Troy Stovall on reimagining pathways to power

The Invisible Men

With the job market fundamentally changing, how can we build pathways for a new generation of black men and women to unleash their passion and build a successful career? In this episode, Ian and Nique are joined by Troy Stovall, the CEO of Maryland TEDCO — an organization founded by the state of Maryland in 1998 to fund early stage tech companies. They discuss the evolving skills marketplace and the role of four-year college degrees. Troy firmly believes that education is an essential component of empowerment, but he also argues that we have become too rigid in our thinking about education. Rather than seeing the bachelor’s degree as the only path to success, Troy believes we should first help more “Darryls” identify their passion before thinking about the skill-based or academic pathway to achieve their goals.

Later, Troy discusses his upbringing and shares how a deep faith commitment helped him find a moral rooting in something much larger than himself and taught him that, while he cannot control how other people view him, he does have control over how he carries himself. Troy notes the importance of teaching black children these principles as they face acts of discrimination that may feel paralyzing. Further, Troy argues that we must help children connect with examples of successful men and women who can broaden their understanding of what is possible for them to achieve.

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