Girls Who Code Welcomes Two New Board Members: Kavitha Prabhakar, National Managing Principal for Deloitte’s Core Business Operations & Gregory R. Simpson, former Chief Technology Officer at Synchrony Financial

NEW YORK, NY – (December 12, 2023) - Today, Girls Who Code, an international nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in tech, announced additions to its Board of Directors. Kavitha Prabhakar, national managing principal for Deloitte’s* Core Business Operations and Gregory R. Simpson, former Chief Technology Officer at Synchrony Financial and a leader in artificial intelligence. Both will join the Board as new members.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Kavitha and Gregory to our team as we continue to expand our programming to meet the needs of our students and to adapt to changes in the tech industry,” said Dr. Tarika Barrett, CEO of Girls Who Code. “Throughout their careers, they have each demonstrated an incredible diversity of skills, from business operations to artificial intelligence, and we know that this – paired with their passion for our mission – will be invaluable to Girls Who Code.”

“As a proud immigrant, American citizen, mother, computer science major, and woman in technology, the mission of Girls Who Code is deeply personal for me,” said Kavitha Prabhakar. “Their mission and my personal passion for the issue are why I recently joined their board, and am committed to supporting their goal of closing the gender gap in entry-level tech jobs by the year 2030 – this work is truly an honor.”

"Girls Who Code is making a difference. Building a pipeline of female engineers is not only helping girls around the world succeed and grow as individuals, but it helps our society by building a more diverse engineering workforce,” said Gregory Simpson. “I'm proud to contribute to the effort in any way I can."

“It’s an honor to have Kavitha and Gregory join our Board and help make tech education more accessible to girls, young women, and nonbinary students across the country,“ said Carol Juel, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology and Operating Officer at Synchrony and Chair of Girls Who Code’s Board of Directors. “I, along with the other members of the Board, look forward to collaborating with them as we seek to diversify the tech industry and ensure that the hundreds of thousands of Girls Who Code students are prepared for the jobs of the future.”

Since 2012, Girls Who Code has served 580,000 students and has 185,000 college and career-aged alumni – half of whom come from historically underrepresented groups in tech. All Girls Who Code programs and initiatives are created to support students in every step of their educational and tech journeys.

About Kavitha Prabhakar

A proud immigrant, American citizen, mother, woman in technology, and champion for social change, Kavitha Prabhakar is the national managing principal for Deloitte’s Core Business Operations portfolio of offerings which includes Cloud Engineering, Application Modernization and Innovation, Operations Transformation, Core Industry Solutions, and Technology Operations. Core Business Operations supports organizations as they modernize their systems, realize the opportunities of cloud computing, and re-engineer their processes to take advantage of new platforms and business models. In doing so, the portfolio helps clients navigate dynamic and disruptive markets, drive product and service innovation, improve financial performance, and accelerate speed to market.

In her prior role as Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Officer for Deloitte US, Kavitha led Deloitte’s strategy and commitment to drive more equitable outcomes. To this end, she spearheaded the release of Deloitte’s DEI Transparency Report, first issued in 2020, setting a new standard for racial, ethnic, and gender data transparency and accountability. She also co-led the release of The Equity Imperative, which calls businesses to drive more meaningful action toward greater racial equity.

Kavitha co-leads the Executive Women in Technology initiative for Deloitte’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) Program and is personally committed to increasing representation of girls in STEM by engaging in K-12 education in local communities. She has led various Women’s Initiative programs for financial services including 100 Wise Women and Women on Wall Street. Kavitha has been recognized as one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen and as Crain’s Notable Minorities in Accounting, Consulting, & Law. She additionally received the 2023 Ascend A-List Award for her work in supporting Pan-Asian professionals to thrive and drive positive societal impact for all.

Kavitha has a M.S in computer science and MBA with concentrations in strategy and finance from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She also holds a B.S. in computer science and mathematics from the State University of New York, Buffalo.

About Gregory R. Simpson

Gregory R. Simpson was the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and AI leader at Synchrony Financial, where he was instrumental in launching the foundational infrastructure to support the company's IPO. His role involved driving a digital transformation built on a strategic technology stack including cloud-based systems, a new data lake, application APIs, and AI. Prior to Synchrony, he was the CTO for all of GE and had previously held the position of CTO at numerous GE businesses. Additionally, he served as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for a major GE Healthcare acquisition and as the Commercial Quality leader for

GE Lighting. Greg was named a Premier 100 Technology Leader by Computerworld Magazine in 2016.

Beyond his technical and leadership roles in the corporate world, he has channeled his technology and global travel experiences into his writing, notably his techno-thriller novel, “The Quantum Contingent.” Today, Greg serves as an executive advisor for Zscaler, is on the mutual fund board for Johnson Investment Fund, is an executive coach, and does talks on generative AI when not relaxing in retirement. He lives in Loveland, Ohio with his wife, Karen, and has two grown children.

About Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code is an international nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in technology, and is leading the movement to inspire, educate, and equip students who identify as girls or nonbinary with the computing skills needed to pursue 21st century opportunities. Since launching in 2012, Girls Who Code has reached 580,000 students through our in-person and virtual programming, and 185,000 of our alumni are college or career-aged.

Girls Who Code has sparked culture change through marketing campaigns and advocacy efforts, generating 14 Billion engagements globally. In 2019, the organization was named the #1 Most Innovative Non-Profit on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list, and in 2023 was named one of Fast Company’s Brands That Matter. The organization was also named one of NonProfit Times’ Best Nonprofits to Work For in 2022 and 2023.

*Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of their legal structure.