LOS ANGELES, April 4, 2018 (Newswire.com) – Today, Plug In South LA announced a new tech conference Urban Tech Connect for emerging and established entrepreneurs in South Los Angeles. The conference will bring together Los Angelesbased entrepreneurs and founders, innovators, business and civic leaders, and venture capitalists to create a hub for entrepreneurial growth and development in South Los Angeles. It will pave the way for the next generation of tech and digital media entrepreneurs, harnessing local talent from underserved communities and connecting them with opportunities in the thriving tech centers in neighboring Los Angeles and Orange County.
Urban Tech Connect will take place at Thursday, May 17, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center.
Urban Tech Connect is designed to connect aspiring and established founders in South Los Angeles with venture capitalists, executives, and other business leaders. Attendees will have space to network, work on-site with their teams, meet and learn from successful entrepreneurs and business professionals, and be inspired. It will also convene stakeholders who are dedicated to cultivating inclusive economic growth in redeveloping areas like South and Southeast Los Angeles.
A partial list of participants includes:
Matt Barnes, NBA Retired, Investor
Marlon Nichols, Co-Founder, Cross-Culture Ventures
Brent Bushnell, CEO, Two Bit Circus
Sky Kelley, CEO, Avisare
Iddris Sandu, Architect
Derek Smith, Founder of Plug In South Los Angeles
Keith Coleman, Chief Strategy Officer, Tesla Foundation
Anna Barber, Managing Director, Techstars 
LA
Tracy Gray, Founder and Managing Partner, 22 Fund
Brian Martinez, Global Business Operations, Airbnb
Cassie Betts, Founder, Made In South Los Angeles
Anthony Mays, Software Engineer, Google
Register online at: http://pluginsouthla.com/events
“Urban Tech Connect is a critical meeting of the minds. South LA is a tech desert. We sit on the edge of some incredible tech and entrepreneurial communities and yet there are virtually no resources dedicated to cultivating entrepreneurialism in South LA. We’re going to change that. We are reaching into our local communities to tap the talent we know is there and we’re connecting them with the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. We believe the next Snap will come from South LA and we’re building the community to nurture it.” – Derek Smith, Founder, Plug In South LA