Make something real.

How a cycle runs

Strangers become a Pod. Then a team.

1. Kickoff

   It starts in one room, at the Summit, with the problem situations: real, messy problems people face.

2. A Pod

   Everyone joins a group of nine or more, called a Pod, around a problem situation you choose together. It can feel uncertain at first. That's normal: everyone finds a Pod, and a Poderator keeps it together.

3. A team

   As ideas take shape, teams of three to five form around the ones people want to make. Mentors, experienced volunteers who've done this before, are there to help.

4. Building

   When your team hits a wall, a Mentor helps you over it, then turns it into a workshop, so the next team doesn't hit the same one.

5. The Showcase

   At the end, every team shows its project in public. Anyone can use what you made, and your name stays on it.

The busiest weeks are at the start and the end.

Good to know

• No lectures.

  Workshops teach skills; your Pod is where you practise.

• Not job placement.

  You leave with something you made, with your name on it, and people who've built with you.

• In person.

  Evenings at your local public library, with some sessions online.

• A real commitment.

  Twelve weeks, busiest at the start and the end.

Every cycle

Cycle by cycle.

Each cycle gets its own page: the problems, the teams, what they made and where it went. The first ones are being filled in from the Showcase.

• Underway

  Fall 2026

  Washington, DC · Kickoff October 13, 2026 · Showcase January 12, 2027

• Done

  Civic & Elections

  Washington, DC · Kickoff July 14, 2026 · Showcase October 13, 2026