Danae Mobley, CEO of ‘Coded By Kids’ is preparing underrepresented people for tech and startup leadership roles. She runs Coded By Kids, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that prepares teens for careers as tech sectors leaders, either in the c-suite or at the helm of their own startups. What sets them apart from other youth-focused STEM organizations with the same mission is their commitment to sticking by their participants from end-to-end.

“For us, we always talk about ourselves as a depth and not a breadth organization” Danae tells ESSENCE.

It’s like a one-time event where, Oh, it’s a million kids that I am teaching how to code for one Saturday. she explains that Coded By Kids is designed to function as a pipeline program, or a “funnel”

“We know that if you want to have a student that wants to become, let’s say, a digital citizen that can really participate in a robust digital economy, it would take a number of touch points along a pathway to do that. At the top of that funnel is traditional yet immersive education in which participants are taught tech concepts like product development, UI/UX design, and software development. The students help them foster relationships with local tech experts, industry partners and mentors that will walk alongside them long after they complete their studies. As a part of the shift, the organization expanded its reach to larger age range of students, specifically helping young adults ages 16-24 launch into their careers. Despite being around for a decade, a tough feat particularly in the nonprofit sector, Danae says her ambition feels as fresh as ever.

“As a former educator myself, I think I remain personal mission aligned with so many things that were core to the purpose of the organization” she tells ESSENCE.

“Educating students, making sure they reach their potential, that’s what keeps me going despite all the challenges I come up against as a Black woman heading up something like this.”

To date, Coded By has helped hundreds of alums matriculate into viable, top-earning tech careers but Danae says that’s only a part of the organization’s overall plan.

“Tech is just that conduit” Danae says. “We are very bullish about making sure that the ceiling for our students is not just any job, any employment. We’re not going to set your destination for you or limit you in a way just because someone wants to check a box on a workforce development program. We’re going to make sure that if you want to be an entrepreneur, you can build your own thing. There’s still a whole bunch of success along that pathway, but we’re not going to tell you that the ceiling is here at employment because we believe our kids can do so much more”