Hello world, I'm Jason!

Community Organizer | Software Engineer

About Me

I am a Software Engineer and community advocate based in not-always-so-sunny San Francisco, CA. Since 2017, I have helped hundreds of people learn full-stack web development at freeCodeCamp meet-ups in San Francisco's Mission and SOMA districts and online in our Facebook group of over 4600 self-taught learners.


Previously, I was an Associate Instructor for General Assembly's flagship 13-week Software Engineering Immersive Program. In addition to teaching full-stack development, I am on the leadership team for Out In Tech U, a global LGBTQ+ mentorship program for young people pursuing careers in tech.


I believe everyone can equip themselves to make their lives and the world better. You can often find me at tech meet-ups in San Francisco, trying new boba drinks, and trying to meet my daily walking quota. I am non-binary and use They/Them pronouns.


Some cool things I did:

Happy freeCodeCampers I have been cultivating and growing an open-source learning community since 2017. We are one of the largest and most active open-srouce learning communities using the freeCodeCamp platform.

General Assembly Alumni I have taught full-stack web development to students from all walks of life, and I am proud to be part of the digital transformation of work.

Out In Tech U Mentees In 2021, I joined the Out In Tech U Leadership Team and mentored youth during the pandemic. I helped plan events and workshops to build the next generation of tech leaders for these unprencedented times and beyond.

years of organizing and growing freeCodeCamp San Francisco- with many more to follow!

Skills

Programming Languages

  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JavaScript
  • Python

Databases and Frameworks

  • MongoDB
  • PostGresql
  • Firebase
  • Node.js
  • Express
  • React
  • Flask
  • Django

Other Important Skills

  • Public Speaking
  • Youth Mentorship
  • Event & Workshop Planning
  • Community Moderation
  • Volunteer Coordination

Projects

Custom AI Feed for BlueSky

Techologies Used:

  • TypeScript
  • OpenAI ChatGPT API

An AI-powered custom feed I made for users of BlueSky to find interesting events near them and make new friends. This project was made for a 2024 Hackathon to celebrate the public launch of BlueSky

Github Link
LunchKrunch | A Lunchtime Budget Tracker

Techologies Used:

  • JavaScript
  • Express.js
  • Bootstrap CSS

A lunchtime budget tracker built with the Express.js framework to help users keep track of how much they spend or could save on lunch. It also includes visualization of the user's spending habits.

Github Link

Resume

My online resume.

Professional Experience

Instructional Associate, Software Engineering Immersive

April 2020 - May 2022

General Assembly, Remote

  • Taught, demonstrated, and explained technical topics relating to software engineering to over 500 coding boot camp students
  • Increased affordability, accessibility, and student retention for General Assembly’s flagship 13-week Software Immersive
  • Led project to create open-source documentation for installing/using Linux for Instructional teams based in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and New York
  • co-founded Neurodiversity Resource Group for Software Engineering and User Experience Design bootcamp students.

Teaching Assistant, Software Engineering Immersive

August 2019 - March 2020

General Assembly, San Francisco, CA

  • Acted as the first point of contact for technical support for up to 80 coding boot camp students at a time
  • Relayed student feedback and concerns to instructional manager and student success team to develop individualized student success plans
  • Maintained proficiency of software engineering fundamentals by becoming familiar with General Assembly's ever-evolving curriculum and localized offerings relevant to in-demand job skills

Volunteer Experience

Technical Mentor / Leadership Team Member

March 2021 - Present

Out In Tech, Remote

  • Instructed mentees aged 17-24 y.o in basic web development with online collaborative coding tools like Repl.it and Codepen.io and version control with git.
  • Organized virtual panels, workshops, and networking events aimed at university students/young adults pursuing careers in Tech in the midst of a global pandemic.
  • Helped oversee the 2021 Spring mentorship cohort with almost 300 participants worldwide

Chapter Co-Organizer

September 2017 - Present

freeCodeCamp, San Francisco, CA

  • Cultivated a community of over 4,600 self-taught coders in San Francisco. Moderated Facebook Group, Slack Workspace, and led weekly in-person and virtual meet-ups held in collaboration with educational institutions and organizations.
  • Lead weekly in-person and virtual meet-ups held in collaboration with educational institutions and organizations.
  • Observed developers and technical individuals in both their individual and group work at meet-ups and hackathons and learned best practices for fostering solid developer teams and teaching technical subjects.

Education

General Assembly Web Developer Immersive

2019

General Assembly, San Francisco

freeCodeCamp Full Stack Curriculum

2018

freeCodeCamp.org

Bachelor of Arts | Sociology

2013 - 2017

University of California, Davis

Testimonials

Here are what some of my former students and mentees have said about me.

Jason was a very helpful TA at General Assembly who was and is willing to show their code strategy frameworks to you while they show you how to tackle various relevant code challenges. Their methodical approach to code is valuable as it shows their aptitude followed up by then easy-to-understand explanations of exactly what they did to find a solution. They’re a natural developer.

Gustav P.

Dont miss out is one of a kind, a unicorn! If you are looking for someone who is smart, proactive, self starter, hard working, creative, knowledgeable, giving, caring, funny, kind, and sooooo much more, I would hire Jason in a heartbeat!

Marlene G.

Jason is absolutely the BEST when it comes to mentoring and teaching. They are direct, empathetic and interactive with each student. They go above and beyond to solve any given problem and take a personal interest in the success of each and every student. A personal thank you to you Jason — you are a brilliant individual and I am delighted to have met you and worked alongside you as one of your students! Please keep staying true to who you are. The world needs more creative people like you! ❤️

Jessa M.

Contact

If you would like to book me for an event, ask me questions about learning to code or advocating for diversity in tech, you can arrange a meeting on my Calend.ly page. Other inquiries are welcome! All meeting time slots will be in your local time zone, but I'm based in the US West Coast.

Jason Serafica


All my links:

San Francisco
California

seraficaj@gmail.com

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