Selected
Learning for Civic Action Challenge

Mapping Justice

trubel&co champions underserved youth to tackle complex societal challenges using equitable data analytics, responsible technology, and inclusive design.

Team Leader
Nick Okafor
trubel&co is a tech-justice nonprofit championing those proximate to inequity to innovate for social change, tackling social and environmental disparities using equitable data analytics, responsible technology, and inclusive design.

Solution Pitch 

The Problem

The need for trubel&co is clear: business as usual is not a viable option. Research shows that the primary barriers to BIPOC success in STEM derive from limited early exposure. Our solutions therefore focus on providing students early opportunities to explore their passion through tools enabling their success.

The Solution

trubel&co champions underserved youth to tackle complex societal challenges using equitable data analytics, responsible technology, and inclusive design. We do so by integrating technical education with experiential learning and liberatory design, so underserved students can use data, design, and technology to build responsible innovations that spark positive change in their communities. 

trubel&co creates programs such as Mapping Justice (a part-time, virtual summer course teaching high school youth how to design geospatial tools for social change) that equip diverse students with STEM tools and a commitment to reshape society for the better. trubel&co creates learning environments where students leave with increased technical proficiency, a concrete understanding of their role, identity and  place within STEM, and an opportunity to implement their own vision for civic change.

Stats

  • 450 lives have been directly affected

  • Since September 2023, trubel&co has provided workshops to 140 students 

Market Opportunity

trubel&co solutions targets underserved youth, primarily in the US.

Organization Highlights

trubel&co current partnerships include: 

  • Esri

  • AAG

  • NAAEE

  • NAACP

  • MIT MITES: trubel&co’s flagship program, Mapping Justice, has been offered through MIT’s MITES program since 2020. 

Partnership Goals

Mapping Justice seeks:

  • Feedback on solidifying and streamlining various modes of revenue generation including grants strategy, sponsorship strategy, and securing new partners. 

  • Expertise for measuring qualitative and quantitative data to accurately assess impact for potential partners and funders. 

  • Expertise in developing a strong client base and relationship that is local to the sites it operates in. 

  • Assistance in streamlining processes to expand its client base in new sites as well as strengthen existing sites such as our Mapping Justice site in Southwest Florida.

What is the name of your organization?
trubel&co
What is the name of your solution?
Mapping Justice
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
trubel&co is a tech-justice nonprofit championing those proximate to inequity to innovate for social change, tackling social and environmental disparities using equitable data analytics, responsible technology, and inclusive design.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
San Francisco, CA
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
United States
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
The need for trubel&co is clear: business as usual is not a viable option. Research shows that the primary barriers to BIPOC success in STEM derive from limited early exposure. Our solutions therefore focus on providing students early opportunities to explore their passion through tools enabling their success.
What is your solution?
trubel&co champions underserved youth to tackle complex societal challenges using equitable data analytics, responsible technology, and inclusive design. We do so by integrating technical education with experiential learning and liberatory design, so underserved students can use data, design, and technology to build responsible innovations that spark positive change in their communities. trubel&co creates programs such as Mapping Justice (a part-time, virtual summer course teaching high school youth how to design geospatial tools for social change) that equip diverse students with STEM tools and a commitment to reshape society for the better. trubel&co creates learning environments where students leave with increased technical proficiency, a concrete understanding of their role, identity and place within STEM, and an opportunity to implement their own vision for civic change.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our programs prioritize students from underserved backgrounds who face historic and institutional barriers to STEM due to race, gender, or class. We center identity-informed lived experience in every space we enter, equipping youth with the critical lens to ask: Where can I promote equitable outcomes? Where might bias exist? We measure impact across three dimensions: technical proficiency, self-efficacy, and critical consciousness — the ability to recognize and act against systems of inequity. Using research-backed pre/post assessments sourced from leading education hubs, we track both knowledge gained and students' agency to take action. Beyond diversifying the STEM pipeline, we work to ensure everyone in it sees opportunities to shape justice, minimize harm, and dismantle oppressive systems. Ultimately, our students become youth drivers of sustainable change — confident in using technical skills to improve their communities and transform the structures that perpetuate inequality.

Headquarters: San Francisco, United States

Stage: Pilot

Working In: United States

Current Employees: 5

Solution Website: trubel.co

Solution Team:
Nick Okafor
Nick Okafor
Founder and Executive Director