Corinne Warnshuis, Technical.ly’s events coordinator and Girl Develop It Philly chapter co-leader, will become Girl Develop It‘s first executive director in July, according to the organization’s board of directors.
Warnshuis, 26, will leave Technical.ly to run the national nonprofit while based in Philadelphia. She’ll be one of two full-time employees.
After four years without an executive director, the board of the women’s tech education nonprofit decided it was time to hire one, largely because of the group’s growth, said board member Alanna Gombert. The number of local Girl Develop It chapters has more than doubled in the last year, from 16 in 2013 to roughly 40 in 2014.
“It’s a testament to the growth of the organization,” said Gombert, who, by day, is Conde Nast’s head of digital sales. “It’s mature enough to require an executive director.”
Warnshuis was the right person for the job because she’s had experience in every part of the organization, said board member Erynn Peterson. She’s been a student and a chapter leader. She’s also been in a leadership position for the past two years for Girl Develop It Philly, one of the largest and most active chapters in the country. Most recently, she helped spearhead Girl Develop It Philly’s Summer of Open Source fellowship, which pairs women technologists with mentors to study open source software.
Warnshuis plans to work out of various coworking spaces in Philadelphia.
Here’s a preview of her plans:
- More storytelling. Warnshuis wants to tell Girl Develop It’s story better. She hopes to produce a documentary that shows the organization’s’ impact on its students.
- Two large-scale events per year. She hopes to organize two events — a leadership summit and a learning conference — that can bring all of Girl Develop It’s members together. There’s currently nothing like this, she said. She’s also eyeing Philadelphia as the location for at least one of those events.
- Community engagement. “Our success in Philly has been dependent on the community,” Warnshuis said, noting the support from meetups like Code for Philly, as well as companies and technologists that donate their time and expertise. “That’s a model I want to take elsewhere.”
The move is also a big win for Philly: “It’s just another thing that highlights that there’s a really strong tech community here,” Warnshuis said.
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