Expanding Access: TA98's Vision for Equitable Opportunity

What was the inspiration behind starting The Alliance 98 (TA98)?

The Alliance 98 (TA98) was launched in 2018 to address unemployment and underemployment among young adults ages 16–24 by creating meaningful career pathways. Yet the story began years earlier on Chicago’s West Side, shaped by lived experience and a deep belief in community-driven change.

In 2013, I was selected as a recipient of the Davis 100 Projects for Peace grant, which funded the design of a paid summer internship program for first-generation students in the South Lawndale (Little Village) neighborhood. The program quickly gained traction, with 100% of participants completing their undergraduate degrees and securing competitive employment.

Building on that success, I returned to my alma mater, Social Justice High School, in 2017 to host a campus-wide event that provided tailored suits to over 70 young men of color. The event included professional development workshops, keynote speakers, and networking opportunities with industry leaders. That moment reminded me that opportunity isn’t just about resources. It’s about belonging. It’s about seeing yourself in spaces that once felt out of reach.

Encouraged by participants and mentors, we formally incorporated TA98 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit the following year. Our mission is to reduce unemployment by equipping young adults with the skills, mentorship, and professional networks needed to succeed in today’s economy. TA98 began with a simple question: What does the world need more of? The answer we landed on was alliances. And the number 98 comes from my personal story.

In 1998, after years of being denied, my father finally qualified for a home loan to buy our family home. I grew up on WIC food stamps, in unstable housing. That year marked the first time we felt secure. It was also the year I fell in love with Chicago. I’d sit by the window, waiting for my dad to get home from work so we could watch the Bulls play and see Michael Jordan. That team taught me about teamwork, excellence, and belief.

The symbolism stuck. TA98 is Chicago-built. Our philosophy is simple: Think global. Act local. Like DRW, we have a global vision, but our story begins at home. We exist to build bridges of opportunity for young adults right here in Chicago.

What do partnerships with organizations like DRW mean for your mission?

Partnerships like DRW’s don’t just validate our mission. They expand it.

Through DRW’s investment and collaboration, we’ve been able to provide young adults with direct exposure to the financial sector, from immersive visits to the trading floor to mentorship connections with professionals in finance and technology. That kind of access changes lives. Our participants see professionals who look like them, who share similar backgrounds, now thriving in industries that once felt out of reach. That visibility plants the possibility.

This month marks Hispanic Heritage Month. What unique challenges do you see Hispanic/Latinx youth facing in employment, and how is TA98 addressing them?

For me, Hispanic Heritage Month is both a celebration and a reflection. As a Chicano, a first-generation Mexican American born to parents from Michoacán, Mexico, this month is about honoring the resilience, creativity, and brilliance of our community while confronting the inequities that persist in access and opportunity.

Despite representing one of the fastest-growing populations in the U.S. and driving over $3.4 trillion in collective buying power (Source: Latino Donor Collaborative, 2023 U.S. Latino GDP Report), Latino professionals remain significantly underrepresented in leadership. Latino leaders hold less than 5% of executive positions across Fortune 500 companies (Source: McKinsey & Company, 2021, “Latinos in the United States: Between Inclusion and Invisibility.”), and many young adults enter a workforce where their talent is recognized but rarely elevated. The challenge isn’t capability. It’s access. Too many of our young adults are underemployed, working in positions that don’t reflect their education or potential. We need more employers willing to partner with community-based organizations like ours to create real, equitable pathways to success.

TA98 is working to change that reality. In the past few years alone, we’ve created over 40 paid positions and distributed more than $250,000 in youth wages, allowing participants to earn income while developing individualized career plans. Through mentorship, leadership coaching, and workforce readiness training, our young adults are not only securing employment. They’re discovering their capacity to lead, innovate, and build futures rooted in both purpose and prosperity.

You can’t be what you can’t see. Creating cultural bridges is what allows for a more equal and just world, one where young people see themselves reflected in leadership, innovation, and every space that shapes our collective future.

How do you ensure that your programming is culturally responsive and inclusive for diverse communities?

