Dear Members of the Board of Girl Develop It:

In light of recent events, it has become clear to the community in and around Girl Develop It (GDI) that it is imperative for us to bring to you our specific concerns around the leadership and direction of the GDI organization. This letter outlines those concerns, the impact of those concerns and outcomes we would like to see to address those concerns.

Below is a list of those concerns and specific examples of the impact each of them has had on the organization.

Lack of trust in the moral and ethical character of GDIHQ Leadership.

As we are sure the Board will agree, creating trust is a key component to building a healthy community. Over the past few years, the community has observed a slow decline of the trust between GDIHQ and Chapter Leaders. This is due to several sudden policy shifts, along with the failure to address several issues around race and inclusivity at both the Chapter and HQ level. This loss of trust has caused Chapter Leaders to resign, chapters to shut down and difficulty in keeping/recruiting new Leaders. Here are some specific examples:

Changes to the Chapter Leader handbook, including term limits and reduction of freedoms when serving our members.
Chapter Leader resignation due to race and feminism and the way GDIHQ dealt with being called out
Minneapolis callout on Twitter
Additional callout
Chapter Leader misalignments and microaggressions resulting in the closure of the Minneapolis Chapter
Previous GDIHQ employee publicly expresses her experience, and subsequent lack of support, as a marginalized Black woman

Lack of transparency.

Throughout the past few years, there has been an issue with decision transparency between Girl Develop It Headquarters (GDIHQ) and Chapter Leaders. There have been numerous occasions where there is an announcement of organizational decisions, with little guidance or context for the Chapter Leaders to follow. The result of this has been poor alignment with Chapter Leaders, which has directly impacted and disjointed the programming to our members.

Policies that adversely impacted the community.

There have been several policy changes that have directly and negatively impacted marginalized communities within Girl Develop It. Examples include: childcare, venue/location, scholarship limits and oversight, transportation, hardware, and the inability to expense food & beverage from chapter funds.

We urge the Board to commit and take immediate action on the following outcomes:

Replace and diversify the current GDIHQ leadership with people who have experience running a high-growth, diverse, national non-profit organization. As previously outlined, GDIHQ leadership has shown their inability to evolve with the needs of our growing organization, our members, and our local communities. The Board needs to decide whether or not the current leadership is helping meet and provide guidance for the overall health of the organization.
Provide greater transparency and increased communication between GDIHQ and Chapter Leaders. We’d like to see strategic and broad transparency into the decision-making process so that Chapter Leaders can have clear expectations of policy changes. This also includes providing at least quarterly financial statements, timely (24 hours or less) answers to questions in the GDIHQ Slack, timely (24 hours or less) response to service tickets, regular reporting (monthly or every other week) on organizational priorities and how those priorities are delegated across the HQ team as well as open honesty about GDIHQ’s capabilities.
Create policies, programs and guidance specifically to support women in marginalized communities. An explicit guide for a path to success for students that includes people with different goals (this includes insight from people who already succeed in marginalized communities who have had to work outside the box to achieve their goals). Specifically, we would like to see a direct and intentional shift in our program model to create events that directly serve marginalized communities (and a playbook of what that means and how to do it); DEI resources and direct training for all Chapter Leaders; and overhauls of policies that directly limit communities of color (childcare, scholarships, chapter fund accessibility, venue policy, transportation).

As one of the largest “women in tech” communities, your vision is to empower women to feel confident in their abilities. You now have a choice: you can show your community (and the world) how leadership can empower women through actions and demonstrate what it looks like when true leadership embraces all of its community. Or you can ignore your community and continue down a path to an untrustworthy and uncertain future.

Your community is standing by and is ready to work with you on your progress.

