Shaun Tai is an American social entrepreneur and founder of BRIDGEGOOD, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing tech opportunities and career development for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) designers. Tai was born in Oakland, California, and obtained a BA in Digital Graphics from California State University, East Bay in 1999, followed by a BS in Advertising Management and an MA in Architectural Design from San Jose State University.
Career
In 2009, Tai founded the Oakland Digital Arts and Literacy Center, a public benefit corporation that bridges the digital literacy and opportunity divide in underserved communities. In 2011, he organized the first “Social Media for Small Business” event at Oakland City Hall, educating over 240 entrepreneurs of color. Tai has also led expansion of a workforce development program spanning 15 cities, 25 colleges, 800 students with 62M bulletin impressions.
In 2014, Tai led AT&T’s 28 Days Campaign for Black History Month, which produced 11,570 pieces of social currency, yielding 90-million impressions. In 2015, he was selected as California State University, East Bay’s highest honor, Distinguished Young Alumnus of the academic year.
Tai has also been recognized for his work in tech and social entrepreneurship. TechCrunch named BRIDGEGOOD a “Social Impact” finalist at the Crunchies Awards in 2019, 2020, and 2021. He was also named a 40 under 40 honoree by the San Francisco Business Times and California State University, East Bay, for five consecutive years.
In 2018, with lead support from Google and the Golden State Warriors, Tai launched BRIDGEGOOD.com, a platform connecting job seekers to professional opportunities. In 2022, Tai and BRIDGEGOOD provided 13,500 BIPOC designers with tech opportunities and a collaboration studio in Jack London Square for career development.
In 2023, Tai was recognized with KPIX 5’s prestigious Jefferson Awards Silver Medal for his work in social entrepreneurship.
Other Achievements
Aside from his work in social entrepreneurship, Tai has also made contributions to various fields. He documented the history of Bay Area rap and created an online campaign with 14-million video views in 2008. Tai also co-founded an award-winning auto group of thirty members with his brother Wilson Tai, which influenced the $5-billion dollar American franchise “The Fast and the Furious” in 1999.
In 2013, Tai was selected to keynote San Jose State University’s Educational Opportunity Program Graduation Ceremony and Orientation, where he addressed 1,700 students.
Articles and Mentions
Tai’s work has been featured in various publications, including CBS News, San Francisco Business Times, and Diablo Magazine. He was also featured as a “Hometown Hero” on Comcast Newsmakers/CNN Headline News in 2011. Tai has also been mentioned in articles by Adobe, BFMTV, and SFGate.
Personal Life
Tai is a resident of Oakland, California. He is an advocate for social justice and equality, and continues to work towards bridging the digital divide for underrepresented communities.