Spring 2026 Projects

Enabled Talent is expanding its operations into North Carolina and seeks to understand the state's inclusive employment landscape. This project aims to explore how organizations in Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Greensboro, and rural areas approach disability inclusion. Over six weeks, student teams will map key stakeholders, including employers, colleges, workforce development boards, and disability-serving nonprofits. They will evaluate potential partnerships with groups like the North Carolina Business Committee for Education and Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. The project involves data collection on regional labor market trends, employer sentiment, and inclusive hiring gaps. Students will synthesize interviews, surveys, and secondary research to identify barriers and opportunities, ultimately helping Enabled Talent enter the state with clarity and impact.

The project will result in several key deliverables: a stakeholder analysis, a prospective partner map, and data-backed insights. Additionally, students will create employer and college personas, a regional outreach strategy, and a North Carolina inclusion readiness brief. These deliverables will provide Enabled Talent with actionable strategies and engagement plans tailored to the state's unique landscape.

Proposed Plan:

1. Team Setup: 3-4 students working on tasks.
2. Timeline: Two (2-week) sprints over the 6-week period.

In a city defined by banking towers where cash is king, it is the hidden Cache that empowers our streets. Charlotte currently possesses a vast inventory of economic value—independent talent and small businesses—that remains unmapped and underutilized. The Cacheconomy is a groundbreaking initiative to turn these "hidden stores" into Verified Assets. We are looking for ambitious UNC Charlotte students to support the front lines of outreach or work behind the scenes in the Vault to help build the infrastructure that makes information a new currency in the Queen City.

Students will choose between two specialized tracks based on their career interests: Industry Outreach or Data Architecture.

Work Tracks & Responsibilities

Track 1: Industry Navigators (Outreach & Engagement)

Focus: Strategic Communication, Business Development, and Professional Networking

• "Claim Your Cache" Campaign: Conduct targeted outreach to independent business owners, helping them move from the "shadows" into the city's Verified Infrastructure.
• Industry Networking: Establish professional connections within a specific target industry (e.g., Tech, Construction, Hospitality) while verifying local business capabilities.
• Stakeholder Strategy: Develop and execute engagement plans that convert "hidden" leads into active, indexed partners within the Cache.

Track 2: Data Architects (Ground Truth Construction)

Focus: Data Science, Data Engineering, and Systems Validation

• Ground Truth Auditing: Perform high-fidelity Data Scrubbing to remove duplicates, "digital ghosts," and errors from raw, messy city datasets.
• Dataset Integration: Identify and execute methods to merge disparate raw datasets into a single, cohesive Ecosystem Index.
• Validation & Verification: Manually validate "hidden" business data points to transform raw information into Verified Assets that leaders can trust.
• Vault Security: Assist in cataloging and securing business data to ensure it is instantly accessible and protected.

The "Why": Professional Growth & Regional Impact

• Build Your Network: Industry Navigators graduate with a deep rolodex of verified business contacts in their chosen sector.
• Regional Leadership: Students contribute directly to a workforce development strategy that turns "the invisible into the essential.”

• Track 1:
  • Verified Asset Portfolio: A documented list of businesses successfully "onboarded" into the Cache, featuring verified contacts and service capabilities.
• Track 2: 

Cleaned Ecosystem Index: A high-fidelity, validated dataset of neighborhood businesses, ready for integration into the Vault.

1. Team Setup: 3-4 students working on tasks.
2. Timeline: Two (2-week) sprints over the 6-week period.

Mentorship

Students will receive hands-on support and mentorship, including:

• Domain Expertise: Training in urban economic models and secure data governance.
• Professional Tools: Access to the Cache Vault and other data tools.
• The Navigator Method: Specialized training in the human-led "Ground Truth" methodology that identifies gaps algorithms miss.

Regular meetings: Scheduled check-ins to discuss progress, address challenges, and provide feedback.

Advocations, in partnership with Case Western Reserve University’s Law School, aims to protect transition-aged youth from the "Age 18 Redetermination Cliff." Currently, the Social Security Administration (SSA) re-evaluates childhood Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries at age 18 using stricter adult disability criteria. This process has a 40% failure rate, frequently removing youth with non-visible disabilities like Autism and ADHD who lack the medical evidence to prove they cannot work.

The Data: A Pipeline to Prison
Youth removed from SSI are twice as likely to commit crimes to replace lost benefits than find steady employment, with these effects lasting over two decades. SSI removal leads to a 60% increase in the annual likelihood of incarceration, with even higher rates for women.

Research Link: Does Welfare Prevent Crime? The Criminal Justice Outcomes of Youth Removed from SSI, 137 Q.J. Econ. 2263 (2022).

Project Overview & Student Goals

We are seeking UNC Charlotte students who are passionate about social justice, law, and disability inclusion to join our project. The initiative focuses on proactively identifying youth receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) before their age 18 re-determination. This timely intervention will immediately connect them with free services and legal protections. Our goal is to enable at-risk youth to maintain their SSI payments and Medicaid benefits until age 22. By extending these critical benefits for four years, we aim to prevent income-generating crime and significantly change lives.

Student Responsibilities

• Stakeholder Identification: Review existing community partner lists (schools, foster care, medical offices) to establish direct connections with youth receiving SSI.
• Out-of-the-box Outreach: Uncover new leads—local churches, community centers, and transition coordinators—to vet opportunities for engagement with eligible families.
• Engagement Strategy: Develop a stakeholder strategy tailored to the unique needs of those with non-visible disabilities and their guardians.

Deliverables

• Key Contact Report: A detailed report of identified contacts and updated info for existing leads in CRM.
• Stakeholder Engagement Strategy: A document outlining methods for converting leads into active referrals and outreach protocols.

Educational Toolkits: Tangible materials (flyers, digital guides) used to explain the "cliff”, appeal rights, and options.

1. Team Setup: 3-4 students working on tasks.
2. Timeline: Two (2-week) sprints over the 6-week period.

Mentorship

Expert Perspective: 
Sharing our deep understanding of the industry to help guide the project’s direction.

Skill Development: 
Equipping students with the technical "know-how" and methodologies they need.

Active Mentorship: 
Rolling up our sleeves to provide real-time guidance and support on project tasks.

Enablement Tools: 
Ensuring everyone has the resources and technology to work efficiently.

Ongoing Alignment: 
Meeting regularly to stay connected, celebrate wins, and tackle hurdles together.