The Blog
Mobile Workshop: Meet The Mentors!
After a group of ladies mastered mobile for the first time back in January we knew we would have to do it again! On June 16th, our second mobile workshop will be held at Xtreme Labs and led by Peter Iskandar and Kitty Shum. No one can become a master without a great instructor, and our mentors for this workshop are no exception:
Lead Instructor: Peter Iskandar (@PeteIskandar)
Agile Engineer, Mobile Application Development at Xtreme Labs Inc.
What are you passionate about? “There are several things that I am passionate about but the main two are music and computers/technology. I have been involved with computers since a very early age and my learning has still only just begun.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “I decided to get involved with Ladies Learning Code because I wanted to help people further their knowledge in computers/coding. I think it’s a great cause and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Lead Instructor: Kitty Shum (@kitty_shum | http://kittyshum.wordpress.com)
Product Manager at Xtreme Labs
What are you passionate about? “The magic of how technology improves our lives has always fascinated me. I’ve been passionate about technology since I wrote my first “Hello World” application. From a technical perspective, I spend a lot of time trying out new technologies, new mobile platforms and building cool products. Outside of the technology world, I enjoy being disconnected from time to time. I play a lot of sports; from snowboarding in the winter to LOTS of football in the summer.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “After working in a male-dominated environment for years, I would love to encourage more ladies into this field. I still recall being able to count the number of girls with one hand for one of my 4th year Computer Science course. Coding and working with technology is not a scary thing, I want to help change that perception. I love technology and love what I do everyday! I want to share that passion with others and support a great community/organization.”
Ankur Jain (@ankurjain185 | http://www.symmetricsolutions.ca)
Front-end Developer at National Post
What are you passionate about? “User experience, web performance and technology. I believe a memorable user experience works hand in hand with highly optimized websites. No one likes to wait.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “Having more women within our industry will provide a fresh perspective as both genders approach and solve problems differently. LLC looks like a great opportunity where I can share my knowledge while helping promote greater diversity within the industry.”
Saman Alvi (@err_sage | www.systemerrorcs.wordpress.com)
Android Software Developer at EnvisionMobile
What are you passionate about? “Clean code.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “It’s a great organization doing fabulous work.”
Sacha Sayan (@sachasayan | http://sachasayan.com)
Freelance Interactive Developer/Designer – I typically design and develop websites and ads for agencies, working with HTML/CSS, JS, Flash, Photoshop, and more!
What are you passionate about? “Designing great, clear user interfaces and experiences. I think we need to interact better with technology, and there’s a huge cultural shift towards that right now.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “I work in an industry that despite so much effort to move in the right direction, lacks diversity. I’d like to fix that.”
Luke Galea (@lukegalea)
VP of Research and Development at Avid Life Media (Ashley Madison, CougarLife, EstablishedMen, etc)
What are you passionate about? “Javascript, Node.JS, Mobile Web Development & Good Beer.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “My baby girl (Maeve) who I someday hope will learn to code.” 
Jonathan Hernandez (@jahndez | http://sascea.com)
Developer at Sascea
What are you passionate about? “Videogames. Also learning new things, creating amazing applications that are simple to use.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “I’ve been fortunate enough to work with a team of great people and learn a lot along the way from them. Ladies Learning Code is a great initiative that wants to do away with the preconceived notion that programming can be difficult to get into. It’d be great to be able to give back to the community and get more people introduced to some useful and very important tech.”
Conrad Muan (@radicalradical | http://www.radicalradical.com/)
Independent Web Developer, front end and server side
What are you passionate about? ”I’m passionate about moving the web forward and creating solid user experiences. I believe that coding is an art form and should be something we learn early on: like arts and crafts time in kindergarten.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? ”I saw an opportunity to spread the thing that I love to do to a demographic that is (unfortunately) not represented very well in my industry”
Nicole Chung (@redconservatory | http://www.redconservatory.ca/)
Freelance Web Developer – My job changes from month to month, but mainly I do a combination of front-end development and videography work
What are you passionate about? “Telling stories and writing code.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “It would be fantastic if there were more women writing code.”
