I would love to grow membership and participation in our CSTA chapter. I would like to continue to provide our members with powerful learning and collaboration opportunities in their interest areas, as well as in culturally responsive and inclusive teaching practices. There continues to be a significant gender and ethnicity gap both in education and industry that I believe we as educators can take strides to improve through more inclusive pedagogical and recruitment strategies.

 

Newly elected CSTA Colorado Secretary:

Sonia Spindt

Bio:

Sonia is a California native, who earned her degree in Molecular Biology from UC Berkeley. It wasn’t until a friend asked Sonia to attend a Women Who Code event that she discovered the power of computer science. After graduating in 2014, Sonia began working for UCSF in a neuro-oncology lab, where she explored the mitotic origins of glioblastomas. Although her research focused on stem cells, she often relied on the programming skills she acquired in college to analyze the biological data she collected, further highlighting just how pervasive computer science has become in today’s workforce.

Motivated to help further diversify the field of computer science, she joined Teach for America, where she began teaching Web Development and AP Computer Science Principles in East Oakland. Now, she teaches Data Science and Machine Learning courses at the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus in Centennial, CO. Sonia is constantly inspired by her students and is excited to continue to empower her students to explore STEM fields and careers. She loves to travel when she can and believes the best way to experience a new culture is through food!

What Sonia hopes to accomplish in the position:

Many computer science teachers work in isolation; some are the only CS teacher at their school site while others have found themselves lucky enough to land in a small department where all individuals are spread across an entire pathway – in this case, no two teachers think about the same thing. CSTA can not only bring people together but it can help teachers find the collaborative space they need to elevate their practice.

As someone who was a member of one of California’s most active chapters of CSTA, I hope to bring outreach and professional development facilitation experience to CO’s CSTA. In doing so, I hope to increase membership and to provide the structures or routines individuals need to find membership in CSTA exciting and fruitful.