Peta-Gay Clarke is a well-rounded professional with broad experience as a business, information technology and community leader, coupled with a passion for providing S.T.E.M. education to youth underrepresented in the technology industry. Ms. Clarke is currently the Community and Operations Manager for Google’s Code Next initiative. Code Next aims to expand social capital in Black and Latino neighborhoods by developing culturally engaging and community-centric tech innovation experiences. Previously, she was the Deputy Director of IT at the Columbia University School of Journalism. She has more than 10 years’ experience as a Programmer, building web-based applications for companies such as the Federal Reserve Bank, the New York City Department of Education, New York magazine and COACH, Inc. Ms. Clarke holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Programming from Farmingdale State University of New York (SUNY). She has earned a Master’s degree from Pace University and was awarded the Civic Engagement Award for Academic Excellence and Community Service in May 2015.

As a beneficiary of and participant in a S.T.E.M. development youth program, Ms. Clarke has seen first-hand the need for and the benefits of S.T.E.M. programs for women and underserved youth. From 2013 to 2015, she voluntarily spearheaded the launch and co-led the New York Chapter of Black Girls Code. As of today, the New York Chapter has held tech field trips, hackathons and technical workshops for more than 500 young girls of color, ranging between the ages of 7 and 18. A number of the senior ladies have since gone off to college to major in Computer Science.

Ms. Clarke is a native New Yorker of Jamaican-born parents. She resides in Queens, NY with her daughter, Rochelle. Outside of work, Ms. Clarke finds pleasure in spending quality time with her family, traveling, going on excursions and learning about other cultures. In her spare time, she enjoys action movies, theater, reading primarily non-fiction genres and developing new skills.