Ideas That Move Beyond the Classroom.

Fidel Ferrer is the Founder & CEO of Project LEDO, a technology education leader and speaker working at the intersection of technology, education, community, belonging, and opportunity.

His work and perspectives have been featured across technology media, universities, community institutions, industry conversations, and international platforms.

Science, strategy, and community

Fidel Ferrer knows what it means to arrive somewhere new and have to find your own way in. He came to Portland from Cuba, studied biochemistry engineering at Portland State University, and built a career at Apple in Global Operations & Strategy.

Along the way, he kept seeing the same thing: brilliant young people, often Black, Brown, and immigrant kids like the one he once was, sitting outside the rooms where technology was being taught. So he started Project LEDO to open those doors, and he still leads our work as Founder and CEO.

Today our students build robots, learn how chips are made, defend networks, and walk into industry spaces they once thought weren't meant for them. We do it alongside schools, industry partners, museums, and community organizations, in Portland and around the world.

It all comes back to one belief that guides Fidel and all of us at LEDO: talent is everywhere, but access and opportunity are not—and young people should have the opportunity not only to consume technology, but to understand it, create it, and use it to shape their future.

Major stories and appearances

On Stage & In Conversation

Keynotes, conferences, panels, university engagements, community conversations, and international forums.

Selected recognition connected to Project LEDO's work.

A Local Mission in a Global Conversation

Conversations about technology access, education, belonging, innovation, and young people's futures extend beyond Portland.

06 • PERSONAL STORY

The Story Behind the Work

Immigration, education, belonging, family, and community: the experiences that shaped Project LEDO, told through others' storytelling.

Bring the conversation to your stage.

Keynotes, panels, university and community events, industry conversations, and international forums.