Through carrying out our mission at the AIM Institute, we know Omaha is committed to becoming a more equitable place for all people to live and work. But like cities across the country that are shaken by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, we also know a long road of progress lies ahead to realize our goals. We cannot afford to wait for tomorrow to work on being better.
We are saddened that on Saturday night peaceful protests turned violent and James Scurlock, a 22-year-old African American member of our own community, tragically lost his life in a shooting just blocks away from our downtown home. At AIM Institute, we know now more than ever, we cannot meet the complexity of the current state of race relations in our country with complacency.
Being a part of the community of Omaha and working with partnering organizations to build a more inclusive, diverse tech workforce has been a great source of pride for the AIM Institute throughout our history. As a nonprofit organization, we are fortunate to be a part of a community that passionately supports our tech education and career development programs, which reach underrepresented youth early in their educational journey. Our alternative pathways to tech careers and innovative training programs help current workers learn and develop skills to secure in-demand, high-paying careers in technology.
As we move forward from this dark moment in our history, we feel grateful that AIM can play a role in helping Omaha be a better community. We all can. We are dedicated to our nonprofit mission and investing in mentoring, coaching, resources and training to raise greater career awareness and exploration in tech careers and to create greater opportunity, inclusivity and diversity in the local tech workforce.