About AARI

Who We Are &
Why We Build

The Atlanta AI & Robotics Initiative was founded on a simple belief: the people building the future should look like the whole of humanity. We exist to make that true.

Founder & CEO

Nolan S. Code

As Founder and CEO, Nolan S. Code leads the Atlanta AI & Robotics Initiative, directing organizational strategy, fundraising, budgeting, partnerships and program delivery. He built AARI from a garage laboratory into a hands-on workforce organization spanning AI infrastructure, data centers, cybersecurity and robotics.

He secured more than $100,000 in cash and in-kind support during AARI's first year. He works across technology, operations and partnerships leadership to align funding, infrastructure priorities and program execution.

AARI's executive team includes Dorian Person, Chief Technology Officer; David Taylor, Chief Operating Officer; and Leslie "Nick" Nicholson, Chief Partnerships Officer. Nolan connects their work with the organization's strategy and industry and academic relationships. Meet AARI's leadership and Board.

At Microsoft, Nolan closed a $100 million Azure renewal, achieved 174% quota attainment and ranked first among more than 200 AI specialists. His career also includes founding an AI health-data venture, advising more than 150 startups, and leading enterprise data-modernization work at Accenture.

A U.S. Army veteran and Georgia Tech Black Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year, Nolan brings business and technical experience to building practical pathways into the industries shaping Atlanta's future.

Nolan S. Code, Founder & CEO of AARI
Nolan S. Code
Founder & CEO

Background & Credentials

U.S. Army Veteran

Logistics Officer, leading complex systems operations under pressure. The same discipline that powers AARI.

Microsoft AI & Cloud Leadership

Closed a $100M Azure renewal by aligning executive priorities, commercial strategy and technical delivery.

Georgia Tech Black Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year

Recognized for building AARI from the ground up and creating measurable community impact.

Atlanta, Georgia

Born and built here. AARI is a hometown bet on Atlanta's next generation of technical talent.

The Garage Data Center

Where it started. Why it matters.

Before AARI had a name, it had a garage. Nolan was building a hands-on learning environment around modern computing and AI tools that students would rarely get to access in traditional classrooms.

When students started showing up to learn, he didn't turn them away. He invited them into hands-on learning using real equipment and guided projects. That's where AARI's approach was born: you learn by doing, and doing means working with real tools.

The Garage Data Center became the AARI Systems Lab, a nonprofit teaching lab built to expand access to hands-on learning in AI, robotics, and modern computing. The origin story stays, because it's true, and because it matters: this was built from scratch, by hand, out of conviction. Not venture capital.

That ethos is baked into everything we teach. Students who come through AARI know what it feels like to build something from nothing. That's exactly how AARI was built.

The Problem We're Solving

The technical opportunity gap is real, it is growing, and it disproportionately affects underrepresented communities.

80%

CS Grads Feel Unprepared

8 in 10 computer science graduates report they don't feel ready for real IT infrastructure work on day one.

First Graduate Placed

40

Morehouse Pilot Cohort

Our first cohort at Morehouse College enrolled 40 students. The model works. Now we scale it.

Want to Learn More or Get Involved?

Use the AARI contact form, explore the Scholars Program, or make a donation to support our mission.

Contact AARI Scholars Program