Feature

Green Valley nonprofit MySecureKid provides opportunities in IT and cybersecurity

By Caroline Gage
Co-founders Quiana Gainey (left) and JaLisa Johnson (right) (courtesy of Quiana Gainey)

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

A Green Valley-based nonprofit is encouraging kids to dream about working in tech the same way they dream of being a doctor or lawyer one day.

To help launch them into those career paths, MySecureKid — which also educates families about internet safety — connects children and teens with programming, apprenticeships and mentors.

Since founding the organization in 2018, Quiana Gainey and JaLisa Johnson have focused on supporting children from underrepresented backgrounds. While cybersecurity and technology are projected to grow more than 13%, they say a “knowledge gap” is holding back Black and Hispanic people, as well as people with disabilities, from riding that job growth wave.

“We were the first IT apprenticeship in D.C., and we were servicing a population that was what they consider disenfranchised. We just said that they’re undiscovered,” Gainey said.

Gainey and Johnson have both founded for-profit companies in cybersecurity and healthcare tech, respectively. Using that experience, plus their backgrounds in government contracting and military service, the duo say they created curricula for students to bridge that knowledge gap.

“We want them to see that there’s a shortage in cybersecurity [and that] our infrastructure, our country needs this,” Gainey said. “So let’s start with building that into the curriculum, building partnerships with community, with nonprofits like ourselves, so that we can help the next generation realize their dreams and also help them not go into all traditional [careers].”

Co-founders Quiana Gainey (left) and JaLisa Johnson (right) (courtesy of Quiana Gainey)

MySecureKid offers apprenticeship programs for teens as well as summer cyber camps and after-school programs for younger children. They pair high school students with mentors and provide scholarships to those pursuing education in IT, emerging technologies, healthcare, cybersecurity and entrepreneurship.

It also has worked with Arlington Public Schools for three years and has plans to partner with their apprenticeship program in the fall.

With these programs, Johnson says she hopes that students gain hands-on skills over time — similar to a trade school.

“We make things fun but challenging,” Johnson said.

She and Gainey also make sure parents have opportunities to learn about tech issues, such as internet safety.

“I always tell parents, when you give your childhood phone, it’s like leaving them in the middle of the intersection, and telling them to find themselves their way home,” Gainey said. “Now, you wouldn’t do that, right. So when you give them that cell phone, it’s time to have that conversation.”

Their space in Green Valley, which they call the “360XP Zone,” is self-sufficient, powered with renewable energy and connected to its own water supply. It features learning, retail and event spaces and is equipped with a full-service kitchen and bar. Small businesses can even rent these spaces and benefit MySecureKid in the process.

Calling on her healthcare background, Johnson designed the space to include clinics that she says meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards.

“We always say, ‘I don’t wait for someone else to do something. You can be the change you want to see,” Gainey said.

Inside one of the learning pods at MySecureKid’s facility in Green Valley (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Around Town

Arlington-based South Block looks to expand in D.C. area and beyond

By Caroline Gage
1/3

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) Fueled by its signature açai bowls, local juice bar South Block is hitting a growth spurt.

The smoothie, juice and açai bowl spot opened its newest location in Amazon’s HQ2 in July, marking its 15th storefront in the D.C. area and fifth in Arlington in the last 12 years.

Its founder, Amir Mostafavi, says he has no intentions of slowing down, either. Armed with the company’s first capital raise, he aims to add another 15 locations to the D.C. area while exploring other regions of the U.S., as well.

“I still think there’s there’s opportunities in Arlington County alone, let alone the [D.C. area],” he said. “But, you know, we do we do have aspirations to go into new markets as well.”

ARLnow caught up with Mostafavi to discuss the wave of success South Block is riding and the new course he is charting. He says the key is not growing so quickly the brand loses sight of its mission to make a positive impact on customers, the environment and employees.

“We’re going to grow [South Block] at whatever pace we can keep up with to maintain the same quality of product and company culture, because I’ve seen too many awesome brands fail because they try to grow too fast,” the founder said.

