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Real Talent. Real Experience. Real Impact.

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About

As America changes, the tech industry has been slow to keep up. Over half of children born today are people of color, and 1 in 4 have an immigrant parent. Yet Silicon Valley and the U.S. tech economy do not look like our diverse population.  That results in a lot of missed opportunities for all of us.

Code the Dream recognizes that people from immigrant backgrounds and communities of color have great ideas and will play a huge part in our 21st century economy. Already immigrants are more than twice as likely to start their own business, and those businesses create over 25% of new jobs.

Can you imagine if more people with that drive knew how to code? Together we can make it happen. Download our brochure here.

Meet the Team

Ramiro Rodriguez

Co-Founder, CTO

Ramiro Rodriguez

Co-Founder, CTO
Ramiro knows about the American Dream and he knows about coding. Originally from Mexico, Ramiro moved to the United States as a child and excelled in school. He majored in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Cornell and later returned for a Masters in Computer Science. Together with an amazing team of top-notch volunteer instructors and mentors, he leads Code the Dream's teaching and project-based learning.

Daisy Magnus-Aryitey

Belated Co-Founder / Director Emeritus

Daisy Magnus-Aryitey

Belated Co-Founder / Director Emeritus
Daisy moved to the U.S. from Ghana at the age of 4. She lived in New Mexico, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York before settling in North Carolina in 2009. She wrote her first line of code in a Code the Dream class, and within a year was working as a full-time software developer at Duke University. Daisy has played many roles at CTD, from student, to Director of Programs, to currently serving as the Board Vice-Chair and remains heavily involved in CTD operations.

Dan Rearick

Co-Founder, Executive Director

Dan Rearick

Co-Founder, Executive Director
Dan coordinates Code the Dream and took his own coding baby steps alongside the first Code the Dream participants. After beginning his career in corporate litigation, Dan has worked with low-income and immigrant communities since 2008. He is the Executive Director of Uniting NC and in 2013 was honored by the White House as a Champion of Change. He co-founded the Code the Dream program together with Ramiro Rodriguez. Dan attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Harvard Law School.

Lori Fernald Khamala

Director of Programs

Lori Fernald Khamala

Director of Programs
Lori Fernald Khamala has been involved with immigrant and farmworker organizing and advocacy in North Carolina for 20 years. She is passionate about building community rooted in social justice, equity, and collaboration. Lori joined the Code the Dream team in 2019 to strengthen new and existing relationships with nonprofit, education, business, and government partners.  She loves working with CTD's professional and student developers to identify innovative ways using tech to build a more just and inclusive world.

Pam Bash

Director of Partnerships and Development

Pam Bash

Director of Partnerships and Development
Pam has worked in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors and brings over 20 years of experience to her role in corporate, foundation and individual fundraising for Code The Dream. A native New Yorker and avid traveller, she jumped at the opportunity to live and work abroad teaching English in Turkey, Russia and Morocco. After 10 years, she finally returned to the US and eventually moved to North Carolina, where she brought with her a passion for education, diversity and community. She joined Code The Dream in 2020 and looks forward to building solid funder partnerships to help create and inspire future generations of coders.

Lucy Martinez

Chief Operating Officer

Lucy Martinez

Chief Operating Officer
Lucy Martinez has a passion for social justice and equity and over 15 years of experience at non-profit organizations and government agencies in the areas of anti-poverty, anti-hunger, and housing programs. At Code the Dream, Lucy uses her operations and human resources experience to help us accomplish our goals. Lucy is an AmeriCorps VISTA alumna and is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Tom Rau

Senior Developer, Mentor

Tom Rau

Senior Developer, Mentor
Tom Rau has worked for startups and established organizations working in a variety of roles, ranging from product lead/manager to front-end development. At Code the Dream Tom helps develop the front-end curriculum as well as serves as a lead developer and mentor to Code the Dream Labs interns.  Additionally, Tom is pursuing a Masters of Science in Foresight Studies and occasionally still hits the road with a band as a bass or keyboard player.

