Oakland, California native Brandon Nicholson has been a champion of young people for most of his life. Growing up with parents that were very engaged in local school boards and the PTA, Brandon got an early bird’s eye view of the inner workings of the education system. Since then, he has dedicated his life to promoting equity in the public realm, especially in the education space.
As Chief Executive Officer of The Hidden Genius Project, Nicholson trains and mentors Black male youth in technology creation, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills to transform their lives and communities. The Hidden Genius Project seeks to reveal the true potential of Black male youth and transform their communities from the inside out.
Recently awarded a $2 million grant via their ongoing partnership with Comcast/NBC Universal as part of its Project UP initiative, The Hidden Genius Project is now set to expand into Atlanta and Chicago to further digital skills training programs for Black male youth.
“Our continued partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal will equip us to engage even more Black youth with the skills, experiences, and networks to find their way into family-sustaining career pathways, including the tech sector,” Nicholson says. “With ample access, our young people regularly realize their potential to pursue meaningful and exciting pathways and subsequently create future opportunities not only for themselves but also their entire community.”
N’DIGO recently sat down with Nicholson to learn more about the man, The Hidden Genius Project, and his plans for Chicago.
N’DIGO: In your own words, who is Brandon Nicholson?
Brandon Nicholson: Brandon Nicholson is a Black man from Oakland, California, who does his best to create daily value in his life and community. Fortunately, he has a wealth of friends and family who propel him forward and keep him honest, including his wife, Rachel, and son, Nico.
Did you always know you’d work in service of young people?
I have always had a passion for matters of equity and opportunity for young people. For years my path was extremely linear, and I assumed that maybe there were just a few specific paths for me to work to deliver a deep positive impact on the lives of youth in our communities. As I have gained more experience and perspective, I understand there are innumerable ways to make a difference, whether via my explicit career path or the way I approach life. I am now fortunate to have a job where I can jump out of bed each day,, confident that I have a real opportunity to do something meaningful to create access for a young person.
How did you get your start in education?
I have always had exposure to educational policy conversations, even from an early age. My parents were active in my school’s parent-teacher association (PTA). They would also drag me to school board meetings and other movement-building strategy sessions centered on building educational equity.
What is The Hidden Genius Project, and what was the genesis of the initiative?
The Hidden Genius Project trains and mentors Black male youth in technology creation, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills to transform their lives and communities. We’re a national non-profit organization founded in Oakland in 2012 by five Black male entrepreneurs/technologists who were unnerved by the dramatic juxtaposition between the high unemployment of Black male youth and the plethora of career opportunities within the local technology sector. To address this challenge, we established a program to connect young Black males with the skills, mentors, and experiences that they need to become high-performing entrepreneurs and technologists in a 21st-century global economy. Ultimately, we exist to energize and equip our Black boys and young men as leaders as they energize and equip their communities at large.
Please share your thoughts on Chicago and why you wanted to bring The Hidden Genius Project to the city.
Chicago boasts a brilliant history of Black creativity, professionalism, activism, resilience, and culture. Our vision and hope are to be able to link arms with dynamic communities working to elevate Black people to thrive, and Chicago fits that bill in so many ways. To be clear, we want communities in Chicago to experience The Hidden Genius Project as a Chicago program and invest their time, talent, and resources in it accordingly. We want people to swear up and down that this organization must have started in Chicago because that’s how proud they are and how much they believe in what we do. We do not take for granted that The Hidden Genius Project should be in Chicago. We continue to make concerted efforts each day to build relationships and trust so that people will be confident about us building our presence there. In a sentence, we are excited to have the privilege of building in such a cool city.
Can you talk about the importance of not only mentoring our youth but also technology creation?
As we do our work, we view technology as a means, far more than an ends. Our young people possess a wide array of dreams and aspirations, and they frequently leverage technology to explore them. They are brilliant and resilient, and the more access and opportunities we present before them, the more they innovate and set the pace for ‘the culture‘ worldwide. We know they possess all the potential and energy they need to expand their capacity to innovate and lead; we work to position our young people to pursue and achieve their dreams, leveraging technology along the way.
How would your friends describe you? Who is Brandon outside of work?
I think most of my friends would probably describe me as a joker and know-it-all with a heart of gold. I’m sarcastic and always up for some healthy back-and-forth, but I am also always willing to show up to do some good, even if I need to do three things at once to make it happen. Part of who I am outside of work is part of who I am within work (and vice versa). I care about people and try to give as much of myself as possible to lend a helping hand. I also love to laugh and keep it light.
What’s something people would be surprised to know about you?
Sometimes people are surprised to learn I am a lifelong practicing Buddhist. I practice Nichiren Buddhism with an organization called Soka Gakkai International (SGI-USA), and it has been a central factor in shaping who I am. Another potentially surprising fact is that I’m an introvert with just some extroverted sensibilities.
Can you name a book that changed or really impacted your life?
There are many books that have played a significant role in my development, though one of the ones that stuck with me over the years was The Count of Monte Cristo. I don’t consider myself a truly vengeful person, but it is also a story of resilience, persistence, and redemption.
Best advice to young people?
Don’t give up. Everything changes and a lot of it gets better. You have everything you need within you to make it where you want to go.
Favorite quote or affirmation?
There are many out there, but one that’s come up a number of times recently is from Jess Sims, one of the most popular Peloton class instructors: “You don’t have to, you get to.“
What’s next for Brandon Nicholson and The Hidden Genius Project?
We are excited to keep growing and build the next generations of leaders across the Diaspora. Launching in Chicago is a huge honor, and we hope to earn the opportunity to reach even more young people in even more places, such that they will inspire and enhance accessibility for all those around them. I am proud and humbled to be in a position to lead this effort, and I plan to keep the pursuit of impact at the heart of all that I do going forward.
For more information on The Hidden Genius Project, please visit www.hiddengeniusproject.org