For instance, Mostafavi says he will continue using fair trade açai and will not take shortcuts for cheaper ingredients or labor. The booming popularity of the antioxidant rich fruit in the United States has resulted in cheaper product tied to child labor flooding the market.

Mostafavi also emphasizes leadership development and guest experience because of his negative experiences in the food service industry.

“I really strive, even to this day, for perfection in the quality of the product, but mainly in what we stand for and how we treat our people — the people that work for us [and] the people that come through our doors,” he said.

These are lessons Mostafavi said he and his team learned because South Block got its start in Arlington — which continues to lead the nation as the fittest “city.”

“Customers in Arlington, they know what they’re looking for,” Mostafavi said. “They’re health conscious, and they will ask questions, and so, you know, if you’re trying to take shortcuts or if your product is inferior, I think Arlington customers are very savvy and aware of that.”

Mostafavi started South Block after five years of running a popular juice bar called Campus Fresh at George Washington University. He chose a 700 square-foot space on the south block of a new building at 3019 11th Street N. to house the new business.

“The name ‘South Block’ kind of represents that idea of building a community on your block,” Mostafavi said, referencing the company’s mission.

Mostafavi says he did not open the smoothie shop with expansion plans. About two years in, when lines were stretching out the door, he realized it was time for South Block to grow.

As South Block continued adding locations, Mostafavi considered ways to give back as well.

In 2019, he started the nonprofit Fruitful Planet, which provides fresh produce to people in need. A percentage of all of South Block’s proceeds, are put towards the initiative. The Fruitful Planet Cafe, which operated during pandemic, gave 100% of its proceeds to the nonprofit. Fruitful Planet says it has donated nearly 65,000 pounds of produce.

“Our mission statement is to build healthier communities one block at a time,” Mostafavi said. “So the way I look at that is that’s everyone in our community, not just people that can afford, you know, a $10 smoothie.”

Sponsored

Just Reduced Properties in Arlington: October 15, 2025

By Sponsor

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Please note: While Arlington Realty, Inc. provides this information for the community, it may not be the listing company of these homes.

As of October 13, there are 210 detached homes, 54 townhouses and 244 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 44 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week, including:

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Please note that this is solely a selection of Just Reduced properties available in Arlington County. For a complete list of properties within your target budget and specifications, contact Arlington Realty, Inc.

Around Town

Arlington couple sounds alarm on internet rental scam

By James Jarvis
1/3

When Penrose resident Pete Giannino answered his doorbell one day this March, he was surprised to see his neighbors standing there, looking concerned.

“They said, ‘Hey, are you guys planning on renting your home?’ And I said, ‘No. Why do you ask?’ And they pointed out there was a listing on Zillow or Redfin for our home that we own,” Giannino told ARLnow.

Now, the local couple is sounding the alarm on an internet rental scam falsely advertising that their 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home on the 600 block of S. Wayne Street is on the market. They say the scam appears to target people who are lower-income or who speak limited English and has defrauded several people and families.

In the last six months, Giannino and his wife, Kate Colwell, said upwards of 20 people have come to their door asking to tour the house while another half-dozen have contacted them via social media. They say the home is listed as available for rent, for $2,400 a month, on real estate and social media platforms, including Zillow and Facebook.

Giannino and his wife have gotten many fraudulent listings removed from mainstream real estate websites. Despite seeking help from law enforcement, they’ve struggled to eliminate listings on Facebook Marketplace, where scammers continue messaging potential renters.

“We’re just really angry that this person on the internet is cheating people, stealing from people,” Colwell said. “There’s no accountability and we really want them to be stopped.”

Rental scam depicting house on S. Wayne Street on Facebook Marketplace (courtesy Kate Colwell)

Giannino and Colwell are convinced they are not the only ones to whom this is happening. When Giannino filed a police report in late March, an Arlington County Police Department detective told the couple he had heard of similar scams happening to other newer homeowners in the area.

