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How a Coding Class Opened My Eyes to a New World of Opportunities

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Before I started working at the non-profit campaign WorkingNation about a year ago, whenever I would hear about coding, my immediate reaction would be it was not my thing. It’s computer science, it’s the tech world – that can’t be for me, right?

But as WorkingNation raised my awareness about the future of work in the U.S., I kept hearing over and over again about how learning to code is one of the greatest approaches to making yourself future-proof in the workplace. Technology is changing the landscape of work. I see it every day, in my own role in the company. There’s no way to hide it, so why not learn to work alongside it?

So I started to ask myself some questions. Do I really want to start taking classes again? Do I have the money for this? How can coding fit into my world – and will I ever fit into the coding world?

As a communications major, I’ve always loved learning whatever language I can to speak to all kinds of different people. So when I talked to my math and science savvy sister about it, she said something to me that stood out: coding is like a language. If you look at it the right way, it’s a type of expression that can introduce you to an entirely new group of people, and, as a result, open up many new opportunities. That’s when I realized this was something I could do.

Many people are learning to code through numerous programs because they want to be a part of this community. So I decided to take a free introductory class through General Assembly, a coding school startup that offers courses in coding, marketing, UX & design, product management, data science, and career development.

It was eye-opening to see people there from all different careers and it reassured me that I wasn’t the only one taking a stab at something new – everyone was there, in one way or another, to learn a new skill that could improve their careers. 

The class gave students an idea of the web development landscape and where HTML and CSS fit in the web ecosystem. We learned the difference between front-end and back-end code and basic components of HTML, CSS, and Javascript. But the most interesting part of the class identified the different functions of the front-end languages. By the end of the class, students were marking up a basic webpage at codepen.io using HTML and CSS.

If you had told me a year ago that I could take a coding class and enjoy it, I never would have believed you. Thanks to this experience, I see more clearly the opportunity I have to improve my future in the workplace. All it takes is the right approach to learning a new skill and the willingness to step into a new world.

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Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.