The GANAS Tech Expo 2026 brought together 25 students, 8 universities, and cross-sector leaders from across Illinois for a day of emerging tech, real-world problem solving, and the kind of collaboration that doesn't happen by accident. Here's what unfolded.
April 22, 2026 | Roosevelt University | Chicago, Illinois
On April 22, the GANAS Tech Expo 2026 brought together over 150 students, educators, technologists, community leaders, and corporate partners at Roosevelt University in Chicago for a day that demonstrated what emerging tech education can look like when it's built around real people, real problems, and real outcomes. It was proof of concept for a model that fills a real need in the Illinois technology sector.
GANAS Tech, an initiative of Digital Leaders Now, is built on the belief that talent doesn't need to be imported, but needs to be developed, connected, and kept here in Illinois. The Expo is where that belief becomes visible. Across panels, keynotes, student showcases, and hands-on technology experiences, the day wove together every sector that shapes the future of work: higher education, tech industry, community organizations, and philanthropy, not as siloed guests, but as active participants in a shared ecosystem.
This cross-sector collaboration is what makes GANAS Tech distinct. The GANAS loop—the mutually reinforcing relationship between education, industry, and community—was on full display throughout the day. Students brought solutions shaped by real organizational challenges. Industry partners brought access, mentorship, and market context. Community organizations brought the grounding that keeps innovation accountable to the people it's meant to serve.
The 2026 Expo was led by three co-chairs whose own careers embody the cross-sector spirit of GANAS Tech: Dr. Melina Uncapher, CEO of SETA-ED and the day's keynote speaker and closing voice; Demetrio Garcia, VP of Business & External Affairs at Golden Hill Foods and DLN board member; and Dr. Shannon Putman, Founder of Putman XR Consulting, who led the immersive technology experience that became one of the day's defining moments.
Dr. Putman captured what made the day unusual: "Educators. Workforce professionals. Business leaders. Students. Industry experts. Community members. All of them, in one room, experiencing the future of immersive technology together. That does not happen by accident."
This was possible through years of relationship-building, organizational infrastructure, and a framework designed to make this kind of convergence sustainable, not just a one-time event.
Twenty-five students from eight universities formed the heart of the Expo's Team Challenge, presenting solutions developed in partnership with five organizations: Instituto del Progreso Latino, GADS Hill, Roosevelt University, Broadino, and North River Commission. These weren't classroom exercises. They were responses to real institutional challenges, shaped through months of collaboration with industry and community mentors, and presented before a panel of judges to a room full of decision-makers.
As Digital Leaders Now CEO and Founder Caroline Sanchez Crozier reflected: "Watching them engage with real-world ideas and present their thinking with confidence was a reminder of what is possible when opportunity and access come together."
That opportunity doesn't emerge from goodwill alone. It is built, deliberately, through the infrastructure DLN has spent six years constructing across 25 Illinois communities.
Broadino's presence at the Expo went well beyond sponsorship. Gokul Kannan led a Tech Showcase during the afternoon program, and Dr. Arumugam Murukiah delivered the evening keynote on the industry landscape in emerging tech, bringing Broadino's Industry 4.0/5.0 expertise directly into the day's intellectual core. One of the five student teams also developed their Team Challenge in partnership with Broadino, making them a genuine collaborator in shaping what the next generation of Illinois tech talent can do.
The Expo's programming was made possible by an exceptional group of speakers, panelists, moderators, and judges who brought their expertise, candor, and genuine investment in this work to Roosevelt University on April 22. Thank you for making this a day of real substance and for modeling, through your own participation, exactly the kind of cross-sector collaboration GANAS Tech is built to sustain.
Special thanks as well to our sponsors and partners, whose support made this vision possible.
The GANAS Tech Expo is a milestone, not a finish line. The connections made on April 22 are the foundation for capstone implementations, Digital Navigator deployments, and partnerships that extend the Expo's impact into Illinois communities year-round. For funders and partners invested in a workforce development model that is evidence-based, community-grounded, and built to scale, we invite you to be part of what comes next.
Email us at ganas@digitalleadersnow.org
Join us on April 22nd for a statewide gathering of innovators, educators, and industry leaders using technology to shape the future. More details coming soon.
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