Alabama Power hosts HBCU students for Miles College/2150 Energy iLab

Encouraging and enabling innovation. Building the workforce of the future. Creating and enhancing opportunities that keep talented young people in Alabama — and attract them from across the nation and around the world. Continuing to invest in historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as an integral component of achieving all those things.

These were the topics of conversation at the 2150 Energy iLab, held on September 10 at Alabama Power’s Birmingham headquarters. Organized by the 2150 Center for Innovation, Commercialization & Growth at Miles College, the event included 14 students representing five HBUs, along with faculty members and administrators from the schools. They heard about the climate for innovation in the energy sector, including current and future career paths, as well as support for aspiring entrepreneurs.

“Today is about bringing people together,” said Chuck Faush, chief innovation and growth officer at Miles and founder-in-residence at the 2150 Center. “Connections made in settings like this can help cultivate careers and start businesses that launch, stay and grow in Alabama. We want to do all we can to encourage and support creators, innovators, game changers.

“We want them to think about things that don’t exist — and why they should.”

Launched in 2024, the 2150 Center’s mission is to help grow and maintain a thriving innovation economy for HBCUs and historically Black community colleges. Events like the iLab are part of the center’s efforts to bring ideas to fruition, helping students and faculty take their ideas to the marketplace by connecting them with investors, influencers, and potential partners — operating, in Faush’s words, “at the intersection of purpose and prosperity,” serving as “problem-solving think tanks” for fields where innovation is shaping the future of both employment and entrepreneurship.

Ralph Williams, vice president of Alabama Power’s Birmingham Division, welcomed the group by reminding them of the company’s long history of supporting students and colleges, as well as innovation. He pointed out that over the past four years alone, Alabama Power has devoted more than $5 million to programs, initiatives, and activities to support HBCUs.

“We are here to be a resource for innovation,” said Williams. “That includes investing time and resources in students. We’re committed to creating opportunities for our next generation of customers and the next generation of leaders for communities throughout Alabama. Hosting this event is part of that commitment.”

Keynote remarks at the Energy iLab were provided by Kim Nguyen, principal engineer in Alabama Power’s Energy Services department. Nguyen develops projects for the power company that support electrification and clean energy solutions for commercial and industrial businesses, including municipalities, colleges, schools and hospitals.

Nguyen talked to the students about her career path, which in addition to 13 years with Alabama Power also currently includes owning a business with her husband. She stressed the importance of relationships and mentorships in building and advancing a career. She also touted Alabama Power’s commitment to innovation and its roles in both supporting entrepreneurship and creating job and career opportunities for the workforce of the future.

“This is a great opportunity for these students to connect with people who can invest in their future,” Nguyen reflected afterward. “It helps them get exposure to networks that are bigger than their university. For Alabama Power, it’s about growing the local expertise to build our company for the long term. That is one of our top priorities.”

The students also heard from Teasha Cable, co-founder & CEO of CModel Data Inc., an AI-powered startup that relocated its headquarters from San Francisco to Birmingham last year. Cable talked about the vision behind the iLabs, highlighting seven areas — healthcare AI, decision intelligence, finance, manufacturing, infrastructure and communications, in addition to energy — where the technology-driven democratization of data and information is broadening horizons for talented students.

“Aligning ideas with resources can be mutually beneficial to all involved,” said Cable. “From the students’ perspective, anything is possible. I know that sounds cliché, but if any of them can hear a problem that they believe they can solve, articulate a solution and work with the right partners to turn it into a product and bring it to market, that starts to impact other people’s lives.”

Miles College Provost Dr. Tonya Perry spoke about the college’s rationale for launching the 2150 Center, calling it “a place where students get a chance to make actionable the things they have learned.” Glenda S. Thomas, a former Alabama Power and Southern Company employee who retired after 20 years to become CEO of ElectraGrid Solutions, which provides a range of services to support utility company operations.

Since Thomas joined ElectraGrid, the company has become a $100 million operation that employs 500 people. She advised the students to treat every job as a chance to gain knowledge, experience and exposure that can propel one up the corporate ladder or lead to other opportunities.

“Take the job you do not want,” Thomas urged. “It will push you and help you grow. If you have the ability to find a problem and be the solution, you don’t know where you’ll find your niche or what can come of that.”

In addition to Miles, students from Alabama institutions Alabama A&M, Alabama State, and Stillman College participated in the iLab, along with a student from Mississippi’s Jackson State. After the program, Jasmine Russell, a Miles student from Montgomery, said she was energized by the collective message from the speakers about the value of ideas.

“I appreciated being here to make connections and hear about what can be accomplished,” said Russell. “Today has opened my mind to what I can do.”

Those words were music to the ears of 2150’s Faush.

“Beyond the possibilities of starting businesses and solving problems, the real jewel in this is the personal connections that are made,” he said. “That person you’re meeting can be a connector, a curator, or just someone who’s going to accelerate your own journey.

“It’s like dropping a rock in a lake. It just continues to have ripples.”