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.
Tom Rau
Lead Developer, Mentor
Tom Rau
Lead 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lead Volunteers & Instructors
Chris Liu-Beers
Chris Liu-Beers
Chris started building websites in 2009 while working in a faith-based nonprofit that advocated for immigrant rights, and he helped create Uniting NC. In 2014, he launched a full-time WordPress design and development shop. Believing in the power of community organizations his company (Tomatillo Design) continues to work almost exclusively with nonprofits. Chris has lived in Durham with his family for more than 15 years.
Jared Siirila
Jared Siirila
Jared is our longest-serving volunteer instructor and a proud Wyoming native. He has lived in the Triangle for over 10 years, working as a front-end developer for tech giants IBM and Lenovo. Currently, Jared works for EBSCO in the NoveList division, developing software for public libraries. Jared is a talented problem solver with a passion for teaching programming in often humorous ways (just ask his students). We at Code the Dream are lucky to have him on our team.
John McGarvey
John McGarvey
John spent 33 years as a lead systems software developer and security architect at IBM.