Standing Tall for Kids of Color: Trish Dziko

Great story in the Seattle Times about Technology Access Foundation co-founder, Trish Dziko.  Her lifestory, her energy, her drive and, most of all, her desire to help children of color are the hallmarks of who she is.

Dziko has been at it since 1996, when she turned her back on more Microsoft stock options to create the nonprofit Technology Access Foundation. “We’ve been very lucky,” she said when she retired from Microsoft at 39, a millionaire. “And one of my first instincts as a person who grew up fairly poor is: You have it; you share it.”

Dziko has been at it since 1996, when she turned her back on more Microsoft stock options to create the nonprofit Technology Access Foundation. “We’ve been very lucky,” she said when she retired from Microsoft at 39, a millionaire. “And one of my first instincts as a person who grew up fairly poor is: You have it; you share it.”

Now, after two decades of challenges, frustrations and lessons, Dziko strides through the sixth-through-12th-grade public school that TAF runs in partnership with the Federal Way School District. Called TAF@Saghalie, it has adopted Dziko’s philosophy, which means weaving science, technology, engineering and math into child-centered and project-based learning. That, in turn, has led to variances in district policy to allow students to use the internet and email during school — and to read “The Hate U Give,” a best-selling young-adult novel about a 16-year-old girl who witnesses a police officer shooting her childhood friend.

To note, the event about the proposed STEM by TAF initiative at Washington Middle School schedule for tomorrow, August 17th, has been CANCELLED and will be rescheduled sometime in September.

I am proud to call her a colleague friend.