This DC nonprofit is competing for $1 million at the WeWork Creator Awards

Byte Back, that 20-year-old D.C. nonprofit that provides free computer training and career counseling to underserved District residents, has been chosen as one of eight finalists competing for $1 million at the first-ever WeWork Creator Awards Global Finals.

Coworking giant WeWork (which has 10 locations in the DMV) is recognizing entrepreneurs with a social mission, and Byte Back won $360,000 and the top prize at the WeWork Creator Awards DC last March. The upcoming event will be held Jan. 17 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City and the winner will be chosen from the winners of the 2017 award winners from D.C., New York, Detroit, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Austin, Mexico City and London.

“If we win Wednesday, thousands more people who have been left behind will finally see that tech careers are for them, that they can earn living wages, that it is possible to truly transform their lives,” Byte Back executive Director Elizabeth Lindsey said in a statement. “This is the most exciting opportunity Byte Back has ever had.”

Creator Awards Global Finalists @ByteBackDC & @AndiamoHQ are live with @Nasdaq sharing their #creatorawards journey: https://t.co/AIgPs9LHxI pic.twitter.com/kA9IRPgn1q

— WeWork (@WeWork) January 16, 2018

Finalists include:

• Naveed R. Parvez of Andiamo
• Becca Keaty of Bunker Labs
• Elizabeth Lindsey of Byte Back
• Sebastian Jünemann of CADUS
• Manal Kahi of Eat Offbeat
• Or Retzkin of Eye Control
• Samantha Snabes of Re:3D

Six semi-finalists will also compete for an “audience save” finalist spot:

• Robert Logue of Quaker City Coffee
• Grace Hsie of Warmilu
• J. Kevin White of Global Vision 20/20
• Sam Teicher of Coral Vita
• Mursal Hedayat of Chatterbox
• Sangita Patel & LeVar Burton/LeVar Burton Kids