mission amplified workshop series

---

Nonprofit leaders, communicators, and mission-driven teams across the Borderplex are invited to join an interactive working session designed to help organizations harness the power of AI to elevate their storytelling, strengthen communications, and amplify their impact. This session introduces practical ways to use Microsoft Copilot to streamline content creation, enhance messaging, and support day-to-day operations in the nonprofit space.

Through real-world examples and guided, hands-on activities, participants will learn how to use AI as a strategic partner rather than just a tool. The session will walk attendees through how to craft compelling narratives, generate high-quality content efficiently, and adapt messaging for different audiences and platforms. Designed as a participatory experience, attendees will have the opportunity to apply these techniques directly to their own organization’s needs, whether that’s donor outreach, grant writing, social media, or internal communications. No prior technical experience is required.

[REGISTER HERE]

Event Details 

• Date: Thursday, February 19th, 2026  
• Time: 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM  
• Location: Microsoft El Paso Innovation Hub 500 W Overland Ave, Ste 210 El Paso, TX 79901 
• Please Bring: A laptop or tablet for hands-on activities

Who Should Attend? 

This session is ideal for: 

• Nonprofit leaders and executive directors looking to scale their organization’s voice and reach
• Marketing and communications professionals seeking faster, more effective content creation
• Program managers and teams who need to clearly communicate impact and outcomes
• Development and fundraising professionals working on donor engagement and storytelling
• Anyone interested in using AI tools to support and grow a mission-driven organization
• No prior technical experience is required.

No prior technical experience is required. 

Featured Speakers 

Nisaini Rexach is a leader in public affairs and innovation at Microsoft TechSpark Chicago, where she works at the intersection of technology, community impact, and economic development. With experience supporting organizations in adopting emerging technologies, she focuses on helping nonprofits and community leaders leverage tools like AI to strengthen their programs and expand their reach.

Entrepreneurs, product teams, and business leaders across the Borderplex are invited to join an interactive working session focused on defining the ideal strategy and user experience for digital products and services. This session explores an innovative methodology developed by Yurny Labs that uses strategic storytelling to map customer friction, conversion, and transformation. 

Through real-world examples and hands-on activities, participants will learn how to translate abstract business goals into a tangible digital experience. The session will guide attendees step-by-step to identify their users’ adoption barriers, define key differentiators, and structure a journey that takes a digital product from merely functional to unforgettable and profitable. Designed as a participatory session, attendees will have the opportunity to apply this framework directly to their own projects or business ideas. No prior technical or coding experience is required. 

[REGISTER HERE]

Event Details 

• Date: Thursday, March 26th, 2026  
• Time: 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM  
• Location: Microsoft El Paso Innovation Hub 500 W Overland Ave, Ste 210 El Paso, TX 79901 
• Please Bring: A laptop or tablet for hands-on activities, and a specific project or business idea in mind to work on during the session. 

Who Should Attend? 

This session is ideal for: 

• Founders and startup teams validating or improving an app or platform 
• Traditional business owners looking to digitize their services or enhance their customer experience 
• Corporate innovators (“intrapreneurs”) and managers developing internal digital tools 
• UX/UI designers and Product Managers seeking a fresh, narrative-driven approach to strategy 
• Anyone interested in creating user-centric digital solutions that drive business growth 

No prior technical experience is required. 

Featured Speakers 

Omar and Alex Muñoz are brothers, product leaders, and the co-founders of Yurny Labs, a product design and engineering studio operating across the Ciudad Juárez and El Paso border. With over a decade of experience building and scaling digital products, they have led cross-functional teams of designers and developers to bring ideas to life that have reached millions of users. 

Their work lives at the intersection of business, design, and technology, driven by a shared mission to build digital experiences that are not only delightful but also drive tangible business outcomes. Together, Omar and Alex have co-founded a VC-backed startup, competed in global hackathons, and earned top placements for innovative products built in AI and Web3. Through Yurny Labs and their strategic workshops, they are passionate about empowering teams to bridge the gap between complex technology and human-centric design. 

