Seattle, Washington – App Camp For Girls, a program that teaches middle-school girls how to design and build iPhone apps, will wrap up its inaugural Seattle session on August 8, 2014, with a pitch session at which the campers will present their apps to an all-women panel of Seattle tech industry leaders.

Three project teams, each composed of four girls, spend the week collaborating on an iPhone app, including developing content, writing code, designing user interfaces and testing for bugs, mentored by an all-female staff of developers and designers. On the last day of camp, the girls present their apps to the panel.

The panel members will listen to the girls’ presentations, test their apps, and offer feedback to encourage them to continue exploring potential careers in the tech business.

The App Camp For Girls program was first launched during Summer 2013 in Portland, Oregon, with the support of a successful crowdfunding campaign that raised over $100,000. Founder Jean MacDonald, a software industry veteran, came up with the idea as a way to encourage more girls and women to enter the field of mobile app development. Currently, it is estimated that over 90% of mobile app developers are men.

Seattle is the first location in a planned expansion of App Camp For Girls worldwide. Local organizers Liz Marley and Kristina Sontag were volunteers at the Portland camp last year.

(Please note: The pitch session on Friday is by invitation only. Media who are interested in attending should contact Jean MacDonald at 503-729-8452 to arrange an invitation.)

The App Camp For Girls Pitch Session panelists:
Sarah Bird serves as the CEO of Moz, the world leader in inbound marketing software. Sarah loves and welcomes conversations on inbound marketing, business models, entrepreneurship, productivity tips, women in tech, and fostering inspiring company culture. Her sharp business acumen is always paired with her passionate belief in TAGFEE (Transparent, Authentic, Generous, Fun, Empathetic, and Exceptional), Moz’s core values.

Donna Malayeri is a program manager on the Azure Mobile Services team at Microsoft, where she focuses on creating tools and services that make developers more productive. Previously, she worked on the F# language team at Microsoft and the Scala team in Switzerland. She’s loves programming languages and tools, and believes that better developer tools means better software for everyone. Donna is also passionate about getting more women interested in tech through outreach and mentoring.

Sheila Simmons is co-founder of Ranchero Software, where she has worked on the development and support of Mac apps NetNewsWire and MarsEdit, and is working on upcoming projects. She began her career in biotechnology, focusing on immune cell-based cancer therapy. She’s also a quilter, enjoying the mix of creativity, tradition and technology, and volunteers as the charity coordinator for her local quilt guild. She lives in Seattle with her husband and cat.

Asha Sharma is the Chief Marketing Officer of Porch, the home improvement network. In this role, Asha is responsible for marketing, growth product development, sales, and customer support. As one of the companys earliest employees Asha has helped build Porch from the ground up. Prior to joining Porch, Asha worked at Microsoft. Asha started her career by founding two companies, one of which was recognized by the President of the United States in 2012.

App Camp For Girls
KIRO Radio: Interview With Liz Marley – Seattle organizer
GeekWire: App Camp for Girls Expanding to Seattle
Vimeo Video

App Camp For Girls is a program where girls put their creative powers to work, concepting and building apps, while learning more about the business of software and being inspired by women who are professional software developers. Founder Jean MacDonald, formerly a partner at Smile, was inspired to create the program to encourage more girls and women to consider careers in app development. The camp launched in Summer 2013 in Portland, Oregon, supported by a crowdfunding campaign that raised over $100,000. In 2014, App Camp For Girls was launched in Seattle, Washington; further expansion is planned for 2015 and beyond. All Material and Software (C) Copyright 2014 App Camp For Girls. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.