ALL ABOUT RESHMA

SAUJANI

By: Namrata Nayak

WHO IS RESHMA SAUJANI?

Founder of Girls Who Code
Girls Who Code: anonprofit
organizationwhich aims to support and
increase the number of women incomputer
science
Mission: to inspire, educate, and equip
girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st
century opportunities.

Also an American lawyer and

politician
Was previously the Deputy Public Advocate
at the Office of theNew York City Public
Advocate

WHAT IS
Girls Who Code: Anonprofit organizationwhich aims to support and increase the number
of women incomputer science
Mission: to inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st
century opportunities.
It runs programs that teach high school girls computing skills like programming, robotics,
and web design, partnering up with companies like Twitter and Facebook for projects and
trips

Saujani came up with the idea during her run for theU.S. Congresswhen she noticed that
schools along her campaign route lacked girls in computer science classrooms
There are now over 150 Girls Who Code clubs across America
The organization is aiming to teach one million girls to code by 2020
By December 2014, 3,000 students had completed a Girls Who Code program, 95% of
whom went on to major in computer science at university

THE EARLY LIFE OF RESHMA

SAUJANI
Indian-American born in Illinois
She is of Gujrat-Indian descent
Her parents lived inUganda, before beingexpelledalong
with other Indians in the early 1970s byIdi Amin
They ended up settling inChicago
She attended theUniversity of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, where she graduated in 1997 with majors
inPolitical Scienceand Speech Communication
For grad school, she attended theJohn F. Kennedy School of
GovernmentatHarvard University, where she received
aMaster of Public Policyin 1999, andYale Law School, where
she received herJuris Doctorin 2002

THE LEGAL AND BUSINESS

CAREER OF RESHMA
SAUJANI

She first worked at the law firmDavis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where she defended
securities fraud cases, and on a pro bono basis handled asylum cases
In 2005, she joined the investment firm Carret Asset Management
Subsequently, she joined Blue Wave Partners Management, a subsidiary of
theCarlyle Group, the global alternative asset management firm specializing in
private equity
She was an associate general counsel at Blue Wave, an equity multi-strategy
hedge fund; it was closed in the aftermath of the 2008 market collapse
Immediately prior to running for Congress, Saujani was a deputy general counsel
atFortress Investment Group

THE POLITICAL LIFE OF

RESHMA SAUJANI
Founded "South Asians for Kerry" during the2004 presidential election

Served on the National Finance Board forHillary

ClintonduringClinton's campaignforpresident in 2008
Following the primaries, she was named Vice-Chair of the New York
delegation at the2008 Democratic National Conventionin Denver
Lost the 2010 Democratic primary for the U.S. House of
Representatives inNew York's 14th congressional districtagainst
incumbent CongresswomanCarolyn B. Maloney
Ran as a Democratic candidate forNew York City Public Advocatein
2013, coming third in the primary

WHY RESHMA SAUJANI?

She was the first Indian-American woman (and the first South Asian
American woman) to run for Congress
She is an Indian-American woman just as I am, the struggles and
obstacles we have faced are incredibly similar
She is brave and daring, two qualities that are essential to run a
successful business
She is a go-getter and did not stop fighting for what she believed in
In September 2011, she was named one ofCity Hall's "40 under 40" for
being a young influential member of New York City politics

She is living proof that race and gender are not limiting to
success if in the presence of hard work, dedication, and
passion.

WORKS CITED
http://reshmasaujani.com/
https://
www.ted.com/talks/reshma_saujani_teach_girls_bravery_not_perfe
ction?language=en
http://
www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/nyregion/how-reshma-saujani-founder
-of-girls-who-code-spends-her-sundays.html
http
://www.lennyletter.com/work/interviews/a388/reshma-saujani-girlswho-code