/dev/color Welcomes Largest Cohort of Black Software Engineers to Date
The nonprofit has expanded its reach with new programming and the addition of two new chapters in Atlanta and Seattle
Jan 25, 2019, 20:13 ET
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today /dev/color, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower Black software engineers to help one another grow into industry leaders, inducted the largest cohort into its flagship A* Program. Entering its fourth year, /dev/color welcomes 370+ Black software engineers from across each of the organization's four chapters, located in New York, Seattle, Atlanta, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Founded in 2015 by Makinde Adeagbo, a senior software engineer and Facebook, Dropbox, and Pinterest alum, /dev/color aims to address career challenges engineers face head-on through career development, networking opportunities, and a highly-structured peer exchange model. In 2018, Lajuanda M. Asemota was appointed as the organization's Interim Executive Director to advance this mission. The women-led organization remains committed to increasing representation for people of color in the tech sector.
"It is no secret that software engineers, in particular, represent the 'movers and shakers' of the digital age. This means /dev/color's work extends beyond creating access and parity. In fact, the engineers' design and technological innovation has the potential to change the world as we know it. So it's important that people of color emerge as key stakeholders in these creative processes to ensure we are creating a world that works for everyone," said Asemota. "This belief anchors /dev/color's commitment to Black software engineers and drives our expansion efforts."
To help companies transform into environments where Black software engineers can thrive, /dev/color has assembled The Guild, a community of corporate partners that convene monthly to share best practices, exchange new ideas, and discuss challenges pertaining to diversifying the tech industry. The Guild brings together leaders within Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Recruitment, and Engineering from across various companies, including Airbnb, Asana, Bank of America, Capital One, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Ebay, Mailchimp, Quip, Reddit, Remix, Sequoia, Twitter, and returning Gold partners Facebook, Google, Netflix, Pinterest, Square and Uber.
"I am so grateful to /dev/color, not only for our partnership, but for the work they're doing to elevate and advance the professional lives of Black software engineers across the country," said Sydney Brunson, Diversity Programs Manager at Pinterest. "It is integral, as a tech company that continuously promotes and fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace, to have partners like /dev/color to help us learn more, apply that knowledge, and relentlessly innovate."
For more information about opportunities to partner with /dev/color, visit devcolor.org.
About /dev/color
/dev/color is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower Black software engineers to help one another grow into industry leaders. /dev/color executes this mission by offering career development and networking opportunities, using a highly structured peer exchange model called the A* Program, which equips each member with the tools necessary to excel in their career. As of 2019, /dev/color will have 350+ members across four cities: the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Atlanta, and Seattle. For more information about /dev/color, visit devcolor.org, follow @devcolororg on Twitter and Instagram, or connect on Facebook.
SOURCE /dev/color
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