100 Most Creative People 2013
7 Most Powerful Women to Watch 2014
Michelle Grlicky is a self-taught software developer and community organizer. She currently leads a global team of Customer Solutions Architects for Heroku at Salesforce.
Projects
Cultivate & Co.
Through Cultivate & Co., Michelle shared her experience with companies who know that healthy, vibrant, diverse organizational cultures lead to better products and happier people.
Code Scouts
Michelle founded and directed a nonprofit dedicated empowering women to become software developers through mentorship and community.
Hack The Planet!
"Hack the Planet!", Michelle's essay on why tech literacy is critical, was published in the book American Dreamers, an inspiring anthology of future-thinking works by contemporary visionaries.
PIE Mentor
Having graduated from the 2012 class of the The Portland Incubator Experiment, Michelle is now a Mentor. She'll have the opportunity to work with companies in future classes, providing support, encouragement and guidance.
Photo by Aaron Hockley
Portland Python Workshops
Michelle organized and ran two weekend workshops to teach women the basics of Python in 2012. This project was based on the Boston Python Workshop, created and led by Jessica McKellar, whose support and encouragement made the Portland incarnation possible.
Portland Python User Group
As the organizer of the Portland Python User Group, Michelle worked to keep the local Python community strong and vibrant. She was always looking for ways to make the community more welcoming, especially to beginners.
Speaking
Michelle speaks about technology, tech culture, diversity, and the future of entrepreneurship at both public and private events. Below is a list of past talks.
- Seattle Interactive Conference 2014, "Guerrilla Culture Reform: Instigate Change in Your Organization" — October 16th, 2014
- Open Source Bridge 2014, Lightning Talk Workshop — June 25th, 2014
- GoDaddy TechFest 2014 Keynote, "Refactoring Our Lives" — May 13th, 2014
- TEDxMtHood, "Finding Balance in the New Age of Entrepreneurship" — May 3rd, 2014
- Demolicious Portland, Panelist — April 8, 2014
- Portland Python User Group, Lighting Talks Workshop, Creator and Facilitator — March 12, 2014
- ChickTech High School Portland 2014, Keynote Address — March 1st, 2014
- TechFestNW 2013, “Balancing the Tech Ecosystem" — September 8th, 2013
- PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment), “How to Stay Healthy When Starting Up" — August 23rd, 2013
- Commerce+Creativity (C2MTL), Fast Company Magazine's "Cabinet of Creativities" Panel — May 22nd, 2013
- PyCon Education Summit 2013, “Engagement” Panel — March 14th, 2013
- Code Scouts Portland Chapter Meeting, “Conferences 101" — March 23rd, 2013
- Girls Gather for Computer Science Reunion Dinner, Keynote Address — January 26th, 2013
- ChickTech High School Portland 2013, Keynote Address — January 26th, 2013
- PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment) Demo Day 2012, Code Scouts Pitch — October 5th, 2012
- Portland Python Workshop for Women July 2012, Organizer and Instructor — July 28th & 29th, 2012
- Portland Python User Group, "Why You Should Be Up Here (Giving a Talk)" — April 12, 2011
About
Michelle believes in people. A self-taught developer and community organizer, she has been planning events since age 12 and found her crew on a High School BBS at age 14. She made her own way back to the tech world as a software developer after studing French and Geography/GIS in college.
Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, she has lived in the Pacific Northwest since she failed to return from a visit to Portland in 2003. Michelle currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with her wonderful and talented husband, Jason Grlicky.
Press
- The 7 Most Powerful Women to Watch in 2014
Entrepreneur Magazine, January 2014 - Access Code: How Michelle Rowley's Code Scouts is launching women into programing careers
Portland Monthly Magazine, December 2013 - TechFest 2013: Bringing Women into Tech
Willamette Week, August 28, 2013 - Portland's Code Scouts help women break into tech industry
The Oregonian, July 29, 2013 - 100 Most Creative People in Business 2013
Fast Company, June 2013 - Where the Tech is She?
Willamette Week, May 23, 2012