CODETALK @ St. Joseph Center

Codetalk: The Mission

Codetalk’s Mission is to use technological education to transform the lives of women in need. Codetalk achieves this mission of empowering women through technology via an innovative program that teaches women the necessary technical and professional skills to attain jobs in technology. In just 15 weeks, participants learn foundational skills necessary to start work as a web development professional, develop a digital portfolio and gain the confidence to enter into a new career in web development.

Next Deadline for Applications: December 16, 2016

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The Program

Codetalk is a 15-week immersive program held at the St. Joseph Center that equips participants with the skillset to pursue employment as entry-level web developers.

The program aims to empower women by guiding them toward financial stability through work in a growing field and aspires to increase the number of women working in technology and to bring more women into leadership roles.

The program runs Monday through Friday from 9am-1pm. Our students include students, single mothers, youth in transition, unemployed women, and women looking for a life change.

The class will cover building a website from scratch, guiding students through HTML, CSS, Javascript/JQuery, and WordPress. We will also focus on problem solving, troubleshooting, research skills, using online resources, and how to find solutions.

View the Curriculum Outline

Students will work on individual and collaborative group projects, and will have a digital portfolio website by the end of the program. Students will also learn professional skills, including but not limited to, project planning, presentations and review, working with clients, and preparation for interviewing for tech jobs.

Industry Professionals

Featured guest speakers & lecturers. Past guest speakers from Fullscreen, BLITZ, Community Bank, Citrus Studios & TechCruit.

Job Placement Opportunities

Job placement assistance & guidance and individualized career counseling.

Online Student Portal

Online Student Portal with class materials and links to online resources, as well as community support system to help students succeed.

Professional Development

Professional development and social skills including resume feedback & interview skills.

Collaborative Projects

Opportunities to work on real-world projects in collaboration with classmates in mock-work environment.

Digital Portfolio

Creation of web portfolio to showcase work & projects completed during program.

Potential Students

We are accepting applications for the next session starting January 2017. Deadline for applications is December 16, 2016.

Apply

The Team

Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum

Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum has been the Executive Director of St. Joseph Center in Venice since 2008. She also currently serves as the Chair of the Westside Shelter and Hunger Coalition, and for the last two years she has participated on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Coordinating Council as the SPA 5 Representative. Dr. Adams Kellum was raised in Southern California and completed her Ph.D. at Stanford University.

Ilene Resnick

Ilene Resnick is a Los Angeles native and proud participant in the Santa Monica and West Los Angeles communities for the past 20 years. Currently she is on the Board of Directors for PS Arts, Crossroads School, and Young Storytellers Foundation. She also works with two of her brothers to give Foundation grants to non-profit organizations about Los Angeles.

Nicole Wiggs

Division Director of Education & Vocation Programs

Sharon Plunkett

Program Manager

Nancy Romero

Instructor

Nancy Romero is a bicycling enthusiast from Los Angeles, who does freelance web design, teaches programming to children, and meditates. She is engaged in electronic-based art practices, using Ableton and Unity 3d to create interactive video and sound installations. In her non-digital art she works with holography and lenticular images, and is inspired by variances in visual perception, neural diversity, and diverse perspectives that lead to infinite perceptions of reality.

Rachel Manning

Instructor

Rachel Manning is a Front-end web application developer and UX designer. Her experience ranges from working with small businesses to fortune 500 companies. She’s spent the last 2 years traveling around the world skiing and working remotely as a freelancer and contractor. Rachel has returned to Los Angeles to further her education in sustainability and innovation– believing that diversity in technology is a progressive and positive necessity for the future.

Saewon Oh

Instructor

Saewon Oh is an educator, UX designer, artist and herbalist. She’s interested in the relationship between technology and the evolution of consciousness and works in service of social and cultural growth. As a web designer, she believes good design is a balance between analytical systems thinking and intelligent application and constantly wonders how we can become more mindful with our technological tools. As an educator, she believes teaching is a collaborative act of self-empowered learning.

Janice Lee

Consultant, Former Instructor

Janice Lee is the Founder/CEO of POTG Design, a WordPress-oriented web development firm that works with creative individuals, local LA businesses, writers, non-profits, independent publishers & universities. She has taught Creative Writing, Technology, GED, and Critical Studies at UC San Diego, Pasadena City College, CalArts, and Pitzer College. Lee is also the author of 5 published books and Executive Editor at Entropy.

Daryna Yakusha

Consultant, Former Instructor

Daryna Yakusha has worked everywhere, from games to fashion sites to tech startups. She is currently a Senior Front End Engineer at the Honest Company. Since she is a self-taught web developer with a 6 year career in the field, she is very passionate about the idea that there is a foundational skillset that can be taught and acquired quickly, which is exactly what Codetalk aims to do for its students.

Joseph Abrahams

Recruiting Consultant

Joseph Abrahams is the founder of TECHCRUIT, a Santa Monica based technical recruiting firm. A native of Santa Monica, he has worked in the technical recruiting industry since 2007. He is grateful for the opportunity to be part of a group dedicated to increasing the female population within engineering and present the career path to those who may recognize engineering as their passion.

Aliza Astrachan

Former Program Manager

Aliza Sorotzkin-Astrachan is a program manager, educator, nascent web designer and urban farmer. She has worked as relationship manager in global education business development and managed education-related programs in the 3D animation industry for over ten years. She is passionate about encouraging girls into coding and giving opportunities for women interested in learning web and software development. She’s really looking forward to the future of technology for women.

Potential Partners

We invite collaboration and welcome trailblazing organizations to partner with us to lead underserved women to fields where they have the potential to excel. We are looking for mentorships, internships, potential website projects, and other partners.

Download Brochure

Testimonials

"I feel like a whole new area of life is open to me. My eyes were opened and I was taught something I never thought I'd be able to do untilI took a chance on this course and myself. I feel very close to my goals." - M.H.

"This curriculum has impacted my life and its future in a way I could never have imagined. The possibilities are staggering… This has been a life changing experience that I am eternally grateful for." - A.G.

"I can't believe how much I learned and soaked in in a short period of time. [The instructors'] knowledge and ability to teach in a way that everyone understands in a gift! Breaking down the various concepts, programs, frameworks, tools. etc. was exactly what I was looking for in an instructional program. It was truly a wonderful experience!! " - T.J.

"The class was wonderful! I enjoyed the group of women I worked with and our instructors are awesome. I feel like I've been handed a key that unlocks the door to UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES! I am so excited about what opportunities are ahead of me." - M.M.

" The class taught me the most important things that I needed. The instructors were not only understanding of my needs, but took the extra time to help me better understand the coursework. I also feel that I benefit greatly from the other students, since the instructors encouraged us to build a support group together." - R.M.

View some selections from past student work.

View Student Work