Sincerely,

Current and Former Chapter Leaders, Organizers, Instructors, and Volunteers of GDI

Julia Elman	Former Chapter Leader/Co-Founder - Raleigh-Durham
Kristen Seversky	Chapter Leader / Co-Founder - Rochester (offboarding, stepping down due to recent events)
Amy Gebhardt	Former Chapter Leader - Minneapolis
Sarah Kahn	Former Chapter Leader, Instructor - Raleigh-Durham
Amy Howes	Chapter Leader - Cincinnati
Alyssa Lemon	Chapter Leader - Charlotte
Andrea Cannistra	Founding Chapter Leader - Tampa Bay
Jennifer Maher	Chapter Leader/Founder - Portland
Catherine Zarra	Former Chapter Leader, Co-Founder - Providence
Megan Otto	Former Chapter Leader, Co-Founder - Fargo
Shannon Wiedman	Former Chapter Leader, Co-Founder - Fargo
Valentina Peric	Former Chapter Leader - Rochester (offboarding, stepping down due to recent events)
Katy Bowman	Chapter Leader - Dayton
Becky Blank	Former Chapter Leader - Cincinnati
Paige Bystrom	Chapter Leader - Seattle-Tacoma
K.C. Jones-Evans	Chapter Leader - Dayton
Kirsten Henagin	Chapter Leader - Fargo
Sophie Pouliquen	Chapter Leader - Cincinnati
Lindsay Siovaila	Founding Chapter Leader - Indianapolis
Ronda Bergman	Chapter Leader - Ann Arbor
Talya Flowers-Souley	Event Org/Instructor - Cincinnati
Caitlin Steinert	Former Chapter Leader / Instructor - Columbus
Heather Wade	Chapter Leader - Seattle-Tacoma
Cara Jo Knapp	Founding Chapter Leader / Former Board Member - Boulder/Denver
Nicole Peoples	Chapter Leader - Seattle-Tacoma
Basia Coulter	Former Chapter Leader - Raleigh-Durham
Maria Szubski	Chapter Leader - Cincinnati
Elise Wei	Former Chapter Leader - Philadelphia
Stephanie Clark	Former Chapter Leader/Co-Founder - Louisville
Maura Oray	Chapter Leader - Boston
Suzie Nieman	Chapter Leader - Philadelphia
Quintessence Anx	Chapter Leader - Buffalo
Danielle Allan	Chapter Leader - Buffalo
Sara Cashman	Chapter Leader - Boston
Marylou Lenhart	Former Chapter Leader - Pittsburgh
Jocelyn Harper	Former Chapter Leader - Wilmington
Catherine Meade	Chapter Leader - Dayton
Liz Tiller	Organizer/Instructor - Tampa Bay
Olga Nelioubov	Chapter Leader - Buffalo
Jen Dionisio	Former Chapter Leader - Philadelphia
Christine Brydges	Event Organizer - Boston
Meghan Kelly	Organizer, Instructor - Philadelphia
Misty Melton	Former Chapter Leader / Founder - Baltimore & D.C.
Angelique Weger	Former Chapter Leader - Baltimore
Lily Barrett	Organizer - Boston
Cecy Correa	Former Chapter Leader - Austin
Natalia Vidal	Organizer - Boston
Katie Grundl	Former Chapter Leader - Milwaukee
Amber Burgess	Organizer/TA - Philadelphia (former, I am stepping down out of disgust)
Virginie Adams	Chapter Leader - Indianapolis
Maureen McElaney	Former Chapter Leader / Founder, Instructor - Burlington
Sylvia Pellicore	Former Chapter Leader, Instructor - Raleigh-Durham
Lenna Schirf	Chapter Leader - Austin
Sammie Beebe Clark	Chapter Leader - Burlington
Jenna Cline	Organizer, Instructor - Buffalo
Dalia Icedo	Former Chapter Leader - San Jose
Katy Exline	Former Chapter Leader - Chicago
Julie Taylor	Chapter Leader - Atlanta
Karla Lopez	Chapter Leader - San Francisco
Swati Agarwal	Organizer - Rochester, NY
Sarah Facci	Former Organizer - Rochester, NY
Valerie Sharp	Chapter Leader - Los Angeles
Amy Gori	Chapter Leader - GDI Raleigh-Durham, NC
