Connect 313’s Jamie Harris has 3 Main Goals

Connect 313’s co-chair of Digital Literacy & Skilling, Jamie Harris, has spent more than a decade connecting the community to career opportunities, including many in the tech industry. Her three main goals are to train, empower, and employ. Jamie is the founder and CEO of DSDT a Detroit School for Digital Technology. The state licensed technology trade school offers nationally accredited programs designed for the world of entertainment, media, and technology.

“It’s about believing in your community,” she says. “When I started this school people thought I was crazy.”

She has certainly proven them wrong. Her hard work and experience paired perfectly with Connect 313’s mission to bridge the digital divide.

“We’re all really dedicated to the mission of serving our community,” she says. “If we see a need, we get on it and make it happen. It’s not for the faint of heart and it takes a team with passion.”

Last year, Jamie served as Connect 313’s chair for Special Projects and Shared Resources where she helped with the budget and spearheaded strategies that introduced construction workers to digital architecture.

“You can drive around anywhere and see building after building going up,” Jamie says. “We’re innovative, there are so many ideas and city initiatives, as well as new entrepreneurs, black owned businesses, and women-owned businesses that are popping up everywhere around here.”

As the demand for information technology grows, Jamie and the Connect 313 team are working to advance digital equity by creating neighborhood tech hubs Detroiters can use to access computers and the internet.

“There is such a huge demand and the greater we evolve as a community and as a city, the greater the community thrives,” she explains.

Jamie is proud to call Detroit home and eager to continue her work connecting community members to resources, education, and support that will set them up for success in the ever-evolving digital world.

“Detroit has been looked at as an underperformer in the past and it’s great to see Detroit expanding and innovating,” she says. “Our city is now back on the map. We’re

all stronger together. It’s rewarding to see what we’ve done and to be a part of that growth and that history.”

To reach Jamie, email jamie@dsdt.tech.