In 2014, our department participated in AnitaB.org’s BRAID program.  Shortly thereafter, I started working on initiatives that seek to increase diversity in the field of computing.  It is one of the most fulfilling parts of my job as I get to interact with  K-12 students and their parents, individuals and organizations (many within UWM itself) interested in outreach work in the greater Milwaukee area.

Grace Hopper Conference

       Each year, we send our students to the Grace Hopper Conference.  Many attendees describe it as one of the most impactful experiences they’ve had at UWM. Their vision of  who they can be expands as they hear from and meet other women in Tech. Interested?  We solicit applications around mid-March.

Girls Who Code @ UWM

We started Girls Who Code @ UWM in Spring 2016. There are usually three levels to accommodate students’ varying backgrounds and interests. The club is synced with UWM’s school-year and runs between 10 to 12 meetings in the Fall and Spring semesters. Much of our success is due to the hard work of our instructors and volunteers, who are mostly CS undergrad and grad students.  We can be reached at girls-who-code@uwm.edu.

Over the years, we’ve received funding from individual donors, Northwestern Mutual, the American Family Dreams Foundation and the national Girls Who Code organization.

Coding Clubs at Milwaukee Schools

With funding from NSF, we ran coding clubs at various schools reaching students who are from under-represented groups in the computing field. They include Hartford University School, Central City Cyber School, Hmong-American Peace Academy, Reagan High School, Indian Community School and Maryland Avenue Montessori School.