This February, we’re honoring both legacy and momentum by spotlighting The Loop Lab, one of our 124 community partners. As we observe Black History Month and Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month, we celebrate The Loop Lab’s contributions and the impact they’re making across our region, and we reflect on how opportunity is created and who has access to it.  

Founded in 2017, The Loop Lab empowers opportunity youth, young people who are often disconnected from school or work, to launch careers in media arts through job training and paid fellowships. This nonprofit social enterprise focuses on three outcomes for students: Education, Employment, and Entrepreneurship. 

Each year, The Loop Lab invests over $100,000 in wages to program alumni while they gain hands-on experience, earn industry-recognized credentials, and build lasting skills. Their approach embodies the heart of CTE- learning by doing- and expanding access to opportunity.  United Way’s investment in The Loop Lab reflects its broader commitment to advancing community-led solutions that center young adults and expand pathways to economic mobility.  

 Their approach embodies the heart of CTE- learning by doing- while advancing economic equity and access for historically underserved communities. United Way’s investment in The Loop Lab reflects its broader commitment to advancing community-led solutions that center young adults and expand pathways to economic mobility. 

To learn more about The Loop Lab’s mission and impact, we spoke with Rev. Chris Hope - father, minister, social entrepreneur, and award-winning technologist on a mission to make opportunity equitable. As founder of The Loop Lab, Rev. Hope blends creativity, ethics, and tech to help young people of color launch careers in media and audio-visual.  

In our conversation, he shares insights about the importance of hands-on learning, creating equitable opportunities, and what inspires him to empower the next generation. 

Rev. Chris Hope: When I founded The Loop Lab, I wasn’t thinking in institutional terms like “CTE.” I was thinking pastorally, about the sacred worth of young people whose genius was being ignored. I saw storytellers, creators, and visionaries locked out of opportunity, not because of their skills, but because of their zip codes, last names, and bank accounts.

As a minister shaped by the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and mentors like Dr. Cornel West and the late Rev. Peter Gomes, I believe education is about dignity, access, and justice. That’s the framework I personally bring to this work.

We connect young people to paid apprenticeships in media production, AV technology, and digital storytelling. But it’s not just about technical skills. It’s about cultural power, the ability to own your narrative, shape your future, and thrive in spaces you were once excluded from.

Our fellows work on real client projects, build professional portfolios, and earn industry credentials. We’ve launched pathways in partnership with organizations like AVIXA and institutions like MIT, creating routes to both college credit and employment.

But here’s what it actually means: You don’t have to choose between paying rent and chasing your dream. You can do both. You can be paid. You can be trained. You can be hired. That’s equity. That’s ministry in motion.

I think about Tevin, one of our earliest graduates. Before The Loop Lab, he’d been struggling financially for months, sending out applications that went nowhere. Now he’s been working full-time for years with an exciting career and he says: “The Loop Lab didn’t just give me a job. It transformed my entire life. I have stability now. I can provide for my kid, and I finally see a future.”

That’s what’s possible when we stop wasting talent and start investing in it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Rev. Chris Hope: “Nobody ever paid me for being creative before.”

That’s what one of our apprentices said after her first paycheck. Not “thank you.” Not “this is great experience.” Just the truth: someone finally valued her work enough to pay for it.

I think about Andres, incredibly shy his first week, who produced a video that earned a national Telly Award and opened doors to work with Audible. That moment when he walked into a professional studio and realized he belonged there is what keeps me going.

But I’m also carrying a legacy. Booker T. Washington and Nannie Helen Burroughs understood something we keep forgetting: technical education was never just about skills. It was about power. About Black folks having the training and economic independence to build our own futures when doors kept slamming.

Burroughs taught young Black women that their labor had value, that they deserved good pay, and that they didn’t need permission to claim their dignity. That’s the spirit we carry. We’re not just training people for jobs. We’re training them to own their worth, pushing back against an internship culture built on the assumption that only kids with family money deserve experience.

This work happens because of partners who show up as human beings. Local employers like BlackMath and NESN open their studios and networks. Our apprentices work on major projects with Audible and NBCUniversal. MIT researchers partner with our young people on community storytelling. These partnerships work because everyone believes equity isn’t a buzzword.

I’m inspired by elders and black leaders like Loop Dreams honoree Enoch Woodhouse,Troy Ellerbee, Bishop Brian Greene, Dr. Cornel West, who all told me the truth: this restorative work is hard, the systems aren’t built for us, but we build anyway. We build because our young people deserve better. Because the tech and creative economies shouldn’t just be for kids whose parents know somebody.

We build because our young people can’t wait.​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Rev. Chris Hope: CTE has real potential to open doors for Black students if we’re willing to do things differently.

Let’s start with paid work experience. Unpaid internships only work for kids whose families can float them. What if every student got real wages while learning from employers who are actually invested in hiring them?

We also need programs in media, digital storytelling, AI, and immersive tech, the fields shaping culture and building the future. Traditional trades are important, but students deserve access to every kind of opportunity out there, especially the future of work. 

Finally, why make students choose between college and a career? They can earn credit while getting paid and gaining real experience. For instance, through Loop Lab’s formal partnership with Lesley College of Art+ Design, our graduated have the opportunity to receive a scholarship and up to 30 college credits giving them a boost into higher education.

Making this happen takes funding and commitment. Programs like The Loop Lab are proving what’s possible, but they need support to grow and reach more students.

If you believe in this work, there are ways to help. Organizations like ours, doing this need consistent. They need volunteers, mentors, instructors, people willing to open doors. If you’re an employer, consider creating paid apprenticeships. If you have resources, invest in programs that are actually placing young people in good jobs.

I see it working. The next few years matter. We know the formula: invest in people, train them well, connect them to real opportunity. Let’s build this together.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

We’re proud to partner with organizations like The Loop Lab that are building the future through career-focused education. 

As Black History Month and CTE Month intersect, we are committed to mobilizing resources to fuel the power of mentorship and practical education, especially in communities historically underrepresented in career pathways. CTE delivers real skills for real careers. Together, these moments tell a powerful story: when education meets opportunity, learners are equipped to define their futures and lead what’s next.