Our vision
Technology for All.We aspire to see underrepresented groups in the technology workplace thrive and diversify the community with new perspectives, new processes, and new thinking that challenges the status-quo. We believe technology should be accessible to everyone and that aspiring students from every race and community can disrupt and change our world for the better. Join us in dissolving the misconception that the technology-sector is not for women and help us redefine what it means to be a computer scientist!
Who We Are
We are a nonprofit who aims to empower underrepresented groups in the technology workplace by fostering the interests of young women in computer science, data science, and technology. Present society is plagued with the misconception that computer science is not a viable career for women and minorities, and through early education, we hope to reformulate what makes a modern-day computer scientist. Through local school chapter organizations, educational seminars, and scholarship programs, we help middle and high school-aged girls experience first-hand that they can be problem solvers and make a social impact by using learning and using technology. Our ultimate dream is that one day, these girls will spread the love for computer science, coding and innovation to others.
What We Do
We specialize in teaching computer science, data science and information technology concepts to students in Northern Virginia and the Washington Metropolitan area. From initiating club chapters that foster individual learning in public schools and presenting our yearly Artificial Intelligence Summit, to financially supporting students in their pursuit of technology-driven careers, we do our best to see women and minorities achieve their aspirations. We work to deliver these resources to school districts with little to no funding or resources to expose students to the newest technologies. We provide students an opportunity to work with some of America’s most influential and elite technology companies to help them become part of the global computer science and engineering community.
OUR Mission
Girls Computing League Mission
We work to bring modern technology education to students in the socioeconomic and racial minority to improve the balance of diversity in the technology workplace. We strive to help both girls and boys experience the gratification they can receive from making a social impact through computer science, and we hope that the knowledge imparted through our program offerings will enable them to make a difference worldwide.
A Word
From Our Founder
“My journey with computer science began in elementary school when I was first introduced to the Scratch and FLL Robot programming languages. I progressed into HTML website development and later Java and mobile app development in middle school. I love to share my passion for computer science, as it has given me a world of opportunities and I would like to see other girls succeed. “
– Kavya Kopparapu
Calendar
Upcoming Events & Activities
More Events Coming Soon
We are working hard to bring you news about upcoming workshops and events in 2019. We’ll be creating an online calendar soon of everything Girls Computing League has to offer. If you’d like up to the minute updates regarding future events, consider subscribing to our upcoming newsletter!
Our Reach
Together, We Make an Impact.
We do our best to change the lives of girls around the nation with our resources, however we specifically help students in the Northern Virginia and greater Washington DC metropolitan area understand the capabilities of modern technology and the great social impact technology can make with a little bit of practice and dedication. Take a look at one of the online classes we’ve posted (more to be posted on our site soon), and read through some of our testimonials from students, teachers, and technology leaders to see the proof.
GCL brought us the resources we needed
“I wanted to again thank you for [Girl’s Computing League’s] donation to Crestwood Elementary School to support our efforts to increase our students’ experiences in coding and robotics. We have ordered the robots and are going to start a before school club after winter break. I will also be using the robots in my instruction at all grade levels. The students are really excited and can’t wait to start programming.”
–Rebekkah Kline, Technology Coach, Crestwood Elementary
Talking to the next generation of AI technologists at the GCL AI Summit
It was exciting to get a chance to talk to the next generation of AI technologists at the Girls Computing League AI Summit. Having a serious discussion with these students about ethical AI and how to use AI for good was extremely rewarding.
–Dominic Delmolino, Accenture, Chief Technology Officer
From budget cuts to funded computer science program
This year, cuts forced us to eliminate the science and computer classes, but thanks to this generous grant from [Girls Computing League], we will be able to continue inspiring students to explore hands-on science. The grant will allow us to create an after-school student robotics club. Through the use of Evo robots from Ozobot, Lego WeDo kits, and a huge catalog of activities, we will host students from various grade levels for engaging, after school robot builds. The activities incorporate iPads and coding, along with collaboration and problem-solving.
