Day 1 speaker
Reshma Saujani
Reshma Saujani is the founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, a national non-profit working to close the gender gap in technology. On Day 1, she’ll share how her bravery revolution is inspiring a better, more diverse, more equitable future.
About Reshma & her work
It’s no secret that there is a serious gender imbalance in STEAM careers. In 2012, Reshma Saujani founded Girls Who Code with the mission of correcting this disparity in the tech industry. And she’s sharing that message to empower all of us to close the gap for good.
Girls Who Code has sparked a national conversation about increasing the number of women in tech. And her influence is driving a new model of leadership focused on embracing risk and failure.
With their 7-week Summer Immersion Program, 2-week specialized Campus Program, after school Clubs, and a 13-book New York Times best-selling series, Girls Who Code is leading the movement to inspire, educate, and equip young women with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities.
By the end of the 2018 academic year, Girls Who Code reached over 90,0000 girls in all 50 states and several US territories. Girls Who Code alumni are choosing to major in CS, or related fields, at a rate 15 times the national average; Black and Latina alumni are choosing to major in CS or related fields at a rate 16 times the national average.
Reshma began her career as an attorney and activist. In 2010, she surged onto the political scene as the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress. During the race, Reshma visited local schools and saw the gender gap in computing classes firsthand, which led her to start Girls Who Code. She has also served as Deputy Public Advocate for New York City and ran a spirited campaign for Public Advocate in 2013.
Reshma’s TED talk, “Teach girls, bravery not perfection,” has more than four million views and has sparked a national conversation about how we’re raising our girls. She is the author of three books, Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder, New York Times bestseller Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World, and Women Who Don’t Wait In Line, in which she advocates for a new model of female leadership focused on embracing risk and failure, promoting mentorship and sponsorship, and boldly charting your own course—personally and professionally.
Reshma is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and Yale Law School. She’s been named one of Fortune’s World’s Greatest Leaders, Fortune’s 40 Under 40, a WSJ Magazine Innovator Award, a Future Lion of New York by the New York Times, a Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education winner, one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in New York by the New York Daily News, CNBC’s Next List, Forbes’ Most Powerful Women Changing the World, Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People, Crain’s New York 40 Under 40, Ad Age’s Creativity 50, Business Insider’s 50 Women Who Are Changing the World, City & State’s Rising Stars, and an AOL / PBS Next MAKER.
Reshma serves on the Board of Overseers for the International Rescue Committee, which provides aid to refugees and those impacted by humanitarian crises, and She Should Run, which seeks to increase the number of women in public leadership.
Event details
After Reshma’s keynote address, she’ll sit down for an interview with Roman Mars. Stay tuned for more speaker announcements, coming soon!
Thursday, June 6, 5pm
Las Vegas Convention Center