At Code the Dream, we are wrapping up 2024 with a celebration of our 10th anniversary. Below you can track our progress on a timeline, hear from our co-founders about the ideas that grew into Code the Dream, where we are now, and how we hope to continue this important work, and read about ten remarkable Code the Dream alumni.
Reflections from our Founders
Code the Dream Co-Founders Ramiro Rodriguez, Daisy Magnus-Aryitey, and Dan Rearick recorded video messages to mark the occasion of our 10th anniversary. Each of them takes the time to remember the earliest days of Code the Dream and to reflect on the rapid growth of the past several years and the important qualities of Code the Dream that have remained constant over a decade. As Daisy says, “That’s my dream: That every student who joins Code the Dream knows, ‘I belong, I’m valued, and my life is about to change.’”
Daisy Magnus-Aryitey,
Co-Executive Director
Dan Rearick,
Co-Executive Director
Ramiro Rodriguez,
Chief Technical Officer
Read more of Daisy’s, Dan’s, and Ramiro’s highlights in this blog post.
Code the Dream Through the Years
Code the Dream’s initial classes—conceived by Dan Rearick and Ramiro Rodriguez in 2014, and later attended by Daisy Magnus-Aryitey—were small and purely introductory, a way to help people from communities underrepresented in tech to get an idea about what software programming entailed. Then, fewer than a dozen people convened in a classroom in North Carolina. Now, hundreds of students from across the country take classes in a range of programming languages, supported by a network of staff and mentors. We are proud of our growth and the hard work of our students, apprentices, and staff, to create opportunities and impact individuals and communities. Track some of our milestones on our timeline below!
Launch of first pilot classes, originally called ‘Dreamers Code’
CTD’s first pilot class begins in the basement of Durham’s American Underground. The idea was to support alternative paths to successful careers for immigrant youth in NC. In the very first group of students taught by Ramiro Rodriguez was Cruz Núñez, now a senior developer at CTD.
CTD classes expand to Raleigh
Buoyed by the success of our initial cohort, CTD offers additional continued classes each year, alternating between Durham and Raleigh throughout 2015, 2016, and 2017.
CTD’s 100th student enrolls in our free coding classes
Four years after the initial pilot program, Code the Dream’s reach starts to expand. One milestone pointing to CTD’s increased impact: In January 2018, we enrolled our 100th student!
CTD Labs is launched
Realizing that coders need real world experience to prepare for jobs in the tech industry, Code the Dream launches CTD Labs, a tech-for-good social enterprise, and our own in-house dev shop. Graduates of our code school are eligible to apply to join CTD Labs where they build apps and web technologies for a wide variety of nonprofits, government agencies, small businesses, and universities. This unique model is the heart of CTD’s “win-win” program today.
CTD’s 10th class
Code the Dream leads its 10th cohort of students, still operating in-person.
CTD begins national expansion with pilot group in Chicago
Seeking to expand our impact, CTD provides some customized instruction for students in Chicago and Baltimore, later bringing some of these individuals into CTD Labs full time.
First all-remote classes are launched
In Fall 2019, CTD begins broad-based national expansion, offering our first fully remote class to students across the country.
GSK IMPACT Award
Code the Dream is honored with a GSK IMPACT Award, recognizing the most impactful nonprofits in North Carolina. One CTD staff member, Narayan Rai, had a particularly impactful moment during the award ceremony. Read more about Narayan’s journey.
CTD launches response apps during early Covid pandemic
CTD partners with multiple orgs early in the Covid-19 pandemic to respond to the crisis. One partner was Face Mask Warriors, an early effort to match homemade face masks with health-care professionals across the country. Another partner was the Durham Public Schools Foundation. CTD built a meal-delivery app, ensuring that all Durham students get the meals they rely on during the day.
Over 2500 volunteer hours in CTD classes in 2020
CTD builds a robust volunteer network of professional developers committed to helping diversify the tech space by mentoring students in our classes.
Our 25th class launches
Code the Dream leads its 25th class cohort, now operating multiple cohorts per year in multiple programming languages.
CTD counts students in 25 states
Code the Dream continues to expand across the country; our students now come from 25 different states.
500th student served
The 500th student enrolls in Code the Dream’s classes, marking a new era of rapid growth and impact.
Daisy named Tech Difference Maker of the Year
The NC Tech Association honors Co-Executive Director Daisy Magnus-Aryitey with the 2022 “Difference Maker of the Year” award.
40 apps and websites built by CTD Labs this year
In 2022, CTD Labs builds a whopping 40 websites and apps that help farmworkers, rural entrepreneurs and small businesses, and address issues of immigrant rights, racial justice, healthcare, and education.
CTD launches tandem apprenticeship with SAS
In 2023, SAS expands its work with Code the Dream by bringing on an inaugural cohort of Code the Dream Fellows. Working across two teams, the fellows use what they learned in the classroom to make a real-world impact. Many of these former apprentices now work at SAS, and other companies are following suit! Learn more at codethedream.org/tandem
CTD completes its 50th class
Code the Dream’s 50th cohort of students ends! For the 50th time, a group of aspiring tech professionals complete classes with Code the Dream.
1000th student served
Code the Dream’s growth continues, extending free training in software development to more than 1000 students by September 2023.
Equity and Justice award from Fidelity
Code the Dream wins the national Equity and Justice award in Fidelity Charitable’s Make More of a Difference Challenge, voted on by Fidelity associates from across the country
108,000 people impacted by CTD tech this year
In 2023 alone, more than 100,000 people were impacted by apps created by CTD Labs!
Over 10,000 volunteer hours logged in 2023
CTD’s remarkable force of over 200 volunteers spends more than 10,000 hours annually supporting our classes and helping our students grow.
CTD’s 75th class begins
The 75th cohort of students begins all-remote Code the Dream classes, under the tutelage of our expert mentors.
50 Apprentices in CTD Labs
The CTD Labs Apprenticeship, “the best first job in tech” for underrepresented coders, employs 50 people across the country in 2024.
CTD Labs team wins awards for innovative AI
A team from CTD Labs wins two awards at the annual BenCon conference hosted by Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation. Our Bennie AI project uses custom-built AI to make it easier for families to apply for benefits and get the help they need.
1500th student served
By the time our final 2024 classes begin, we serve hundreds of students across the country every year, making high quality tech training available to those who have never before had access.
CTD reaches 45 states
Code the Dream’s student body in 2024 reaches 45 states across the country and continues to expand.
CTD has 32 staff members
Quadrupling our staff size in just a few years enables our ability to scale our classes and dev shop, training more students and building more impactful apps. We have a vibrant, passionate staff dedicated to our mission of creating opportunity, innovation, and impact for many more years to come.
10 Years, 10 Stories
Stories from a decade of life changing opportunities
In ten years, we’ve made a big impact on the lives of our participants. Check out stories of ten alumni from throughout Code the Dream’s history.
Contribute towards CTD’s next 10 years!
Make a donation of $50 or more, and we’ll send you a 10 year anniversary poster!
Our 10th anniversary image was crafted using AI in DALL-E 3 and Photoshop by CTD Labs director Tom Rau, with help from staff Alejandra Rodriguez and Kate Borgen. This majestic tree, whose trunk and branches are formed by lines of code, represent Code the Dream’s growth and evolution over the past ten years. The leaves and flowers are diverse symbols representing different cultures, technologies, and ideas, all of which help make Code the Dream the dynamic, diverse, nurturing community that we are.
