The opportunity divide in tech is real. For too many people, talent alone isn't enough to cross it. Even with plenty of ability and ambition, access—access to the right networks, the right training, the right people who believe in you before you've had the chance to prove yourself—is a necessity that can’t always be earned fairly.
Relevate was built to tear those barriers down. The program offers a genuine, long-term commitment to making careers in tech accessible to people who've never had a clear path in. At Relativity, we believe that when you invest in people with backgrounds that are usually overlooked, you don't just change their lives—you make the entire industry stronger.
“Relevate creates an opportunity for people to expand their career paths by equipping them with both the skills and the context they need to be strong candidates — and by giving them a real chance to be seen.”
– Matt Johlie, Academy Mentor, Relativity
From Fellows to Relevate: How We Got Here
That belief has roots. What started as Relativity Fellows in Chicago in 2020—a passionate effort to connect talent from non-traditional sources with real career opportunities—has grown into something more expansive. Emerging Talent Pathways is our team’s long-term strategy for making that growth sustainable, focused on building a flexible, globally inclusive model that meets learners wherever they are, across roles, regions, and stages of readiness.
Relevate brings that strategy to life.
It does so through two distinct experiences, each serving a different but equally important purpose:
- Ignition is the launchpad, focused on exploration, foundational readiness, confidence-building, and career preparation for people who are earlier in their professional journeys.
- Ascent Academies are the accelerator, providing role-specific pre-skilling in engineering, product management, and customer success domains for those who are ready to go deeper and are actively pursuing work in the field.
What 2025 Taught Us
We launched Relevate in 2025, following an intentional, iterative process designed to help us test assumptions, listen closely, and build the right foundations before thinking about scale. During that first year, we wanted to move deliberately, knowing that programs rooted in trust and real partnership can't be rushed.
That first year taught us more than we expected.
What worked was starting small. It gave us the space to focus on quality and impact, and what we found was encouraging: learners stayed engaged, mentors showed up with consistency and real investment, and our partners leaned in as true collaborators who helped shape the program, not just support it. Piloting Ignition alongside the Hearty Foundation in Poland and strengthening our relationships with organizations like One Million Degrees in Chicago let us pressure-test the nuts and bolts, including our learning model, our application process, and the power of cross-functional mentorship.
What surprised us was the depth of commitment across the entire ecosystem. Mentors brought more than expertise—they brought care and curiosity. Learners went beyond participation to actively influence how Ignition evolved. What started as a pilot became a shared effort, shaped by many voices.
“What surprised me most was seeing the shift from curiosity to action. People stopped asking what Relevate was and started asking how they could get involved.”
– Ana Tetiurka, Academy Mentor, Relativity
What we learned was that structure and shared rhythm matter more than we initially anticipated. As the program grew, so did our understanding of what it needs to scale well. With these lessons in mind, we plan to:
- evolve Relevate toward a hybrid academy model called Academy 360, with seasonal cohorts and live touchpoints
- develop a more focused Ignition experience in Poland designed to prepare learners for academy readiness
- foster deeper collaboration with nerds.family to support operations and long-term growth
Looking Ahead: What 2026 Is About
For the team behind Relevate, 2026 is about taking everything we’ve learned and doing more of what works: building a more predictable, connected talent pipeline that opens real doors and creates real career impact.
Ignition will continue to play a distinct role in each region it serves. In Poland, it remains a close-partnered, mentorship-driven experience designed to prepare learners for academy participation. In Chicago, the focus deepens around collaboration with established community organizations—connecting learners with real-world experience, Relativians, and a clearer view of what Relevate's broader pathways can offer them.
Ascent Academies, meanwhile, are evolving into a hybrid model that blends flexible, self-paced learning with structured moments of real connection—with a goal of creating clearer expectations, stronger engagement, and a more supported journey from learning to opportunity.
Toward the end of 2025, we’d also launched a Customer Success track aimed at widening the door for a broader range of participants and extending Relevate’s impact into roles centered on relationships, problem‑solving, and long‑term customer value. We’ll continue investing in that track this year, too.
Taken together, these are the moves that turn a promising pilot into a program built to scale.
How You Can Be Part of It
Behind every program milestone, there are people. Whether they’re mentors who show up week after week or volunteers who share their expertise, many of us have discovered the experience changes us, too.
“We are all students—mentors, volunteers, and learners alike. Lifelong learning isn’t optional anymore, and programs like this work because everyone involved is growing together.”
– Dorota Piekarska, CMO, nerds.family
Contributors to our Relevate program are professionals who understand that the tech industry gets better when more people have access to it. But most importantly, they are learners who arrived looking for a pathway and found one, because someone cared enough to build it with them. We’re so grateful that they’re offering the same support to others who are just starting out.
Our participants are looking for a chance to build competitive skills, yes, but they're also looking for proof that people in this industry are willing to invest in them. If you’d like to be that proof, learn more about how to get involved with Relevate here.
This Is Just the Beginning
If there's one thing 2025 made clear, it's this: Relevate works because people believe in it—and then do something about it.
“Real change happens when people turn belief into action—and together, through Relevate, we can make it happen.”
– Urszula Jamka, Senior Specialist, Talent Development, Relativity
Relevate is about proving, one cohort at a time, that non-traditional talent doesn't need to prove itself—it just needs a pathway. With every lesson learned, every partnership deepened, and every graduate who walks away more confident and more capable than when they arrived, we hope to help make that pathway a little wider.
We’re honored and delighted to see that momentum building. What comes next will be shaped by the same thing that got us here: people who care enough to show up.
We hope you'll be one of them.
Curious if Relevate Academies are right for you? Explore the program and apply on our website.
Graphics for this article were created by Kael Rose.
