The Tech Council of Delaware has new leadership, but its mission remains the same.
On Oct. 13, founding Tech Council CEO Zakiyyah Ali made a joint announcement with the board of directors that she was stepping down from the position after four years. Among the programs and initiatives established during Ali’s tenure are the Yes, We Tech! internship program, American Dream Academy, Tri-State Workforce Consortium and the design of the Workforce Center for Precision Medicine.
The Tech Council’s former COO, Joshua Berkow (a 2025 RealLIST Connector for Greater Philly), was named interim CEO.
After three and a half years of incubation within the Rodel Foundation, the Tech Council spun off and became an independent entity last year, officially completing its transition as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on July 1, according to Berkow, who helped lead that transition.
“It does give us an opportunity to look at what’s been effective, what we should do more or less going forward.”
Joshua Berkow, interim Tech Council of Delaware CEO
He plans to focus on strengthening relationships and ensuring the organization can continue serving the state’s growing tech workforce.
“A lot of our work right now is focused on laying the foundation to make sure that the council is here for the long term to continue to serve Delaware’s innovation economy,” Berkow told Technical.ly. “In terms of mission, vision, objectives and tactics, nothing changes. But it does give us an opportunity to look at what’s been effective, what we should do more or less going forward.”
Much of the work, he explained, centers on serving as a workforce intermediary, attracting investment to strengthen the region’s tech talent pipeline.
“We lead the charge to attract those investments,” Berkow said, “whether it’s federal dollars or private philanthropic dollars, to coalesce around joint goals of workforce development.”
The Tech Council leadership change comes at a pivotal time, as it deepens involvement in regional collaborations like the PROPEL Precision Medicine Tech Hub, and explores new opportunities to influence state tech policy.
“Delaware is unique,” Berkow said. “So many of the tech jobs in Delaware are layered in other industries — finance, banking, fintech, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, government, education — so certainly we want to make sure that we don’t lose sight of that.”
Asked whether the board plans to conduct a search for a permanent CEO, he said that discussion is still ongoing.
“We’ll assess where we are in a couple months, whether or not there needs to be a broader search or whether they remove the ‘interim’ tag and I’m the person for the job,” Berkow said. “Certainly I’m excited for the challenge. At the same time, there’s a lot to get done in the next few months.”
