Speakers & Hosts

Jennifer was a boarding student from Boston and graduated Concord Academy in 2016. She later went on to Connecticut College as an undecided major. Jennifer had taken lots of Environmental Studies courses in CA so she decided to continue that in College. However, she remembered that one of her favorite classes at CA was Ben Stumpf’s Graphic Design class. Therefore, she took a chance and enrolled in Intro to Computer Science, even though she had never coded or knew much about it. Jennifer ended up majoring in Computer Science, minoring in Environmental Studies, and took many exciting classes throughout the years. Graduating in 2020, during the very early pandemic was difficult, but she applied to a variety of technology positions and was hired as part of the technology foundational program with Travelers Insurance. Three years later, Jennifer has been working and advancing as a Software Engineer. Currently, she's working hybrid and spends her time between Connecticut and Boston. Jennifer codes every day, and promotes environmental advocacy through her small business and everyday life.

Iris Oliver is a high school computer science teacher at Brooke High School in Mattapan, MA. She teaches AP Computer Science Principles and Advanced Computer Science. Before becoming a teacher, Iris worked at Microsoft as a Product Manager on the Windows education team. While at Microsoft she focused on accessibility, student privacy, and user experience and design. Iris graduated from CA in 2015 and Tufts University in 2019, where she majored in Computer Science. In her free time, Iris likes experimenting in the kitchen and practicing her powerlifting skills at the gym!

Carolina Diez, class of 2013, is a Boston native of Colombian descent. After graduating from CA, she started a summer internship at a foreign language book publishing company in Boston. This led to a 5 year long freelancing gig that kept her interest in tech alive while she pursued her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Connecticut College. She spent her first few post-grad years working in health care before transitioning into a new career in technology. She now works as a User Operations Specialist at The Predictive Index, a software as a service (SaaS) company that uses psychology to give businesses the people data they need in order to hire well, build effective teams and align those teams to their strategy. In her free time, Carolina loves being active, traveling, binge-watching tv, and creating intricate pieces of art across different mediums.

Karenna Groff graduated from MIT in 2022 with a major in Biological Engineering and a minor in Brain and Cognitive Sciences. She is now completing a master’s in biomedical engineering at MIT before matriculating at medical school in the summer. Her thesis work is supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, and focuses on understanding the genetic basis of epilepsy and developing novel gene therapies. She is also passionate about increasing global access to high-quality healthcare. She co-founded the MIT Slums & Informal Settlements Research Group, helped to implement a software to reduce maternal mortality in Tamil Nadu, India, and is engineering a cheap take-home anemia diagnostic for use in low resource areas.

Emma L. Starr '12 is a data scientist at EveryDay Labs, an EdTech startup that delivers evidence-based interventions in school districts around the country to reduce student absenteeism. Before joining the tech industry, Emma worked in academic research at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, an education non-profit, and psychology research labs. She received her B.A. in Psychology at Skidmore College and a Master's in Education in Mind, Brain, and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Emma is passionate about using data and statistics to empower people to better understand the world around them. In her spare time, Emma teaches her cats tricks, plays dungeons & dragons, and horseback rides.