We first met on a plane, en route to Italy, a country we’d both never been to. A mutual love of hip hop brought us together, and we quickly found that navigating life as a pair was just more colorful. Twentysomething years later, we’ve figured out that in parenting and elsewhere – we seriously kick ass side-by-side.

We started with the dream of designing universally accessible children’s playgrounds. After having our first child and experiencing how little support new fathers are often given, we began to design a support group program for dads.

In 2020, our vision shifted to expanding Bitwise Industries into Oakland. Utilizing our skills in career technical education, occupational therapy, and human-centered design, we developed and grew a thoughtful workforce development program rooted in community, learning, belonging, and service. Similarly, we designed, implemented, and scaled a game-changing workplace well-being program for leadership, employees, and apprentices alike.

We’ve always loved bringing people together, dreaming, designing solutions, and making things work better for all kinds of people. This passion for collaboration led to the creation of Empathway Designs, officially founded in 2023.

Now that we are on this path, there is no turning back. Spending our time alongside each other and collaborating with stellar partners to develop inclusive workforce development pathways and economic opportunities is really our jam.