Quick Take
Jacob Martinez, founder of Digital NEST, told Lookout this week the organization is doubling the size of its paid internship program training youth in marketing, video production and IT career pathways. He added that the nonprofit’s programs for kids aged 14 to 24 have served more than 4,000 youth over the past decade.
Watsonville-based nonprofit Digital NEST is welcoming its largest cohort of interns this year – doubling in size compared to last year, and showing a rebound from the pandemic’s impacts on youth participation.
Founder Jacob Martinez tells Lookout that the 18-to-24-year-old interns start on the job with training this week. Digital NEST, a nonprofit youth workforce development center, is also celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
“I’m really proud of everything we’ve accomplished in 10 years,” he said, speaking from his Watsonville office Monday.
Over the past decade, the NEST (Nurturing Entrepreneurial Skills with Technology) has served more than 4,000 students and has expanded to five centers: Watsonville, Salinas, Gilroy, Modesto and its newest in Stockton. Focused on communities in rural areas that have a population with at least 30% Latinx people and that have experienced historical disinvestment or have low-income populations, Martinez and his team strive to train youth with untapped potential.
The organization’s staff works with youth ages 14 to 24 to help them develop leadership skills, explore career pathways and also hires youth for paid internships where they work with real clients on projects in video production, marketing, graphic design and information technology. In past years, interns have worked on projects for UC Santa Cruz, local public libraries and nonprofits. Depending on experience, interns are paid $17 and $20 an hour.
To ensure the longevity of Digital NEST, Martinez said he’s also been building his leadership team over the past three years by hiring a chief impact officer, chief administrative officer, chief operating officer and center directors, among other roles. About three years ago, the staff totaled around 40 people, including 15 interns. This year, Digital NEST has a staff of 120, including 55 interns.
This year’s cohort of paid interns in the bizzNEST program start on the job this week. Last year’s cohort had 22 interns, and Martinez said he’s hoping that next year the organization can double their numbers again, to about 100 interns.
“The energy is back,” he said of demand for the experience, “to the point where now, we’re telling kids we don’t have space for them in the internship program.”
The interest from youth has been building over the years, especially since the pandemic when Martinez previously told Lookout that reaching students was challenging and students were struggling. However, this year, across all its centers, Digital NEST received 550 applications for the program.
Martinez said unlike many internship programs that are unpaid and primarily focus on technical and professional skills, Digital NEST pays its interns and also helps youth think about how to navigate their careers once they’ve landed a job.
“A lot of workforce programs just want to get them in the door, like ‘Great, we got them in, our job is done, right?’” he said. “But what we’re finding is that our young people landing in those companies have gone from being the labor force of ag to the labor force of tech. Meaning that when there’s any layoffs, our people are gone. So we want to really get people in the door, and through career navigation skills, have them navigate up into leadership roles so they can start making hiring decisions.”
Martinez said the previous cohort of interns have landed jobs and internships at companies including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Adobe and KSBW. Prior interns have gone on to have successful careers in gaming design and software engineering.
The organization is wrapping up an impact report about its first 10 years, according to Martinez, and is also building its next 10-year strategic plan. To celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, Digital NEST is hosting a gala at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on March 29, 2025.
“Collectively, our influence is now in a position where we can help solve people’s problems, and we’re being seen as a resource, rather than just a charity,” he said. “And I always tell people, we’re a nonprofit. I need your donations, but I need you to hire our young people.”
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