Since 2014, Coded by Kids has used project-based learning and mentorship to prepare underserved students ages 8 to 18 years old to be the innovation leaders of the future. Starting with just one teacher, with one student, in one rec center, five years later we have reached 750+ students through 1000+ classes. 

Please join us at a cocktail reception as we celebrate our growth and accomplishments over the past five years. We are commemorating this milestone by also recognizing key supporters that have helped make our journey possible. 

Awards and recipients include:

• Champion Award - Presented to an individual who has advocated for Coded by Kids and contributed to our growth presented to Philadelphia City Councilman At-Large Allan Domb
• Impact Award - Presented to a volunteer individual or company that has had a positive impact on our students or organization presented to Mjumbe Poe
• Amplify Award - Presented to organization or partner that has allowed us to reach more students presented to the Philadelphia School District

Thank you to our generous event sponsors:

VertitechIT
Bank of America
Yards Brewing Company
Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Please contact Melanie Hidalgo-Britt at mhidalgo-britt@codedbykids.com
if you are interested in supporting our event. 

Purchase Tickets ~ https://coded-by-kids.ticketleap.com/cbk-5th-anniversary-benefit/details?fbclid=IwAR1_ADxQcFphSuK1lvN9IGhMspOZweVXPKLOcqJe3gsaYC7SQhx75QLEGns

🔊Ctrl+Shift 2019 is almost here! Our high school coding competition is back for a second year during @PhillyTechWeek 2019! Join us on May 4th at @cicphilly from 12-2 pm and see the websites our students have built as they compete for the $5,000 grand prize. 💰Register for free tickets online atbit.ly/ctrlshift19

Special thanks to our sponsors Capital One Revzilla, Promptworks, Odessa inc and Think Company for making this event possible!

When Sylvester Mobley was a kid, he used to visit Jefferson with his father as he did rounds in the hospital as the director of pediatric intensive care. It was a way for the two to spend time together, and for the younger Mobley, it was a study in what it took for a black man to make it—and excel—in a space where few others looked like him.

Years later, Mobley founded Coded by Kids to help Philadelphia students from backgrounds underrepresented in tech get access to tools, training, and support. Starting with one student at the rec center that his own kids attended, Mobley grew his vision and programs exponentially. Today, the nonprofit provides a project-based tech curriculum at more than 30 sites, including rec centers and schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. He draws on his passion and some 2,000 hours of time donated by tech experts to teach, mentor and advocate for kids as they move from students to developers.

Coded by Kids helps students from backgrounds underrepresented in tech get access to tools, training, and support.

In February, Mobley returned to Jefferson with a group of more than 25 middle- and high-school students for a night of mentoring with the Digital Innovation and Consumer Experience team. As part of Coded by Kids’ Ctrl+Shift 2019 coding competition, the students were tasked to build the best website—one that challenges them to use technology to help them interact with their communities.

After Giao Dang, a digital experience design lead from Jefferson introduced the evening’s mentors, the students explained the purpose of their websites. One group wanted to build a site to help teachers connect with students who have questions on their studies, while others wanted to create sites for tech and art news. Jefferson mentors then matched up with student groups.

Dang walked one group through their ideas. “This reminds me of a lot of the training modules we do,” she said to the students. “We can choose from a catalog of courses. You might want to start with mapping out just one as a proof of concept.”

Jefferson web developer Rachel Bitting asked another group of students whether they intended to lay out their web pages as a square or more of a scroll. “You generally want to plan that out before you get started,” she offered.

Downstairs, Tim Moyer, lead for Jefferson’s extended reality lab, set up augmented and virtual reality systems for the students to try out. Augmented reality is a field seeing a resurgence of interest by tech companies, and with that attention, comes a demand for skilled coders and designers.

“The best part for me about events like these is watching the kids,” Mobley said. Now that his vision and organization have grown, he has less time for the teaching and mentoring than he had when Coded by Kids started in 2014. “It means a lot to come full circle and be able to provide spaces like these for students to gain exposure to these skills.”

“I’m excited to see how many students came out for this event,” added Viraj Patwardhan, Jefferson’s VP of digital innovation and consumer experience. “We look forward to offering our team more chances to give back to the community by partnering on future events with Coded by Kids. It’s an amazing organization, and we’re honored to be able to contribute.”

https://wordpress2.philau.edu/today/2019/03/25/jefferson-designers-and-developers-mentor-coded-by-kids-students/?fbclid=IwAR3FHndLLCU2WzQUWXg7MH8b89DTPHk8x5FvVyNnaYMhsD3Anow5ZDZReOE

This month, Coded by Kids (CbK) will be welcoming six new members onto its Board of Directors, increasing the total membership to eleven. Our new board members are:

“Each new board member brings expertise and a new perspective that will help Coded by Kids expand its presence in the local and regional tech industry. We are truly fortunate to have them join our team,” says CEO Sylvester Mobley. The six new board members will be joined by five returning board members: Maurice Gaston, Christian Kunkel, Yasmine Mustafa, Mjumbe Poe, and Sylvester Mobley.

