Message from our Founder Eval Silvera

It’s Juneteenth! It is time to build, because we have to. I’m frustrated, exhausted, yet remain hopeful with all that has gone on in the last few weeks since George Floyd was taken from this earth.

Why I’m here today

Many of you are aware that KodeConnect started from my daughter's love for learning and excitement over STEM. What many of you don’t know is that the root of KodeConnect started with my desire to honor my brother who was murdered in Florida in January of 2015 because of who he was. Just because he was a black man. There remains no justice and his killers are still free to this day. My brother was an engineer coming out of (New York Institute of Technology) NYIT and he used his talents to create and eventually built his own textile company based on the design he created. I was always inspired (and a little jealous) of the things he would build when I was a kid. Losing him to hate, still hurts to this day. When I get up to put in work for KodeConnect, I’m reminded of this pain but persist to honor him. I wanted to make sure those who didn’t have opportunities, to have a pathway to creating, leading, and getting excited about STEM related fields.

We know the numbers in tech around the number of black technologists are dismal, even with what seems to be a strong effort to make improvements. Diversity & Inclusion efforts were strong on efforts for diversity, but failed when it came to inclusivity. Many of the tech companies I’ve worked for in the past have pushed for culture, only to allow for unconscious biases to seep within and pass on qualified candidates in an effort for culture fit. When a qualified candidate of color does become a cultural “add”, the unfortunate byproduct of lack of inclusiveness puts the candidate in an uneasy state of “I don’t feel I belong” or wouldn’t be able to bring my “whole authentic self” to the company.

My hope

I’ve been encouraged and hopeful from conversations I’ve had over the last couple of weeks as many of our non-black partners, supporters, and volunteers have done more than just lend support, but asking in how can they make real change. Most of my responses start with thank you for listening, but now I need you to suit up and join the fight against racism. Go beyond allyship, and become a leader in this fight. I need to trust that your energy and passion here with me now, will be there when I’m not around. That you will speak up and identify when something isn’t right.

I leave this here today on Juneteenth as a reminder that though we as black people are free from slavery, we are still bound by systemic and institutional racism today.

But this isn’t about me. This is about our kids and our future. What KodeConnect provides is not only exposure to innovation, coding, leadership, career exploration, and more. It’s also an outlet that our kids need right now. We realize they don’t need more zoom meetings, but more connection and space to innovate and lead.

We can help. We are pushing the summer boundaries to help the kids create and become their best selves. We’ll connect online, but encourage getting out to play and innovate. This will include expanding our pilot KodeConnect @ Home series to include educating kids about Black inventors/STEM pioneers through our programs while working with corporate sponsors to show a pathway to careers in STEM.

KodeConnect is a program for marginalized kids to not only get to know STEM but to fall in love with STEM and become leaders using STEM as a vehicle.