Pivotal Ventures was founded by Melinda French Gates to bring more equality and opportunity to people in the United States. Laurel Yamaguchi, Pivotal’s lead for women and tech innovation, focuses on efforts to increase women’s pathways into the U.S. tech sector.

When Laurel and the Pivotal team learned about the encouraging results of an NSF-funded pilot of the Align MS in Computer Science at the Khoury College of Computer Sciences — a program that provides a bridge for students who didn’t study computing as undergraduates to move into graduate-level computer science majors — they saw an opportunity to make an impact.

“What was interesting to us is how they were using best-known practices to recruit, retain, and graduate women and underrepresented groups in computing,” Yamaguchi said. “It was really encouraging.”

Pivotal launched their support in 2017 with a three-year investment to fund Align scholarships, build out the program’s staff, and develop the MS Pathways to Computing Consortium, a networked learning community of colleges and universities across North America that are investing in “Align-like” bridge programs. After working closely with Northeastern on these projects, Yamaguchi was impressed by the university’s interest in advancing equity.

“They had a willingness to share with others what had worked for them with a commitment to the greater good,” Yamaguchi said. On the strength of the university’s work on Align and the Consortium, Pivotal supported the launch of the Center for Inclusive Computing (CIC) at Northeastern. The CIC’s aim would be to provide financial and technical support to the largest computing departments in the country in order to increase the representation of women graduating with computing degrees. This gets to the heart of Yamaguchi’s goal at Pivotal.

“One of the things that I think is such a big deal about Align and the CIC is that they’re working out the systemic issues that are holding us back,” Yamaguchi said. “It’s not easy work, but they really are getting at the root of some of these issues.”

Throughout her work with Northeastern, Yamaguchi has been a deeply engaged partner, participating in strategy sessions, hosting events, and making connections. Catherine Gill, the CIC’s executive director, emphasizes how much she values Yamaguchi’s approach: “She’s an active advocate, spokesperson, and connector for us. She understands how hard it is to move the needle and she is with us every step of the way.”

I love working with the Center for Inclusive Computing. I learn so much from them constantly because of their deep expertise in higher education. They’re bold and they deliver. It’s really a pleasure to watch them do their thing

As for Yamaguchi, collaborating with Northeastern has been a joyful experience.

“I love working with the Center for Inclusive Computing,” she said. “I learn so much from them constantly because of their deep expertise in higher education. They’re bold and they deliver. It’s really a pleasure to watch them do their thing.”

In looking toward the future, Yamaguchi sees continued growth in the Northeastern approach to engaging any students interested in pursuing computer science degrees.

“They’re always changing, always evolving, doing more,” she notes. “They’re figuring out how to make this systemic and sustainable for the long haul.”

Padmaja Vrudhula considers herself a reluctant technologist. In fact, she originally planned on being a neurosurgeon, but her early experience with an internship at a Seattle software company led her in a different direction.

“I loved the new technology that I was working with, and it was super exciting to develop products that people used,” she explained with a smile. “I did the one thing that Indian parents fear, which was to say, ‘I’m going take a year off to work to save money for med school.’ Fast forward 20-some-odd years, and I’m still working in tech, with med school in the rearview mirror.”

What resonates for Padmaja Vrudhula regarding Khoury and the Align program — and how she got involved — is “trying to bring in students with non-traditional backgrounds.” As an aspiring neurosurgeon turned tech executive, it’s a journey Vrudhula knows well., a global cloud-based data platform. Prior to working at Snowflake, she held a number of industry-facing tech roles at VMware.

While pursuing a career in tech, she has also been active in several nonprofits, primarily geared toward creating opportunities for the economically disadvantaged. Over the last 10 years, this work has evolved into a focus on education and inclusion in technology.

“As a child of Indian immigrant professionals, it never occurred to me that women were supposed to be bad at math and science,” Vrudhula said. “Also, joining tech at a time when credentials weren’t as important as skills and talent, I had a much more diverse experience than those entering the workforce today. This is why I am so focused on ensuring that students have a variety of opportunities to participate in technology.”

To that end, Vrudhula has always enjoyed teaching and mentoring others, whether as an adjunct instructor at the University of Washington or a mentor at the Foster School. She has also helped students in the Align program in Seattle to discover the same spark that led her to pursue a career in technology.

“If there’s one thing I wish I could hear people, particularly women, stop saying is ‘I am not good at math’ or ‘I am not technical,’” said Vrudhula. “The popular notion of math and programming savants needs to be replaced with the idea that it is a learned skill, just like anything else. We are all technical, it is just a matter of degree.”

