Danae Mobley has taken the reins of Philadelphia tech nonprofit Coded by Kids from her husband Sylvester Mobley.
Danae Mobley was elevated to CEO from her role as chief operating officer as she enters her seventh year with the organization, the nonprofit announced Tuesday. She previously served as chief marketing officer for Coded by Kids and also continues to head citywide public-private innovation coalition 1Philadelphia.
Sylvester Mobley stepped down to focus more of his time on Plain Sight Capital, the early stage venture firm he cofounded with a mission to invest in entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups. He will continue to be involved in Coded by Kids as an advisor and board member.
Coded by Kids was founded by Sylvester Mobley in 2014 when he began teaching web development classes out of a local recreation center. It has since become a leader in creating a more inclusive tech workforce in Philadelphia, fueling the city's talent pipeline with some 2,000 young people, many of whom come from underrepresented communities. The nonprofit runs programs like a coding and entrepreneurship class, the Ctrl+Shift coding competition for Philadelphia high school students, and a paid tech and innovation internship that sees students build their own startups.
Danae Mobley said she'll build off of the foundation her husband built with Coded by Kids, and feels that the organization "can be an epicenter for innovation and technology in Philadelphia."
"Where we really want to double down is being the best in helping students not only being exposed to [technology], but developing into advanced and best-in-class technologists and entrepreneurs that can scale and grow their impact here in the City of Philadelphia," Danae Mobley said.
Originally an educator by trade, Mobley received her undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University and a master's in community and regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania. Coded by Kids Board Chairman Isaac Ewell called her a "driving force of innovation and positive change."
"She will undoubtedly strengthen Coded by Kids and is committed to fostering an environment where young talents flourish and our mission thrives," Ewell said in a statement.
As CEO, Mobley will look to expand some of the programs the organization has had success with, like its Tech and Innovation Internship, which has had cohorts of more than 20 students each of the last three summers working in groups to build their own startups. She hopes to expand that model to make it more of a "lab and incubation space for young people who want to be able to build their own startup."
Her goal is to have students participate in early educational programming, move onto more advanced coursework and ultimately be part of an environment where they are paid year-round while developing their companies.
An example of the cycle Mobley wants to normalize for Coded by Kids students is Scaffold Ed. The ed tech startup was founded by Evan Wilson and Phillip Muller, who met in Coded by Kids classes, and recently graduated the TechStars Washington, D.C., accelerator.
Mobley said 1Philadelphia can help play a role in facilitating that journey for other young founders.
Coded by Kids launched 1Philadelphia in 2021 to advance diversity and equity in the region's tech ecosystem. While Mobley will wear two hats leading both organizations, she said it will help students seamlessly move between programming in Coded by Kids to 1Philadelphia. She equated it to the transition of young athletes "from rec leagues to AAU."
"When we talk about that long journey and trajectory from a young person being able to get exposed to tech early, all the way through adulthood — whether they're able to enter into entrepreneurship or the workforce — Coded by Kids is the beginning of that journey. We hope through 1Philadelphia, at the end, they can go through and kind of flourish in whatever path that they choose for themselves in tech and innovation," Mobley said.
