From Coast to Code: Bringing STEM opportunities to the community
“Engineering Side Gigs” is a series about technologists at Intuit and their side gigs (passion projects), outside of work. Kylie Taitano is a competitive Tahitian dancer who co-leads a nonprofit with the mission to unite young women and their community through technology, “Code With Her.”
I’m a software engineer in the ProConnect Group at Intuit. To provide some context, ProConnect is the business unit dedicated to building solutions for tax accounts, the bridge between our consumer and our small businesses. This completes our ecosystem at Intuit. I personally work on ProSeries, a desktop product that’s been around for more than 20 years. Over 25 million tax returns are filed through the ProConnect products.
I graduated from UCSD in 2014 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science, and joined Intuit early in my career. At UCSD, I was very involved in the community, and it became a big part of who I am. I am a founding board member of the UCSD Women in Computing organization, and also heavily involved in the tutoring community (which is hosted at Intuit through partnership with UCSD Computer Science department). Today, I am a member of the UCSD Computer Science Alumni Board.
At Intuit, employees are empowered to make decisions at any level. The work that I do is meaningful, and I know that leaders trust me and my work. I love that I have good work life balance. I have the chance to learn and invest my skills as a software engineer during work hours, and focus on my personal passions during off hours.
Connecting to My Island Roots
I was born in Guam, and when we moved to Temecula, I still wanted to feel connected to my island roots. I started learning Tahitian dance in 2015, and it awoke this passion in me that I didn’t even know I had. When I step into the studio, I transform into an artist. Dance is not a problem-solving activity; it’s something that requires you to free your mind and let go. This gives me the balance I need in my life. When I visited Tahiti for the first time, I found the connection I was looking for — the connection to my island roots.
In terms of the competition side of dance, I have won several awards that range from first place to third. I’ve traveled within California and to Vegas and Tahiti to compete. I owe my success to my teachers at Te Rahiti Nui school who continue to mold me from an engineer to a performer.
I never thought I would compete. I was actually a little scared. You have to be vulnerable on stage, but I wanted to try this new thing and am so happy I did. Now, I can’t wait for the next competition.
“Code With Her” Nonprofit
In 2017, I started an organization called “Code With Her” with Manisha Aswani, former Intuit software engineer and Michaela Mitchell, former Girls Scout STEM (science technology, engineering, mathematics) program coordinator. If it wasn’t for Intuit supporting my passion in women in tech, our paths would not have crossed to start this venture.
Our mission is to unite young women and their community through technology. We are partnering with San Diego Girl Scouts and filling a need in the Girl Scouts program. The national Girl Scouts organization has a goal to put 2.5 million young women through their STEM pipeline by 2025. There are a lot of badges in their program but it is up to the troop leaders to lead the tech curriculum.
This is where we come in. We make the badge programs accessible to all and we make them fun and immersive. We try to break down the stereotype that learning to code is a sedentary activity. As of last year, we had 300 girl scouts, their parents, and troop leaders go through our program.
We have two upcoming goals — the first is to scale this beyond the San Diego Girl Scout chapter and the second is to expand within the city of San Diego. We want to bring this to underserved schools and provide these STEM opportunities to all (young women and men).
Advice: Set Clear Expectations
Make time. Draw your boundaries and make them clear with your manager. My manager, Naomi Fortner, has been super supportive about everything, even things I do outside of work. She knows I am committed to my work but fully understands the importance of having a balance in your life. In our team and at Intuit, we believe in bringing our whole selves to work.
Kylie recently received the 2019 “Rising Star” award from Athena San Diego. Athena is a women’s empowerment organization that fast tracks women in STEM through leadership development. By transforming scientists and technologists into corporate leaders, the goal is to widen the bridge and empower 1 million women in STEM, by 2030.