What resonates for me regarding Khoury and the Align program, and how I got involved, was trying to bring in students with non-traditional backgrounds. These are students who may have had a change in what they wanted to be when they were in their 20s compared to what they want to be in their 30s

“Padmaja has been supporting Aligners since her role at VMWare and now as a VP at Snowflake,” said Mary Trimarco, Khoury College’s business and outreach director. “Her insights are so valuable, and she is a strong advocate for our students.”

Recently at Snowflake, Vrudhula brought in two Align students (both women of color) as interns. They proved their value immediately and will join her team as full-time employees after graduation. For both women, the internship was a way to discover the thrill of problem solving while applying the knowledge they gained during their studies.

Over the past few years, Vrudhula has worked with the Align team to provide math tutorial sessions for students requesting additional support. In addition, she has spoken on panels with Aligners and mentored several students.

“What resonates for me regarding Khoury and the Align program, and how I got involved, was trying to bring in students with non-traditional backgrounds. These are students who may have had a change in what they wanted to be when they were in their 20s compared to what they want to be in their 30s,” Vrudhula said. “As somebody who continuously questions ‘Is this really what I want to do when I grow up?’ that’s something that really resonates with me. This program is also one of the best ways to take action in terms of building diversity in technology, not just from a demographic point of view, but in terms of experience and capabilities.”

When Daron Green managed operations and academic relations for Facebook Research in 2018, he saw an issue in its hiring pool: a nominal proportion of women and groups historically underrepresented in tech, especially those with advanced degrees in computer science. So when Carla Brodley, dean of the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at the time, introduced Green to Northeastern’s Align master’s in computer science —which accepted students from any undergraduate degree — Green saw tremendous potential for systemic change.

“Facebook’s intent was to try and move the needle at a national level by investing in a program that demonstrably provided an on-ramp for a more diverse pool into computer science,” Green says.

So, to support the program in building on its initial efforts, Facebook made a $4.16 million, four-year investment. The grant provided funding for scholarships — which Khoury College managed independently without any ties to an internal Facebook talent pipeline — and grew Northeastern’s marketing and recruitment efforts. Additionally, the funding supported the development of the MS Pathways to Computing Consortium, a networked learning community of colleges and universities across North America that are investing in their own “Align-like” programs on their campuses.

Green and his team were experts in the computer science industry, but they trusted Khoury College to define the curriculum students needed to bridge their undergraduate studies to computer science. It was a working relationship that relied on expertise and guidance on both sides. Mary Trimarco, director of strategic partnerships for the Align Program, says that working with Green meant “having a true partner who helps you improve your program and understands where you’re going, and isn’t just looking for those benchmarks.”

Green feels that Khoury College is a thought leader in preparing students for the industry. The potential of the program was evident in the feedback he heard from students, and in the way it reflected his own transition from his initial field of study in physical chemistry and simulation to computer science.

I think that every single computer science department should have an Align-equivalent program. They should all be able to onboard non-computer science graduates into a master’s program. The value to the university, to the student, and to the industry is clear

“Actually meeting the students was probably the most influential thing,” Green says. “The commentary that I heard from the students was, ‘I really enjoyed my first degree. My passion for that topic is now satisfied. I want to get a job and have a skill set that’s marketable. And this is the magic.’ I know exactly what that feels like. This is exactly what I went through.”

Although the intent of the funding was to support the broader industry, not to expand Facebook’s field of applicants, hiring data has shown that Align graduates have done quite well in their independent pursuit of jobs at Facebook (now Meta) upon graduation.

After Green left Facebook in 2021, he was hired to do an analysis of Northeastern’s corporate engagement strategy, including a series of recommendations to enhance the university’s ability to effectively engage industry at scale. In July 2021, Green became the chief scientist for Autodesk. Although Meta’s four-year partnership with Align concluded in 2022, the program and the Pathways to Computing Consortium have continued to grow thanks to the tremendous boost provided by this early funding. And Green believes that this is only the beginning.

“I think that every single computer science department should have an Align-equivalent program,” Green says. “They should all be able to onboard non-computer science graduates into a master’s program. The value to the university, to the student, and to the industry is clear.”

When the Vancouver Northeastern campus started looking for business partners to support the research work of its CS master’s students, Bill Lakeland did not hesitate to offer support. In fact, the company that he owns, Spexi Geospatial, was the first industry partner to provide work opportunities for Khoury College students in Vancouver.

