Meet this Hacker: Nora Helf

Meet Nora Helf, a previous participant at Hack the Gap and a middle school teacher in Minneapolis. Nora currently teaches a STEM class to 6th graders! They teach their students how to code! Before becoming a teacher, they worked in the Department of Natural Resources after getting their B.S. in Environmental and Natural Resources Management from the University of Minnesota.

Like you, Nora loves technology. Nora signed up for Hack the Gap because they wanted to push themself to see what they could accomplish with a team. Hack the Gap reminded Nora that collaboration is the best way to work. Nora came into the event with the intent to create something for their students. They worked with fellow hacker and teammate Angeliki to come up with a hardware/software combo visualizing brainwaves for students to learn about being calm and meditative.

Hack the Gap has inspired Nora to pursue a career in teaching technology-based content and although they will not be attending any hackathons in the near future, (they have curriculums to refine!) Nora would love to attend another one and see what they can do with a team. Nora loved being surrounded with people who were supporting and cheering them on. Nora believes that it's important to see women and non-binary people coming together to work on technology, because many people have never seen something like Hack the Gap before.

Hack the Gap brings together women and non-binary people to work and collaborate on technology. If you want to get inspired and see what you can do in a team join us at Hack the Gap 2017!

All-women Hackathon Returns to Minneapolis

Hack the Gap returns in May, 2016 in partnership with Clockwork

Press Release

Minneapolis, MN - March 15, 2016 - Hack the Gap announced the date of the 2nd annual all-women hackathon to be held May 14-15, 2016 at Clockwork in Northeast, Minneapolis. The hackathon is aimed at creating a high-energy weekend where women from all backgrounds and experience levels can enjoy an accessible, approachable, positive experience. While it's normal to feel intimidated upon arrival at a weekend-long tech event, 2015 participants reported leaving feeling excited, empowered, and connected after building a project in less than 48hrs with a newly-founded team.

The women will pitch their ideas, work with new technologies, write code, hack hardware, and present their project to the community by the end of the weekend. Mentors and judges, who are thoughtfully selected from the community to have experience, be encouraging and helpful, will offer feedback to the participants.

Hack the Gap has partnered with Clockwork, the event’s exclusive venue and food sponsor. Clockwork CEO, Nancy Lyons, is a renowned national speaker on addressing the gender gap in technology and other fields. Meghan Wilker, COO of Clockwork and champion of this partnership, is a Minneapolis powerhouse and The (Real) Power 50 award winner. Hack the Gap is honored to have the support of these two women at the helm of the Clockwork leadership team.

At last year’s event, Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges stopped by to say a few words to the group, and later tweeted: “Hack the Gap is the total awesome package of women and tech and apps and cool stuff. So fun.”

Ultimately, Hack the Gap's mission is to create a safe space for women to explore their technical abilities, to create community among the participants, and to learn. “Many women spoke with me about what the event gave them. For some, it was a new group of people they met and bonded with, for others it was a skill they learned, and several spoke of the confidence they left with after the weekend,” says Kristen Womack, co-founder of Hack the Gap.

To get involved with this year's Hack the Gap or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, visit www.hackthegap.com 

About Hack the Gap

Hack the Gap is an organization that is hacking the diversity gap, one hackathon at a time. Their mission is to amplify the voices and cultivate talents of underserved people in the community by giving the them a safe space to hack and a stage to show what they have built. To learn more about Hack the Gap: www.hackthegap.com

About Clockwork

Clockwork is an interactive design and technology agency in Minneapolis renowned for transformative business solutions. As a values-driven company, they are committed to supporting, promoting, and spotlighting organizations championing inclusivity and diversity.Learn more about what we do: www.clockwork.com

Hello World. We’re back.

Team Neuro Visionaries hacking on their brainwave bio feedback project. 

Here we are. New branding, new website, a refined mission and a bundle of energy for 2016. You may remember last year’s inaugural Hack the Gap event where we had 50+ women gather to hack all weekend and showcase their projects to a packed room of people from the local community and a panel of judges. The winning team, Neuro Visionaries, created a way to measure brain waves for students to learn about mindfulness. You can check out their project here: http://hackthegap.emilylyman.com/

But the hackathon wasn’t just about winning. The majority of the women talked about things they learned, people they met and what they accomplished. It was an inspiring weekend and we’re going to do it again. Sign up at www.hackthegap.com to be notified when tickets are available for the next all-women hackathon!