Tech Lady Hackathon changes name to ‘Tech, Rebalanced’

To become more inclusive in the Washington, D.C., tech community, Tech Lady Hackathon has changed its name to Tech, Rebalanced.

The organization prides itself on “providing a noncompetitive space for coding, creativity and civic activism” to beginners and advanced professionals. Co-organizer Kate Rabinowitz said the brand refresh is meant to be inclusive of “all genders that are underrepresented in tech.”

After the group’s founder, Leah Bannon, relocated to San Francisco in 2015, the organization welcomed a new team of organizers in late 2016 to stay afloat. Now the leadership team at Tech, Rebalanced is continuing to expand by welcoming three new co-organizers to the team: Meag Doherty, Kelly Miller and Rekha Tenjarla.

“The new team reflects a diverse range of talents and backgrounds,” co-organizer Kate Rabinowitz said in a press release. “Kelly, Meag, and Rekha have all demonstrated commitment to helping the DC tech community become an even better place for the underrepresented. We’re so excited to bring their fresh perspectives to the team.”

📣📣📣 BIG NEWS 📣📣📣
Tech Lady Hackathon is now Tech, Rebalanced! pic.twitter.com/s8q3sLZhx9

— Tech, Rebalanced (@Tech_Rebalanced) August 21, 2018

Tech, Rebalanced is a nonprofit and completely volunteer-based organization that gathers coders and tech strategists of all levels to engage in a day of learning and hacking. Last year’s event brought in more than 300 attendees, two-thirds of them being newbies. The staple of the D.C. tech calendar was jam-packed with 15 workshops, non-tech trainings and 10 discussion groups.

New organizer Miller comes from a public relations background but says she cares deeply about inclusion in the D.C. tech community.

“It’s a very mission-focused organization,” Miller said. “So now, not only is our name more inclusive, but it also kind of reinforces that this is something that we want to be a topic in the community.”

Tech, Rebalanced will be launching a new website soon, just in time for the company’s annual hackathon and training day, which takes place at the Washington Post on Oct. 20, 2018. The sixth annual event will be curated by Tech, Rebalanced veterans Joy Whitt and Kate Rabinowitz, along with the new organizers.

“It’s a super team now,” Rabinowitz told Technical.ly. “We’ve never had five people before and everyone is very talented and committed to making this a great year.”