TC Kida

Senior Developer / Mentor

TC Kida

Senior Developer / Mentor
TC Kida has worked at the intersection of software development and community-based organizing for the past 15 years. After receiving their BA in art (graphic design concentration), they spent a number of those years in international grassroots disaster response efforts before picking up the tools of the software trade. TC enjoys applying these varied experiences to the work that they do on a daily basis, and are excited to help support Code the Dream's interns in their own journeys with software engineering.

Alex Rodriguez

Operations Manager, Web Developer

Alex Rodriguez

Operations Manager, Web Developer
Of all the folks at Code the Dream, Alex perhaps wears the most hats.  Alex started as a student in the React course and used those programming skills to pivot into WordPress.  In addition to being a lead WordPress developer, Alex also oversees many administrative responsibilities, and mentors new interns.  Alex is originally from Mexico and she resides in Cary.

Cruz Nuñez

Developer, Mentor

Cruz Nuñez

Developer, Mentor
Cruz got his start in the very first Code the Dream cohort. He's a fast learner, a creative problem-solver and just wicked smart -- all things that make him an excellent software developer. He's also the sort of helpful guy who hears that a friend is struggling with some tedious task, and then decides to code them an app over the weekend. He's a good guy to know. Cruz is also a gifted and patient mentor, and we're very glad to have him helping new Code the Dreamers get their start.

Crystal Williams-Brown

Developer, Mentor

Crystal Williams-Brown

Developer, Mentor
Crystal Williams-Brown got a BFA in Animation from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, home of the Fighting Pickles.  (Yes, that’s their actual mascot!)  Like many recent grads, Crystal found it hard to get a job in her field.  She worked in retail for some time before trying a programming course with Code the Dream.  At Code the Dream, Crystal found a supportive community and discovered a passion for Ruby on Rails.  Crystal quickly advanced through the program, starting as an intern before landing a role as a full-time developer with Code the Dream working on social justice applications.

Andrea Hernandez Guzman

Developer, Mentor

Andrea Hernandez Guzman

Developer, Mentor
Andrea moved to the U.S from Mexico when she was a year old. She started taking Code the Dream classes in 2017 right after finishing up High School.  She focuses on building fast and beautiful web and mobile applications. Ultimately, she enjoys building cool things that can help people.

Lydia F Gilmer

Programs Coordinator

Lydia F Gilmer

Programs Coordinator
Lydia grew up in Alabama and recently graduated from Troy University where she majored in English and minored in History. As the 2020-2021 Johnson Service Corps member for Code the Dream, Lydia helps in many areas, but primarily focuses on communication and class support to help Code the Dream students achieve their education and career goals. She feels passionate about education, women’s rights, and LGBTQ issues. Outside of work, she is an avid reader, Netflix watcher, board game enthusiast, and amateur baker.

Justin Laidlaw

Engagement Manager

Justin Laidlaw

Engagement Manager
Justin is a life-long learner and native of Durham, North Carolina. He has an A.A. from Durham Technical Community College, and a B.A. in Journalism from North Carolina Central University. For six years, he worked as second-in-command at Durham-based clothing and lifestyle brand RUNAWAY before venturing into freelance multimedia production. In 2020, Justin started his own creative storytelling business called Buddy Ruski. He is passionate about the power of stories and how they connect us as humans.

During his career, he received many awards including Legion of Merit, NASA Distinguished Service Medal or NASA Space Flight Medal. He was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997. #BlackHistoryMonth

About 2 days ago

Guion Bluford is a former aerospace engineer, U.S. Air Force officer and fighter pilot, and a NASA astronaut. Bluford was the first African-American who launched into space. After graduating from Penn State University, Bluford was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. pic.twitter.com/hIzMd27nBS

About 2 days ago

As a director, he led his team to the development of HP’s first mini-computer, HP 2116A. He also developed multiple initiatives to improve the representation of African-Americans in Sillicon Valley. #BlackHistoryMonth

About 5 days ago

Roy Clay Sr. is an African-American computer scientist and inventor. After earning a mathematics degree from Saint Louis University and also learning how to program computer code, Clay joined Hewlett-Packard. pic.twitter.com/yP8waPHTpU

About 5 days ago

Check out these great tips by black creators for success in STEM ⬇️ #BlackHistoryMonth youtube.com/playlist?list=…

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