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Kimberly Bryant continues to push boundaries, leveraging her expertise to advocate for inclusion in tech. As the founder of Black Girls Code, Bryant played a pivotal role in creating pathways for young Black girls in STEM. Now she’s using her Silicon Valley experience and ties to develop a startup district on Black Wall Street in Memphis, her hometown. “There’s even a greater need to have more women of color and people from marginalized communities really starting these tech companies — not just going to work at them,” said Bryant, founder and CEO of the Black Innovation Lab. Her pre-accelerator will be housed in the Black-owned Grigg’s Business and Practical Arts College, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places last year. “I believe we’re on the cusp of a new golden era of innovation,” the biotech engineer predicted, “marking the onset of what I term the fourth Industrial Revolution.”