‘I Love It!’ John Cornwell Enjoying Hands-On AI Learning Through The Upskilling Labs

John D. Cornwell was scrolling through the Career Network Ministry’s online forum in early January and a post from Toni Waymer caught his eye.

Waymer is an alumnus of the DC Public Library and Levy AI Upskilling Lab Inaugural Cohort created through The Upskilling Labs, a fast-growing civic learning community bringing together mission-driven professionals to explore how emerging tech and skillsharing can unlock new value for our local communities.

In her post, titled “Finding Bold in 2026,” Waymer wrote: “Here’s where it got bold: During a meeting I set up with a recruiter, instead of simply listing ‘AI skills’ on my resume, I showcased the actual app my team and I had built. I could demonstrate–not just describe–my capabilities. Having a tangible product to present proved far more powerful than any bullet point on a resume ever could.”

“And I thought, I love it!” Cornwell said.

“As a person thinking about a professional upshift, there are opportunities all over the place to add AI to my skills and resume,” Cornwell said. “This was the first time I had seen an opportunity framed as, ‘build something you can actually show to prove you have a working knowledge,’ and that is the crucial distinction between Upskilling and all the other opportunities to learn about AI that are flooding my inbox.”

For the past five years, Cornwell has been running his own consultancy that helps mission-driven organizations with strategy articulation, development, and execution. When he reached his 5-year anniversary in January, he asked himself what he wanted to do for the next five years and he determined that wanted to do more embedded work with a limited number of clients that he can help over time because extensive organizational changes should be made thoughtfully and slowly.

As part of this process, he reached out to Career Network Ministry and during a professional skills class it became obvious to him that his nonprofit clients could really benefit from AI’s ability to quickly build and prototype simple software. So, when he read Waymer’s post, he researched The Upskilling Labs and enthusiastically joined their second problem-solving cohort that’s currently in session and focused on using AI to improve health care.

Cornwell’s pod is working on a project called “Care Clarity” that’s led by Eric Rivera, a son of immigrant parents who remembers being a young child and having to try to translate for his Spanish-speaking parents at doctors’ offices. Critical nuances can be easily missed with Google Translate, so the Care Clarity team is exploring how to train AI to be a more useful spoken or written interpreter in a clinical setting. Most products are focused on the provider, while the pod is focused on helping the patient navigate their care journey.

John Cornwell with the Care Clarity team presenting their project idea.

Photo Credit: Dr. Tati Warren

“While I have been using AI for about two years in an intermediate way, I thought I want to learn more and I would love to learn it hands-on,” Cornwell said. “I wanted to work side-by-side with people on a project that I could really jump into, and so the value proposition of a new nonprofit full of energy, run out of the library, and trying to help a wide demographic get smarter about learning something new, that just sounded like so much fun.”

Cornwell is a board member for several nonprofits, and the executive director of Alternative Gifts of Greater Washington, a nonprofit that fundraises for select nonprofits that are too small to have development teams. As he learned more about The Upskilling Labs, he realized it was a nonprofit that was also trying to get off the ground and he asked what he could do to help.

Cornwell, who lives in Takoma Park, Md., studied persuasion at Harvard Kennedy School and teaches storytelling/presentation design classes to help clients build staff and donor engagement. Since many of the “Upskillers” are in career transition, Cornwell offered to create a workshop that would help job-seekers build a better business case for when they apply and interview.

Cornwell presented his “Storytelling for Personal Brand” workshop as part of an Upskillers’ meetup event March 10 at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. For Cornwell, it was an opportunity to give back to a forward-thinking organization with a mantra of “Build Out Loud” that Cornwell has found to be a “very happy surprise.”

John Cornwell showing Upskillers how to craft a personal brand through storyteling.

Photo Credit: Dr. Tati Warren

“Real learning comes from struggle, and this is a way to struggle,” Cornwell says. “This is also a brilliant way to have something more compelling to tell a prospective employer than, ‘AI? Sure, I know about it. I have an ‘Intro to AI’ certificate from the University of (fill in the blank).’’’