SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Holberton School, a college alternative educating the next generation of digital workers, today welcomed Esther Wojcicki, an acclaimed author, journalist, and educator, to the board of trustees.

Well known as both a legendary educator and “the Godmother of Silicon Valley,” the former California Teacher of the Year sits on the boards of the "Developmental Studies Center,” "Learning Matters," the THNK School of Creative Leadership, and the Freedom Forum. She is also the Chief Learning Officer for Explore Planet3, an exploration-based science platform for middle school students, and the founder of the Moonshots in Education Movement. As the mother of three highly accomplished daughters -- the CEO of YouTube, the co-founder and CEO of 23andMe, and a Fulbright-winning medical researcher -- she wrote a best-selling book, How to Raise Successful People, that explains how she raised three of the most successful women in America.

“When I first heard about the Holberton School, I was blown away by their entire philosophy,” said Wojcicki. “From their unique teaching style, to their tuition model that allows underprivileged students an opportunity to further their education, Holberton’s mission to educate the many is consistent with what I have been working to achieve over the course of my career. I am looking forward to collaborating with this amazing team of educators as we spread the message that anyone who tries hard can make it, regardless of their background.”

Wojcicki joins an impressive collective of trustees, investors and mentors at the Holberton School. Trustees include Grammy award-winning artist NE-YO, actor and social activist Priyanka Chopra, CEO of CloudNOW Jocelyn DeGance Graham, Avasant Foundation Executive Director Chitra Rajeshwari, Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel, and Docker co-founder Solomon Hykes. 

“Esther is legendary among educational as well as tech circles, and our ideals around equal access to high-quality education are well-aligned,” said Julien Barbier, CEO, who, along with Sylvain Kalache, co-founded Holberton School. “We are so happy to have her academic expertise to help us bring our project-based education model to so many deserving students around the world. As she has said, ‘education today needs moonshots to allow a major culture change’ -- we agree.”

Holberton trains world-class software engineers in only two years without charging upfront tuition. Students pay only once they get a well-paying job. They acquire practical skills and an understanding of theory through hands-on learning and development of actual systems and applications, with up-to-date curriculum developed by the school and a network of mentors and industry leaders. Students from the Holberton San Francisco campus have already been employed at top-tier employers, including Apple, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Tesla, Google and more.

Holberton now has six locations globally, with the most recent announcement of their Cali, Colombia campus. Other locations include their headquarters in San Francisco, as well as New Haven, CT; Bogotá and Medellín, Colombia; and Tunis, Tunisia.

About Esther Wojcicki
Wojcicki is a leading American educator, journalist and mother. A leader in Blended Learning and the integration of technology into education, she is the founder of the Media Arts program at Palo Alto High School, where she built a journalism program from a small group of 20 students in 1984 to one of the largest in the nation, including 600 students, five additional journalism teachers, and nine award-winning journalism publications. Wojcicki serves as Vice Chair of Creative Commons, has previously worked as a professional journalist for multiple publications, and blogs regularly for The Huffington Post.

Wojcicki has been intimately involved with Google and GoogleEdu since its inception, where she was one of the leaders in setting up the Google Teacher Academy and remains a guiding force. 

She has been awarded three Honorary Doctorate Degrees. Wojcicki was California Teacher of the Year in 2002 and a recipient of the Gold Key by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association in recognition of her outstanding devotion to the cause of the school press. She is a board member of the Alliance for Excellent Education in Washington, DC, and sits on the Board of Newseum in Washington, DC. She has been a consultant for the U.S Department of Education, the Hewlett Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Google, Silicon Valley Education Foundation and Time Magazine Education.

About Holberton School
With campuses in San Francisco, New Haven, CT, Tulsa, OK, Medellín, Bogotá and Cali, Colombia and Tunis, Tunisia, on three continents, Holberton trains software engineers using a revolutionary teaching method utilizing project-based and peer learning. Holberton’s college alternative program is free until students find a job. Graduates have been placed in high-impact engineering positions at companies like Apple, Tesla, Facebook and LinkedIn. The school is supported by professional advisors and investors who are leaders in technology, sports and entertainment, including: Grammy-Award winner NE-YO, actor and social activist Priyanka Chopra, New York Jets standout Kelvin Beachum; and technology visionaries LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, Yahoo! founder Jerry Yang, Docker founder Solomon Hykes and Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel. Go to www.holbertonschool.com to learn more.

Editorial Contact
Joe Eckert for Holberton School
jeckertflak@gmail.com