Ada Developers Academy Selects Lauren Sato as CEO

We are pleased to announce Lauren Sato has been selected as Ada Developers Academy’s new CEO.

Lauren recently served as Vice President of Revenue at The Riveter.  In addition to a variety of roles in technology and impact investing organizations, Lauren spent five years building YearUp Puget Sound, a workforce development program that served as a model for Ada in the early days.  

​​Lauren was selected after considering candidates who represented a diverse array of backgrounds and lived and learned experiences. Hiring someone to represent Ada as their next CEO allowed them to make decisions which emphasized their values of equality and inclusion. It was amazing to see how passionate the candidates and community are about Ada’s future.

Board Member Rachel Klein shared her thoughts “Ada is an incredible organization, as evidenced by our successful alums, our strong industry partnerships, and our reputation in the field. As a Board, we have spent the last year building a strong foundation and strategic direction for the next several years, and I am confident that Lauren is the right person to help us continue our track record of success.”
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Lauren Sato offered her perspective with the Ada community “I have been a huge fan of Ada since your inception and consider it a true honor to have the opportunity to now lead this great work.  The broader conversation around the importance of gender diversity in technology is at last making its way to the national stage, and with some of the strongest outcomes in the industry, Ada is well positioned to model the way forward.”

​Lauren will take over the CEO role from the current Interim leader, Christine Martin from Valtas Group, who joined Ada in January 2019 and has guided the team through this past year of transition.  

​Ada expressed their appreciation of Christine’s support and stewardship and the work of Ed Rogan at Valtas Group for supporting the leadership search process. 

Christine Martin and Lauren Sato

Ada Board Chair Scott Case added, “Christine was able to methodically identify and break down what really needed to happen across the organization, and she executed on all of it by the end of her year.” And, “We're thrilled with the outcome of course (yaay Lauren!), but also felt great about the process of how we arrived there. Our board, our staff and our broader community all got to influence the hiring process in a way that built broad ownership in the outcome.”
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About Ada Developers Academy
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Ada Developers Academy is a non-profit, tuition-free coding school for women and gender diverse adults. We focus on serving low income people, underrepresented minorities, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Ada develops software engineers who are skilled, confident, and work-tested; our graduates are experienced in practical, team-based software development and learning new technology rapidly.
Diverse teams create more effective work cultures and innovative products. Ada advocates for and supports our students, alums, and partners to build healthy, equitable environments and a more inclusive tech industry.

About Valtas Group

Valtas Group works as Interim Executive Directors, supporting organizations in times of transition and helps organizations navigate uncertainty during leadership change.  
 
Valtas Group also leads the search process in partnership with the board and staff leadership, as consultants for recruiting and search to support organizations identify the ideal Executive Director or leader.
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Valtas Group partners with board members and senior nonprofit leaders on a variety of strategic consulting assignments. Valtas Group has a variety of comprehensive resources to guide your transition needs.  Contact us to learn about executive interim and placement services.