Our approach to social impact is intentional. We use Design Thinking as our core framework for problem-solving and draw from Yosso’s Cultural Community Wealth model to center lived experience as a strength, not a limitation.

We build programs with bilingual communication, healing-centered practices, and culturally grounded curriculum design. Each program and initiative is co-created with young adults, educators, and employers to ensure it reflects real community needs and workforce realities. We don’t assume solutions. We design them with the people most impacted. That’s how inclusion becomes operational. It’s not just about who’s at the table. It’s about who helped build it.

What are your goals for the next 3–5 years?

At its core, TA98’s mission is to tackle unemployment among young adults ages 16–24 by equipping them with the skills, experiences, and networks to access meaningful career pathways. During our latest listening tour, we asked a simple question: What does opportunity look like to you? The answers from young adults, educators, and employers shaped our five-year roadmap, a community-informed strategy for access, stability, and long-term impact.

TA98’s 5-Year Goals

1. Establish a Permanent Headquarters and Innovation Hub. We are in the process of securing a mixed-use property that will combine our first permanent headquarters with affordable housing for young adults facing unstable living conditions. This hub will serve as a place to live, learn, and lead, blending a creative studio and co-working space to power our workforce and entrepreneurship programs under one roof.

2. Launch the TA98 Fund. We’re developing an endowment and investment fund managed in partnership with TA98 alums in finance and wealth management. The fund will support overlooked entrepreneurs while giving our graduates firsthand experience in investing, real estate, and emerging markets. It’s a pathway toward sustainability and generational wealth.

3. Expand Employment Pathways Across Chicago. We’re on track to serve over 400 young adults directly and reach 15,000 indirectly through community activations annually. By deepening partnerships with employers, we’ll create skill-aligned pathways that connect training to meaningful employment.

4. Build a Global Alliance for Social Impact. Guided by our philosophy, Think global. Act local. We’re bringing together young leaders, brands, and institutions to co-create culturally responsive models for workforce development and entrepreneurship.

5. Strengthen Organizational Infrastructure. We have a growing waitlist of young adults eager to engage with TA98. To meet demand, we’re expanding our internal capacity by hiring additional directors, executive coaches, and mentors to co-create opportunities with our participants. These goals are not abstract. They came directly from our community. Each one reflects what young adults told us they need to thrive: stability, access, and a real seat at the table.

How can individuals, local businesses, or nonprofits support or partner with TA98?

Our work is built on collaboration. Every partnership represents an investment in a stronger, more inclusive economy where young adults can participate fully and lead confidently.

Individuals can get involved through mentorship, executive coaching, or recurring donations that sustain our programs. One of the most immediate opportunities is activating corporate matching programs, a resource that remains largely untapped. Globally, hundreds of billions of dollars in matching funds go unclaimed each year, with an estimated $4–7 billion left unused annually in the United States alone (Source: Double the Donation, “Corporate Giving Statistics,” 2023). Redirecting even a fraction of that could significantly expand the impact of community-based organizations like ours.

Businesses can co-invest by sponsoring activations, hosting professional exposure opportunities, or supporting the development of our forthcoming TA98 Headquarters and Innovation Hub. We also invite corporations to connect us with their Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), the operational heart of inclusion within major firms. For example, we recently partnered with DRW’s Unidos ERG to host a panel discussion on career pathways and community impact, followed by a lotería game night celebrating culture and connection. Events like these create meaningful spaces where professionals and young adults can share experiences, build relationships, and strengthen the bridge between corporate inclusion and community engagement.

When systems close doors, people open them. ERGs have the power to turn corporate intent into community impact. Nonprofits and institutions can collaborate to build cross-sector initiatives that align workforce readiness with real market demand. Partnerships focused on creative production, digital literacy, financial empowerment, and leadership development ensure that young adults are prepared to compete and win in the modern economy.

Ultimately, we extend a professional invitation: connect, collaborate, and co-create. Whether through capital, expertise, or access, partnership with TA98 is not charity. It’s a shared investment in the future workforce and the economic health of our communities. When we work together, we don’t just create opportunity. We create value.