Our Founder's Story
AIVillage was founded by Christopher Daniels, a lifelong Chicagoland resident, technology professional, and systems architect based in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Growing up watching brilliant young people get pulled into the justice system or street survival long before anyone introduced them to hardware engineering or technical careers, Chris set out to build a real community alternative.
Too many youth programs offer boring computer worksheets or hand kids a locked-down tablet. AIVillage puts real screwdrivers and bare-metal components into their hands, boots open-source Linux, and runs local AI models offline with zero cloud dependency.
The Village Ecosystem
No single institution can raise a child alone. That is why our model coordinates directly across:
- ✓ The Student: Actively building their machine and defining their personal AI assistant.
- ✓ The Family: Provided visibility and support without commercial data extraction.
- ✓ The School: Connecting classroom attendance to tangible hardware goals.
- ✓ Wilco Area Career Center & Community Colleges: Feeding motivated students into advanced programs.
- ✓ Juvenile Court & Advocates: Substituting certified technical hours for punitive detention.
- ✓ Local Employers: Offering apprenticeships and living-wage careers through age 24.
Board of Directors
Rooted in Bolingbrook and Chicagoland, our leadership team provides active oversight, compliance excellence, and community trust.
Christopher Daniels
Lifelong Chicagoland technologist, hardware systems specialist, and Bolingbrook resident. Founder of ThePuterGuy.net and architect of the AIVillage hands-on hardware and local AI learning model.
Jan Lashea
Bolingbrook community leader and youth advocate directing parent partnerships, student support networks, fiscal controls, and state GATA grant compliance.
Nina Flanagan
Community ambassador and youth mentor focused on student outreach, juvenile diversion advocacy, organizational governance, and civic partner relationships.
