White House Highlights Kimberly Bryant during Tech Inclusion "Champions of Change"

July 31, 2013 - PRLog -- Today the White House will honor 11 local heroes who are "Champions of Change for Tech Inclusion." The event will celebrate Americans who are doing extraordinary things to expand technology opportunities for young learners-especially minorities, women and girls, and others from communities historically underserved or underrepresented in tech fields. These champions are inspiring students to become the developers, engineers, and innovators who will create solutions to some of the Nation's toughest challenges.

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White house to feature groups of Americans - individuals, businesses and organizations - who are doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities.

Kimberly Bryant is a Biotechnology/Engineering professional who has spent the last decade in the Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical, and Manufacturing industry in a series of technical leadership roles for various Fortune 100 companies such as Merck, Pfizer, and Dupont. Most recently Ms. Bryant spent 5+ years as a Senior Manager with Bay Area biotechnology company Genentech. Ms. Bryant is a native of Memphis, Tennessee and she received her Bachelors of Engineering degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee with a major in Electrical Engineering and a minor in CS and math. Ms. Bryant founded Black Girls CODE in April 2011 to meet the needs of young women of color who are underrepresented in the currently exploding field of technology. To date, Black Girls CODE has introduced over 1,500 girls of color to computer programming, mobile application development, robotics, video game design and other fields of STEM. Kimberly Bryant has a bold goal to train 1 million girls to code by 2040. To learn more about Black Girls CODE, visit: http://www.blackgirlscode.com/.

To watch this event live, visit www.whitehouse.gov/live at 2:00 pm ET on July 31st.

To learn more about the White House Champions of Change program and nominate a Champion, visit www.whitehouse.gov/champions. You can also follow the conversation through Twitter using #WHChamps.

Speakers:

Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President, White House
Todd Park, US Chief Technology Officer and Assistant to the President, White House

Moderator:

Baratunde Thurston, CEO, Co-founder, and Hashtagger-in-Chief of Cultivated Wit, Brooklyn, NY

About Black Girls CODE

Black Girls CODE is a global movement. Founded in 2011, the San Francisco based nonprofit introduces young girls of color, ages 7-17, to computer programming, mobile app development, robotics and other STEM fields. In 2012 the nonprofit launched in 10 cities nationwide and expanded to South Africa. Voted as "2012 Most Innovative Nonprofit" by Bank of the West and “Top Social Enterprise Improving the Lives of Women and Girls” by Women Deliver in 2013, the nonprofit continues to expand and empower hundreds of girls worldwide.