Reshma Saujani is the Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, the nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a computer programmer looks like and does. The organization has already reached 90,000 girls in all 50 states, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Reshma is the author of three books, including Brave, Not Perfect; Women Who Don’t Wait In Line; and the New York Times Best Seller Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World. Her TED talk, “Teach girls bravery, not perfection,” has more than four million views online and has sparked a worldwide conversation about how we’re raising our girls.
In 2010, Reshma surged onto the political scene as the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress. During the race, she visited local schools and saw the gender gap in computing classes firsthand, which led her to start Girls Who Code. Through its 7-week Summer Immersion Program, 2-week specialized Campus Program and after-school clubs, Girls Who Code is leading the movement to inspire, educate and equip young women with the computing skills to pursue 21st Century opportunities.
Reshma has also served as Deputy Public Advocate for New York City and ran a campaign for Public Advocate in 2013 on a platform of creating opportunity for all. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Yale Law School. Reshma lives in New York City with her husband, Nihal; their son, Shaan; and their bulldog, Stanley.