Chiara is a freshman at Yale University from Manila, Philippines. Chiara is an activist, developer, and President and Founder of Developers’ Society, a global nonprofit nurturing student-led innovation and advancing computer science education in the developing world, which has impacted over 55,000 students across 10+ countries. Her startup, Batid, develops sociopolitical software to combat a volatile government administration and climate in the Philippines and has been awarded and recognized internationally. She was recently awarded the Student of Vision Abie Award on the Grace Hopper Celebration keynote stage.
“I founded Developers’ Society in 2016, originally a high school club to make videogames that soon pivoted into a massive organization across Luzon rooted in students helping out other students: beyond any economic, cultural, or gender barriers. We created resources and poured pocket money into events, resources, and gatherings to spread computer science and equalize an industry that we believe every member of the youth deserves to be a part of.
Two years later, we find ourselves global, recognized by groups all around the Philippines, and most notably: on the Grace Hopper Celebration keynote stage. We’re doing a lot of work to fulfill a huge gap in technology in a developing world like the Philippines, and it’s simply fueled by our desire to leave no one behind. Education and accessibility in the country I call home, and other nations that don’t normally come to mind when we think about tech, is crucially important. This edge of representation is something that I always seek to further.”