Students were drawn to work at Spexi Geospatial, which provides a cloud-based platform that makes it easy to capture, process, analyze, and share aerial imagery collected by drones. To date, Khoury College students have worked on three projects, one focused on forest fires and two focused on the railway system. The projects began as capstones, then scaled up to research assistant opportunities for students.

According to visiting associate teaching professor Michal Aibin, Lakeland has been a strong champion of Khoury College students. “He always provides additional resources and help from his team of developers whenever asked,” said Aibin.

Northeastern and Spexi Geospatial have been the recipient have two significant multi-year grants from the Canadian government, one from Via Rail and Transport Canada and the other from Natural Resources Canada.

Lakeland has been impressed by the caliber of Northeastern students and the immediate contributions they make to projects. “Quite frankly, there’s just been a very good response to the contributions students are making, and our clients recognize this contribution,” said Lakeland.

Quite frankly, there’s just been a very good response to the contributions students are making, and our clients recognize this contribution

The research partnership is also one that students are enjoying as well, as they see the impact of their work in real time, explained Lakeland. The students are “getting to make a difference” across Canada as new technologies are being rolled out—technology, for example, that is helping people and communities across the country fight wildfires. “Protecting areas around the city where we know we can reduce the fuel sources” is critical said Lakeland. “Making an impact and saving homes is a real,” he said. “It’s definitely exciting.”

Lakeland says that it’s a great time to study computer science in Vancouver as the city continues to flourish as a tech hub, doing work that will benefit communities locally and globally.

Northeastern students are known for their remarkable ideas, but outside of the classroom it can be challenging to scramble for resources to bring their ideas to fruition. Based on his own experiences as a student at the Khoury College of Computer Sciences, alumnus Chris Jelly (BSCS ’14) recognized the need for a dedicated fund to support students’ self-directed projects.

With this need in mind, Jelly created the Jelly Incubation Fund for Khoury College in 2017 with a $25,000 donation. He has characterized the fund’s purpose as “no-strings-attached cash grants to students with unique, self-directed ideas that are related to computer science in some way.” He views the fund as a conduit for compelling student ideas and projects.

Back when he was an undergraduate, Northeastern had funding opportunities for students outside of the classroom, such as IDEA and the Provost’s Award, but nothing that worked specifically the way the Jelly Fund works. “Lots of students want to build their own product or conduct research, so I wanted to create a fund that would be all-encompassing,” Jelly explained.

Lots of students want to build their own product or conduct research, so I wanted to create a fund that would be all-encompassing

The fund is open to full-time Khoury College undergraduate students. In their proposals, which are assessed on the scope of the proposed idea and its relevance to both the College and the student applicants, they provide an outline of their project, including a budget, timeline, and a defined goal. Expenses typically covered by the fund include supplies, equipment, lab space, labor costs, or personal remuneration.

Collaborations with the Khoury College major gifts team and central university advancement, along with donations from parents, staff, and alumni of Northeastern, helped the Jelly Fund to award over $20,000 in project money in 2020 alone. Jelly also reached out and developed a partnership with Amazon’s Web Services (AWS) so that each grantee automatically receives an additional $5,000 in AWS credits via AWS Activate. These credits can be used for web services from infrastructure technologies like computing, storage, and databases–to emerging technologies, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, data lakes and analytics, and the Internet of Things.

Jelly is involved in the selection of recipients of the Jelly Fund, and he serves on the selection committee along with faculty, staff, and alumni. He credits Doreen Hodgkin, former associate dean of Khoury College, with the idea of having students apply to the fund instead of him personally selecting specific projects.

One of the many fund recipients is Code4Community, a student-run organization dedicated to providing custom software solutions to local non-profits at no cost to them. The club partners with organizations needing software to increase their efficiency, scope, and ultimately their impact. (To learn more about Code4Community, go to c4cneu.com.)

Former club president, data science major Floris Dobber, reported that Code4Community is immensely grateful for the financial support they’ve received. “The Jelly Fund donation has made it possible for us to provide our services to our partners at no cost. Their donation, and the associated AWS credits, covers all our development costs and allows us to use industry standard development environments,” he said.

