Comcast and Digital NEST Invest in Empowering the Youth Through New Location in Stockton

Local elected officials, educators, Digital NEST leadership and members of the Stockton community gathered on Friday, January 24th to celebrate the grand opening of Digital NEST’s new Stockton center. Digital NEST is a nonprofit organization that supports underserved youth, predominately from the Latinx community, with the skills, resources, and networks needed to thrive in today’s world. By providing safe spaces for tech training and mentorship, Digital NEST creates access to a community of support for young people to build and launch successful careers.


The idea for Digital NEST was born more than a decade ago when Jacob Martinez, Founder and CEO of the nonprofit, saw a young woman typing on her laptop outside of a building on a cold night in Watsonville. She did not have Internet at home and could not afford to go to a local coffee shop, so she sat by a building to access its WiFi. Shortly after, Jacob began working on a dedicated space for young people to access everything they need to succeed.
Since 2014, Digital NEST has served more than 4000 teens and young adults and has expanded to five locations in California: Watsonville, Salinas, Gilroy, Modesto, and its latest in Stockton. Martinez is excited to have “the NEST,” as it is affectionately called, in Stockton. “Our vision was to identify communities surrounding the Bay Area and Silicon Valley where there is an abundance of talent yet no investment in those areas. These surrounding communities do not reap the benefits of the Bay Area and have been impacted with rising costs of living,” says Martinez.

“Stockton has a young population and an abundance of youth that are creative and want to change their lives. We hope to provide access for these individuals to achieve economic prosperity for themselves, their families, and the community.”
Jacob Martinez, Founder and CEO, Digital NEST
Community members at the grand opening had the chance to see the Stockton center for the first time and learn about Digital NEST’s programming. Members can participate in any of Digital NEST’s three programs, Career Exploration, Career Pathways, and BizzNEST, which is a one-year paid internship where members work on real-world projects, meet with an industry mentor, and gain professional certifications.

Martín Vargas-Vega, Digital NEST Alumni and Board Member, was one of the organization’s first members in Watsonville. Since he was five years old, Martín grew up picking raspberries and strawberries and became the first in his family to graduate high school. Looking for a way to support his family, Martín joined Digital NEST to gain access to technology and build skills that ignited his software engineer career.
“The community and support from the NEST that I did not have elsewhere impacted my life trajectory. I am a homeowner and work for a tech company. I have done a TEDx Talk and traveled around the world. All I wanted was to get my family out of poverty and the NEST provided so much more.”
Martín Vargas-Vega, Alumni and Board Member, Digital NEST
Since 2017, Comcast has been a proud partner of Digital NEST. During the grand opening event in downtown Stockton, Comcast announced a multi-year $200,000 grant from the Comcast Foundation to support Digital NEST’s programs and 30 laptops for youth to use at its five locations. This partnership is part of Project UP, Comcast’s comprehensive initiative to advance digital equity and help build a future of unlimited possibilities.
“Our relationship with Comcast has been great. It’s not only about the grants we receive from them, but it is also about the partnership and how we support young people in their career journey,” says Martinez.