top of page
Keystone_Navy_Logo_edited.png

Keystone Innovation District and Google Launch OnRamp Programs to Expand AI Access for Kansas City Youth and Founders

  • Writer: KCC
    KCC
  • 2 days ago
  • 4 min read

Joint Initiative Brings Hands-On AI Education, Life Skills Development, and Innovation Pathways to Underserved Communities in KCMO


KANSAS CITY, MO, March 11th, 2026 — The Keystone Community Corporation, in collaboration with Google, today announced the launch of OnRamp | Foundations and OnRamp | Start, two structured AI education programs designed to expand access to artificial intelligence literacy, applied learning, and responsible technology use across Kansas City.


Supported by Google, the programs provide structured entry points for youth, founders, and first-time learners to develop foundational AI fluency, practical application skills, and the critical thinking needed to navigate an AI-driven economy.


OnRamp | Foundations, set to launch in June, is designed for young adults, providing hands-on exposure to emerging technology, structured mentorship, and real-world problem-solving experience. The program builds life skills that extend well beyond the classroom, addressing cultural norms and increasing access to opportunity in communities where it is needed most.


OnRamp | Start is tailored for founders, professionals, and adult learners seeking to integrate AI into their work and ventures. Together, the two programs ensure that access to transformative technology begins at the community level, where the highest impact can be achieved.


Artificial intelligence literacy today is comparable to computer literacy in the early 2000s, rapidly becoming a foundational skill across industries from healthcare to construction, logistics to creative media. Yet access to this knowledge remains unevenly distributed. The OnRamp programs change that by delivering education in community-based settings, giving participants the tools, confidence, and critical thinking skills to engage with AI practically and responsibly.


Research consistently demonstrates that high-quality, structured skill-building programs for youth are directly associated with improved long-term economic mobility, increased workforce readiness, and measurable reductions in youth disengagement and violence. The OnRamp programs address three of Kansas City’s most critical priorities simultaneously: community safety through structured youth engagement, workforce development through applicable skills tied to growing career pathways, and economic mobility through early exposure to emerging technology.


“At Google, we believe AI education should be accessible, responsible, and empowering for everyone,” said Utaukwa Allen, Global Lead, Data Center Economic & Community Development. “Our partnership with Keystone reflects that commitment - expanding foundational AI literacy and entrepreneurial capability across Kansas City. Through programs like OnRamp, we’re ensuring that the promise of innovation isn’t reserved for the few but becomes a shared opportunity for all.” 


Keystone’s approach builds on its broader mission as Kansas City’s front door to innovation—creating spaces and programs where emerging technology meets community. Rather than positioning AI as something distant or intimidating, OnRamp makes it practical, responsible, and usable for students, founders, professionals, and families alike.


“Most cities are racing to invest in more innovation. More technology. More programs. But access alone isn’t the answer, the real question is whether the systems around that technology are designed to let communities actually absorb it,” said Kevin McGinnis, CEO of Keystone Community Corporation. “That’s what OnRamp is. It’s not a training program. It’s infrastructure, built with Google, delivered in neighborhoods, designed so that AI literacy becomes something Kansas City owns, not something that happens to it.”


The first OnRamp | Foundations cohort will serve youth connected through Lyrik’s Institution, a community organization focused on engaging urban youth in structured pathways to leadership and growth.


“Our young people don’t lack talent, intelligence, or vision—those things already exist in our neighborhoods,” said Kyle Hollins, Founder & CEO of Lyrik’s Institution. “What often hasn’t happened yet is the bridge between that brilliance and the spaces where opportunity lives. At Lyrik’s, we help young people learn how to translate their language, their ideas, and their creativity into environments that haven’t always recognized it. AI literacy isn’t just about technology—it’s another language. When young people learn to speak it, they gain access to rooms where decisions about the future are being made.”


Through its partnership with Google, Keystone is positioning Kansas City as a region where cutting-edge AI capability is not confined to corporations but distributed across the community. The future economy will be powered by artificial intelligence. Keystone and Google are ensuring Kansas City residents are prepared to power it.


###

About Keystone Innovation District

The Keystone Community Corporation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the Kansas City region’s innovation economy. Through spaces, programs, and partnerships, Keystone connects entrepreneurs, corporations, universities, investors, and community leaders to turn ideas into impact. With a bi-state presence in Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas, Keystone serves as a platform for cross-sector collaboration—advancing entrepreneurship, research commercialization, workforce development, and inclusive economic growth.



About Google

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Android, Google Play, Chrome, YouTube, Google Workspace, and Google Cloud, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.


About Lyrik’s Institution

Lyrik’s Institution is a Kansas City-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2019 by Kyle Hollins. Rooted in cognitive behavioral science and creative expression, the organization works with youth and young adults to interrupt cycles of violence and criminal thinking by reworking destructive thought patterns into productive behaviors and leadership skills. Since serving 136 youth in its first full year, Lyrik’s Institution has grown to serve over 1,000 young people annually through school-based programming, community partnerships, and workforce pathways. Hollins was named a winner of the 2023 Kansas City Pinnacle Prize, recognizing his impact on the region’s youth.


Learn more at lyriksinstitute.com


Media Contact

Gwen Gillette

Keystone Community Corporation

 
 
 
bottom of page