What we are
It grew out of a fall 2025 pilot run by DC Public Library and Levy, a strategic design firm. The pilot’s alums founded The Labs in January 2026. It’s nonpartisan, and it isn’t a school or a bootcamp. Most people start at a workshop:
- 01WorkshopFree, hands-on, open to everyone.
- 02Build CycleThree months as an Upskiller in a pod, on a real problem.
- 03Project TeamThree to five people who build one thing.
- 04ShowcaseShow your work in public.
- 05Give backMentor, Poderator (who runs a pod), or ambassador.
Why it needs you
You found your way through.
You did the getting. The Labs made room. Now you know the way.
Be the one who says “come with me.”
No pitch. Just someone they trust, saying it.
Be how it reaches the next neighborhood.
The Labs isn’t a place. A region picks it up. Only if someone says so.
Be early to something built to last. Bring someone.
A year old, volunteer-run, and hoping to outlast us all. Every person you bring is one more pair of hands.
Your job
- Ask someone what they’re working toward.
- Share 30 seconds of your own story.
- Invite them to one dated next step.
You don’t sell, and you don’t collect contact details. People Join The Labs themselves at theupskillinglabs.org.
Questions you’ll get
- Does it cost anything?
- No. Workshops and Build Cycles are free.
- How much time does a Build Cycle take?
- Twelve weeks, busiest at the start and the end and steady in between, with your team and in person.
- Do I need to be technical?
- No. Most people aren't when they start. You learn what you need by building with a team.
- What do I walk away with?
- Something real you helped build, proof of it you can show, and people who've seen what you can do.
- What does it actually teach?
- Free workshops by people who do the work, and by Upskillers who learned it last cycle. Then a Build Cycle, fast and on a team, or your own project at your own pace.
- Is this just a DC thing?
- It started in Greater Washington. The Labs is something a region picks up and makes its own, and a few regions already have waitlists.
- What do you mean by the future of work?
- Not only jobs. Work and action: what people make together that lasts, and what they do together in public.
- How do I join?
- Go to theupskillinglabs.org and choose Join The Labs. Ambassadors don't take sign-ups directly.
Words to use
| Say | Not |
|---|---|
| The Labs | TUL |
| Upskiller, participant | student |
| Build Cycle, workshop | course, class, lesson |
| real problems in your community | civic problems |
| Join The Labs | sign up, get started |
Legal status: “a fiscally sponsored project of Superbloom Design, a 501(c)(3). Our own status is pending.” Say exactly that.