The Latest From Code Savvy - Code Savvy Appreciation Cruise
It’s no secret that Code Savvy would not be able to fulfill its mission as well as we do without the support of our volunteers. From our amazing Board of Directors to the incredible monthly mentors who walk students through their computer science lessons, every single person that dedicates their time to bridging the technology gap in our community is appreciated and celebrated.
This last week, we had the opportunity to celebrate together on a Lake Minnetonka cruise with some of the local folks that support our organization. It was a beautiful evening of getting to know each other better, and enjoying some of the last days of summer, cruising together on the water.
As we move into the fall, I’d like to share our new opportunities for engagement with you. We are looking for new working committee members to help us fulfill our mission, and we’d love to have you join us. Take a moment to look at our volunteer opportunities, and if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. I’d love to hear from you!
Valerie Lockhart Executive Director
Email: contactus@codesavvy.org
This Week’s Spotlight and Project-Inspiration Theme: Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15th to October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month! This month we honor the cultures and contributions of both Hispanic and Latino Americans have had on society. September 15th is the anniversary of when Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua were granted independence. Mexico followed on the 16th by gaining their independence, then Chile on the 18th, and finally Belize on the 21st.
To celebrate and honor the innovation that Hispanic American scientists have had on the world, we are highlighting three of them below.
Nicole Hernandez Hammer
Hammer is a Guatemalan researcher and climate-change expert, specifically on its effects on the sea level. Through her research, she discovered that Latino communities are the most affected by the rise in sea level, focusing most of her work on the Southeast of the US. Hammer is also an environmental justice advocate, working in outreach to help show the higher impact climate change has on low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. She also works at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit scientist-led organization. While there, she focused on creating climate change adaptation projects for communities across the country.
Scarlin Hernandez
Hernandez is a spacecraft engineer originally from the Dominican Republic. She currently works for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope mission at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD. The telescope is being used to uncover new planets and stars. Her main roles prior to the telescope's December 2021 launch included testing the ground system software and creating programs from code that will command and control the telescope when it is in orbit. Her role now focuses on on-console shift work to working on software products and tools. They are also hoping to make their first discoveries this year!
Dr. Pedro A. Sanchez
Dr. Sanchez is a Cuban-born scientist dedicated to increasing the productivity of tropical soils previously assumed to be unusable for agricultural purposes. His focus was on championing ways to improve the fertility of extremely degraded soils on some of the world's most inferior land in South America and Africa. Dr. Sanchez is also the Director of the Agriculture & Food Security Center and was the Director of the Millennium Villages Project. He is currently a Research Professor of Tropical Soils at the University of Florida and core faculty of the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems.
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