Carmen Cole is the founder and leader of Code for Her. She holds an MLS from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, an MFA from Bowling Green State University, and is a Penn State alumna. Carmen is the Information Sciences and Business Liaison Librarian for the Penn State University Libraries, and in July 2018, was awarded the Sally W. Kalin Early Career Librarianship for Learning Innovations, a three-year, endowed professorship to advance the Code for Her initiative. She has presented at the ALA Midwinter and Annual conferences, IFLA, Women Advance I.T., and the 2019 ACRL Conference. Outside of work, you can find Carmen reading (her goal is to read over 100 books in 2019), watching Penn State football, finding any opportunity to go to the beach, and wrangling her two cats, Pepper and Sprout.

Joslenne (Joss) Peña earned her MS in Information Sciences and Technology in 2015, and is a PhD candidate in Informatics at Penn State. Prior to Penn State, she received her BA in Multimedia Web Design and Development at the University of Hartford. She recently completed a 14-month internship as a Research Associate in Human-Centered Systems at Honeywell Aerospace. Joslenne has presented at the iConference (2018 and 2016), ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing, Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, and EDULEARN. She is the Coding Workshop Consultant for Code for Her, and has previously taught coding for iD Tech and the iTech Academy. In her free time, Joss likes to build LEGO models, watch Netflix, drink coffee, lurk on reddit and twitter, and finally relax with her cat Nelson!

Sara Krum received a BFA in Communication Design with concentrations in Interactive Design and Graphic Design. Naturally artistic, she has always been interested in learning to code and creating a balance between aesthetic and functionality on the web. She is a talented visuals designer who likes to focus on making content accessible and inclusive. By exploring and utilizing online resources, Sara is mostly self-taught and is always ready to learn more. She approached Carmen, Joss, and Katie after their presentation, “Empowering Women and Gender-Diverse Individuals in Tech” at Penn State’s annual Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium, and soon after, became a member of the Code for Her team. Being a self-taught coder has helped build Sara’s confidence, and she is excited to be a part of something focused on empowering other women. She has lived in Centre County most of her life and enjoys being artistic in her sketchbook, hiking, watching British TV shows, gardening, and canning. She lives outside of town with her spouse and two dogs.

Kathyleen (Katie) O’Leary is a senior Design and Development major in the Penn State College of Information Science and Technology. They have been involved in building STEM education programs since high school, have previous teaching experience at iD Tech, and recently completed an internship with the Royal Bank of Canada. They are the former Coding Workshop Intern for Code For Her, and are currently an event manager for Major League Hacking. Katie was instrumental in partnering with Joslenne to develop the original workshop curriculum and pedagogical vision for Code for Her, and maintains a consulting relationship with the initiative.