Willamina O'Keeffe	Chapter Leader - GDI Raleigh-Durham, NC
Marcy Sutton	Former Chapter Leader and Instructor, Seattle-Tacoma; Coding Club leader, Bellingham WA
Jennifer Shehane	Former Chapter Leader - Atlanta
Julie Pagano	Former Chapter Leader/Co-founder, Instructor - Pittsburgh
Vanessa Archambault	Chapter Leader - Oakland
Sam Provenza	Chapter Leader - New York City
Anastasia Lanz	Chapter Leader - Pittsburgh
Alex Lash	Teaching Assistant/Instructor - Philadelphia
Brittney Braxton	Chapter Leader - Chicago
Kathleen McMahon	Former Teaching Assistant and Public Speaker - Boston
Emily Drier	Chapter Leader - Ann Arbor
Jenn Brien	Former Chapter Leader - Tampa Bay
Amy Hendrix	Instructor - Raleigh/Durham
Esther Jackson	Chapter Leader - New York City
Angel Thomas	Chapter Leader - Toledo
Bridget Reed	Former Instructor/Organizer - Philadelphia
Rita Hill	Chapter Leader - Richmond
Michelle Brush	Former Chapter Leader - Kansas City
Katie Zwick	Volunteer / Assistant Organizer - New York City
Megan Boczar	Event Organizer / Instructor - Ann Arbor
Val Head	Chapter Leader - Pittsburgh
Tracey Berg-Fulton	Teaching Assistant - Pittsburgh
Parker Dyer	Chapter Leader - Columbus
Andrea Jessup	Instructor - Columbus
Angela Andrews	Teaching Assistant / Speaker - Philadelphia
Brittney Ball	Organizer - Charlotte
Mina Slater	Organizer - Chicago
Ivana Veliskova	Instructor / TA - Philadelphia
Sara Gibbons	Former Chapter Leader - Ann Arbor
Maddie Kasula	Former Chapter Leader - Chicago
Allison Seboldt	Instructor / Organizer - Chicago
Briana Morgan	Teaching Assistant - Philadelphia
Emily Ring	Organizer - Charlotte
Michelle Rodriguez	Co-Founder / Chapter Leader - Orange County
Ashly LaMarr	Member - Salt Lake City / Provo
Gina Vasiloff	Member - Salt Lake City
Pauline Rubin	Former Chapter Leader - Wilmington
Cristina Veale	Chapter Leader - GDI Charlotte
Leo Newball Jr.	Instructor/TA - New York City
Shayna Cummings	Instructor/TA - Boston
Gabrielle Hempel	Member - GDI Cincinnati
Amanda Grossmann	Former Instructor (Cincinnati), member (San Diego) - Cincinnati, San Diego
S. Makai Takori	TA/organizer - Atlanta
Sara Powell	Member - Cincinnati
Denisse Osorio de Large	Former Chapter Leader, Instructor - Kansas City
Marjorie Sample	Former Chapter Leader, Instructor - RDU
Sarrah Vesselov	Former Chapter Leader - Tampa Bay
Erika Languirand	Former Chapter Leader - Detroit
Stacie F.	Former Chapter Leader - SLC
Tracy Levesque	Instructor - Philadelphia
Kalene Csefalvay	Organizer - Pittsburgh
Chris DeMars	Instructor, instructor assistant, supporter, volunteer, O.G. - Ann Arbor & Detroit
Megan Anthony	Former Chapter Leader - Wilmington
Brooke Sargent	Member - Cincinnati
Christina Deemer	Teaching Assistant - Philadelphia
Meredith Burke	Former Instructor - GDI Baltimore
Stephanie Mecham	Member - Ann Arbor
Dominique Fontaine	Member - Baltimore
Hack the Gap	Former Community Sponsor - Minneapolis
Louise Clark	Chapter Leader - Charlotte
Tamara Temple	Member, Teacher, TA - Minneapolis
Leslie Wendling	Chapter Leader., On my way out - Dallas/ Fort Worth
Timothy Allen	Sponsor / Learning Space Host - Philadelphia
Elizabeth A. Hall	student participant - Philadelphia
Renée Carignan	Chapter Leader - Oakland
Amenity Applewhite	Chapter Leader - Austin
Rachael Arnold	Former Chapter Leader, Instructor - Burlington
