Meet Our Founder

Carlos Vazquez, M.S.Ed; M.I.T

Carlos Vazquez is the Founder and Executive Director of Miami EdTech, a non-profit with a mission to address the biggest inequities in education by significantly improving economic and workforce opportunities for underrepresented and unserved communities. Carlos has been in Miami for 10+ years and was born and raised in the Bronx, NY where he graduated with a degree in Computer Science from Fordham University. Carlos holds an M.S. in Web Strategy & Design and an M.S. in Education and has taught from the elementary to the college level for close to 20 years in New York City, San Francisco, and Miami.

Passionate about Workforce Education, Carlos is also the founder of GoSprout (www.gosprout.app), a platform that helps companies launch and manage apprenticeship programs and streamline access to employer federal funding for workforce initiatives.

Committed to leveling the playing field in STEAM, Carlos has made it his mission to combine elements of positive psychology and social justice to address the striking inequities in access and training in education especially for people of color.

Carlos is also the Chair of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools STEM Advisory Board and Founding Chapter President of the Computer Science Teacher Association’s Miami Chapter. More recently, his greatest leadership accomplishment has been serving as an Assistant Coach for his oldest son’s 8U baseball team.

Involvement

Carlos In the News

Cultivating a Talent Pipeline with Dr. Amy Firestone

Carlos speaks to Dr. Amy Firestone who is a national workforce and apprenticeship leader. Apprenticeship Carolina obtained over $19M in federal apprenticeship grants from the United States Department of Labor.

Dr. Firestone also was chosen for a Fulbright grant to advise the Columbian Chamber of Commerce on developing apprenticeships.

Carlos speaks on bringing Computer Science to the classroom

Carlos shares the necessity of modernizing educational technology to prepare students for future jobs, drawing from personal experiences of limited access to career advice and technology in the South Bronx, and the transformative power of the internet.

His Personal and Company Journey

Carlos shares about the foundation of Miami EdTech was based on two key experiences: Carlos’ time as a student in the NYC Public School system and the inspirational role of a third-grade teacher who ignited their interest in STEM, especially for students from low-income backgrounds. This led to the birth of Miami EdTech, a community aimed at empowering teachers through programming and professional development in computer science and entrepreneurship, mirroring the support and inspiration the founder received in their own educational journey.

During COVID-19, Carlos launched the ReThinkEd Innovation Hub in partnership with WeWork Labs

ReThinkEd, a collaborative program by WeWork Labs and Miami EdTech, offers edtech entrepreneurs a workspace, custom curriculum, and networking opportunities to develop and scale their businesses. This program includes hands-on guidance to refine business models and culminates in a Demo Day in June.

Carlos Leads Miami EdTech in Securing Grant from Hispanic Federation

Miami Ed Tech today announced that it has been selected as one of 20 Latino-led and serving nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive a $25,000 grant from the Hispanic Federation (HF) in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal to enhance and expand its digital workforce training activities.

Carlos shares about bringing Computer Science to the classroom

Carlos shares about the 400 Miami-Dade CTE teachers completed Miami EdTech’s course, preparing them for the state certification exam to teach advanced computer science, bolstered by a partnership with Florida International University’s Academy for Computer Science Education.