I help organizations build on what’s already working and grow a culture where people learn together, so a new tool, including AI, becomes the next thing to explore instead of a crisis.
Start a conversationMost organizations start with the problem
New technology usually shows up as a problem to solve: a skills gap, people who resist the change, a rollout that stalls. So the answer is often a training day. The trainer leaves, the slides get filed away, and a few months later the same gaps are back.
I start with what’s already working. Every team has strengths, trusted relationships, and know-how that no outside expert can replace. When we build on those, people stop waiting to be trained and start learning from one another. Teams flourish the way gardens do, with the right conditions and steady tending.
Your strengths also tell you what AI should amplify. When AI is used mainly to cut costs and speed up output, organizations start to sound like everyone else. Starting from what makes you good and distinct means AI sharpens your authentic voice instead of diluting it, and your people carry that voice forward as the tools change.
The fear is rarely about the tool
When people hold back from new technology, it’s usually not the tool that worries them. It’s the fear of being exposed as behind. That fear eases when people learn next to peers they trust, ask questions without embarrassment, and see colleagues like them figuring it out too.
Change also involves loss, even change people want. When a tool changes, people can lose their sense of competence, a familiar role, or part of who they were at work. Naming that early, and helping people see what stays the same, starting with their strengths, is part of what helps a change last.
You may hear people sorted into AI adopters and AI resisters. I see a missed opportunity. The people who push back often bring high standards, care for customers, or deep knowledge of how the work really gets done. Their doubts are useful information, and bringing them in early helps a change go well, not just fast.
That’s why my work focuses on learning communities. The result is learning that keeps going after I leave: lasting adoption, less reliance on outside help, and a better return on the tools you’ve already paid for.
Ways we can work together
A mentor-ful organization. Every team has people who help colleagues find their footing with new tools, and many more who could. In a mentor-ful organization, everyone has something to teach and something to learn, including quiet experts nobody has thought to ask. I help you build mentoring into how your team works, so learning doesn’t depend on a few go-to people or wear them out.
Peer-led learning labs. Most people learn new tools like AI on their own. Built on my Community Code Camp model, these labs bring that learning into community, pairing self-paced learning with regular sessions where staff work through real tasks together and teach one another. They’re designed to keep running with your own people after we finish.
Strengths-based workshops. I facilitate hands-on sessions that help teams see what they do well together and use it to approach a change, whether that’s a new system, a new way of working, or a new direction.
Community learning programs. For colleges, libraries, nonprofits, and workforce organizations, I lead community engagement for learners and design programs that reach the learners most likely to be left behind, drawing on the Community Code Camp model and my curriculum design work with a technical college.
Where the approach comes from: the Community Code Camp model
When I started Women Who Code Greenville, I kept meeting people who wanted to learn to code but couldn’t step away from work or family for a full-time bootcamp. So I created an open-source path, building on the mentor-supported format of Code Louisville. The Community Code Camp model pairs free, high-quality online lessons that learners work through at their own pace with a weekly lab where volunteer mentors from the local tech community help them get unstuck, learn together, and keep going.
In the SC Codes Greenville pilot, more than 200 adults and nearly 40 volunteer mentors took part, and 63 completed the program, each contributing to a real civic tech project along the way. The mentors grew too, which showed me that teaching others is one of the best ways to keep learning. Read the story of the pilot.
The same idea, self-paced learning plus peers and mentors who meet regularly, is what I bring to organizations learning AI and other new tools.
What this has looked like
- Founded Women Who Code Greenville and grew it to more than 1,000 members who learned from and mentored one another
- Created the open-source, mentor-led Community Code Camp model for SC Codes, a statewide adult coding program; graduation rates rose 43% in its second year, and first-year learners were 56% female and 29% minority
- Serve on HackGreenville’s founding leadership team, which brings Greenville’s tech community together through quarterly HackGreenville Nights and interest groups
- Organize monthly women’s coworking days that support careers and paths into entrepreneurship
Who I work with
I work with organizations of all kinds, from startups and small businesses to nonprofits, social enterprises, and colleges. What they share is a belief that no one should get left behind when technology changes how we work. I’m based in Greenville, SC, and work with organizations across the Southeast in person and anywhere remotely.
Change at work isn’t only about technology, either. Caregiving, health challenges, and career pivots touch every team eventually. Workplaces that learn together are better prepared for those changes too.
Start small
What would change if your team treated a new tool as the next thing to explore? We begin with a conversation about what’s already working in your organization and where you want to go. From there, a first step might be one workshop or a small pilot lab, so you can see the approach in action before committing to more.
Start a conversation