Know somebody in Peoria who should be recognized as a Hometown Hero? Here is how to do it.
Email: Send your nomination to aznews@iniusa.org, or fill out this nomination form yourvalley.net/hh-nomination/index.html.
After that: the nomination will be reviewed, and monthly winners will be selected based on their community contributions. Nominations should include name, email address and phone number along with the category of nomination, some details about the person being nominated and what accomplishments they have done.
Categories left to nominate
• Lifetime Achievement: Long standing community member who has consistently stepped forward and exemplified a passion for giving back to the Peoria community within any category.
• Trailblazer: Individual who launches a path for others to follow through unsettled endeavors
• Community Cheerleader: Individual who rallies and organizes positivity for the community.
• Veteran: Former military person who continues to serve within the community.
• Health Care: Healthcare: Influential medical professional who is a leader and provides top-notch care for the community
• Educator: Teacher who has inspired students beyond their own learning expectation.
• Mentor/Coach: Person who works with, and is a role model, for our younger community.
• Volunteer: Person who has donated their time and skill to assist or improve the community.
• Emergency Responder: Person who steps forward during an emergency.
• Spiritual: A spiritual leader who displays their ownniu good and unlocks the potential in others.
• Leader of tomorrow (17 or younger): Youth who dfddfdfdfdfdfws leadership and involvement within the community.
Nick Suwyn has been spreading the good word from Peoria for a while now.
In this particular instance, the good word is coding. It is the language of the modern age and Suwyn’s entrepreneurial spirit has planted it in a workforce where the demand for knowledgeable coders is very real.
Coding jobs are in hyper-growth mode with computer and information technology employment projected to expand 13% through 2030, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
This is faster than the average projected growth rate across all occupations, and with that, a few months before graduating from college, Suwyn accepted a role as a Java engineer where he developed a true passion for enterprise software development.
A couple years later, he combined his passions for teaching and software development by joining a local coding bootcamp in Scottsdale where he taught adults to code and helped them transition into tech careers.
From there, the coding boot camp became his game. He has since created Promineo Tech, improving the boot camp model from Peoria and providing an education-as-a-service platform that has expanded to about 35 colleges across the country, with plans to expand into every state.
That includes his own backyard, where the Maricopa County Community College School District uses his company to offer affordable and accessible coding education to their students.
Nearly 50% of students at GateWay Community College, located in central Phoenix, are age 25 and older and the short-term, part-time, career training option as part of the bootcamps allow students to gain new skills and access to a rewarding IT career rapidly.
Maureen Hannon, program supervisor for the Center for Noncredit Training and Workforce Excellence at GateWay, said that in the more than the two years GateWay has been working with Primineo Tech, more than 125 students have enrolled in their bootcamps, many of whom are actively working in the local community and now work as mentors themselves.
She said Promineo’s instruction model of offering separate back-end and front-end programs has brought much needed affordability to the bootcamp market and their supportive, wrap-around services such as drop-in classroom hours for additional assistance, resume reviews, mock interviews, and access to mentors make them a strong partner like no other.
Unlike many other coding bootcamp programs which are offered in a full-time Monday-Friday format, Promineo Tech’s program was designed to allow a student to work full-time while they learn in a flexible, online environment, Hannon added.
“What a joy it is to work with Nick and his entire team at Promineo Tech,” she said. “Nick’s commitment to quality, continuous program improvement and creative problem solving make him a great partner. But it is his genuine kindness, passion for coding and the students we serve together that will propel him and Promineo Tech well into the future.”
For his efforts with Promineo Tech and bringing a voice of advocacy for career-changers, as well as expanding the ecosystem in Peoria and beyond, Suwyn has been named the Peoria Independent Hometown Hero in the Entrepreneur category.
In partnership with the city of Peoria, he has also beeb interviewed by the city and aired on Channel 11.
Suwnyn said along the way he has gotten help from Peoria Forward, a partnership with ASU designed to grow and scale the entrepreneurial ecosystem within Peoria and transform the future of the city through entrepreneurship.
Suwyn attended one of Peoria Forward’s first workshops at Sunrise Mountain Library, “How to Grow Your Side Hustle.”
He quit his job to launch Promineo Tech shortly after that and Peoria Forward has been working with Suwyn ever since.
Kristin Slice, director of community entrepreneurship at Arizona State University’s J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute, said Promineo Tech has provided coding education access to thousands of adults across the country wanting to re-tool their careers, positively impacting the economy with educated workers in flexible, high-quality jobs.
She added that Suwyn stands out as one of the most outstanding entrepreneurial leaders she has worked with.
He is a volunteer in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, but he has also built one of Phoenix’s fastest-growing, most successful high-growth ventures, and Promineo Tech is an example of how entrepreneurs can improve equity in the community and bring needed technical work skills into the workforce, Slice said.
“For the last four years, we have been working to build the entrepreneurial community in the West Valley, and Nick has consistently been a keystone, leader and an example for everything we are trying to develop. Whether volunteering to mentor high school innovators, serving as a speaker or taking a new business owner out to coffee, Nick has been there,” Slice said. “His answer for every single request is yes if it helps the community. Nick always brings a smile, kind words and an unshakable positive outlook.”
Philip Haldiman is a third generation Arizona native with brief residencies on the east and west coasts.
He has bachelor’s degrees in Theater and Journalism at Arizona State University, and is an award winning journalist with more than 15 years worth of experience in reporting and editing.
Most recently, he took first place for investigative reporting and third place for best sustained coverage or series at the 2023 Arizona Newspapers Association awards.
In his free time, he produces an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
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