GANAS Tech
GANAS Tech
GANAS Tech is an initiative of nonprofit Digital Leaders Now (DLN) that develops tech talent while making sustainable impact on communities across Illinois. The GANAS Tech model ensures students get mentoring and hands-on experience with emerging technologies while communities build capacity through the solutions they co-create.
The Problem
GANAS Tech was designed to bring stakeholders together and build a future-ready tech workforce. Although the model was unique, leadership had trouble communicating the value to funders and potential partners, which is crucial in a crowded market.
Additionally, partners saw the GANAS Tech initiative as a standalone organization, and DLN leadership was unsure as to how the parent organization fit into the model.
The Challenges
In order to stand out from similar workforce initiatives, I had to find a way to answer the essential question —Why GANAS Tech?
These were my challenges:
- Crowded Market: Many competitors offered the same on a much larger scale.
- Complex Model: With so many moving parts, it was difficult to deliver a clean elevator pitch.
- Diverse Audience: They needed to reach many stakeholders across sectors in order to function.
The Solution: The GANAS Tech Loop
When looking at the full GANAS Tech ecosystem, I identified a piece of the model that was deemphasized—community.
- Case studies showed that community partners were building capacity through student-led AI solutions.
- Industry mentors were providing free subject matter expertise that community partners wouldn’t get otherwise.
- Community partners were providing access to the populations they serve.
I worked with their design team, Pablo Studio, to realize my vision of a loop diagram that demonstrated how the model provided clear, differentiated value for each stakeholder group.
I also positioned the parent organization, Digital Leaders Now, as the trusted bridge and backbone of the GANAS Tech initiative, connecting stakeholders across sectors and ensuring ethical implementation of emerging tech solutions.
The Results
Brand clarity and organizational alignment
Clarity about DLN’s role in GANAS Tech eliminated confusion and made the organizational structure comprehensible internally and externally. The loop framework provided a simple, memorable explanation the team could actually articulate.
Unlocked new funding pathways
By emphasizing community benefit, GANAS Tech became eligible for community development grants in addition to workforce development funding. The emerging tech specificity positioned the initiative for state-level opportunities.
Elevated organizational credibility
The professional brand system—guidelines, visual identity, polished materials—transformed GANAS Tech from grassroots initiative to credible emerging tech program that could engage both corporate sponsors and elected officials.