The document discusses Girl Develop It, a nonprofit organization that aims to increase the representation of women in tech. It began in 2010 with 53 chapters across the US and over 55,000 members. The author recounts how she attended an intro to WordPress workshop through Girl Develop It Ann Arbor after deciding to learn new skills, and became hooked on attending events and volunteering. She now works as a project manager at a web design agency after gaining skills through Girl Develop It, where she has also become a chapter leader.

1. 10 | THE ANN
Women are increasingly making
their mark on the tech industry, and
it’s fantastic. I’m proud to take on the
challenge and call myself one of
them.
Girl Develop It, a national and all-
inclusive nonprofit organization,
began in 2010 with a simple yet pow-
erful mission: Change the low
representation of women in tech and
start making a difference through
affordable workshops and program-
ming for women interested in the
field. Six years later, there are 53
chapters across the United States
with more than 55,000 members.
I am just one of those 55,000
whose life has been forever changed,
thanks to Girl Develop It.
I received my bachelor’s degree in
education and was lucky enough to
get a job right out of college teaching
eighth-grade English. It was as terri-
fying as it was difficult. I enjoyed
working with students and trying to
make a difference in their lives.
Unfortunately, the field of education
is under continuous stress and I real-
ized that it was not going to be a
viable lifelong career for me. After a
lot of consideration, I decided to see
what else was in store.
I started a part-time job at a small
web-design agency doing social
media marketing. They were using
WordPress to build websites. I
decided it was time to start becom-
ing a more valuable employee, and
needed to learn whatWordPress was
and how to use it.
And then, a Google search changed
everything. I found a local group via
Meetup called Girl Develop It Ann
Arbor that was hosting an “Intro to
WordPress” workshop in the upcom-
ing weeks — and also had scholarships
available. I submitted my application
and received an email a few days later
saying I had been awarded a scholar-
ship to attend the workshop.
After that, I was hooked. I started
attending every event that I could.
One night, I mustered up the gusto
to seek out a chapter leader and tell
her I wanted to volunteer. From there,
the team brought me on to start orga-
nizing events. Needless to say, I
never left.
In just a little more than two years,
GDI Ann Arbor has grown to more
than 1,800 members and has hosted
over 100 events.
It’s now been one year since I offi-
cially signed on as a chapter leader
and I have loved every minute of it. It
is because of my work with GDI that
I have been able to develop my tech
skills, increase community involve-
ment and, most importantly, circle
back to my teaching roots by teach-
ing workshops. Because of all this
hard work, I have a fantastic job as a
project manager for Boxcar Studio, a
web design agency in downtown
Ann Arbor.
I can’t say enough good things
about GDI and the impact they’ve
had on our community. If you’re
someone looking to break into tech,
or even just become a bit more famil-
iar, their classes and community are
invaluable.
G I V I N G
Women are breaking into tech
The author, Emily Drier, is a chapter leader for Girl Develop It Ann Arbor
(girldevelopit.com). | Benjamin Weatherston