5 questions with the hosts of Zip Code Wilmington’s Refractor podcast

Zip Code Wilmington has a new offering for 2021: Refractor, a monthly podcast hosted by Chris Nobles, Dan Stabb and Kay Fennimore.

In its inaugural episode, launched on Jan. 28, Nobles, Stabb and Fennimore — all technologists with ties to the nonprofit coding bootcamp — talk about their journeys into tech and offer advice for aspiring technologists. You can check out the Refractor podcast on standard podcast streaming platforms.

With episode two coming soon, Technical.ly asked the hosts five questions on what listeners can expect as the series progresses. Here’s what they said:

1. How are the Refactor podcast and Zip Code Wilmington connected, and what is the intended impact?

Refactor is a new Zip Code Wilmington initiative. Our goal is to tell the stories of the people behind the tech. By pulling back the curtain and talking to these amazing technologists, we want to educate and empower our listeners to learn about the impact technology has on all of our lives, especially after this past year. We also hope that, by hearing those stories, some listeners may be inspired to take the leap into pursuing tech for themselves, whether personally or professionally.

2. What’s your podcast setup?

Refactor’s co-hosts are a combination of Zip Code Wilmington staff and alumni: Dan Stabb has worked at Zip Code Wilmington since 2018 as the admissions manager and professional development coach; Chris Nobles is an alumnus and current Zip Code technical instructor; and Kay Fennimore is an alumna who currently works as a software engineer.

Although they are diverse, they have Zip Code Wilmington in common so they understand what it is like to come into the industry not knowing what to expect. Their motivations and back stories are down to earth, relatable, and take the guesswork and mystery out of joining the tech industry or making a career transition into tech.

3. What kinds of stories do you plan to tell on the podcast?

We will be talking to technology practitioners, industry experts, and leaders who are both behind-the-scenes and on the forefront of tech. They have stories of real human emotion, real struggle and achievement that comes from people who you would not normally expect to see working as a developer. Our speakers are people who did not think that they could do it, but they are doing it. We are not just looking to discuss the technology itself — we really want our listeners to get to know and be inspired by these amazing individuals. We will be diving into their backgrounds, philosophies, and anything else they feel will inspire our listeners to think big.

The goal is to make our show conversational and engaging because we feel that will connect with our listeners. For example, the first episode of Refractor was an introduction to the three co-hosts. We wanted our listeners to get to know the co-hosts’ background in tech in depth, especially since they come from very diverse personal and professional backgrounds.

4. Are you looking for guests to appear on the show?

Absolutely! If there are any technologists who would like to be a potential guest, please email refactor@zipcodewilmington.com. We want to tell as many stories as we possibly can.

5. Can you share future episode guests or topics?

In February, Refractor will be talking to Maggie Pierse, a Zip Code Wilmington alum and software engineer at a large financial company in Wilmington. Before attending Zip Code Wilmington, Maggie worked as a cafe manager and operations trainer for a local coffee cafe. She is now a software engineer who mentors and trains others starting out in their careers through Zip Code Wilmington. We are also lining up some really cool guests moving forward from all areas of tech. Stay tuned!