Sandee Kastrul is the president and cofounder of i.c.stars; Founded in 1999 i.c.stars provides opportunities to break the cycle of poverty that limits inner-city youth. Through training in technology, in leadership and in business skills i.c.stars prepares change-driven, inner city future leaders to develop skills in business and technology for high-level careers in information technology (IT) and community leadership. As a speaker, Sandee is an engaging and inspiring storyteller drawing the connections between creativity, innovation, technology and entrepreneurship. As the founder of a non-profit and social enterprise Sandee discusses the powerful result of optimism and raising the standards for our communities with a unique perspective on Capitalism and Civil Rights.

Sandee has been working in education and transformation for over 2 decades. Her career in education has included focused work on cross-curricular integration strategies, diversity training and curriculum development. She worked as a teacher and consultant from early childhood classrooms through adult education affording her a wide perspective in effective project based learning techniques, leadership development, reverse mentoring and asset based pedagogy. Some career highlights include implementing a professional development program with Harold Washington College Career Center, designing a comprehensive science and civics interactive program for Jobs for Youth, developing and facilitating diversity trainings and cross cultural curriculum strategies for the Illinois Resource Center, the Merrillville School Corporation and creating artist in residency programs and training artists to work in classrooms for several performing arts organizations in Chicago.

Ms. Kastrul proudly serves on the board of Directors for PAVE, (Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment) and the LEED Council, (Local Economic and Employment Development), and Las Caras Lindas. Sandee received the NFBDPA(National Forum Black Public Administrators) Community Service Award in 2012 BDPA (Black Data Processors Association) leadership award in 2009, and the BDPA Spirit award in 2004.

Jason comes to CODE2040 with 15 years of experience as a founder and advisor to startups, campaigns and nonprofits. Before coming to the Bay, he sat on the Washington, DC Mayor’s Tech Roundtable and served as an advisor to Digital DC, an initiative formed to promote and invest in the continued growth of DC’s tech ecosystem. Jason is a lifetime learner committed to the idea that technology can be a great equalizer and served as a CODE for Progress Fellow, focused on creating software to tackle large scale social issues.

Early on in his career, he co-founded Broadband.com, a startup that transformed how small businesses purchase voice and data services. Recognizing the importance of building mentoring relationships, he has been committed to creating opportunities to introduce tech entrepreneurship to youth and underrepresented communities ever since. When he’s not working, Jason enjoys traveling, working on side projects and is in constantly engaged in debate over the perfect hiphop album. He’s super excited to join the CODE2040 team to launch the CODE2040 Residency.

Matt Keller is the Senior Director of the Global Learning XPRIZE. Matt is leading an effort to develop a prize that will challenge teams from all over the world to create innovative technologies that will reach the poorest and most remote children on Earth – children who have no access to school or any kind of quality learning environment. Previously, in his capacity as Senior Vice-President of One Laptop per Child (OLPC), Matt led OLPC’s ground-breaking literacy project in remote Ethiopia testing the theory that children from non-literate communities could teach themselves to read using tablets filled with applications designed for self-learning.

Matt has also served as a senior program officer with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for five years, serving in Rome, Italy, and as Legislative Director for Common Cause in Washington, DC where he led efforts on Capitol Hill focusing on openness, accountability, and campaign finance reform in the United States Congress. Matt has also worked as a lawyer and lobbyist on behalf of migrant farm workers in the Southwest United States, and as a Jesuit Volunteer in Portland, Maine.

Riana Lynn is emerging as a young leader in food+health entrepreneurship with a passion for technology, access, and bringing people together. From her grandmother’s garden to the White House South Lawn and through the local and international agricultural pipelines she was inspired to develop innovative supply chain management tools and create FoodTrace. A next level sourcing platform, FoodTrace is paving the way with software solutions to solve our biggest food industry problems. Her story and accomplishments have been featured in Inc.com, Wired Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, TheGrio 100, and other local and national publications. She graduated with a B.S. in Biology and African American Studies, along with a minor in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she taught herself how to code and was a top-ranked performer in Discus and Javelin before pursuing a Masters at Northwestern University. While getting her hands dirty in the White House Kitchen Garden, her work included major policy initiatives such as Small Business and Jobs, STEM, and Public Health. Riana currently serves as the Google – Code 2040 Entrepreneur in Residence. A native of the Chicago area, Riana is a young politico, a restaurant enthusiast, a world traveler, and an innovative fruit connoisseur!