Thurgood Marshall College Fund president spoke at Fortune’s Workplace Innovation Summit

June 1, 2026

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) was well represented at the recent Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit in Atlanta.  

Dr. Harry L. Williams, president & CEO of TMCF, was a panelist at the conference for a session about AI, entry-level jobs and the new frontier of jobs. 

Other panelists included Cristina Mancini, CEO of Black Girls Code; Debbie Dyson, CEO of SkillsRight; and Becky Schmidt, chief people officer at PepsiCo. The panel was moderated by Fortune‘s head of video, Adam Banicki. 

During the session, Dr. Williams indicated that the anxiety is palpable on campus. 

“Students are scared. And they’re nervous with AI, because we don’t know where it’s going,” he said on the panel. 

Dr. Williams also discussed how students use AI to prepare for job interviews, the power of internships and TMCF’s newly developed Place-Based Trainings.  

“We spent three days on the campus literally training with corporations and getting them ready for… internships, apprenticeships so that when they graduate they can go straight to work,” Dr. Williams said in the panel. 

Dr. Williams closed the panel by talking about the value of continuous improvement, encouraging students to find ways to make themselves better each day. 
A full recap of the panel is available at Fortune.

Photo courtesy of Fortune

Related News

Finding her place in the room: How DevCon changed one student’s perspective

For Southern University and A&M College student Daetorrea Whitlow, attending DevCon, a Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) program, was more than an opportunity to travel. It was a chance to enter rooms she never imagined being in and discover new possibilities for her future. A business marketing major who expects to graduate in 2029, Whitlow […]

Booked, busy and funded: How Taliya Creamer is empowering HBCU students

Florida A&M University senior Taliya Creamer has turned the opportunities she gained through the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) into a platform dedicated to helping other historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) students access scholarships, professional development and career opportunities. A first-generation student majoring in business administration, Creamer credits TMCF with helping her discover her […]

Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Truist partner for campus-to-career immersion

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and Truist have partnered to expand access, opportunity and career pathways for students attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).  The partnership leverages scholarship funding, leadership development and experiential learning to support student success and strengthen the pipeline of diverse talent entering the financial services industry.  Formally known as […]