Shaping the Next Generation of Women in Tech

In the U.S., there will be 1.4 million CS-related jobs by 2020, yet U.S. college graduates are expected to fill less than a third of those jobs. How can you help shape the next generation of technologists? Learn all about mentorship, developing CS programs and what you can do to support more women in tech during this Q&A with women leaders and volunteers of Microsoft Philanthropies TEALS (Technology Education and Literacy in Schools).

Aimee Rosato and Lucia Berliner, NY/NJ TEALS Regional Managers

Aimee and Lucia are proud women in tech! Both began their careers as educators and both are passionate about connecting community members with the education system in order to make computer science skills accessible for all students--especially young women! Hailing from Vermont and Upstate New York respectively, these two ladies now manage the Microsoft Philanthropies TEALS Program for all of New York and New Jersey. As Regional Managers they spend their days building sustainable computer science programs alongside their phenomenal volunteers from the tech industry, dedicated teachers and bright students. They aspire to ensure that all students have the skills and tools to access the jobs of the future.

Sarah Lee, TEALS Volunteer (2014 - Present)

Sarah is a product manager at Symbiont, a blockchain startup, where she works with business and engineering teams to transform the financial services industry. Sarah is also active in STEM education. She has spent the past five years as a volunteer teaching and designing computer science curriculums in NYC public schools with TEALS (tealsk12.org). She has a bachelor’s degree in Computer and Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Vasilisa Bashlovkina, TEALS Volunteer (2018 - Present)

Vasilisa is a software engineer working on speech recognition at Google. She started volunteering with TEALS in the fall of 2018 and immediately fell in love with teaching computer science. Before moving to New York, Vasilisa studied Math and CS at Grinnell College, IA, where she arrived from her hometown of Severodvinsk, Russia. In her spare time, Vasilisa enjoys hiking, ice skating, and playing volleyball.

TEALS supports computer science (CS) education by recruiting and training technology professionals to serve as yearlong classroom volunteers. These volunteers are paired with developing CS teachers and their students to help schools establish sustainable CS programs.