Chris Jones (@jonezy | http://github.com/jonezy/)
Richmond Day – I’m a senior developer focusing on building complete online solutions (web sites, web apps, mobile web sites and apps, Facebook apps, etc). Working at a small company means I get to do all the fun stuff, I don’t specialize in any specific role so I get to everything from db design to css to provisioning servers. Specifically I work with c#/asp.net mvc, html, css and javascript.
What are you passionate about? “Right now my passion is focused on getting people excited about being a developer.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “I love writing code but there’s something about seeing that light bulb happen for someone, when they finally get that layout just right or the project finally compiles. What we do is a great deal of fun and involves a lot of creativity.”
Anne Thomas (@AlfalfaAnne | http://annethomasdesign.com)
Front-End Web Developer at Grip Limited
What are you passionate about? “UX Design / WordPress / Horses.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “Love the idea / Love to help / Love to meet awesome people.”
Susan Elliott Sim (@benevolentprof | http://www.drsusansim.org)
Research, writing, teaching, and iPhone programming at Many Roads Studios
What are you passionate about? “Social justice.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “I spend my waking hours advocating for the dispossessed, empowering women, and challenging power structures. Getting involved in LLC lets me do all of that.”
James Halpern
Engineer at Xtreme Labs – I am an engineer in mobile app development. I am currently responsible for developing the NBA Game Time application for release in the US, and I have previously had experience with web development, specifically for Facebook applications and HP’s WebOS platform (CBS Sports for WebOS).
What are you passionate about? “Technology in general. Tech is cool.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “I have some free time, and so I figured I should spend it volunteering and trying to help out. Would be nice to have fun and help people learn code.”
Andrew Stevens (@andrewstevens | http://andxyz.com)
Software Developer at Orbis Communications
What are you passionate about? “UX, webframeworks.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “The energy and aura of learning environments are great for everyone involved. Volunteering and the act of attempting to explain something with clarity is a reward in and of itself, makes me think of “talking to the rubber duck.” Getting in touch with the co-founder Laura and other mentors are side motives too.”
James Cooper
(Coop) Developer at Xtreme Labs
What are you passionate about? “History, actually; coding is cool and I like it but I’m actually a history major.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “Because I like teaching as well, and it just generally seems like a fun and worthy cause.”
Dwayne Forde (@dwayneforde)
Software Architect at Xtreme Labs
What are you passionate about? “Coding.” 
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “I like teaching people who are willing to learn.”
Hannah Mittelstaedt (@hannahmitt)
Agile Developer at Xtreme Labs
What are you passionate about? “Android design.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “I’m a lady and I love to code! I’d like other girls to be introduced to how much fun it is.”
Nick Manos (@nikosmanos)
Mobile Developer at Avid Life Media – I develop and maintain iPhone, Android, and mobile web apps.
What are you passionate about? “Mobile development.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “Help others who want to learn to program.”
Monica Olinescu (@mochromatic | http://sleekd.com)
Co-founder and Wearer of Many Hats at Discuss.io – My main responsibility is building a kick ass feedback tool for designers.
What are you passionate about? “Using technology to make people’s lives easier.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “By the time I graduated from university there were only about four girls left in my year. I have always wondered why girls shied away from Computer Science, when there seemed to be lots of girls in other science-oriented fields. I am very excited to meet women who are interested learning how to code and share my passion for building things with them.”
Brian Irish (@irishb)
Senior Web Developer at Virgin Gaming
What are you passionate about? “Combining the latest and greatest in programming with a simple, and responsive interface.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “A friend and former colleague brought this workshop to my attention, and I instantly thought it was a great idea!”
Scott Erkkila (@scotterkkila | http://www.sedev.ca)
Agile Developer at Xtreme Labs
What are you passionate about? “Software development, teaching and Tim Hortons double doubles.”
Why did you get involved with Ladies Learning Code? “The last LLC I mentored at was a lot of fun. It’s amazing to watch people who had little experience coding turn into coders by the end of the day.”
Much thanks to these magnificent mobile mentors!
For more info about Ladies Learning Code, follow us on Twitter or check out our Facebook Page. If you’d like to join our email list, click here or to volunteer as a Mentor, join our developer email list.