Welcome Shawna!
By Mitchel Resnick, Chair of the Scratch Foundation
I’m delighted to welcome Shawna Young as the new Executive Director of the Scratch Foundation!
In searching for an Executive Director, we knew that we needed someone who could support both continuity and change. We were looking for someone who could lead Scratch through a time of significant organizational change, while also ensuring that Scratch stays true to its core mission and values. So we were excited to find Shawna, who has the experience, skills, and principles to do just that.
A big reason for the ongoing success of Scratch has been our unwavering commitment to our core mission and values. Ever since a small group of us in the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab began working on Scratch in 2002, we have seen Scratch not just as a programming language, but as a creative learning environment, where young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively. And we have always put a high priority on reaching and supporting young people who have had fewer opportunities for creative computing experiences.
But even as our mission and values remain the same, the Scratch product and organization have continued to evolve. We are currently in a period of major organizational change. One year ago, the Scratch Team moved out of MIT and into the Scratch Foundation, a separate nonprofit organization. As Executive Director, Shawna will lead our efforts to establish the Scratch Foundation as an effective, sustainable organization, capable of supporting future innovation and growth of Scratch as a free, open, creative platform.
Shawna will draw upon her strong experience in nonprofit management and organizational change. For the past four years, she served as Executive Director of the Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP). As one of the largest academic talent searches in the world with 3 million alumni, Duke TIP provided online and in-person resources, courses, and programs for more than 450,000 K-12 students each year. Before that, Shawna spearheaded the expansion of the Office of Engineering Outreach Programs at MIT, serving as the Executive Director for eight years.
Throughout her career, Shawna has had a deep commitment to equity and inclusion, always working to expand learning experiences for students from diverse communities. That commitment is strongly aligned with Scratch’s mission and values, and it will play an important role in her leadership at Scratch, as we continue to expand our educational initiatives, with a focus on supporting children, families, and educators furthest from educational justice.
One thing I love about Scratch is the extended community that has grown around Scratch — including students, educators, administrators, curriculum designers, software developers, translators, and donors — all exploring ways to expand creative learning opportunities with Scratch.
I hope that all of you in this extended Scratch community will join me in welcoming Shawna as Executive Director. In the coming months, we will arrange online events and webinars where you’ll get a chance to meet Shawna and share ideas about the future of Scratch.
As Scratch enters a new era with Shawna as Executive Director, I want to express my deep appreciation to Champika Fernando, who served as interim Executive Director over the past year, guiding the transition from MIT to the Scratch Foundation. Champika and I, along with the rest of the Scratch Team, are looking forward to working together with Shawna to ensure that more and more young people around the world can experience the joys and opportunities of Scratch!
Keep on Scratching,
Mitch (@mres on Scratch)
For more background, see the official press release about Shawna joining Scratch as Executive Director and the recently-released Scratch Annual Report for 2019.
