(October 17, 2022 — New York, NY) — Code Nation today announced the hire of two new leaders: CEO Ron Summers and President Kellie Hinkle. “In 10 years, we built our organization, a network of dedicated partners, and a top-notch industry-aligned curriculum. We have an incredible foundation upon which to expand and Ron and Kellie have the combined expertise to guide us into our next decade,” said Josh Silverman, CEO of Etsy and Chairman of Code Nation’s Board of Directors. “The addition of these leaders — Ron with his dedicated experience in computer science education and acumen for building partnerships and fundraising, and Kellie with her astute use of data and organizational management and programmatic expertise — will help reach more students and change the future of the tech industry.”

The nationwide nonprofit equips students from under-resourced high schools with the skills, experiences, and connections that create access to careers in technology. As we celebrate 10 years, the organization is well poised to impact the lives of more young people in its next decade with the addition of these two mission-oriented executives.

Since 2012, Code Nation’s work has been rooted in the dual beliefs that anyone can learn to code and that we must break down barriers for groups historically excluded from and underrepresented in tech, including Black, Latine/x, people from low-income circumstances, women, and non-binary people. Despite progress, the tech workforce does not reflect the diversity of America and too many students have no access to computer science in high school. Summers’ and Hinkle’s leadership and complementary skills will accelerate growth and impact of the nonprofit in a time when the nation’s youth need it most.

Incoming CEO Summers brings extensive expertise in the education and technology sectors. Throughout his career, he has developed intentional access points to instruction and real-world coding experiences for students in systematically underserved schools. Most recently, he was the Executive Director of Computer Science Education for the NYC Department of Education overseeing the 10-year CS4ALL initiative, the largest public-private strategic partnership for CS education in the US. He spent the early part of his career teaching high school students graphic design, entrepreneurship, and web development by blending the tech start-up world into his classroom. He also co-founded NYC’s first entrepreneurship and coding summer incubator program for high school students, NFTE’s NYC Generation Tech.

“I move in lock-step with Code Nation’s mission and urgency to equip students from historically excluded communities with career-connected learning and high-value skills in computer science and tech,” said Summers. “Code Nation’s commitment to tech access, exposure, and inclusion for students mirrors my values and the lived experiences that drive my dedication to this important and critical work. I am excited to bring a systems-level policy, infrastructure, and programming lens to the team to support student success beyond the walls of the classroom. As we boldly enter a second decade of service to young people, together we will redefine what high-impact student pathways look like and craft engaging experiences that lead to two of our key outcomes: increase the economic mobility of our students and diversify the tech industry to reflect the brilliance of all communities.”

Hinkle brings to the role of President a wealth of knowledge in strategy development and implementation, change management, and data-driven operations. She joins Code Nation from City Year where, as Senior Vice President of District Engagement & Data Experience, she built and restructured multiple departments to align with evolving organizational needs, led the development of the organization’s data strategy, managed partnerships and contracts with 52 school districts annually, and piloted new systems to support operational effectiveness. Hinkle started at City Year as a full-time AmeriCorps member because of a strong belief in the power of volunteering and service.

“I’m committed to removing barriers to access and opportunity for young people,” said Hinkle. “In this new role, I can demonstrate this commitment every day through our model, which provides young people from historically excluded communities with the skills, training, and support they need to thrive in the tech workforce. My nearly two decades in nonprofit management will help lead the future direction of Code Nation to build sustainable, scalable, and high-impact programming and support an anti-racist and inclusive organizational culture that’s performance-driven and data-informed.”

About Code Nation

Code Nation equips students with the skills, experiences and connections that together create access to careers in technology. With a volunteer teaching corps of nearly 350 professional web and software developers and a network of school and company partners, we provide coding courses and work-based learning programs to students who attend under-resourced high schools. For more information, visit www.codenation.org.