Across the United States, there are thousands of formerly incarcerated individuals whose talents and skills haven’t been shared with the world. Our goal is to foster and nurture the talents of these individuals who express an interest in tech and facilitate a bridge into the current NYC tech community. We would like to invite you to join us in creating a safe and inviting space where coders and techies alike can come together and share their experiences and passions. Our first gathering will feature a series of inspiring and thought provoking talks on the intersection of technology & criminal justice.

Join us in re-envisioning what the tech industry looks like and who “should” be a part of it.

Agenda:
6:30pm -- Food, beverages, and mingling
6:50pm -- Opening remarks by Ornell Caesar and Alex Qin
7:00pm -- Talks
8:00pm -- More mingling!

Talks

Antoine Patton was incarcerated at age 20 for 8 years. While in prison, he learned to code and taught his daughter after his release. They collaborated to build an app that allows families to send photos to their incarcerated loved ones -- Photo Patch. Since coming home 2 years ago, Antoine has become a prolific entrepreneur, software engineer, and published author. He has vowed to "pay it forward" and teach 2020 Black and Brown people to code by the year 2020. He launched Unlock Academy, an online learning platform and community to do so.

Jenn Schiffer is a web app developer, pixel artist, and tech satirist. She lives in Jersey City (on purpose), is the Director of Community Engineering at Glitch, and sits on the junior board of the Women's Prison Association. Her visual art has been described as "neon abstract pixel erotica" & her web development work (node, javascript) falls under the categories of creative coding and comedy.

Ornell Caesar is a formerly incarcerated software developer who learned computer programming through the Bard Prison Initiative. He currently works as a computer science fellow for the Bard Prison Initiative where he teaches other formerly (and currently) incarcerated individuals how to code.

The Code Cooperative is a community of people who learn, use, and build technology to create life changing possibilities for individuals and communities impacted by incarceration.

Changing the Face of Tech: a Tech & Reentry Gathering