Blog

January 22, 2019

Written by volunteer writer Amy Freeman Seventeen-year-old Lilia Becker is a shining example of a person being the change they want to see in the world. She's a coder, has made her own 3D designs, and founded the nonprofit CodeWithLilia.org, which aims to get more girls into the computer science industry. Lilia's been involved with TechGirlz for awhile and has served as an assistant workshop leader a few times and is a current member of the Teen Advisory Board. On December 1, 2018, she had the chance to lead a workshop for the first time. She taught 3D Jewelry Design…

January 15, 2019

Jen Sweeney, a technology focused freelance journalist for The Fourth Industrial Revolution, lists TechGirlz as one of the organizations pushing for new approaches to change the gender status in tech. The article discusses the historical strides Betty Holberton took to prove women should and could be in tech, as well as the importance of having programs in place to support the current/next generation of women in tech. The full article was originally published January 03, 2019 in the The Fourth Industrial Revolution section of Verizon.com. Betty Holberton had an unforgettable first day at the University of Pennsylvania. Her math professor…

January 8, 2019

Written by volunteer writer Amy Freeman It's not only the girls who attend a TechGirlz TechShop who walk away from it having learned something. La Tasha Jackson taught her second "YOU Can Code!" workshop to a group of middle school girls in Chicago, Illinois this past November. She noted that she loves volunteering with TechGirlz because doing so brought back a fire she'd previously let burn out. She currently works as a data administrator at a hospital and has long dreamed of becoming a software developer. One of the many benefits of volunteering with TechGirlz for her is getting to…

January 4, 2019

Written by volunteer writer Alison Perch TechGirlz volunteer Anna E. Cook loves her career as a user-experience (UX) designer. She gets to combine her passions for creative thinking, understanding human behavior, and technology, and there’s always something new to learn. “Since the web and mobile apps are always growing and changing, there's always new technology emerging and new user behaviors to study, so my job never gets boring,” Anna explains. As a UX designer, Anna creates wireframes, high fidelity mockups, and prototypes to help people bring their ideas to life. Her designs are driven by analytics and qualitative data from…

December 20, 2018

Written by volunteer writer Amy Freeman Sometimes, organizing and leading a TechGirlz workshop is a real team effort. On November 1, Optum hosted their second TechGirlz event at its Raleigh office. The workshop was "Introduction to JavaScript" and was led by Kristen Slappey. Kristen wasn't alone in working with the middle-school-aged girls who attended the TechShop. She had support from a team of volunteers, made up of other employees from Optum. The volunteer team included Tarequl Alam, Keila Calderon Chaves, Jamal Cromity, Caitlin Doyle, Tanya Hughley, and Janet Saldana. As the technology arm of UnitedHealth Group, it makes perfect sense…