The Seven Cities Initiative
Building new tech ecosystems, one city at a time.
The Seven Cities Initiative is AnnieCannons' bold, multi-year plan to expand our transformative technology training and workforce development program across the United States. By building sustainable local ecosystems in seven key cities — Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Memphis, Atlanta, and New York City — we are creating regional hubs where survivors of human trafficking can access high-wage careers, wraparound support, and community-driven opportunity.
Why Seven Cities?
Each of the seven selected regions represents both urgent need and strong potential for impact. Together, they reflect the diversity of America's survivor landscape.
Memphis
Supported by strong local leadership and a commitment to a citywide ecosystem of care.
Atlanta
A leader in anti-trafficking coalitions and corporate social responsibility.
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New York City
The nation's largest economic center and a focal point for survivor leadership and policy innovation.
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Seattle
Anchored by tech innovation and a strong culture of social impact.
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San Francisco
A global hub for groundbreaking technology and innovation.
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Los Angeles
A nexus for creative technology, coalition building and advocacy.
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Dallas
An anti-trafficking leader with expanding workforce development initiatives.
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A Collaborative Ecosystem Model
The Seven Cities Initiative is built on partnership and place-based innovation. In each region, AnnieCannons convenes a local advisory council of community leaders, service providers, and industry allies to identify workforce needs and shape relevant training opportunities.
Student Referral Partnerships
Collaboration with local service providers to identify and prepare participants for enrollment.
Tech Industry Engagement
Partnerships with employers and corporations to develop mentorship programs, apprenticeships, and direct hiring pathways.
Community Integration
Coordination with local universities, city agencies, and nonprofits to ensure wraparound supports such as mental health care, Wi-Fi access, and career readiness coaching.
Data and Evaluation
Collection of region-specific metrics on student outcomes, job placements, and ecosystem impact to drive continuous learning and scale.
This ecosystem model ensures that every city can sustain its own network of survivor success, long after initial program implementation.
City Implementation Approach
Each city in the Seven Cities Initiative follows a three-year implementation plan designed to ensure deep local engagement, sustainable partnerships, and measurable survivor outcomes. Every phase is intentionally co-created with community partners and survivor leaders to ensure that the program is locally relevant and nationally impactful.
Year 1: Discovery & Foundation
Goal: Build trust, partnerships, and infrastructure for sustainable impact.
- Identify key survivor-serving organizations, workforce boards, and tech employers.
- Convene local survivor leaders, service providers, and corporate allies to guide program design. Develop a local advisory council.
- Establish MOUs with referral partners and apprenticeship employers.
Outcome: A strong foundation of local partnerships, governance, and readiness for the first training cohort.
Year 2: Program Launch & Workforce Integration
Goal: Deliver survivor-led tech training and build local hiring pipelines.
- Enroll classes of participants through trusted service partners.
- Pair participants with local and national industry mentors and success coaches.
- Graduates enter paid experiential learning projects or apprenticeship programs with local employers.
- Host demo days or tech events to highlight survivor-built products and connect graduates with hiring partners.
Outcome: First graduates placed into high-wage tech roles; strengthened employer engagement and local reputation.
Year 3: Scale & Sustainability
Goal: Embed the program in the local ecosystem and scale its impact.
- Establish ongoing apprenticeship-to-hire pipelines with regional tech companies.
- Deploy the ResourceFull platform to map local services, measure outcomes, and improve coordination.
- Track job retention, income growth, and SEL outcomes among graduates.
- Support local survivor leaders to participate in policy and tech equity initiatives.
Outcome: A self-sustaining, locally anchored survivor tech ecosystem.
Long-Term Vision
By the end of Year 3, each city becomes part of a national movement of survivor technologists, contributing to regional economic development while transforming how communities respond to trafficking and exploitation. The result is a connected, data-informed, and human-centered model for economic justice that can be replicated in new cities across the country.
A Future Built by Survivors
The Seven Cities Initiative represents the next chapter in AnnieCannons' mission: a nationwide network of survivor technologists transforming their own lives and communities. By investing in survivor intelligence, we are investing in innovation and building a future where survivors lead, create, and thrive in the global digital economy.
Join us in advancing this vision. Together, we can ensure that every survivor has access to the tools, training, and community needed to achieve lasting independence. One city at a time!