Two nationally recognized entrepreneurs shared how their ventures can impact students and the workforce Wednesday at the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s Education Leadership Summit at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tulsa Downtown. Rue Ramsey, the Chamber’s vice president of workforce and talent strategies, served as event emcee.

Edna Martinson, co-founder of the platform Boddle Learning, and Tyrance Billingsley II, founder and executive director of Black Tech Street, spoke before about 120 attendees, who also heard superintendent updates from seven Tulsa-area school districts.

Presented by Tulsa Tech, the event focused on highlighting schools, organizations and programs dedicated to education, training and developing a highly qualified workforce.

Martinson grew up in Ghana, West Africa, and was accepted into college in the United States at age 15, eventually earning a Master of Business Administration degree.

Tulsa-based Boddle Learning, which Martinson founded with her husband, Clarence Tan, focuses on closing kindergarten-through-sixth-grade learning gaps through interactive game play.

“Education has always been a big part of my life because of the doors that it’s opened up for me, including affording me the opportunity to come to this country,” said Martinson, a 2023 Forbes 30-under-30 recipient in education. “That’s why I’m really passionate about creating really great, high-quality learning experiences for the next generation.”

Launched in early 2020, the platform boasts more than 5 million registered students across 15,000 education districts.

“What’s been amazing is what we’re hearing from teachers about the impact that Boddle is having in their classrooms,” she said.

Billingsley founded Black Tech Street (BTS) to rebirth Greenwood’s Black Wall Street as a Black innovation economy.

His efforts already are gaining traction.

In 2021, he was selected as one of Forbes’ Culture 50 Champions, a list honoring Black and Brown industry leaders for their standout impact and service in underserved communities. Earlier this summer, Billingsley announced Black Tech Street’s alliance with Microsoft and the Greenwood community.

BTS has set an initial goal of employing 1,000 Black cyber professionals in Tulsa by 2030. Microsoft generative AI and cybersecurity technology, alongside The University of Tulsa, also will assist Black Tech Street in piloting AI cyber research and experiential learning for Black Tulsans.

Wednesday, Billingsley saluted the Black Wall Street entrepreneurs of a century ago and their tenacity to build business during the days of racial segregation, saying that their “smash-through-walls and out-of-the-box thinking shared a lot of parallels with the tech industry. 

“…This led us to surmise that had Black Wall Street been supported and not destroyed, it would be nothing other than the nation’s premier Black tech innovation economy. So, at the end of the day, our work is essentially architecting and securing Black tech and industry-focused economic development opportunities for Tulsa.”