Mark Cuban Foundation Bring Agentic AI Academy Pilot To Indiana

Free five-day Agentic AI Academy teaches community college learners to build AI agents for the workplace, featuring a tool from worker advocacy group Lift Our Voices

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Oct. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Mark Cuban Foundation’s Agentic AI Academy makes its Indiana debut today at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington. The free five-day pilot runs Oct. 19-23 and teaches community college learners to build and use AI agents, with no technical background required.

The Academy is the Foundation’s first program for adult learners. It launched in August at Dallas College and builds on the Foundation’s AI Bootcamp for high school students in grades nine through 12. The pilot gives particular attention to learners in the trades and in communities with less access to AI training.

Each half-day session centers on a result students can apply directly to their jobs. One of the agents' participants builds work as a personal career coach, helping a person map where they stand now and what it will take to reach their goals. By Friday, every participant will have a set of working AI agents designed around their own plans.

“Community colleges are in every region across the country, often in places that are not served by other educational institutions,” said Charlotte Dungan, Chief Learning Officer at the Mark Cuban Foundation. “By bringing Agentic AI to small business owners, community members and students who are entering or re-entering the workforce, we can expand who is empowered to use Agentic AI.”

One module of the curriculum uses the LOV Where You Work AI Tool, a free resource from worker advocacy nonprofit Lift Our Voices. The tool scans employment contracts and onboarding paperwork for hidden nondisclosure agreements and forced arbitration clauses. Students test it on a sample contract, then model how each party might respond to what it finds.

“For so many young people starting their first jobs, employment contracts can be intimidating and difficult to understand. Through our partnership with the Mark Cuban Foundation, students learn to use our free, bilingual LOV Where You Work AI Tool that translates complex legalese into plain language, identifies harmful silencing mechanisms like NDAs and forced arbitration that can conceal misconduct, and teaches workers how to advocate for fairer contracts,” said Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky, Co-Founders of Lift Our Voices. “We were thrilled to launch this program in Dallas, and seeing it expand to Indiana means even more young people can enter the workforce informed, confident and empowered from the very beginning of their careers.”

This program is facilitated with support from Mark Cuban Foundation’s media partner, Notified, a globally trusted technology partner for investor relations, public relations and marketing professionals.

About Mark Cuban Foundation’s AI Initiative
The Mark Cuban Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private nonprofit led by entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban. The Foundation's AI Bootcamp seeks to inspire young people with emerging technology so they can create more equitable futures for themselves and their communities. The Foundation's Agentic AI Academy extends that work to community college students, teaching them to build and use AI agents for real workplace tasks. Learn more about the Foundation at markcubanai.org.

About Lift Our Voices
Lift Our Voices (LOV) was launched in December 2019 to create positive, systemic change in American workplaces through the eradication of nondisclosure agreements for toxic work issues and forced arbitration clauses. Created and launched by Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky, LOV’s mission is to protect American workers by giving those in toxic work environments the freedom to speak freely about their workplace experiences and free them from the laws and business practices that prevent employees from publicly discussing toxic workplace conditions. For more information on Lift Our Voices, visit https://www.liftourvoices.org/ and visit their Facebook and Twitter pages.

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