Cynthia Tee was born in the Philippines, earned a computer science degree at MIT, and later enjoyed a long career as a program manager at Microsoft. During her years in the tech world, Tee noticed that the low percentage of women in the field was a big issue, and that the balance didn’t seem to be changing much.
Fifteen years after joining Microsoft, Tee left to become the executive director of Ada Developers Academy, named after possibly the first computer programmer in history, Ada Lovelace.
Ada Developers Academy is a non-profit coding education boot camp that provides tuition-free programming training for female and non-binary students in an effort to introduce more diversity into Seattle’s tech workforce. Tee will discuss her work at Ada and diversity in the tech community at the next Startup Grind, taking place Wednesday, Feb. 8 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The meetup and discussion is also a good opportunity to see inside one of the region’s fastest-growing tech companies — the event will be hosted at the OfferUp offices in Bellevue, Wash. For more info on the event and to purchase tickets, visit Startup Grind.
That’s one of the selections from the GeekWire Calendar, our curated list of the Pacific Northwest’s top tech events. Visit the full calendar for more, and keep reading for highlights of more upcoming events.
Fighting Fire With Fire: Using Genetically Weakened Malaria Parasites As A Vaccine To Eliminate One Of Humanity’s Oldest Diseases
What: The title may be a bit of a mouthful, but this Science in the City event from the Pacific Science Center is really about a simple yet revolutionary piece of bioengineering. Scientists from Seattle’s Center for Infectious Disease Research recently announced they were able to make a safe malaria vaccine by genetically altering the malaria parasite. This talk by CIDR’s Dr. Brandon Sack will dive into the science behind vaccines in general and why malaria is such a tricky disease to tackle.
When: Jan 31, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Where: Pacific Science Center
Register: Tickets and more information available here.
How Microsoft learned to love Java
What: This event is hosted by the Seattle Java Area Users Group, with special guest Brian Benz, a Senior Program Manager at Microsoft. Benz will discuss his job — helping Java developers code in the cloud using Azure — and will go into the history of Microsoft’s transition to a services-focused company, helped along the way by Java.
When: Feb 15, 6:45 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Where: Smartsheet
Register: Registration and more information available here.
Bellingham Startup Challenge 2017
What: This 54-hour startup challenge is a Startup Weekend of sorts, hosted in Seattle’s northerly sister — Bellingham, Wash. Everyone from experienced entrepreneurs to complete newbies are welcome, and at the end of the weekend a group of guest judges will give feedback and award titles to competing teams. Plus, you’ll get fed all weekend!
When: Feb 17 – Feb19
Where: Invent Coworking
Register: Tickets and more information available here.
GeekWire 6th Anniversary Bash
What: We’ll be bringing back the ping-pong paddles, dodgeball courts, and foosball tables at Seattle’s biggest, geekiest tech party. Now in its 6th year, the GeekWire Bash has it all: beer pong, video games, arcades, sumo wrestling, cornhole, and MORE. The bigger the better to accommodate all the geeky madness. Find your next great tech job, employee, customer, business connection, startup partner — heck maybe even your future husband or wife. We’ll have great prizes, special guests, good friends, good times, and lots of food and drink.
When: March 15
Where: CenturyLink Field Event Center
Register: Tickets and more information available here.