Preston Rakovsky, a computer science and business major and another Jelly Fund recipient, has created an iOS app called “Food Flock,” which seeks to solve the age-old problem of where to go out to eat. “Users can swipe through a collection of these cards with their partner, until all individuals swipe right, or ‘match’, on the same restaurant,” Rakovsky explained. “Because of the Jelly Fund, we were able to host our app on cloud resources, purchase design assets and, once we go live, we will be able to use the remaining funding to market and advertise our app on various social media platforms.”

Student recipients of the funding are unanimously grateful to Chris Jelly and the Jelly Fund team. Khoury College leadership is grateful, too, for how the grants help bring student ideas to life.

“The Jelly Fund has made it possible to fuel our students’ entrepreneurial spirit and creativity while supporting their experiential learning goals and preparing them for the world of work. Khoury College and the students are grateful for Chris Jelly’s generosity and his ongoing support of our students,” said Ben Hescott, Khoury College teaching professor and senior associate dean of undergraduate academic programs and student experience. Jelly is the Head of Software Engineering at Vestaboard, the owner of Jelly Consulting where he advises startups on product and engineering strategies, as well as a Founding Engineer at MirrorTab.

Up until eight years ago, Khoury College 40 for 40 honoree Greg Waters wouldn’t have described himself as an involved alumnus. He’d barely had time to be involved back when he was a student; when Waters graduated in 1989 with a master’s degree in computer science, he was juggling a recent promotion, a new house, and a new baby.

“Northeastern and I were reintroduced when I was running a public semiconductor and sensor company in San Jose called Integrated Device Technologies (IDTI). We were hiring a lot of computer science and engineering people, and we also had this beautiful campus in Silicon Valley that had excess space” Waters said. “One of the previous CEOs was also a Northeastern grad and when we met for breakfast, he mentioned that Northeastern had ambitions to establish a technical graduate campus in the Bay Area. This sparked a series of conversations that led to Northeastern co-locating with our headquarters building to house their new Bay Area campus in 2015.”

The graduate school and business colocation took a couple of years to build momentum but became a huge success. Having so many students just across the hall brought new liveliness and energy to the IDTI work environment and jobs for some of the students.

A second project began in 2018, when Northeastern requested Waters evaluate the startup incubation potential of several research programs. Professor Jose Martinez Lorenzo’s laboratory had performed groundbreaking work in distributed artificial intelligence for drone swarms, which is a very difficult problem to solve. This early research was impressive but far from customer-ready, so Waters founded MatrixSpace, a Delaware corporation that began operations in January 2020.

MatrixSpace’s mission is to provide sensing products that digitize the outdoors, coupled with the AI processing to tell people what’s out there. The company’s cutting-edge sensors include a radar unit the size of your smartphone that weighs under a pound and can sense at long distances; these small sensors can be placed on the ground, vehicles, or aircraft, and when coupled with optical sensing and AI, create the ultimate safety and security system. They can detect hazards, enable light aircraft to fly more safely, and to provide secure perimeters anywhere in the world. MatrixSpace has also hired many Khoury College co-ops, and it operates out of the Kostas Research Institute at Northeastern University campus in Burlington, Massachusetts which means Waters has a familiar neighbor.

“It’s funny — I was their landlord for a while, and now they’re mine,” Waters laughed. “What a thought.”

To me, the scholarships are about getting everybody into the tech game. Anybody can learn tech if they’re so motivated. Our job as a society is to make tech skills accessible to everyone. We should be teaching them in high school

Greg Waters, MSCS ’89

Waters finds himself drawn back to Khoury College again and again by the college’s twin commitments to diversity and innovation. He applauds Khoury’s efforts to close the gap with programs like Align, a direct pathway to a master’s degree in computer science for students from all undergraduate backgrounds. Waters has a soft spot for the Align program; his own undergraduate degree was in engineering and had there been an Align program in the ’80s, he believes he would have applied. To ensure that advantage is open to all, Waters funds three scholarships: the Greg and Carolyn Waters Align Scholarship, the Torch Scholars, and the KCCS Dean’s Fund.

“To me, the scholarships are about getting everybody into the tech game,” Waters said. “Anybody can learn tech if they’re so motivated. Our job as a society is to make tech skills accessible to everyone. We should be teaching them in high school.”

As Khoury College celebrates its 40th year, Waters is excited to finally describe himself as an involved alumnus, and excited to see where the school goes next.

“I think my favorite thing about Northeastern is that they keep really working on getting better, and how to be a leader in adapting higher education to the needs of the modern world,” Waters said. “That attitude — in simple words, go to where the bright students are, versus them necessarily coming to us — is different from what I see out there in other institutions. It’s an exciting time with more to come.”

