Elizabeth M.

STEM Fan - Coding, Science and Math

Washington D.C

• My father was a scientist at Bell Labs and brought home a portable computer when I was 12 years old. It was the size of a small suitcase and had no screen - it printed out the adventure game we played.
• My coding company's name is LabCatsCoding because the first class I started teaching got the brunt of figuring out what wored and didn't. And there are three cats in my house. So instead of LabRats they were LabCats.
• Even though I teach coding, I am a huge fan of learning via paper. When I teach, I pass out worksheets and guided notes on paper and many of my assignments are that way so I can provide better feedback.

I graduated from UVa with a Bachelor of Science in the Engineering School along with a minor in MIS from the Commerce School back in 1989. Since then, I've worked a variety of jobs at big consulting companies (Booz-Allen, Deloitte), regular companies (MCI) and smaller startups (The Motley Fool and more) before becoming a freelance developer. I started teaching coding classes in response to parental pressure from my kids' friends and because I wanted my kids to learn to code. Ten years later, I have developed over 15 courses worth of curriculum, learned a lot about what works and doesn't work, and found a profound satisfaction in seeing the kids faces light up when they "get it". I know more languages and technical skills then I can list but here is a start: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, PHP, Python, Django, Java, C, Visual Basic, FTP, git, WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, eCommerce, databases, MySQL and more. I know that I have succeeded as a teacher when they tell me that they are coding in their dreams! I also have taught classes at Jackson-Reed High School as a long-term substitute teacher for four years. This included AP Physics for 4 months, Algebra & AP CS for 4 months, Honors Chemistry for 7 months and a final stint of 1 month with AP CS.