SAN FRANCISCO. On February 21, a room full of tech executives in San Francisco sat down for an evening of panels and networking. Two of the speakers were still in high school.
Those two students, Adonias Tadesse and Angeline Le, had been invited to speak as Mark Cuban Foundation student ambassadors at the Infosys Impact Gala, an annual gathering of executives, clients, and industry leaders from the communications, media, and technology sectors. Kate Maloney, Executive Director of Infosys Foundation USA, moderated the conversation. She said she came in expecting them to do well.
“Right out of the gate, both student ambassadors had the audience by their hand,” Maloney said. “I had to smile at a few moments given the level of technical expertise they were demonstrating about AI.”
The partnership with Infosys Foundation USA began at three Infosys office locations, expanded to all seven U.S. hub offices, and has since grown into the first AI curriculum rollout for Boys & Girls Clubs across the country. Maloney called the Mark Cuban Foundation one of the foundation’s closest partners, not just in programming, but in how both organizations think about the work.
Kate Maloney, left, executive director of Infosys Foundation USA, speaks with Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp alumni and student ambassadors Adonias Tadesse, center, and Angeline Le during the 2026 Infosys Impact Gala (Image via Charlotte Dungan)
Adonias told the room about a social event the Mark Cuban Foundation organized around The Thinking Game, a documentary following DeepMind’s development of AlphaFold, the protein-folding model that earned its creators the Nobel Prize. It was a casual evening, teenagers talking about a film. It changed the direction of his life.
Angeline said she walked in knowing she was representing every student who had come through the bootcamp. The room, filled with motivated industry leaders, only pushed her further. “My answers started coming out cleaner and much more from the heart,” she said. “Being able to represent the bootcamp felt great and it highlighted the importance of taking leaps.”
The Mark Cuban Foundation runs free AI Bootcamps for high school students in under-resourced communities, weekend programs that introduce young people to artificial intelligence and the industry that’s being built around it. Alumni programming goes further, with continued training in advanced AI, leadership, and public speaking.
Charlotte Dungan, the Mark Cuban Foundation’s Chief Learning Officer, said that last part matters as much as the technical curriculum. “In our alumni programs, we support continued development of a wide range of skills, from advanced AI lessons to leadership and public speaking,” she said. “That deep investment in our youth was on display at the Infosys Gala.”
From left, Adonias Tadesse, Kate Maloney, Angeline Le and Charlotte Dungan pose for a photo at the 2026 Infosys Impact Gala. (Image via Charlotte Dungan)
For Adonias, the evening was a reflection of exactly that partnership in action. The audience was warm, the conversation felt genuine, and the evening as a whole left its mark. “It was an honor to carry that responsibility,” he said, “and share the impact of the Foundation’s work on such a large stage.”
If your organization believes high school students deserve real access to artificial intelligence education, we would love to work with you.
The Mark Cuban Foundation partners with companies, community organizations, and local leaders to host free AI Bootcamps in cities across the country. We bring the curriculum, training, and structure. Our partners provide space, volunteers, and a shared commitment to expanding opportunity.
Hosting a bootcamp is a hands-on way to invest in the next generation of technologists, leaders, and problem solvers in your own community.
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Learn more about becoming a host organization and start the conversation with our team today.
