Trinity Commons Speaker Series with Kimberly Bryant
Kimberly Bryant is the founder of Black Girls CODE, a non-profit organization dedicated to “changing the face of technology” by introducing girls of color (ages 7-17) to the field of technology and computer science. With firsthand insights into the challenges women of color in the STEM field face, Bryant’s mission is to provide young girls from underrepresented communities opportunities to learn in-demand skills while providing guidance and encouragement. She inspires others to become change agents by pushing through traditional boundaries and perceived limitations to help drive change in our world. In conversation with Trinity’s Maisha Joseph and Girls for Gender Equity’s Joanne N. Smith, Bryant will discuss her career path and how she helps other people to find their passion for technology. Join us on April 15 at 6pm EDT for this conversation with Kimberly Bryant.
About Kimberly Bryant
Through her non-profit, Black Girls CODE, Kimberly Bryant works to develop our leaders of the future and increase opportunities for women and girls in the tech industry. As a young girl from humble beginnings, Kimberly developed an uncommon passion for math and science which eventually lead her to Vanderbilt University where she majored in electrical engineering and minored in math. Often the only person of color in her classes, she entered the workforce in the same predicament. So, in 2011, Kimberly created Black Girls CODE, with an ambitious goal to train one million young women by 2040. In addition to the achievement with her organization, Kimberly also has received several honors and awards, including an invitation to the White House as a Champion of Change for her work in tech inclusion and her focus on bridging the digital divide for girls of color. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship. Kimberly inspires others to become change agents by pushing through traditional boundaries and perceived limitations to help drive change in our world.
About Joanne N. Smith
Joanne N. Smith (she/her) is the founding President & CEO of Girls for Gender Equity (GGE). She moves GGE closer to its mission through strategic advocacy, development, and leadership cultivation. A staunch human rights advocate, Smith co-chaired the nation’s first Young Women’s Initiative, a cross-sector Initiative coordinating government, philanthropic, and community efforts to create the conditions for cis, trans girls of color, and GNC youth to thrive. Her leadership helped facilitate a $30M commitment from government and philanthropy to invest in community-driven recommendations. Smith is the co-founder of The Black Girl Freedom fund, a 10-year initiative to invest 1 Billion dollars into the advancement of Black girls. Smith is also a steering committee member of Black Girl Movement and a member of Move to End Violence -an initiative designed to strengthen the collective capacity to end gender-based violence in the United States. Smith is a Haitian-American social worker born in NY and now she resides in Brooklyn.
About Maisha Joseph
Maisha Joseph is a senior technical leader with a Master’s Degree from Pace University in Information Technology. In her current role as a Lead Audio Visual consultant with Trinity Church Wall Street’s Information Technology team, she helps Trinity with the implementation of new and complex technological solutions, and other invaluable online and in-person conferencing tools. Prior to Trinity, she also led Microsoft’s Northeast team to implement new conference room technologies and created a training system that was used nationally. Maisha’s goal and passion is to bring more awareness to the lack of diversity and inclusiveness for women of color in the IT field and be a change agent to increase representation.