Isaac Ewell / Co-Founder + CEO, Onehunted / Board Chairperson

A graduate of Morehouse College (B.A., History) and Harvard University (Masters in Education), Isaac has taught high school history, worked as an EdTech designer, a corporate trainer and co-founded several networking/promotions companies and an independent record label. From 2004 to 2012 Isaac worked for the Black Alliance for Educational Options, where he managed a multi-million dollar grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that facilitated the creation of approximately 10 high-quality schools in low-income communities across the country. A few years ago, Isaac left BAEO and launched his own fashion-tech company called Onehunted, which creates online and in-person experiences that forge authentic connections between good people and good products/brands.

In addition to his role as CEO of Onehunted, Isaac serves on the boards of Boys Latin Charter School of Philadelphia, Wissahickon Charter School, Jill Scott’s Blues Babe Foundation and Big Picture Learning. Despite his many accomplishments, Isaac is most proud of his role as a dedicated husband and father.

Ajeenah Amir / Director, Mayor’s Office of Public Engagement

Ajeenah Amir is the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Public Engagement. Amir is a Philadelphia native with over 10 years’ experience in communications, community outreach, advocacy, and events management. She previously served as Deputy Communications Director for the City of Philadelphia, where she managed and advised the communications activities for a broad portfolio of departments, including Planning and Development, the Office of Immigrant Affairs, and the Mayor’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Prior to joining the Kenney Administration, Amir worked as Deputy Press Secretary for PA Governor Tom Wolf, and as Associate State Director for Communications with AARP Pennsylvania. Amir earned her M.S. at the University of Pennsylvania and her B.A. from Howard University.

Dax Hill / Sr. Innovation Specialist, Vanguard Innovation Studio

Dax Hill is a member of Vanguard’s Innovation Studio based in Philadelphia, where she explores various FinTech solutions using Design Thinking, Lean Startup and Agile methodologies. Her career started nearly 20 years ago in the non-profit sector, supporting various causes lead by the National Urban League and later the United Jewish Appeal. Dax pivoted from non-profit work to human resources and spent eight years in various strategic roles across the human capital function for several large academic and financial institutions throughout New York City. While in those roles, she contributed to a number of projects and initiatives focused on operational design, data strategy and global transformations.

Dax is a proud export of New York City, now residing in the greater Philadelphia area. In addition to completing post-baccalaureate studies at Columbia University, Dax is a graduate of Long Island University, where she received a B.S. in Computer Science and M.S. in Management. In her free time, Dax enjoys traveling with her two children, Janelle and Micah, creating one-of-a-kind acrylic paintings and working on collaborative music projects.

Ashley Sabo / Red Clay School Board Member

Born and raised in Delaware, Ashley attended the University of Delaware where she earned a B.S. in Marketing. After graduation, Ashley began working at JPMorgan in the private banking department. She earned her FINRA Series 7 and 63 during this time, as well as two Masters degrees — an MBA with a concentration in Human Resources and an M.S. in Health Care Management. After 12 years in the finance industry, Ashley decided to return to school and is currently enrolled full-time working towards her RN.

She married her college sweetheart and together they live in Wilmington with their 3 children and seven dogs. Ashley is the proud mother of a child with special needs and has become a fierce advocate for special needs and education. In 2016, she and her husband adopted a teenage girl — a process that ignited her interest in trauma-informed education practices. That year, she also won a seat on the Red Clay Consolidated School District Board of Education. She currently serves as a representative to the Board Policy Review Committee, Drop-Out Prevention Committee, and the Wellness Committee.

Andrew Voudouris / Chief Marketing Officer and Co-Founder, Turn5

In 2004, Andrew Voudouris and his brother founded Turn5 — an industry leading e-commerce company specializing in automotive technologies. Under Andrew’s leadership and persistent enthusiasm, Turn5 uses data-driven, personalized marketing to aimed at car enthusiast to help them customize and build their perfect vehicle. Along the way, the company has become a community of 400 employees, including top designers, web developers, customer service professionals, and email marketers.

Andrew did not attend college; it’s part of the reason he champions professional development. For his own professional growth, Andrew is a member of Vistage, an executive advisory and coaching organization, and The Alternative Board (TAB).

Jen Weikert / Executive Director, College Possible

Jen Weikert is the Executive Director of College Possible Philadelphia. In this role, Jen is responsible for day-to-day management, ensuring program fidelity and impact, leading strategic growth, raising funds and the organization’s brand, and building lasting relationships with partners in the Philadelphia region. Most recently, Jen served as Chief Fundraiser for Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI), a national nonprofit focused on helping low-income students become powerful readers through teacher professional development. During eight years at CLI, Jen lead efforts to secure two Investing in Innovation (i3) grants from the U.S. Department of Education totaling $46M and helped the organization to triple in revenue while it scaled nationally.

The first person in her family to graduate from college, Jen holds a B.A. from La Salle University, an M.A. from the National University of Ireland, Cork, and a certificate in fundraising from the University of Pennsylvania. Jen is active in nonprofit and educational causes in the Philadelphia region.

________________________________

The mission of Coded by Kids (CbK) is to make prepare underrepresented young people succeed as tech innovation leaders through project-based learning and mentorship. For more information, visit codedbykids.com