Acting Deputy Secretary of Education Jim Shelton will participate in the inaugural 2013 Platform Summit at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., on Friday, July 12. Shelton will moderate a session on emerging nonprofit start-up ventures focused on software development training and tech industry engagement in under-represented communities. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick will give remarks on Friday—the opening day of the summit.
The summit, which will take place July 12-14, will bring together prominent business and thought leaders from various fields across industry and academia, including technology, science, healthcare, media, finance, design and the arts. Scheduled speakers include legendary music producer Quincy Jones and media host Tavis Smiley. Discussion sessions will feature such topics as “Failure: The Surprising Critical Ingredient of Success,” “Learning the Fearlessness of Invention” and “Where Do New Ideas Come From?”
Platform is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the interest, participation and success of minorities—particularly African Americans, Latinos and women—while cultivating entrepreneurship and increasing engagement among these under-represented groups.