About Us
BootUp is dedicated to empowering elementary teachers and students through computer science and creating equitable computer science programs in underrepresented and underserved communities. Since 2015, BootUp has worked with over 300 elementary schools impacting over 150,000 students, providing in-person professional development, coaching, and resources that prepare teachers to facilitate coding, computational thinking, and computer science instruction. Students are inspired through creative and interactive lessons that allow them to explore their personal interests with code.
Our Mission
To level the equity playing field by empowering K-5 teachers in underserved and under-represented communities with life-changing coding and computer science curricula and skills.
Our Team
Clark Merkley
Executive Director
Abby Funabiki, MPA
Associate Executive Director
Jared O'Leary, PhD
Director of Education & Research
Karen Melara
Marketing Manager
McKay Perkins, MS
PD Facilitator
Brenda Bass
PD Facilitator
Laurie Green
PD Facilitator
Heather Cunningham
PD Facilitator
Carlos Leon
PD Facilitator
Kelly Powers
PD Facilitator
Michael Hanahan
Marketing Consultant
Emilie Martinez
Web Developer
Stacie Mason, PhD
Research and Evaluation
Our Board of Directors
Ari Ioannides
Founder, Board Treasurer and Executive Director, Park City Institute
Todd Ullah, Ed.D
Board Chair and Vice President, National Education Foundation
Lien Diaz
Board Vice Chair and Director of Educational Innovation and Leadership, Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Tech
David Evans
Board Secretary and Chief Relationship & Development Officer, Q Financial Design Workshops, LLC
Allison Miller
Senior Improvement Coach, Ed Direction
