Women's History Month commemorates and celebrates the contributions women make to science, technology, history, politics, law, art, and greater society in ways that are too numerous to list. Being a professional woman in the tech space means something different to every single woman on our team and they have all taken different paths to get here. This month we're taking the opportunity to learn more about their inspiring stories and what Women's History Month means to them.

The RTPark has taken on exciting new projects this summer. We saw the growth of the second cohort of Accelerate VI participants over nine weeks, we launched the VI Stem Kids program in partnership with the Caribbean Center for Boys and Girls, we grew the pipeline of business attraction partners to continue developing a tech ecosystem, and we initiated the Tech Village project, just to name a few. All of these efforts support the RTPark’s mission to develop current and future talent in the USVI and build a resilient tech ecosystem. We’d like to use the final blog post for the summer to discuss the RTPark’s vision for the future.

Human impact on the environment and ways to alleviate our green footprint are essential conversations in the mainland US, and particularly critical in the USVI. The territory’s unique location, natural resources, and diverse wildlife make it well-positioned to explore opportunities in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and the blue economy. The RTPark’s Sustainability Fellows, Bryan Redden, and Mengqing Kan join us in writing this blog, which showcases why the USVI is an excellent locale to support sustainability efforts and highlight what the territory has done thus far in this arena.

Startup accelerators are gaining popularity. Between 2005 and 2015, the number of start-up accelerators in the United States alone increased from 0 to 180. Although start-up accelerators are diverse in their programming, their goals are always the same: help early-stage technology companies develop and grow their businesses quickly. Over a few months, accelerator programs provide critical resources, training, and in-depth mentorship to the companies in their cohorts. The skills and connections these entrepreneurs gain speed up their growth and enable them to succeed faster and on a larger scale.

Have you ever wanted to know where all of the latest carnival festivities were in your neighborhood or town? Did you run into challenges with Facebook’s events page and find that word of mouth from friends, cousins, and aunties just didn’t quite capture all of the events that were actually going on? Fortunately, Virgin Islander, Leon Perkins hopes to mitigate those challenges with his new company, Everyday Carnival™. Everyday Carnival will provide information on all of the latest carnival events in your area and one day, it’s Leon’s hope that it provides event details for carnivals around the world.