Long Beach native and Jackson resident JJ Townsend will spearhead a new effort in Mississippi by Microsoft called TechSpark.
The program is part of an effort to expand technology education and business development in regions like Mississippi that are short on such opportunities.
TechSpark was established in October 2017 when Microsoft chose six regions of the U.S. where it would invest staff, money and resources to help train today's workers and prepare tomorrow's leaders.
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“Our president, five years ago, saw a need that we can do more around computer science education, broadband and workforce development in some of our more rural, middle America spaces,” Townsend said. “Since that time we have expanded and have had a lot of success and a lot of great things happen. Expanding to the Jackson area is really a celebration of our 5-year anniversary. So, we get to look at where do we go from here.”
The ultimate goal is not to turn Mississippi into Silicon Valley, rather to make sure that the region meets its long-term need for a technologically skilled workforce.
TechSpark does this by developing programs for residents at every stage of their education and career, Townsend said. Younger generations might start learning how to program grid coordinates into a robot in elementary school, take a computer science course in high school and then complete certificate programs at a local college or university. A person who is already working might find there is free training available that will help them get a better-paying job.
“We are excited Microsoft chose Jackson to launch a new TechSpark initiative,” said Janet Parker, director of business development and marketing for Innovate Mississippi in an email response. “It’s a cool program because it isn’t cookie cutter. They recognize that every community has their own unique challenges.
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“J.J. Townsend has worked closely with community and economic developers to determine what the needs are specific to our region, and has coalesced all the resources that already exist to help us work better together,” she said. “Then, Microsoft is fueling all of that with resources they can offer to help us accelerate growth, economic opportunity and create new jobs for Mississippians. Ultimately, we hope this leads to attracting people to live and work in Mississippi, leading to brain gain instead of brain drain.”
Townsend is a Teach for America alum who has classroom experience and a knowledge of business and nonprofits, such as when he helped launch the Technology, Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) program in Jackson to support high schools in building computer science education access. Prior to that, he founded Citizenventures, a startup that helps new tech be more efficient.
“We are going to take a lot of the work that has happened in these other regions and see where we want to apply it in Mississippi,” said Townsend, who graduated from Ole Miss with a degree in business and a master’s degree in education leadership. “After college, I really saw there’s more I could have done to introduce myself to computer science. I think that’s where a lot of people are.
Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or at 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.
