Mahdi Chambers
Founder & Executive Director

Mr. Chambers has extensive experience in management, technology, entrepreneurship, and consulting. He began his career as a Bell Labs Electrical Engineer and manager working on a variety of different technologies. He left Bell Labs and joined a venture-backed technology startup and has continued to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities. Mr. Chambers has been mentoring underserved youth for many years but realized that while mentoring is important, more can be done to develop technology and entrepreneurial skills, encouraging students to develop a mindset of creating their own opportunities. He has partnered with City Startup Labs as an Accountability Coach and Business Mentor. He also served as a mentor for the Charlotte Housing Authority Scholarship Fund (CHASF). He is also President of Jecha Networks, Inc. which works with aspiring entrepreneurs turn a concept into a business. 
To learn more, visit www.jecha-networks.com

Gurtej Singh
Co-Founder and Technology Director

​Gurtej Singh leads the software programming portion of the Hack & Hustle Academy curriculum. Mr. Singh utilizes his knowledge of the technology industry and professional skills as a software engineer, as well as his appreciation of Hip Hop culture, to educate Hack & Hustle scholars, helping them build upon their revived and refurbished computers via Hip Hop-inspired technical programming projects. To learn more, visit ​gurtejsingh.com.

Kia O. Moore 
Co-Founder and Creative Director

Kia O. Moore serves as the Creative Director for Hack & Hustle Academy. She is the creative lead for all Hack & Hustle branding and marketing efforts. She also works to integrate Hip Hop into the mentorship portion of the Hack & Hustle curriculum. Kia's love for all things Hip Hop culture and her innate need to create harmony and understanding led her to the world of Hip Hop Philanthropy. Prior to stepping into the nonprofit sector, Kia worked in the print magazine industry at the Morris Media Network in the advertising department. She then transitioned into creating the brand voice of a Charlotte area neighborhood under the direction of Charlotte Center City Partners. Kia has now found her life’s passion within the world of Hip Hop Philanthropy and is not looking back. ​

Kirsten Erich 
Technology Advisor

Kirsten Erich is a web developer with her "head in the cloud." Kirsten helped establish an Innovation Lab with Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud resources. Kirsten holds 2 AWS certifications (Developer and Solutions Architect), and she uses AWS to enable technology experimentation. Kirsten applies lean startup principles to Hack & Hustle challenges, and she works closely with Gurtej to build the technology curriculum. ​