–Felicia Usher, Principal, Weyanoke Elementary School
From Zero to HTML in Once Class
“Girls from Hopkins Apartments, Greenleaf Gardens, Lincoln Heights, Benning Terrace, Garfield Terrace, and Woodland Terrace, who are entering grades 6 to 10, spent two Saturdays building their web pages. They listened to a presentation by Kavya Kopparapu, who is a rising junior at Thomas Jefferson High School and AspireIT program leader. She prepared a webpage template for each girl to use. As the first day progressed, each girl had outfitted their pages with photos and a few lines of information, flipping back and forth easily from the HTML coding window to their web pages. By the second Saturday, the girls were asking how to change the colors of their text, add GIFs, and more.”
Get Involved
Foster Young Minds With Us
We are always on the hunt new minds and hands to help Girls Computing League in its mission. If you have a vision for seeing a more diverse technical workplace, then we’d love to have you be a part of our team.
Volunteer
We are always in need of helping hands for supporting the operations of our organization and our student facing events and workshops. If you are interested in actively helping us achieve our mission with your talents or company offerings, we’d love to chat with you and bring you on as an active partner of the GirlsComputingLeague.
Donate
Don’t let the impact and reach we had in a few short years of our young organization fool you. We heavily rely on donations for people like you who want to change the climate of the technology industry. Every contribution helps us move closer to our goal of assisting young women reach their potential and realize their dreams.
Mentor
The girls we support need mentors to help them reach their full potential. We are continually looking for experienced men and women who are challenging the status quo of the technology sector. If you are presently working in a technology field and want to help young students tap into their true potential, we need you on our team!
Blog
News & Announcements
TIME Magazine – Kavya Kopparapu was named one of TIME’s 25 Most Influential Teens of 2018
What stuck with Kopparapu was the part of the story that mentioned that in the past 30 years, the survival rate for the disease has barely budged. ‘I thought, Why is that?’ she says. ‘We have so much innovation that it didn’t make sense that we hadn’t gotten better.’
read more
Smithsonian Magazine – The Future Is Bright If More Teens Could Think About High School the Way Kavya Kopparapu Does
“Kavya Kopparapu was 17 years old and a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, when she sat down with world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.”
read more
We were at The NVIDIA GPU Conference in Washington, DC
“Neeyanth Kopparapu, Co-Founder of the AI Summit and Chief Innovation Officer for the Girls Computing League had the opportunity to speak at the NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference…”
read moreTime To ACT
Join Our Community
Girls Computing League works hard every day to help students achieve their dreams of entering a technical career field. We work with companies both to create higher education opportunities for students and search for mentors willing to support the next generation of computer scientists. However, we are reliant on our global community of enthusiast and activists to bring about true change. To learn more about what we do, and to keep up to date with future opportunities, please consider signing up for our upcoming newsletter. We will send you occasional updates about the organization and let you know how you can help the next generation of female scientists and engineers. We can’t wait to see what GCL and you can do together.
EXECUTIVE SUPPORTERS
Leaders Who Truly Lead
Brave Students who are venturing into computer science need mentors. GirlsComputingLeague is honored to have these leaders as sponsors to our program. Please give these women a shoutout for their contributions!
Dr. Maria Klawe
President of Harvey Mudd College
Dr. Finale Doshi-Velez
Harvard University
Teresa Carlson
Vice President of Amazon Web Services
Ria Galanos
Thomas Jefferson High School
Dr. Lisa Friedersdorf
National Nanotechnology Coordination Office
Dr. Amarda Sheuh
George Mason University
Tanya La Force
Mission Focused Consulting
Meet Our Sponsors
Read about their legacies thus far in the technology sector.
CORPORATE SUPPORTERS
Organizations Powering Future Generations
These elite organizations are believers in the mission of Girls Computing League. We would not be where we are today and would not be able to continue helping educate the next generation of technologists without their immense support. Our sincere thanks to our community of partners, supporters, advisors
About
GirlsComputingLeague a nonprofit who aims to empower underrepresented groups in the technology workplace by fostering the interests of young women in computer science, data science, and technology. We specialize in teaching computer science, data science and information technology concepts to students in Northern Virginia and the Washington Metropolitan area.
Donate
GirlsComputingLeague is indeed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN: 47-5186652). All donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowable under IRS regulations. We rely on corporate sponsors and individual donors to fund our programs and our team is entirely volunteer-based. You can see a full list of our Executive & Corporate Supporters on our Supporters page. Thank you for considering donating to GirlsComputingLeague. We truly appreciate your generosity!
