Career Path Of A Senior Curriculum Development Manager At Code.org
Amy's career path, beginning with a journalism degree and Teach for America placement in Detroit, evolved through a master's in education policy and work in education policy and nonprofits. This ultimately led to a self-taught transition into computer science and their current role as a curriculum development manager at Code.org, where they create curriculum impacting "about a billion students a year," finding "that sweet spot" between large-scale impact and direct student engagement.
Career Exploration, Education, Nonprofit, Curriculum Development, Technology
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Amy Berkhoudt Woodman
Sr. Curriculum Development Manager
Code.org
Point Loma Nazarene University - 2009
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - MA in Education Policy & Leadership
Creative Writing, Journalism
Technology
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Student Athlete, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Amy's career path highlights a winding but ultimately fulfilling journey. Initially a journalism major, she pivoted to teaching through Teach for America, discovering a passion for education reform.
2. Her Master's in Education Policy broadened her skillset and opened doors to policy roles, but she later realized the importance of direct student interaction. This led her to a non-profit and eventually self-taught computer science skills.
3. Amy's current role as a Curriculum Development Manager at Code.org combines her love for education with her acquired tech skills. She creates impactful curriculum reaching millions of students globally, demonstrating a successful career shift built upon diverse experiences and a dedication to education.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college and the internships or jobs you had before your current role?
I have a somewhat meandering career path, but I'll start with my undergraduate degree. I was a journalism major with a literature and philosophy minor, and I graduated in 2009.
That was just perfect timing for the housing crash, so there were no jobs, especially in the journalism world. You kind of see that trend happening today as well. I ended up joining Teach for America, which is a two-year commitment to teaching in a city that needs help.
I was placed in Detroit, Michigan, where I was a high school teacher, mostly teaching literature and journalism. It was from there that I realized education is a very important social issue in this country. I was sort of ruined, in the best possible way, towards working in education for the rest of my career.
So I decided to get my Master's in Education Policy to really make that long-term, scalable change in the U.S. That master's program connected me with a lot of people who helped me get my next jobs in the policy world. I worked for the Board of Education in Hawaii.
It was there that I realized I missed the classroom and students. I was looking for roles closer to the source, so to speak. I went back to the classroom here and there for about a year to scratch that itch, but I also started working in nonprofits with a similar mission towards educational equity.
It was through my students and one nonprofit that I started getting into computer science. I'm completely self-taught in that field. Currently, I work as a curriculum development manager at Code.org, where I develop curriculum for students.
The scale of the impact here is incredible; we reach about a billion students a year, and the material I create goes straight into classrooms. I've found that sweet spot between the high-level impact and scale of policy work and what students are actually doing and learning in the classroom.
It took me a few jobs to get to this place, but I feel like I'm the happiest I've ever been in my role. It sits at the intersection of a lot of the things that I care about and the experiences I've had in the past.