Three women developers from across the US are helping to bring back their home cities.
I am not a developer and I have never been a developer, however, the beauty of CNU is that it provides a well-rounded liberal arts education on urbanism—you can still take a class in a subject even if you’re not going to major in it.
At CNU 26 in Savannah,I dipped a toe into the development pond when I attended the Rapid-Fire Stools-by-the-Pool with Developers chat, and for the first time in my life thought kindly of developers, yet I couldn’t help but wonder, while I was listening to seven white men in a row talk about community engagement, where the female, non-binary, LGBTQ+, and developers of color were. So,when I saw the session Less Talk, More Rock: Getting Sh*t Actually Done—The Lady Developer Edition at CNU 27 in Louisville, I made it a priority to attend.
When I enter the room, t-10 minutes to the start of the session, it is already full of chatter. The panel—Bernice Radle, Allison Thurmond-Quinlan, and Jenifer Acosta—are joking around with each other, the holy name of Beyonce is invoked twice inside of a minute, and from the back of the room Allison’s three-month-old, immune to her father’s arm rock, is testing her lung capacity. Three-quarters of the seats in the room are already filled. The vibe is less like a conference than a holiday party. The speakers’ infectious energy has everyone at ease and it’s easy to see how these three rockstar women are wildly popular and effective developers in their hometowns. In fact, they make community engagement look effortless.