NYSRPS Commercial Member Spotlight: Code Wiz

Code Wiz Virtual Coding Courses

NYSRPS is very pleased to welcome a new member to our State Society, Jim White of Code Wiz. Aside from providing children with great technological skills via his coding business, Jim is very active (and generous!) with his charitable work.

What is Code Wiz?

Code Wiz supplies fun virtual coding courses for kids ages 7-17 over Zoom. There is a low student to coach ratio, 3:1 and everything is designed to engage the child’s interest so that they always want to learn more. They partner with recreation departments with a revenue split and can take registrations either through the center’s software or on the Code Wiz site with a promotion code so that the registration can be tracked. Code Wiz partners with centers providing classes that teach the next generation valuable programming skills all in a fun way. They help kids create games in Roblox and Unity instead of just playing games, and also teach traditional languages such as Python, Java, HTML/CSS/Javascript and more!

All of these classes are gamified for maximum fun and learning. They also teach one non-coding class called Minecraft World Builder where the kids learn basic economics and civics while playing Minecraft. So far the two most popular recreation department programs have been Roblox and Minecraft World Builder, but there is a lot to choose from.

Charitable Work

Jim is very passionate about the causes he supports and gives generously of his time and expertise. He is very involved supporting and serving many charities near and dear to his heart including Boston CASA, Smoothstack, Lawyers for Civil Rights, Girls in Technology Conference, and Coding for Kids in Remote Uganda. Jim wants to see a world that is fairer for all. He doesn’t think it seems fair that depending on where you are born or what the economic status of your parents determines the future of a child. Code Wiz talks about software being the 4th literacy and that it is important to recognize that all future jobs will need a solid understanding of programming no matter your career.

Meet Jim White of Code Wiz

Jim & Tanya White

A Balancing Act

When Jim talks about a life balance he says family first. Fortunately, he also has a wife who is very committed to the success of Code Wiz and the charitable groups he supports. In fact she is the one that scheduled the classes for the CASA kids and organized the volunteer coaches. In Jim’s eyes work and charity are equal and should go hand and hand. “One needs to make a living, but ideally can make a profit while also doing good,” he proclaims. We are honored to have Jim White as a new member and are inspired by his “Be the Change You Want to See in the World” attitude. Please contact Jim White for information regarding Code Wiz, or if you might be interested in learning more about the charities he supports. Visit Code Wiz thecodewiz. com/arlington-ma or contact Jim directly at jim@thecodewiz.com or by calling (339) 707-0628.

Jim White grew up in Lunenburg Massachusetts in a town of around 6,000 people with a graduating high school class of around 100. His family had a farm there since 1848 where you could find Jim working alongside his Grandfather during his summers growing up. There he would learn about working hard and caring about your neighbor. Everyone knew everyone else. He was also intrigued by computers as personal computers were just arriving on the scene. In fact, when he was in high school he bought his first computer and his parents thought he was crazy! They wondered why a typewriter wasn’t good enough? Well, it seemed to work out for him since software is everywhere now. He spent his entire career in various software startups including some that were bought by Oracle, eBay and his last company Optum Analytics where he was VP of Engineering and was also in charge of the social responsibility program for the Boston area offices.

After leaving the corporate world in the summer of 2019 Jim began searching for his next adventure based on giving back more. He went back to school at Northeastern University for a technological entrepreneurship program and joined the boards of two charities. In January 2020, by random luck, attended a seminar on franchising and they happened to mention Code Wiz, a coding school for kids ages 7-17. This really spoke to Jim as he realized he could make a living while giving back to the next generation at the same time. So, he signed on with Code Wiz January 28th, 2020, but as time grew closer to an opening date it became more and more apparent that it would not be possible to open. COVID was here. Fortunately, the franchise was able to pivot quickly and he opened 100% online April 13th, 2020.