Erin Scott	Chapter Leader - Albuquerque
Rhiannon Grames	Student and volunteer - Toledo
Wendy Aviña	Student - Toledo
Lena Levine	Chapter Leader - Buffalo
Sheila O'Donnell	Teaching Assistant / Student - Philadelphia
Vanessa Nicole Naff	Instructor - Seattle
Lauren Klinefelter	Instructor and Teaching Assistant - Philadelphia
Upma Singh	Teaching Assistant - Philadelphia
Kate Kourbatova	Teaching Assistant - Seattle-Tacoma
Lisa D. Smith	Former Instructor - Raleigh-Durham
Melanie Gershman	Volunteer - New York City
Jessica Weeber	Former Chapter Leader - Seattle-Tacoma
Aleksandra Patrzalek	Organizer - Buffalo
Becky Sroufe	Former Chapter Leader - Cincinnati
Nicole Rodriguez	Former Chapter Leader / Instructor - Detroit
Theresa Zottola Drift	Volunteer & Student - Minneapolis
Sara Cope	Former Chapter Leader / Co-Founder - Dayton
April Stevenson	Co-Organizer - Fargo
Nura Renke	Chapter Leader - Los Angeles
Mikey Ilagan	Instructor - Philadelphia
Erin Brown	Chapter Leader - Raleigh-Durham
Audrey Bryson	Social Media Volunteer - Raleigh-Durham
Isma Terrence	Student - Philadelphia
Jenn Downs	Former TA - Atlanta
Faith Ocasio	Volunteer - Buffalo
Colleen Reese	Student - Philadelphia
Liz Lockard	Former Instructor - Philadelphia
Laura Barnes	Co-Organizer - Charlotte
Jasmin Smith	Former Chapter Leader - Dallas/Ft. Worth
Anne Maiale	Instructor - Philadelphia
Bree Thomas	Former Chapter Leader / Co-Founder - Denver/Boulder
Gretchen Kastetter	Former Chapter Leader / Founder - Fort Collins
Tara Schultz	Chapter Leader - Bismarck
Kevin Jones-Evans	Instructor - Dayton
Anita Cheng	Former TA / Member - Los Angeles
Molly Young	Former Chapter Leader - Minneapolis
Melissa Hendrickson	Chapter Leader - Bismarck
Kristen Vinh	Teaching Assistant / Student - Philadelphia
Vui Nguyen	Co-Organizer / Volunteer - Boulder/Denver
Anne Katzeff	Instructor / Teaching Assistant - Boston
Samantha Kingston	Volunteer - Boulder/Denver
Christina Aiello	Member - Boston
Sylvia Maguina	Former Chapter Leader - Las Vegas (stepping down due to recent events)
Christine Whitlock	Student / Participant - Boston
Mary Rocheleau	Former Chapter Leader - Boston
Sweeney Arnett	Teaching Assistant / Volunteer - Seattle
Jennifer Houchins	Teaching Assistant / Member - Raleigh-Durham
Erin Wilbur	Former Chapter Leader - Milwaukee
Truc Nguyen	Chapter Leader - San Francisco
Catherine Farman	Teaching Assistant / Instructor - Philadelphia
Sarah Gray	Former Instructor - Philadelphia
Katryn McIntosh	Former Instructor - Providence
Aniela Wolkonowski	Member - Rochester
Amber Alter	Former Member / Volunteer - Seattle / Tacoma
Lina Swislocki	Chapter Leader - Burlington
Megan Cole	Chapter Leader - Dallas / Fort Worth
Valerie Jimenez	Member - Orange County
Jessica Leaf Roy	Member - Boston
Elizabeth Rich	Student - Philadelphia
Terri Cvetan	Member - Rochester
David Chmura	Volunteer Instructor - Ann Arbor
Maneesha Sane	Former Volunteer / Student - Philadelphia
Michelle Srbinovich	Former Chapter Leader - Detroit
Adrianne Padua	Member - Oakland
Alanna Burke	Former Chapter Leader - San Diego
CK Scheinfeld	Student - Philadelphia
Colleen McAuley	Teaching Assistant - Tampa Bay
Juanita Soranno	Community Member - Philadelphia & NYC
Gelsey Torres	Former TA / Student - Philadelphia
Rebecca Moreau	Organizer - Boston