Co-Founder, Sterling Jones, MPA 

Sterling Jones was raised in Southern California and comes from a family of teachers, engineers, and entrepreneurs - both his parents were engineers and owned businesses.  In high school, Sterling played 3 varsity sports (baseball, football, and cross country), took several AP courses, graduated with honors, and earned a scholarship from the National Urban League for African American achievement. 

After high school, he attended Pasadena City College and played baseball for the school - earning South Coast Conference Honorable Mention.  He then transferred to Sonoma State University, where he double majored and earned his two bachelor's degrees - one in Ethnic Studies and another in Social Psychology.  He was the president of the Black Scholars United and the Keynote speaker at his college graduation in 2009.  

From there, Sterling Jones went on to attend California State University of Bakersfield, and earned his Master's Degree in Public Administration, with a focus on Nonprofit Management in 2012.  During his time in Bakersfield, he worked as a baseball coach and substitute teacher before moving back to Los Angeles county.  

Sterling spent time organizing in the community - starting a nonprofit organization, the Roots of Hope and Change Community Development and participated in active protest with Black Lives Matter.  He continued to coach baseball, and used it as a vehicle to mentor black youth in the Inglewood and South Central area. 

Sterling decided to become a Math and Science teacher because he believed that disadvantaged youth did not have a chance at economic mobility if they were not prepared to pursue STEM pathways and careers, and if they did not acquire 21st century skills that would enable upward socioeconomic mobility.  Sterling enrolled in a teaching credential program at California State University, Dominguez Hills, where he earned a full math and science credential.  In total, he has worked in education for 14 years, and has been a full-time math teacher for 9 years - teaching at every level from Pre-Algebra to AP Calculus.

He believes his most noteworthy accomplishment in education was when he was a math teacher and STEM coach at Teach Tech Charter High School.  He led a STEM and Robotics team fully composed of at-risk youth in the 2020 Raytheon Technologies High School STEM Competition for Southern California.  In his words, “Going in, I was just happy to be there.  I never expected to win the championship.”  The team was tasked to build and program a self-driving robotic vehicle that operated in darkness through an infrared sensor.  His group of at-risk youth won the 1st place out of 40 high schools.

He brings his passion is guiding students of this community toward STEM pathways and helping them become self motivated, competent, lifelong learners with 21st century skills.