He’s done it before and set for a repeat. Erskine “Chuck” Faush has set his sights on the next generation of leaders. Faush is a doer and a leader fueled by seeing the end before he begins. Riding high on completing Phase 1 of a $1M effort to award and empower HBCU students and institutions with Think Big pitch competition scholarships and grants, he’s unveiling his new mission, the groundbreaking “emagineers 250X2025 cohort”. The project’s goal is twofold: securing 250 internships for creators, innovators, and disruptors leading to jobs with a $100K salary tag by 2025. This is impressive because, as simple math shows, these high-caliber roles will yield a staggering $250M in earnings economic impact over a decade.
Faush believes these aren’t just any jobs, and he’s right because the digital economy is already shaping the future in many ways. A McKinsey report indicates the digital economy also increased the demand for digital skills, with 82% of US executives saying they will need to retrain or replace employees due to automation and digitization. The initiative zeroes in on media creators, tech innovators, and disruptive economic drivers that grow people and places. His mission is empowering dreamers, doers, and the dynamites of the industry who keep things interesting in a mentor mentee cohort environment.
Recognizing the importance of keeping pace with technological advancements, the next phase introduces AI smart interview career builders. These AI tools will enable students to hone their interview skills and develop essential career-building strategies. This integration of AI promises to revolutionize the traditional hiring processes, ensuring that HBCU students are equipped with insights and intelligence as well as the best tools to showcase their skills and potential to prospective employers.
The announcement at Smart City NYC is the launch of the HBCU Research & Policy Institute (RPI) focused on Ready, the intelligent interview. Ready for students is a an exercise that measures and aligns their talents, skills with industry, sectors and businesses. For companies, Ready prioritizes talent, reduces bias and increases fairness and ensures next year is next now job – career placement. As well, our large language model (“LLM”) tool, trained with additional African American content for use by students is called Latimer built to arm students with intelligence and agility beyond “search”, while minimizing risk and mitigating bias and data deficiencies of black and brown historical events.
“This initiative is the next phase of the $1M campaign we launched four years ago,” Faush reveals. To the unfamiliar, this earlier campaign saw six universities awarding scholarships and grants, but there was a catch: students had to prove their competence in the classroom to boardroom pitch “Think Big” competitions. This required innovation and smart thinking, highly demanded skills in the digital economy.
“The digital economy requires a new way of thinking, including a shift in skills, mindset, and approach to work and business,” noted researchers in the McKinsey & Co. Study. 250X2025 is not just about providing jobs to smart people. It’s about preparing and matchmaking roles and souls, skills and culture. The next phase introduces a twist: AI smart interview career builders. This is a hot topic as the AI revolution sweeps across the globe. Faush seems determined to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity with technology playing a vital role.
“I’d say I am producer of possibilities,” Chuck says. “I’ve been so honored to be a part of transformative ideas and their impact and it’s part of who I am to grow people and places.” He is a curator of ideas, a developer of projects and communities, and a communicator of stories all linked together. This reflection captures his diverse and transformative roles in his community over the years.
For example, take the “50 YEARS FORWARD” campaign, which Faush led in commemorating the civil rights movement in Birmingham and seven other cities while Chief of Staff for Birmingham’s Mayor William A. Bell. The effort resulted in Birmingham’s civil rights district being designated as a National Monument. Then there was the “Infrastructure Innovation and Inclusion” campaign he helped developed in collaboration with then President of US CONF MAYORS and now Senior Advisor to President Biden, Steven Benjamin and most recently “Pembroke Strong” in which his team received the Silver and Bronze Awards from the International Economic Development Council.
Going further back, Chuck’’s name was synonymous with THE YARD. Launched in 2019, this initiative focused on showcasing the tech, talent, and unique culture present within Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). A Birmingham native with deep ties to HBCU’s, Chuck’s personal journey and professional achievements have always intertwined.
“We are going to develop content that will showcase technology and the budding genius that we know are at HBCU’s, enhance career pipelines with talent who will go from the classroom to the boardroom, and capture the culture that is unique on every HBCU yard,” Chuck explained in a past interview. The goal remains the same as he spearheads the 250X2025 campaign: he’s looking forward to matchmaking mentors and mentees in a see who you can be campaign that starts at an internship and moves to a job and ends with an incredible career of giving back and paying forward. He’s inviting both job givers and job seekers to join the movement.