Professionals, educators, researchers, and lifelong learners across the Borderplex are invited to join an interactive working session focused on how emerging technologies are being used to support learning, research, and creative problem-solving. This session explores practical applications of modern tools, including large language models (LLMs) and educational app development for educators, alongside machine learning techniques that help researchers analyze data, uncover patterns, and generate predictions. 

Through real-world examples and demonstrations, participants will see how these tools are being used today in classroom settings, research projects, and professional workflows. Mission Amplified is designed as a participatory session where attendees can see how modern tools are being used in practice, ask questions, and explore how similar approaches might apply within their own industries or areas of interest. No prior technical background is required. 

[REGISTER HERE]

Event Details 

• Date: Thursday, April 16th, 2026  
• Time: 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM  
• Location: Microsoft El Paso Innovation Hub 500 W Overland Ave, Ste 210 El Paso, TX 79901 
• Please Bring: A laptop for hands-on activities. 

Who Should Attend? 

This session is ideal for: 

• Educators and academic professionals 
• Researchers and students 
• Professionals interested in learning design, content creation, or digital tools 
• Community members curious about emerging technology and hands-on learning 
• Anyone interested in how technology can support learning and innovation across fields 

No prior AI experience is required. 

Featured Speakers 

 Jorge Alberto López Gallardo is a Professor of Physics at The University of Texas at El Paso with decades of experience in research, teaching, and educational innovation. Throughout his career, he has worked at the intersection of science, technology, and education, with research spanning physics, materials science, data analysis, and interdisciplinary applications. In recent years, Jorge has incorporated modern computational and language-based tools into course preparation, educational content creation, research projects, and experimental learning environments. 

He has led workshops on building educational applications, explored machine learning methods in research, and mentored students developing technology-driven learning tools. A dedicated educator and mentor, Jorge has held leadership roles at UTEP, collaborated with national and international research institutions, and received numerous awards for teaching, research, and mentoring. His work reflects a long-standing commitment to accessible education, hands-on learning, and building pathways into STEM and technology-driven fields.  

In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how to build and deploy a small full-stack application from scratch, covering the entire development lifecycle — from frontend implementation to backend APIs and cloud deployment.

The session will be guided by experienced developers from WeBorder Developers, each focusing on a key part of the process. Participants will gain practical insights into how modern applications are structured, built, and deployed using real-world tools and workflows.

The workshop will cover frontend development with Next.js, backend development using Hono, containerization with Docker, and deployment to cloud infrastructure. The session will conclude with an open Q&A;, where participants can ask questions and dive deeper into specific topics. This is a practical, step-by-step session designed to help participants understand how different parts of a modern tech stack come together to form a complete, working product.

[REGISTER HERE]

Event Details 

• Date: Thursday, June 11, 2026
• Time: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
• Location: Microsoft El Paso Innovation Hub 500 W Overland Ave, Ste 210 El Paso, TX 79901 
• Please Bring: A laptop for hands-on activities. 

What to Expect

• Step-by-step creation of a small full-stack application
• Frontend development using Next.js
• Backend API development with Hono
• Containerization and deployment using Docker
• Introduction to cloud infrastructure concepts
• Real-world development workflow and best practices
• Open Q&A; session with the speakers

Who Should Attend? 

This session is ideal for: 

• Developers interested in full-stack development
• Students learning modern web technologies
• Engineers looking to understand deployment and infrastructure basics
• Developers who want to connect frontend, backend, and cloud workflows
• Anyone interested in how real applications are built and deployed end-to-end

Participants should have basic knowledge of programming and web development concepts (HTML,JavaScript, or similar).

Featured Speakers 

• Victor M. Talamantes — Software engineer and founder of Binmatter, with experience in building scalable platforms, SaaS systems, and full-stack applications. In this workshop, Victor will introduce the session, guide backend development using Hono, and facilitate the Q&A; session at the end.

• Raul Ruiz — Frontend developer specializing in modern web frameworks and user interface development. Raul will guide participants through building the frontend using Next.js, focusing on structure, best practices, and integration with backend services.

