Girls Who Code Launches Free Virtual Video Series to Support Young Women in Tech During COVID-19

Girls Who Code Launches Free Virtual Video Series to Support Young Women in Tech During COVID-19

One-of-a-kind “Girls Who Code Talks” series aims to protect the pipeline of young women navigating changes to their college and career plans during pandemic

Virtual video series, hosted on Zoom, is the second initiative launched in under a month by the leading non-profit in response to COVID-19

Speaker series will feature experts in career counseling, college admissions, wellness and more

New York, NY (April 27, 2020) - Girls Who Code, the international nonprofit working to close the gender gap in technology, today announced it would launch a free virtual video series to support young women navigating changes to their college and career plans during pandemic.

The series is open to anyone via Zoom and will feature experts in career counseling, college admissions, wellness spaces and more, including Derek Brinkley, Assistant VP of College Admission at Columbia College in Chicago and Mariela Regalado, former Director of College Counseling at Juan Morel Campos Secondary School.

“We need to keep the hope alive for girls and women during this difficult time,” said Dr. Tarika Barrett, Chief Operating Officer at Girls Who Code. “With Girls Who Code Talks, we’re hoping to provide much-needed resources and community so that girls and women can come out of these devastating circumstances even stronger and smarter than before.”

The speaking series will launch with the following conversations, hosted via virtual video chat by Girls Who Code Chief Operating Officer Dr. Tarika Barrett:

• April 30, 7PM EST (via Zoom): College During COVID-19, ft. Derek Brinkley, Assistant VP of College Admission at Columbia College in Chicago and Mariela Regalado, former Director of College Counseling at Juan Morel Campos Secondary School.

• May 14, 7 PM EST (via Zoom): Career Pathing in a Crisis, speaker to be announced

• May 28, 7PM EST (via Zoom): No Internships? Now what?, speaker to be announced

• June 11, 7 PM EST (via Zoom): How to Be Brave, Not Perfect...In a Crisis, ft. Reshma Saujani

Girls Who Code Talks are free and open to women and girls beyond the Girls Who Code community via Zoom. Registrations for the first session are available here. For future sessions, visit www.girlswhocode.com. All sessions will be recorded and available for viewing on the Girls Who Code YouTube channel.

Since its founding in 2012, Girls Who Code has taught 300,000 girls to code around the world–half of whom are from historically underrepresented groups in tech. The organization has 80,000 college-aged alumni. It’s alumni are declaring majors in computer science and related fields at 15 times the national average.

About Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code is an international nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in technology, and leading the movement to inspire, educate and equip young women with the computing skills needed to pursue 21st century opportunities.

Since launching in 2012, Girls Who Code has reached 500 million people through its work and 300,000 girls through its in-person programming. College-aged alumni of Girls Who Code are declaring majors in computer science and related fields at 15 times the U.S. average. In 2019, the organization was named the #1 Most Innovative Non-Profit on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list. Follow the organization on social media @GirlsWhoCode.