RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Women Who Code (WWCode) is preparing to launch its Richmond network this month.
“Our whole mission is to inspire women to excel in technology careers,” said Joey Rosenberg, WWCode’s Global Leadership Director.
The new chapter, in partnership with Capital One, will lead events like hack nights, conferences, networking opportunities and industry discussions in the Richmond community.
“We’re excited to bring a new network to the Richmond area as part of our continued commitment to supporting women in tech within our company and the community,” Jennifer Manry, vice president of technology at Capital One and WWCode board member said in a statement.
Rosenberg says tech represents a diverse pool of people. She says the addition of the local female network will only strengthen that in Central Virginia.
“Everybody wins when women rise to leadership. We look at the tech industry and we think tech is awesome. It’s an exciting industry. It’s innovative, but it’s even better when women are in it,” she said.
WWCode already has more than 80,000 members worldwide. Rosenberg says two-thirds are experienced engineers like software developers and data scientists. She says the rest are coming into tech from other industries.
Before she got her job as a technical adviser at Maxx Potential in Richmond, Trish Mahan was a sociology major working as a bartender.
“As someone who recently got into tech myself, I realized how sparse the resources were for me to connect with other women,” she said.
She hopes WWCode Richmond will give women a new support system and opportunity for networking.
“The tech scene in Richmond is constantly growing. Women are constantly taking these leadership roles and growing them and building these companies that are doing great things for Richmond,” she said.
Briana Crabb is WWCode Richmond’s co-founding director. She’s also a software engineer at Capital One.
She knows the impact this group can make.
“I’ve experienced firsthand how being part of an inclusive, really supportive community that’s focused on developing women in technology has really shifted my career to be focused on staying in the technology industry,” she said.
Crabb says it’s inspiring to be part of something like WWCode Richmond.
“It’s so exciting and so empowering — especially being new in my career,” she said. “I just get so much energy from seeing the diverse group of women in the room and it’s just really empowering.
WWCode Richmond will host its kickoff event Thursday, October 27 at the VCU School of Engineering. It begins at 6:30 p.m.
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