About Us - Girl Coders

How We Got Started

∼ a message from our founder

Caroline

As a Girl Scout of 12 years in Troop 12771, being in a supportive environment of girls was and continues to be a big part of my life. It was in this environment that I learned how to respond to all the support I've received over the years—by paying it forward.

Girl Coders is a continuation of my Gold Award project, in which I had the blessing of mentoring middle school girls in the mobile app coding clubs I helped start at their schools and guide them in their journey of exploring STEM. With the inspiration I gained from working with these bright future women leaders in STEM, I wondered how I could expand the ways to further reach out to girls.

I began my journey and love of coding myself with taking a coding class at my high school, but saw a lack of girls starting there and continued to see it at every turn of the way. With all the amazing experiences and opportunities I've had as a result of my venture into coding, I want to help girls realize its potential as something they discover they enjoy through a wide range of accessible activities and encourage them to take their first step.

Girl Coders is made possible through all the help of the volunteers on our team. Our volunteers dedicate their time and efforts to help build this program, foster its growth, and continually improve it, and they are the stars who allow our program to best reach girls and inspire them in their journey of exploring STEM.

Our Team

Adrienne

“What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.” From the great Greek philosopher Aristotle over 2300 years ago, which is perhaps, one of the most ancient quotes about volunteering offers proof that giving back to the community is hardly a new concept. With so many people less fortunate than those of us who can afford to travel, and with funding for social services being brutally slashed, volunteering is becoming increasingly important these days. From immigrants escaping violent conflict and under-privileged kids needing education to homeless people in need of housing, there are no shortage of ways volunteers can help make a difference. The greatest thing about volunteering may be the benefits it offers to individual recipients, their communities, and the volunteers themselves. There are many barriers to educating girls. Some must work to help their families, or stay home to care for younger siblings. Other girls simply don't have the money for educational fees or school uniforms. Parents and communities may not understand the importance and benefits of girls’ education, or schools may not be safe places, especially for girls and other children that experience marginalization. Today the society is prone to all kind of situations and these mainly, keep girls out of school too. Girls and boys have the right to education. World Vision works to get girls into school, make sure they stay in school and supports their academic success by promoting an equitable school environment that encourages learning for both girls and boys.

Kris

I began my journey into coding when I became obsessed with the program Scratch in fourth grade. Soon, I learned how to use 3D printers and laser cutters and was introduced to the programs of Arduino and Java. I have participated in robotics and math competitions, including earning 1st place in my school for the AMC 10. Aside from STEM, I also enjoy public speaking and going to local Forensics competitions. I am interested in coding, since it is a magical process. Users are able to create so much from a few lines of instructions!

Emily

Priya

I am an artist and designer living in Sonoma County, CA. I was born in Mexico and raised in Boston, so I am a mix of opposite sensibilities I attended Rhode Island School of Design and then Memphis College of art. Before turning to design full time I had a long career as an academic in the arts. My work is in a few museum collections and has been shown in the states and abroad. My design style takes all these influences and stirs them up in new (sometimes surprising!) and beautiful combinations.

Carlos

Geoffrey

Fatema

STEM is wonderful. My journey with STEM started with simple multiplication when I was in elementary school. Just by counting the length and width, you can find the surface area easily. Furthermore, I found out that STEM is more than that. I still remembered the first time I extracted my DNA, made copper sulfate solution from the chemistry lab, printed out

Diana

Jenny

UX/UI Designer and a tinkerer by heart and mind. I thoroughly enjoy working with my hands to design, create or be a handy woman and fix things!

Noopur

Christine

I had practically no exposure to computer science prior to my senior year of high school, and even then the classes were limited and I didn't have the opportunity to learn. I would never have thought that computer science would interest me, nonetheless that I would end up majoring in it. I've come to recognize the value of giving girls exposure to a field where they are underrepresented; I want to help others realize the importance of computer science, how everyone can thrive and find success in technology, and know how fun the field can be too!

Laura

Sarina

I first started coding when I was a freshman in college, and I'd picked Computer Science as my major since people had said it was something I should do since I liked math and science in high school. As I went through my introductory classes, I found it difficult to to keep up in my classes or find people to work with. Going to a medium-sized school, I found it hard to get help from TAs or professors, because their office hours would always be filled with people who would talk over me, and made me feel self-conscious about asking questions. But, I did eventually make it through all those introductory courses, and almost every time, it was because I had an older woman who had helped me, and understood what I was facing because she had faced it as well. I got through those classes because I knew that if she felt the same way I did, but she was able to make it through, then I could, too. Through this experience, I learned the importance of mentorship and representation of women and other minority groups in STEM, and understood a lot about why there were such few women in the tech industry. I spent the remainder of my college career trying to promote diversity and inclusion at hackathons in particular to encourage more women to stay in STEM fields. Now that I've graduated, I hope to continue to do the same through volunteering efforts, such as GirlCoders. And yeah! I'll definitely take a look at what other curriculum I can design. I actually have an idea for one that I hadn't seen on that page -- https://snap.berkeley.edu/ -- from what I'm understanding it's a little more advanced

Lekha