About Us
Talent is Everywhere. Opportunity is Not.
Break Through Tech bridges the gap between undergraduate talent and the AI workforce - not just through education, but through the employer partnerships and applied learning experiences that turn potential into a career.
As AI reshapes how we live and work, the question is no longer whether enough students are pursuing technical degrees.
It is whether the pathways from those degrees into meaningful careers are being built - and built for everyone, not just those who were already closest to opportunity. That is the problem Break Through Tech was founded to solve.
From the beginning, we took a different approach. Rather than building programs and hoping employers would hire from them, we built both sides of the market simultaneously - designing applied learning experiences with employers, not just for them. The result is a national network of university and industry partners that co-design technical training, work-based learning, and career-connected experiences aligned with what the workforce actually needs.
Founded in 2016 by Dr. Judith Spitz, a former CIO of Verizon, Break Through Tech launched as an initiative of Cornell Tech at a pivotal moment in New York's growth as a technology hub. The original focus was expanding access to computing careers for women at the City University of New York - but the insight that drove the work was larger: technical degrees are necessary but no longer sufficient. What students need, and what employers increasingly require, is real applied experience before graduation. Not theoretical. Real.
That insight has only become more urgent. Break Through Tech launched its AI program before ChatGPT accelerated mainstream adoption of generative AI - which means we have been building the infrastructure for AI workforce development longer than almost anyone. Today, through scalable programs, deep employer partnerships, and our Work-Based Learning Innovation Lab, we are helping students, universities, and employers navigate the most consequential transformation the labor market has seen in a generation.
Because the people entering today's AI workforce will help write the rules that shape the future for all of us.
Break Through Tech's Impact in Numbers
Developing Early Tech Talent
"We are at a once-in-a-generation moment to decide who gets to build the most consequential technology in human history. I founded Break Through Tech because that decision should not be made by default."
Dr. Judith Spitz, CEO & Founder of Break Through Tech
Leadership & Team
Meet Our Leadership & Team
Our team is united by a belief that access to influential careers in tech should not solely depend on who you know or where you started.
Latest News & Stories
From fellow milestones to industry partnerships, here's what's happening inside the Break Through Tech network.
Posted on May 22, 2026
Lindsay Feldstein’s journey as a Break Through Tech mentor began with Yvonne Wong, another AI Program mentor and former colleague. Yvonne not only introduced Lindsay to Break Through Tech, but also inspired her to grow her career by taking on roles outside of her comfort zone.
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Posted on May 6, 2026
Elif Ozturk is still defining what her career will look like, and that is exactly what excites her. As a Computer Science and Engineering student at the University of Iowa with a minor in Economics, she is drawn to work that connects technical systems with real-world decision making. She is not focused on a single title. She is focused on growth, collaboration, and impact.
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Posted on April 10, 2026
Maame Abena Boateng didn’t arrive at tech through a traditional route. As a Public Health and Applied Statistical Modeling student at the University of Texas at Austin, she brought a perspective that most engineering programs don’t produce: one shaped by an understanding of people, systems, and the gaps that technology can either widen or close.
