Our Mission

We're building a skilled workforce by creating pathways for driven people seeking careers in technology.

Why We're Here | How We Started | Get In Touch

Why We're Here

LaunchCode is a nonprofit offering free tech education and job placement opportunities to bring new people from all backgrounds into the tech field and reshape the way employers think about hiring.

85% of LaunchCoders

begin their career without a degree in computer science

More than 4/5

of our apprentices are converted to permanent employment

2x Previous Salary

Is the average beginning wage of LaunchCode hires

500+ Company Partners

work with LaunchCode to hire our apprentices

As Featured In

How We Started

LaunchCode was founded in 2013 to help people with nontraditional backgrounds find fulfilling, upwardly-mobile careers, and to help companies find skilled, new tech talent from all backgrounds and walks of life.

Millions of Americans are unemployed and many more are stuck in low-wage job cycles which leave them struggling to find livable salaries, employable skills, and a chance for advancement. American businesses also have a problem — there just isn’t enough traditional tech talent to match the growing demand. Code.org reports nearly 500,000 open computing jobs nationwide, yet only around 60,000 computer science graduates entered the workforce last year. These jobs are spread all over the economy, making products and services like your mobile phone, satellite television, and online searches just…work.

Back in 2013, Square’s Jim McKelvey founded LaunchCode to address these problems. Jim had experienced the lack of talent firsthand while trying to build a development shop for his new company Square in his hometown of St. Louis, MO. Eventually Jim moved Square to California for access to skilled workers, but knew there must be some way to connect the city’s rising unemployment with its shortage of tech talent. And so, LaunchCode was born.

It turns out, when you make quality education free and accessible, amazing things can happen.

Check Out More Real LaunchCoder Stories

On The Blog

Get In Touch

On Demand Faqs

Always ready with answers

Address

4811 Delmar Blvd, Saint Louis, Missouri, 63108

Phone

(314) 254-0107

Claire Anderson
Company Relations Manager
[email protected]

Tina Baraba
Finance Manager
[email protected]

Lexi Baysinger
Director of Career Readiness
[email protected]

Candice Bobbitt
VP of Finance
[email protected]

Carlin Brent
Vice President of Company Relations
[email protected]

JerMarco Britton
Candidate Engagement Manager
[email protected]

Colin Brock
Candidate Engagement Manager
[email protected]

Emma Buerke
Creative Services Manager
[email protected]

Ben Clark
Director of Instruction, Justice Programs
[email protected]

Shaw Coney
Senior Talent Manager
[email protected]

Kellye Crockett
Vice President Candidate Recruitment
[email protected]

Crystal Crump
Senior Managing Director, Company Relations
[email protected]

Gracie Evers
Candidate Engagement Manager
[email protected]

Lisa Fister
Executive Assistant
[email protected]

Leah Freeman
VP of Strategic Communications
[email protected]

Tasha Gill
Operations Analyst
[email protected]

David Gorosh
Senior Facility Manager
[email protected]

Kevin Kickham
Vice President of Donor Relations
[email protected]

Claire Kim
Talent Solutions Program Manager
[email protected]

Haley Kodner
Senior Director of Marketing
[email protected]

Maggie Lampe
Senior Finance Manager
[email protected]

Ethan Leigh
CFO
[email protected]

Ken Ma
Business Development Manager
[email protected]

Kathy McCadden
Director of Development
[email protected]

Barbara McCray
Receptionist & Facilities Coordinator
[email protected]

Seth Near
Senior Software Engineer
[email protected]

Julian Nicks
Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]

Mike Northrop
Lead Managing Director, Company Relations
[email protected]

Nicole Pope
VP of Impact
[email protected]

Courtney Schlueter
Grants Manager
[email protected]

AllisonSissom Sissom
Director of Talent Solutions
[email protected]

Keith Slater
VP of Technology
[email protected]

Rosanna Speller
Lead Software Engineer (she/her)
[email protected]

Sally Steuterman
Director of Education
[email protected]

Alisha Straws
Marketing Manager
[email protected]

Savannah Tomas
Senior Talent Solutions Program Manager
[email protected]

Kate Verrill
Senior Director of People Operations
[email protected]

Ryan Walker
Senior Software Engineer (They/Them)
[email protected]

Lin Wang
Chief Program Officer
[email protected]

John Woolbright
Platform Engineer
[email protected]

Book Events at LaunchCode

We love our community! LaunchCode's headquarters is located at 4811 Delmar Blvd. and while its primary use is as a learning center for our students and an office for our staff, we love to host other organizations and companies for events and meetings that align with our mission.

Please use the below form to request use of our space. We do hold frequent classes and events which take priority over requests from outside organizations and companies. Once you complete this form, someone from our staff will be in contact with you on space availability.

Depending on the date and time of your request, your organization could be subject to a building cleaning and/or security fee.

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Our Board Leadership


Jim McKelvey, President
Co-Founder of Square, Author, Founder of Invisibly, & LaunchCode's Founder

Timothy McFadden, Secretary
Senior Partner, Fisher Broyles

Mark Brooks
Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Reinsurance Group of America (RGA)

Alison Ferring
Philanthropic Advocate and Community Organizer

Michael Gallagher
Senior Strategic Advisor, World Wide Technology

Cyeria Jackson
Head of Internal Audit for Devices, Media and Entertainment, Amazon

Everett Johnson
Principal and Senior Director, Business Solutions Development, Edward Jones

Dan Gillian
Vice President and General Manager of Mobility, Boeing

Ernest Smiley
Chief Data Scientist and CISO, Kingdom Capital
Founder and CEO, Georgetown Analytics and Technology

Joe Calia
Sr. Vice President, Business Operations - Payment Networks, Mastercard

If you would like to connect with our Board of Directors, please contact Julian Nicks, LaunchCode CEO, at [email protected].