• Efren Gonzalez — Software Architect focused on infrastructure, deployment, and system reliability. Efren will lead the containerization and deployment process, demonstrating how to package applications with Docker and deploy them to cloud environments.

In this interactive workshop, participants will bring their own software or startup ideas and work through them in real time. Rather than focusing on theory, this session is designed to simulate real-world decision-making, from validating the problem to defining a minimum viable product (MVP), choosing the right technology, and identifying viable business models.

Guided by real industry experience, each selected idea will be analyzed live, highlighting common pitfalls, technical trade-offs, and practical strategies used in real projects.

Participants will learn how to simplify complex ideas, avoid overengineering, and focus on building solutions that are not only technically feasible but also viable in the market.

This session is hands-on, practical, and discussion-driven, offering a rare opportunity to see how experienced builders approach product development from both a technical and business perspective.

[REGISTER HERE]

Event Details 

• Date: Thursday, August 13, 2026
• Time: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
• Location: Microsoft El Paso Innovation Hub 500 W Overland Ave, Ste 210 El Paso, TX 79901 
• Please Bring: A laptop for hands-on activities. 

What to Expect

• Live analysis of real participant ideas
• Practical frameworks for evaluating software concepts
• Real-world examples and lessons learned
• Technical and business decision-making insights
• Interactive discussion and feedback

Who Should Attend?

• Developers interested in building their own products or startups
• Students exploring entrepreneurship or software development
• Founders or aspiring founders with early-stage ideas
• Technical professionals looking to better understand product decisions
• Anyone curious about how real-world software products are built and validated

No advanced technical experience is required, but basic familiarity with software or technology concepts will help participants get the most out of the session.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own ideas to discuss and refine during the workshop.

Featured Speakers 

Victor M. Talamantes is a software engineer and founder of Binmatter, a technology company focused on building custom software, digital products, and scalable platforms for clients across different industries.

With a background that spans game development, SaaS platforms, and enterprise applications, Victor has led the design and development of multiple real-world systems, combining technical architecture with practical business strategy.

Throughout his career, he has worked closely with clients and teams to transform ideas into functional products, navigating challenges such as scalability, multi-tenant architectures, and product-market alignment.

In addition to his work as a founder, Victor is passionate about sharing practical knowledge, focusing on real decision-making processes rather than theory. His approach emphasizes simplicity, execution, and building software that delivers real value.

Entrepreneurs, startup teams, and innovators across the Borderplex are invited to join an interactive working session focused on unlocking one of the most powerful, and often overlooked, sources of early-stage funding: SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grants. With over $4 billion in non-dilutive funding awarded annually, this session is designed to help founders access capital without giving up equity.

Through practical guidance and real-world insights, participants will learn how federal agencies fund innovation and what it takes to successfully compete. The session will walk attendees through how to identify relevant SBIR opportunities, align their technology with agency priorities, and structure proposals that stand out. Participants will also gain a clear understanding of common pitfalls that weaken applications and what reviewers are actually looking for when evaluating submissions.

[REGISTER HERE]

Event Details 

• Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2026
• Time: 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
• Location: Microsoft El Paso Innovation Hub 500 W Overland Ave, Ste 210 El Paso, TX 79901 
• Please Bring: A laptop for hands-on activities. 

Who Should Attend?

• Early-stage founders exploring non-dilutive funding options
• Startup teams building tech-enabled or research-driven solutions
• Entrepreneurs looking for alternatives to venture capital
• Researchers interested in commercializing their work
• Anyone curious about how to access federal funding to accelerate innovation

No prior experience with SBIR or government funding is required.

Featured Speaker

Stephanie Schilling is the Executive Director of 1881 Ventures (Previously known as STTE), where she supports founders in turning ideas into fundable, scalable ventures. 

Previously STTE’s Ventures Manager, she helped drive a 12x economic impact for startups in a single cohort and played a key role in securing SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) funding for El Paso-based startup Aurum Tech. With a background in community development and innovation, Stephanie brings firsthand experience navigating federal funding and building pathways for founders to access capital.