If you introduce a problem to six people from roughly the same background, you often receive six variants of roughly the same solution, says Wayne Duso, former vice president of engineering and product at Amazon Web Services (AWS). But if you give the same problem to six people with wildly different backgrounds, the interplay between their varied perspectives will create ideas you’ve never dreamed of, and you get something much better. And the students that make up Khoury College’s Align program, which provides a pathway to an MS in computer science to students from all undergraduate backgrounds, bring perspectives drawn from everything from psychology to environmental science to English literature. This means they bring exactly what Duso seeks at AWS: diversity of experience and ideas to drive global innovation.

That’s why Duso and Brecka Fetzer, senior program manager, created the Align Career Prep Program. The partnership provides mentorship and support to Align students from all of Northeastern’s network campuses to prepare them to apply for AWS’ Software Development Engineering Internship; it also guarantees them the opportunity to complete the technical screening that is the first step in the hiring process. Align interns who are offered and accept a post-graduation position with AWS will have their final semester paid for by their future employer.

READ: Unique opportunities for Align students bring new CS perspectives to Amazon Web Services

“There’s a lot we offer in terms of how people learn to become an engineer, how to become a team member, owner, and leader,” Duso said. “I had the privilege of doing that years ago in a company that was amazing in terms of its strong culture grounded in pride-of-ownership and quality results as measured by its customers. I wouldn’t have become the engineer I became if I didn’t have a great place to start, with great people who really wanted me to succeed. Our objective is to provide the same opportunity and experience to the Align students.”

The program is the brainchild of Duso, who first began talking about the idea with former dean Carla Brodley after the two reconnected at a University of Massachusetts Amherst dean’s advisory board meeting. Both were struck by how tightly AWS and Khoury College’s cultures meshed, and they each kept an eye out for ways to collaborate. Several years later, the Align Career Prep Program presented itself.

Fetzer manages the program daily — answering student questions, interfacing with her Khoury counterpart Mary Trimarco, and identifying ways to develop the program further.

”I love coming in and getting different perspectives, hearing stories from people and learning from them. You learn so much from folks who come from different walks of life, and I think that’s super important to bring into the workplace,” Fetzer said. “Align interns are very driven and excited … It takes a lot of courage to leave an industry that you’re in and transition into computer science. I’m glad we can help them pursue a career they’re passionate in.”

After starting with just a handful of students three years ago, the program has exploded in popularity since, and AWS is significantly scaling it up this summer. The Align Career Prep Program is also serving as a model for other partnerships, like the one Fetzer and Duso recently launched with Hack Diversity, a nonprofit that breaks down barriers for Black and Latinx tech professionals. Most of Duso’s intern class now arrives through nontraditional pathways like the Align Career Prep Program and Hack Diversity.

Align interns are very driven and excited … It takes a lot of courage to leave an industry that you’re in and transition into computer science. I’m glad we can help them pursue a career they’re passionate in

Brecka Fetzer, Creator of the Align Career Prep Program

The next step, Duso says, is to think about how to scale sustainably.

“Successful relationships like this take commitment from both parties. They take time,” he said. Duso wants to provide opportunities to as many students as possible — and welcome as much diverse talent and their ideas into AWS as possible — without creating a strain that would do harm to the program itself. “For anybody who decides to engage Align, engage it as a relationship, because you are engaging people. If you want to be effective with those people, the algorithm isn’t one of efficiency. It’s one of understanding and completeness.”

Fetzer is excited to watch the program grow further. She’s also thrilled to meet her newest colleagues when they arrive this summer, and grow meaningful relationships with them as they continue to grow their careers.

As a preteen, playing video games wasn’t enough for Mike Shah; he needed to know how to make them himself. His first experiments in programming evolved into a larger fascination with tech, eventually leading him to a career in research and teaching, one where he makes sure to learn from his students.

“We have to keep ourselves up to date as well with what’s going on in what we’re teaching. So I try to bring in a lot of industry folks into the classroom as well. It’s always evolving

Mike Shah, Associate Teaching Professor (former)

Much like the Align students he teaches, Keith Bagley moved between careers before eventually pursuing his master’s in computer science. Now as the Director of Align Boston, he works hard to ensure that students are able to succeed in their own career transitions.

The whole purpose of Align is to broaden participation. We welcome any and everyone.
… That mission and that whole theme is what ties me closely to Align and to Khoury

Keith Bagley, Director of Align Boston

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