Finalist

Jason Gibson

Teaching free coding classes to NYCHA’s youngest learners

Black and white photograph of Jason Gibson who is teaching free coding classes to NYCHA’s youngest learners.
Year
2022
Organization
Hood Code
Sector
Technology & Science
Borough
Queens
Black and white photograph of Jason Gibson who is teaching free coding classes to NYCHA’s youngest learners.

Jason knows that children deserve every chance to succeed — access that transcends zip code and opportunities that jump economic hurdles. Growing up in the Queensbridge Houses, he’s faced those hurdles, and now, as the father of a teenager, he also understands the constraints that can trip up working parents. Jason launched Hood Code to address some of these issues and grounded the program in his own NYCHA community, offering free coding classes to learners ages 8–15. Over the program’s 13 weeks, Hood Code kids learn creative problem solving, coding basics, and computer competency. Hood Code acts as both an educational opportunity for young people and a set of extra hands for working parents, bringing a spark to NYCHA community centers in the form of essential 21st century skills.