. [1] Additionally, Calvin advocates for advanced minority representation in the STEM field.[4][5]

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Early life and education

Calvin grew up as a child of a parent(s) who served full-time in the United States Armed Forces. She lived in Seattle and Sierra Vista, AZ.[6] In 2005, Calvin graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a bachelor’s in theater.[7] From 2007 to 2010 Calvin attended the University of Michigan Law School, receiving her doctorate.[1][6]

Career

Kat Calvin, Amanda Spann, and Janelle Jolley created the hackathon series” Black Girls Hack” exclusively for black girls, becoming the first non-profit hackathon catering to the African-American community.[8] This hackathon was a network of leading tech startups created and financed by black women.[8]

Calvin aimed to spark interest in young girls of color fostering a comprehensive national workforce for the tech industry.[9][10] Black Girls Hack allows girls of color to create solutions for evolving digital problems.[9] [10]Before the second hackathon event, Janelle Jolley departed from her position with Black Girls Hack as it went into a rebranding/reorganization stage creating Blerdology: The Science of Black Nerds to reach a wider spectrum of participants and sponsorships to celebrate the Black Tech community.[11] [6]

The first Blerdology hackathon in November 2013, introduced fifty developers and coders to create a mobile application with some of the proceeds from the event going to Black Girls Code, to advance young black girls across America in their pursuit of computer programming.[6]

Blerdology sought out second-tier markets such as Newark and Detroit for people of color interested in technology while connecting with Rutgers Business School to host its second hackathon event.[6] Blerdology generated a hashtag #BlackHack to promote its new partnership with Rutgers Business School.[11][6][12]

Calvin has created other entrepreneurial enterprises to improve the relationship between African Americans and the voting community, so in 2017, Calvin founded the non-profit organization Spread the Vote.[12][5][3][7] Spread the Vote’s mission is to close the gap between registered voters and voter turnout by helping them get photo IDs monetarily in states that require identification to vote.[5][13][3][7] Spread the Vote was awarded a grant from New Media Ventures (NMV) which is a network of investors that fund media and tech startups.[13]

Calvin created two other satellite political non-profits under the Spread the Vote organization.[14] Project ID and Project ID Action Fund seek to educate further and empower its voters through laws and policies.[14][4][3] Project ID introduced a bill into Congress, The IDs for an Inclusive Democracy Act creating free federal IDs for Americans.[14][4]

In 2023, Calvin became the author of “American Identity in Crisis,” which was released on the 19th of September.[4] Her book details how 26 million American adults have no government ID.[4]

Awards and nominations

Selected publication

  • Calvin, Kat. American Identity in Crisis: Notes from an Accidental Activist. Amistad, 2023.

References

  1. [1]
    "Kat Calvin - SheSource Expert - Women's Media Center". womensmediacenter.com. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  2. [2]
    "Women leaders convene at MHC. | Mount Holyoke College". www.mtholyoke.edu. 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  3. [3]
    NWATU, IJEOMA S. (October 23, 2020). "She, The People: How Kat Calvin Is Working To Ensure Minorities Have Proper Voter Identification".
  4. [4]
    On, Keen (2023-09-21). "Kat Calvin on Fighting for Those Without Documentation". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  5. [5]
    Corin, Jaclyn (March 22, 2024). "THE MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE IN BUSINESS 2018". Fast Company.
  6. [6]
    "Hacking the Science of Black Nerds". BET. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  7. [7]
    "These 16 People and Groups Are Fighting for a More Equal America". TIME. 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  8. [8]
    The Grio Staff (November 22, 2012). ""Black Girls Hack Holds First Non-Profit Hackathon Targeting African-Americans in Tech"". The Grio.
  9. [9]
    Staff, TheGrio (January 15, 2013). "theGrio's 100: Kat Calvin, founder of 'Black Girls Hack'". TheGrio. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  10. [10]
    Clark, Kevin L. (May 22, 2013). ""A Chat with the Founders of Blerdology on The Science of Black Nerds"". Vibe.
  11. [11]
    Martinez, Janel (February 18, 2013). "" Black Girls Hack Changes Name to Blerdology"". Black Enterprise.
  12. [12]
    Dickey, Megan Rose. "The 30 Most Important Women Under 30 In Tech". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  13. [13]
    Monellaro, Zack (June 5, 2018). ""Liberal Seed Fund Announces $1.2 M in New Funding"". Politico.
  14. [14]
    Comber-Wilen, Violet (October 7, 2022). ""People Without IDs Face Barriers for Voting"". WFYI Indianapolis.
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