Growing in partnership with Rewriting the Code

Mighty Acorn Digital’s Director of Operations, Alex, introduced us to Rewriting the Code (RTC), a nonprofit that empowers university students and early career women in tech. Alex wanted to ensure that Mighty Acorn’s hiring efforts reached a diverse candidate pool, so they broadened their search approach. They ultimately found RTC while searching job boards.

Alex nurtured our partnership, attending RTC’s Unite & Ignite Summit in March 2025, organizing joint networking events, and speaking with attendees about career transitions. They also spoke at an RTC resume review day, offering advice on how attendees could position their job experiences in civic-tech job searches.

A dedicated community

RTC and Mighty Acorn are mission-driven organizations with shared values: collaborative learning, digital innovation, and impact through representation. RTC creates a sense of belonging and facilitates knowledge exchange through online platforms and in-person events. Members share their tech journeys and exchange candid advice from peers who have navigated similar experiences.

Our Mighty Acorn team appreciates RTC’s existence. As Alex noted, “RTC’s focus is on supporting women in school and early in their careers so that they enter and stay in tech.” That early support can be critical to long-term success. This is our second year of partnership with RTC, and Alex expects continued engagement with the RTC community.

Earlier this month, my colleagues Melissa and Lisa attended an RTC networking event in Boston. Conversations flowed continually, with attendees sharing a variety of experiences. Each person offers a different story and perspective about getting involved in tech. They also have their own questions about civic tech.

Melissa answered several questions about being a software engineer and working at Mighty Acorn itself. She likes helping people, but found the most challenging questions to answer were candidate related: How do you start a tech career? How do you differentiate yourself from other applicants during the interview process?

Lisa counted a total of 35 attendees at the Boston event, and also answered several questions relating to Mighty Acorn and civic tech. She recommended attendees check out Code for America as a resource. As Melissa had also noticed, RTC’s reach seemed extensive, with people attending from states beyond Massachusetts: Lisa spoke with someone from New Hampshire and another person from Maryland.

A shared vision

Through our partnership events, such as our networking breakfast event during Code for America 2026, RTC demonstrates a commitment to space-making and providing a safe learning environment. It embodies an evolution-forward mindset that drives creation in response to unmet community needs. Mighty Acorn’s values align with this vision, leading with curiosity to improve the whole system.

At that networking breakfast, RTC attendees displayed extensive technical knowledge—and knew how to discuss their expertise in applied scenarios. Research conversations were wide-ranging and interdisciplinary. From building chatbots to advancing research on large language models, RTC members possess the skills and motivation needed to reshape technology.

Engaging with RTC has led to a series of serendipitous events. RTC inspired Mighty Acorn to create an apprenticeship program. Furthermore, an RTC event is how we connected with Rue, who became our apprenticeship pioneer. Rue is now a full-time software engineer at Mighty Acorn, and we’re lucky she’s on the team.

A way forward: Ways to get involved

At Mighty Acorn, we believe in using our position to help innovators build careers in civic tech. A strategic partnership, such as ours with RTC, amplifies our efforts while keeping us engaged with future civic tech leaders.

Are you part of a tech organization that’s also striving to create impact through representation? Tell us about your initiatives and partnerships.

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