On April 5, Giannino said he got his hopes up after the detective said the department’s financial crimes unit would handle the case. About a month later, he got a letter in the mail from the police department stating that their case was closed.

The department did not immediately respond to ARLnow’s request for comment.

“In a rage, I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’And just like, I threw it away because I was just so upset by the fact that they were turning a blind eye to this,” he said.

Meanwhile, strangers asking to tour their home continue knocking on their door. So far, Giannino and Colwell say most do not speak English as their first language and there will typically be a translator with them.

Colwell noted that one Hispanic couple who came to their door in early April said they paid a $1,800 security deposit.

“She had like text conversations with the scammer. She had phone conversations with the scammer… and they showed up for the tour. And we’re like, ‘Oh, we’re here for the tour,” Colwell said.

While it’s been emotionally draining to keep turning away hopeful renters, Colwell said that any “annoyance or discomfort we feel with people wanting a tour of the house… pales in comparison to how it feels actually to lose your hard-earned savings.”

Giannino said he had filed an addendum to the initial police report to try and get ACPD to reopen the case.

But, just in case, the couple has also filed a complaint with the FBI.

In the interim, Giannino and Colwell have posted signs in front of their house and spreading the word to prevent more people from falling victim.

“It’s a good thing to shine a light on it, too, because it’s harder for an internet criminal to operate [than in the] darkness,” Colwell said.

Hat tip John Antonelli

Announcement

Food and Toiletry Drive for Arlington Homeless Shelters April 10

By Clarendon Presbyterian Church

Join us on Saturday, April 10 from 9 a.m. to noon at Clarendon Presbyterian Church for the next monthly drive-thru Food and Toiletry Collection to support Arlington homeless shelters.

Priority food items: Vegetable oil, corn meal, boxed cereal, bottled water, packaged healthy kids snacks, microwaveable soup/noodles, fruit juices, instant pancakes, syrup, jelly, individual packaged snacks, pasta, pasta sauce, canned vegetables and other dry goods. Priority toiletry items: Body wash all types/sizes, razors (men’s and women’s), toothbrushes, deodorant (regular and travel), travel toothpaste, mouthwash, men and women’s underwear, shower flip-flops, bar soaps, masks, pillowcases (new or used).

Go to Food and Toiletry Drive for Arlington Homeless Shelters April 10 Read more
Opinion

Cartoon: Pumpkin spice everything

By ARLnow.com
“No, there is not a pumpkin spice option for crab seasoning.” (Cartoon by Mike Mount)

As noted in our Morning Poll last week, pumpkin spice season slipped even earlier this year.

About 62% of you said it was “way too early.” And yet! People are clearly buying it, talking about it, and even making videos about its inexplicable cultural allure.

This month’s Mike Mount cartoon puts the pumpkin spice juggernaut in a uniquely Arlington context.

See all of Mike’s local ‘toons in the ARLnow Press Club weekend edition newsletter.

Announcement

Lived Experience Matters in Office

By Friends of Matt Rogers

Last month, I set out on a beautiful day for some canvassing. After a few fantastic streets, a few brief and contactless conversations with people who said they’d look into my campaign, I apparently stepped back into the 1950s. From the door of a house that I just dropped off literature sprang a middle-aged man who was apparently very exercised about the fact that I had the audacity to do electoral work where I live. “What the **** are you doing here? What makes you think you can do that here” With this not being my first rodeo with experiencing… things like this, I calmly responded that, “I’m passing out information about a candidate for the House of Delegates.” He then responded, “Well, I ought to call the cops.” I responded, “If you want to waste their time, call the cops.”

Within 3-5 minutes, four officers stopped me a few houses away to ask me what I was doing. Luckily for me, my wife, and my six week old son (at the time), these Arlington Police officers had the good sense to realize what happened in this case: I was canvassing while black. Even though I walked away with my life (this time), people who similarly get the police called on them for nothing do not. Sometimes they end up getting held against their will. Sometimes they get strip searched (as the hyperlinked bill introduced by the other candidate for the 47th District’s Democratic nomination would have allowed at traffic stops.)

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