Supporting Efforts Towards More Equitable Communities

The YWCA Evanston/North Shore and the Department of Computer Science at Northwestern Engineering were awarded a 2022 Racial Equity and Community Partnership grant from Northwestern’s Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations.

Sarah Van Wart, adjunct assistant professor of computer science, has been working with the YWCA team since 2019 as a member of their Women in Tech Council. When the economic empowerment training program YW Tech Lab launched at the organization in January 2020, Van Wart engaged CS undergrads in mentoring opportunities to support the trainees.

Part of a national partnership with Google.org, YWCA USA, and YWCA Madison, the YW Tech Lab is run locally by the YWCA Evanston/North Shore and Oakton Community College. The free, 16-week, virtual coding class is focused on intensive technical training in web development fundamentals.

After the inaugural YW Tech Lab class graduated, Van Wart and two undergraduate students, Esther Whang ('21) and Beck Malwitz, launched the Portfolio Group – a free apprenticeship program that enables YW Tech Lab graduates to continue their learning by building websites for minority-owned local businesses. Portfolio Group members have met weekly since the fall of 2021 to assess client needs, develop project management skills, and design and build the websites. The team just launched their first website this month for the diversity, equity and inclusion consulting company Answer the Moment.

Northwestern computer science students will continue to lead virtual office hours for the YW Tech Lab cohort, mirroring the Northwestern CS Peer Mentor program. The students will also help support the Portfolio Group apprenticeship program.