Tamar Huggins has always rooted for the underdog, and with the launch of Spark Plug – “Al driven by the culture” – she’s empowering a new generation of tech users.
As Huggins maneuvered those very systems herself, she recognized “diversity on all levels; in cultural backgrounds, in thought, in skillset, in our experiences,” is how we create more inclusive opportunities, as shown by those before her, which, in turn, influenced her dedication to widen this road for those walking alongside her and eventually behind her on this journey forward.
After the event, she met one of the young girls in the audience who was a senior in high school, and also happened to be a teen mother. Despite her best efforts to show up and meet all of her academic requirements, she was still ostracized by the school’s staff. Disheartened, Huggins admitted that, “ pained me to see the way Black kids being treated for things that were out of their control.
What they also taught Huggins was the power of the pivot. It was something that she’d done once before in the early stages of her career, and it was a challenge she was more than prepared for. When she first introduced the Driven Accelerator Group, she was able to create an unprecedented opportunity for the founders and start-ups who participated to collectively raise over $20M for their respective companies.
With the tagline, “AI driven by the culture,” Spark Plug now aims to create a more inclusive environment for students, teachers, and business owners, alike. As an edtech advocate, Huggins saw the way dated curriculums often failed to hold space for the life and experiences of students beyond the classroom. Interactions, in turn, were limited, and in many cases, students who struggled to see themselves reflected in the subjects they were expected to learn were left behind.
But what made Spark Plug unique to other tech companies within edtech is that, beyond their team that consisted of experts within their 30s to 50s, it also offered the voice of the demographic it immediately intended to impact. This integral team member is no other than Huggins’ very own daughter, Talia Grant. At 13 years old, Grant is a critical member of the Spark Plug team and a highly sought after consultant to ensure accuracy and cultural impact and relevance.