History

Operation Code's founder, and retired U.S. Army Captain, David Molina, attends his first hackathon in New York City. After a weekend learning at AngelHackOpens in new window , he is inspired to pursue software engineering as a post-military occupation. He submits an application to The Flatiron School while on active-duty, only to discover that the program did not accept the "New GI Bill" as payment.

Molina exits military service in early 2013 and begins to self-teach Ruby on Rails, a full-stack web development platform for building comprehensive web applications. He also starts attending meetups with "Bmore on Rails"Opens in new window while finishing One Month's Rails online course.Opens in new window

Molina attended RailsConfOpens in new window as a scholarship fellow. After meeting Rubyists from around the world, he is introduced to the Portland Ruby group.

Molina joins Patriot Boot Camp (PBC)Opens in new window presented by Techstars, at George Washington University. During this time, Molina tells Virginia Senator, Tim Kaine, of the inability to use the New GI Bill for coding bootcamps. Before departing D.C., Molina receives advice from U.S. Army Congressional Fellow, Ben Culver, on gathering data to address the problem.

Molina purchases the domain opcod3.us and worked with fellow Army veteran and software developer, Don Livanec, to finish the first live webpage.

At Cascadia RubyOpens in new window Molina receives encouragement from fellow Rubyist, Whitney Rose, to launch Operation Code's petition using "Launchrock". After lengthy discussions with Kristin Smith, Adam Enbar (representing The Flatiron School), and Code FellowsOpens in new window the first line of code is committed to GitHubOpens in new window .

Louisiana native, Army veteran, and software developer, Dr. James Davis joins Operation Code, supplying substantial website improvements.

Molina pairs veterans 1-on-1 with developers via the "Software Mentor Protégé Program" where HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Ruby were taught. Dr. Davis becomes Operation Code's first mentor.

Web developer, teacher, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Code FellowsOpens in new window , Ivan Storck, purchases the domain "operationcode.org" becoming our first donor in the process.

DNSimpleOpens in new window joined Operation Code as the sole domain management service provider, ensuring maximum uptime.

Army veteran and aspiring software developer, Charles Sipe, writes a viral, Veteran's Day article called 'Why Veterans Will Make Excellent Programmers'Opens in new window.

HackHands co-founders, Forest Good and Geraldo Ramos, join Operation Code, designing our logo and providing veterans free access to hack.summit()Opens in new window , a virtual conference to learn from the world's most renowned programmers.

Software developer, Chris Hough, joins Operation Code providing software architecture advice, improving application functionality and speed. OperationCode website code becomes open source via public GitHub repository.

Former President and CEO of United Way of Columbia-Willamette, Jay Bloom, as well as former Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs, John Garcia, join the Operation Code Advisory Team.

Ruby on Ales (discontinued) - located in Bend, Oregon - becomes the first software developer industry conference to support veterans with Ruby development classes.

Columbia Journalism School graduate and former Mint reporter, Teresa Mahoney, joins Operation Code to interview veterans from across the country, crafting our story with professional media to drive more public awareness.

Operation Code changes it's Twitter handle to @operation_codeOpens in new window , for more effective branding. InstagramOpens in new window and FacebookOpens in new window , accounts are created.

Formal launch of Operation CodeOpens in new window . The event hosts dozens of veterans, software developers, media representatives, and staff members from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and Congressman Blumenauer's offices.

Army veteran and software engineer, Fernando Paredes, joins Operation Code, expanding the Software Mentor Protégé Program using our newly created Slack TeamOpens in new window . Veterans now have real-time access to a helpful coding community and one-on-one software mentorship at their fingertips.

Fernando Paredes, Nell Shamrell, and Eric McKenna improve Operation Code's participation in open source development with our first contributing guideOpens in new window .

Global hospitality provider, AirBnBOpens in new window sponsors lodging for Operation Code members attending SignalConf in San Francisco. They also invited our members to tour their headquartersOpens in new window ! Airbnb forges their partnership with Operation Code in steel by offering sponsored lodgings for veterans interviewing for a career in tech.

SignalConfOpens in new window provides multiple Operation Code members with sponsored tickets. TwilioOpens in new window - the conference's main sponsor - hosts an insightful tour of their headquarters.

Molina hosts a meetup in San Francisco, introducing Elmer Thomas (SendGrid), Laura Gómez (Atipica), Nick Frost (Navy Veteran), and Pete Runyon (Marine Veteran) to Operation Code.

To meet growth demands, Operation Code separates from its financial supporterOpens in new window . The Cogostar Foundation - Operation Code's current sponsor - helps to reorganize a new governing Board of Directors, comprised of Josh Carter, Aimee Knight, Nick Frost, Pete Runyon, Laura Gómez, Fernando Paredes, and Elmer Thomas. Operation Code incorporates as an Oregon non-profit organization.

Sticker MuleOpens in new window provides free stickers to all members! Laptops around the nation equip our logo.

Operation Code begins accepting online donations.

Jared Zoneraich, founder of hackBCAOpens in new window joins the Operation Code advisory team. Mark Kerr - attorney, entrepreneur, and ex-Army Captain - joins the Operation Code board of directors. He is elected chair of the board, and the board begins having regular conference calls focusing on infrastructure, processes/procedures, and fundraising strategy.

hack.summit()Opens in new window adds Operation Code to its list of coding non-profits.

SpeakeasyOpens in new window joins as the Operation Code conference sponsor.

Operation Code files for and receives 501(c)(3) status as a federally recognized non-profit organization. Thanks go to Marine Veteran and Board Secretary/Treasurer Pete Runyon, who graciously donated $850 for the fee.

Multiple Operation Code veterans attend OSCONOpens in new window to advertise the open source development opportunity in Operation Code's planned website redesign.

In an effort to give Operation Code members an outlet to practice professional development, our website's architecture and design is overhauled. We go live with just a minimum viable product, and iterate - generating interest of attracting support from the open source community.

On Independence Day, 2000th Operation Code member joined our Slack TeamOpens in new window